The big news around the NFL Tuesday was that the league and the NFL player's association came to an agreement on updated COVID protocols that will allow players to return to play faster, even if they aren't vaccinated. Given the outbreaks around the league and the number of players we've seen miss games over the past month, this is a big deal. 

I wrote about the full implications of the protocol changes for CBSSports.com/Fantasy Tuesday evening, but here's the gist: It's a lot easier for all players to be cleared to return to play now. Whether a player is vaccinated or unvaccinated, they can return to the team five days after their positive test if they are asymptomatic, regardless of whether they have registered even one negative test. Considering unvaccinated players were forced out for a minimum of 10 days under the previous regime, this is a significant change for the likes of Cole Beasley, Carson Wentz, Mike Williams and more. It means, in all likelihood, they'll be available for this Sunday's games. 

That is not insignificant news, though how exactly it will impact Week 17's landscape remains to be seen – players still have to be asymptomatic to be cleared, so if Wentz (for example), can't manage that by Sunday, he won't be cleared to play anyways. 

Which means, of course, we'll still have to pay close attention to the news. In tomorrow's newsletter, I'll go over every injury and COVID situation you need to know about for this week, along with a first look at the start and sit calls from Jamey Eisenberg and Dave Richard. Today, it's all about getting familiar with what to expect from Week 17 with Heath Cummings' position previews. I've also got a rundown of the toughest players to rank for this week, and I'm looking for your lineup questions for Friday's newsletter, so send those in to Chris.Towers@CBSInteractive.com. 

And remember, you can vote in our survey for the 2021 Fantasy Football Superlatives. We're looking for your nominations for Fantasy MVP, rookie of the year, biggest bust, and more, so make your voice heard here. Now, here's what you need to know for Week 17 at each position.

Every Tuesday, Heath Cummings previews each position, providing injury insights, key stats to know, the best waiver-wire adds, DFS targets, and more for quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. Here's everything you need to know for Week 17:

• Injuries: Lamar Jackson (ankle), Derek Carr (ribs), Jimmy Garoppolo (thumb), Taysom Hill (COVID), Teddy Bridgewater (concussion), Justin Fields (ankle) and Tyler Huntley (COVID)  
  
• Number to know: 16 -- Trey Lance had 16 rush attempts in his lone start this season.
• Matchup that matters: Jalen Hurts @WAS (32nd in points allowed to QB)
• Top DFS play: "Lance is the clear top option if Garoppolo is out. I'll update this if it looks like Garoppolo will play."

My Top 24

1. Josh Allen vs. ATL
2. Tom Brady @NYJ
3. Patrick Mahomes @CIN
4. Aaron Rodgers vs. MIN
5. Justin Herbert vs. DEN
6. Jalen Hurts @WAS
7. Matthew Stafford @BAL
8. Dak Prescott vs. ARI
9. Kyler Murray @DAL
10. Joe Burrow vs. KC
11. Trey Lance vs. HOU
12. Russell Wilson vs. DET
13. Tua Tagovailoa @TEN
14. Kirk Cousins @GB
15. Carson Wentz vs. LV
16. Ryan Tannehill vs. MIA
17. Mac Jones vs. JAX
18. Derek Carr @IND
19. Taylor Heinicke vs. PHI
20. Matt Ryan @BUF
21. Josh Johnson vs. LAR
22. Ben Roethlisberger vs. CLE
23. Nick Foles vs. NYG
24. Zach Wilson vs. TB

• Injuries: James Robinson (Achilles), Miles Sanders (hand), Jordan Howard (neck), Clyde Edwards-Helaire (shoulder), Dalvin Cook (COVID), James Conner (heel), D'Andre Swift (shoulder), Darrell Henderson (knee), am Akers (Achilles), Leonard Fournette (hamstring), Elijah Mitchell (knee), Kareem Hunt (ankle), Rhamondre Stevenson (COVID) and David Johnson (COVID)  
  
• Number to know: 130 -- The Eagles have run for at least 130 yards in every game since Week 6.
• Matchup that matters: David Montgomery vs. NYG (25th in points allowed to RB)
• Top DFS play: "As long as Conner is out, Chase Edmonds is the clear top running back play this week."

