Fantasy football waiver wire: Best quarterbacks available in Week 17

For most of the fantasy football world, their season is over. The championships were in Week 16, so congratulations if you won, and condolences if you lost. Now we sit back, prepare for the real-world NFL playoffs, and maybe start talking to our families again.

That is, unless you’re in one of those leagues that plays into Week 17, which is weird, but we’ll try to help you out anyway. Week 17 can be tricky from a fantasy standpoint, given the number of playoff teams likely to rest starters, and non-contenders phoning it in with nothing to play for.

Therefore, the main focus should be on targeting teams still fighting for a playoff spot, especially if they’re playing one of those checked-out teams. If you play in a keeper or dynasty league, it’s also not too early to start planning for 2018, so take a look at some young names on the waiver wire who could be next year’s breakout stars.

With that in mind, for one final time this season, let’s look at the top waiver wire quarterbacks, owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! leagues.

As always, Taylor runs hot and cold, which was the case against the New England Patriots. He managed 281 passing yards, his biggest yardage number since Week 9, but failed to score a touchdown as the Patriots rolled. Now the Bills fight for their playoff lives against the Miami Dolphins, which is a friendly matchup for Taylor. He produced two total touchdowns and 224 yards the last time these teams met in Week 15.

The Jimmy G hype train is full steam ahead after another tremendous performance, in which he picked apart the Jacksonville Jaguars defense for 242 yards and three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in a stunning upset win. Garoppolo is still undefeated as an NFL starter, settling in as a borderline QB1 in the process. The streaking Niners will try to finish their season on a high note when they face the Los Angeles Rams.

It’s nice to see the Ravens attempt to open up their offense over these past few weeks, and while Flacco still hasn’t reached 300 passing yards in a game, he’s stabilized his fantasy floor somewhat. Flacco was hardly perfect in a close win over the Indianapolis Colts, but two touchdowns, 237 yards, and no turnovers was enough to get the job done. The Ravens can punch their playoff ticket with a win, so they won’t be letting up against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Chiefs have wrapped up the AFC West and can’t improve on their No. 4 seed, so they’ve got nothing left to play for in the regular season. Does that mean we’ll see Mahomes this week? Maybe not, especially if Andy Reid wants to keep them sharp heading into Wild Card weekend. Still, there’s garbage time potential against a bottomed-out Denver Broncos team, and Mahomes remains one of the top holds in dynasty leagues. We’ll see if Reid makes a decision one way or the other over the week.