My Top 24

1. Jonathan Taylor vs. LV
2. Austin Ekeler vs. DEN
3. Alexander Mattison @GB
4. David Montgomery vs. NYG
5. Alvin Kamara vs. CAR
6. Josh Jacobs @IND
7. Joe Mixon vs. KC
8. Ronald Jones @NYJ
9. Sony Michel @BAL
10. Nick Chubb @PIT
11. Najee Harris vs. CLE
12. Ezekiel Elliott vs. ARI
13. D'Andre Swift @SEA
14. Aaron Jones vs. MIN
15. Darrel Williams @CIN
16. Jeff Wilson vs. HOU
17. Damien Harris vs. JAX
18. Devin Singletary vs. ATL
19. Rashaad Penny vs. DET
20. Javonte Williams @LAC
21. Antonio Gibson vs. PHI
22. Saquon Barkley @CHI
23. Michael Carter vs. TB
24. Myles Gaskin @TEN

• Injuries: Mike Evans (COVID), Adam Thielen (ankle), Mike Williams (COVID), Brandin Cooks (COVID), Julio Jones (COVID), Cole Beasley (COVID), Gabriel Davis (COVID), Calvin Ridley (personal), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (COVID), Jamison Crowder (calf), Rondale Moore (COVID), Laviska Shenault (COVID), Nick Westbrook (COVID), Jalen Guyton (COVID), Josh Reynolds (COVID), Bryan Edwards (COVID) and Nelson Agholor (concussion)  
  
• Number to know: 89.6 -- PPR Fantasy points for Amon-Ra St. Brown since Week 13, fourth-most amongst wide receivers.
  
• Matchup that matters: D.J. Moore @NO (26th in points allowed to WR)
• Top DFS play: "Keenan Allen. I would expect a bounceback from Allen against a Broncos defense that is much tougher on outside receivers than slot receivers."

My Top 24

1. Cooper Kupp @BAL
2. Davante Adams vs. MIN
3. Justin Jefferson @GB
4. Keenan Allen vs. DEN
5. Stefon Diggs vs. ATL
6. Antonio Brown @NYJ
7. Deebo Samuel vs. HOU
8. Diontae Johnson vs. CLE
9. Tyreek Hill @CIN
10. A.J. Brown vs. MIA
11. Tee Higgins vs. KC
12. Jaylen Waddle @TEN
13. CeeDee Lamb vs. ARI
14. Ja'Marr Chase vs. KC
15. Marquise Brown vs. LAR
16. Hunter Renfrow @IND
17. Russell Gage @BUF
18. Tyler Lockett vs. DET
19. Amon-Ra St. Brown @SEA
20. Amari Cooper vs. ARI
21. D.J. Moore @NO
22. Christian Kirk @DAL
23. Michael Pittman vs. LV
24. D.K. Metcalf vs. DET

• Injuries: Travis Kelce (COVID), Darren Waller (knee), Pat Freiermuth (concussion), Jack Doyle (ankle) and Adam Trautman (COVID)
• Number to know: 10.6 -- Gerald Everett has averaged 10.6 PPR FPPG since Russell Wilson returned in Week 10. That's more than teammate DK Metcalf. 
  
• Matchup that matters: Foster Moreau @IND (31st in points allowed to TE)
• Top DFS play: "Dalton Schultz. Dak Prescott has been much better at home and Schultz has been good pretty much whenever his quarterback has. Bonus, the Cardinals should score enough to keep the Cowboys passing."

 My Top 12

1. Mark Andrews vs. LAR
2. Travis Kelce @CIN
3. George Kittle vs. HOU
4. Rob Gronkowski @NYJ
5. Kyle Pitts @BUF
6. Dallas Goedert @WAS
7. Dalton Schultz vs. ARI
8. Dawson Knox vs. ATL
9. Zach Ertz @DAL
10. Gerald Everett vs. DET
11. Ricky Seals-Jones vs. PHI
12. Tyler Higbee @BAL

With some players, you don't have to put a lot of thought into where you're going to rank them. Mark Andrews is gonna be one of the top tight ends; Aaron Rodgers will be one of the top quarterbacks. Those are your easiest decisions, and they're ours, too. 

These 10? I agonized over where to put them, and so will you: 

• QB6. Jalen Hurts – Hurts is a tough nut to crack. His run-heavy role gives him significant upside every week, but he kind of has to find the end zone as a rusher to get there because the volume just isn't there as a passer. Against Washington, he could have a great week as both a passer and a runner, but he has just two games with multiple passing touchdowns since the Eagles transitioned to being a more run-heavy team in Week 8. He has five rushing touchdowns in those seven games, but again, only in two of them. His upside makes him worth starting for sure, but Hurts is definitely a risk. 
• QB11. Trey Lance – Speaking of "worth starting, but definitely a risk," that's exactly how I would describe Lance. The last time we saw him was in Week 5 when he rushed for 89 yards but also looked very much like a work in progress as a passer. However, he didn't have George Kittle then, and he didn't have a matchup against the Texans that time around. Lance's rushing abilities make him a viable starter, but he'll have to pass the ball better than he did last time to be a plus for your team. Again, there's a risk but if you've been streaming, he's a viable option to cap off your season. 
• RB5. Alvin Kamara – I can certainly understand being frustrated with Kamara's performance of late, but some context is needed. In Week 14, he had 24.5 PPR points, and then he had just 5.1 in Week 15 – but that was against Tampa, one of the toughest defenses in the league for running backs. And then in Week 16, he played with a third-string QB making his first appearance in an NFL game with both starting tackles missing against one of the most aggressive, blitz-heavy defenses in the league. It's been a perfect storm of bad, and the matchup against Carolina isn't exactly an easy one this week. However, he still got 65% of the RB carries Monday and had a 20% target share, so a big part of his disappointing production was just due to the offensive struggles as a whole. I don't think this will be a good offense this week, but if either Taysom Hill or Trevor Siemian are back and the line is healthier, I'm still going to view Kamara as a top-10 RB. 
• RB15. Darrel Williams – In the five games Williams played without Clyde Edwards-Helaire from Weeks 6 through 10, he averaged 17.8 PPR points on 13.8 carries and 4.8 receptions per week. That passing game role is critical to his success because I think at this point we can say Williams probably isn't a great runner. However, if he has the passing game role in a potential shootout against the Bengals and he has the goal-line role we can be pretty confident he'll have, it's hard to get away from him. My initial projections had Williams as RB12, and even adjusting for some uncertainty, he's going to be a top-15 RB if Edwards-Helaire is out. 
• RB13. D'Andre Swift – This is, of course, assuming he even makes his return from his shoulder injury. Swift was able to practice last week, so I think there's a pretty good chance of it, however, that is only the first question. The next question is whether he'll be ready for his usual role in his first game back, and that may be a question that is impossible to answer before the game. Even if we do get some report that indicates Swift will play his typical role, then you've got the risk of re-injury to balance against a matchup against a Seahawks defense that has allowed more catches by running backs than any other team. It's a lot of risk and a lot of reward and my ranking tries to balance both, but I recognize I could be too high. 
• RB21. Antonio Gibson – Washington was out of last Sunday's game so quickly against the Cowboys that it's hard to know how much of Gibson's limited role was due to his toe injury. He played just 35% of the snaps in the blowout loss, but that was mostly in the second half, when he played just two of 33. He played 75% of the 24 snaps in the first half, which is a good sign for his chances of playing his usual role, but not necessarily a guarantee. It's hard to shake the memory of last year's toe injury, which cost him two games and lingered into the summer, and this week's matchup is a very tough one against the Eagles. I've got him as an RB2, on the lower end, but his passing game role (5.2 targets per game over his past five) does give me pause. 
• WR15. Marquise Brown – Brown is on pace for nearly 150 targets in 16 games, so it's no surprise he's just 47 yards away from breaking the 1,000 mark for the first time. However, he also has just two games with more than 47 yards in his past six, so he's no guarantee to get there this week. That's hard to fathom given his past efficiency, but he is averaging just 4.4 yards per target in that span. There's a lot that goes into that, including three different quarterbacks in the past three games plus Brown missing some time of his own, but it's still a stunningly poor number. Given the volume he's seeing, you almost have to assume Brown will have a breakout game at some point, but he's running out of time. 
• WR 21. D.J. Moore – Moore is in a very similar situation to Brown, where he's getting the kind of workload we want seemingly every week without the consistent production to show for it. Moore is a victim of poor quarterbacking, but with the Panthers seemingly sticking with their awkward Sam Darnold/Cam Newton combination, I'm not sure we can assume the QB play will be better. Like with Brown, Moore's track record combined with his current volume – 10 targets or more in four straight – means I have to just keep starting him and assuming the breakout will come at some point. The upside is massive if he does.
• WR20. Amari Cooper – Cooper was great in Week 16, so that's it, you just start him, right? Well, probably, he is a top-20 WR for me, after all. However, even in a game where Dak Prescott threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns in basically one half of football, there was still only room for one of the Cowboys wide receivers to have a big game – CeeDee Lamb had just four catches for 66 yards. Partially, that was because Malik Turner had a 61-yard touchdown and an offensive lineman caught another one on the goal-line, but it's also been a while since we've seen both Cowboys wide receivers have a big game at the same time. Lamb has been consistently seeing more targets and producing more throughout the entire season, with Cooper going from Week 8 through Week 16 with no games with more than 51 yards. This offense should have plenty of room for both Lamb and Cooper to be must-start options, but that really hasn't been the case over the past few months, which makes Cooper a risky start even coming off a big game. 
• TE3. George Kittle – Look, you're starting Kittle, so in that regard, it's really easy to rank Kittle. He just goes somewhere near the top of the tight end rankings. But ranking him third or fifth or wherever you want him to end up doesn't capture the risk involved here with Lance likely to start. Kittle didn't play in that previous game Lance started, so we don't know what kind of chemistry that duo has at this point. However, we can be pretty confident that the 49ers will throw the ball even less than normal because Lance's rushing ability just brings a totally different dimension to the offense. That puts even more pressure on Kittle to be hyper-efficient, and while that's something you can typically count on, Lance is a wild card. Kittle's upside still makes him an obvious must-start option, but don't be shocked if it goes the wrong way.