Fantasy Football Wide Receiver & Tight End Start/Sit Week 17: George Pickens, Garrett Wilson, Kyle Pitts

Lou breaks down some of the toughest Start/Sit decisions at the wide receiver and tight end positions for fantasy football in Week 17.

It’s the fantasy football playoffs, a time when making the right start/sit choices becomes the most important part of playing fantasy. If you made the playoffs, your team is good. Now you have to make sure to use the right players to take home the trophy!!

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Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Week 17 Starts

George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers @ Seattle Seahawks

I’m not just saying this because he is coming off a ridiculous Week 16 performance. I mean, anytime a guy has 195 yards and two TDs, it’s going to get your attention, but this is more about the matchup and the change at QB. Mason Rudolph was at QB for Pickens' big game in Week 16 and looks to be the guy under center this weekend against the Seahawks who rank 20th in the NFL against the pass and 23rd in fantasy against WRs. Pickens is likely the reason you got to the finals, and he could be a reason why you could be a champion. 

Demarcus Robinson, Los Angeles Rams @ New York Giants

I wouldn’t start him in shallow leagues, not because I don’t believe in him, but because there are likely to be more reliable options for you on your roster. Still, Robinson deserves some love this week and should be strongly considered in deeper formats after his performance in Week 16. He has a TD in four straight games and has become a legitimate threat in the suddenly unstoppable Rams' offense. The Giants present a great matchup, too, ranking 28th in fantasy football against the WR position.

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Week 17 Sits

Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders @ Indianapolis Colts

Meyers has had some great games this season and has been more serviceable than expected coming into the season. With that being said, since mid-season, Meyers has been unreliable, posting less than 10 points in five of eight games. His matchup vs. the Colts this week is also not a good one. Not only are the Colts a top-10 defense in fantasy football against WRs, but the Raiders also have a QB in Aidan O’Connell who went three straight quarters last week without completing a pass. He can’t be trusted to get Meyers the football, and, at this point in the season, I’m not relying on a shaky QB and inconsistent WR in a bad matchup. 

Garrett Wilson, New York Jets @ Cleveland Brown

Wilson has been matchup-dependent all season long due to the Jets' mess of a QB situation. In a good matchup, he has WR1 upside even with Zach Wilson or Trevor Siemian throwing him the football, yet this week is not one of those times. It is a horrible matchup for Wilson and the Jets, as they head to Cleveland to take on the best pass defense in the NFL and the second-ranked defense against WRs in fantasy football. In your 14 and 16-team leagues, you may have to use him and hope that the short week leads to a tired defense. In your shallow leagues, you have to look elsewhere, because a game with under 10 points is going to cost you a championship, and that’s exactly what you should expect from Wilson in this matchup. 

Fantasy Football Tight End Week 17 Starts

Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons @ Chicago Bears

It’s been a really tough time if you roster Pitts this season in fantasy. He has so much talent, yet so much inconsistency. What we do know here is that it will be Taylor Heinicke at QB for the Falcons, who just played great in their big win against the Colts, and Pitts was a big part of that catching three passes for 49 yards and a TD. The Bears provide a good matchup, too, ranking 25th in the NFL against the pass and 27th against the TE position. I know it feels risky because Pitts is hard to trust, but now is as good a time as any for him to come up big for you. 

Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans

Okonkwo set a season high in catches with six yards, yards with 63, and scored his first receiving TD in Week 16. He has a solid matchup this week against the Texans, who rank toward the bottom of the league against the pass this season and 28th in fantasy football against the TE position. The Texans were just torched by Joe Flacco, Amari Cooper, and David Njoku, so you can expect Okonkwo and whoever plays QB for the Titans this week to have a good game. It is worth noting that Okonkwo’s big game came with Ryan Tannehill at QB, not Will Levis, but he has seen as many as six targets in a game multiple times with Levis at QB, which is the same number he saw with Tannehill in Week 16. 

Fantasy Football Tight End Week 17 Sits

Tanner Hudson, Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs

Hudson was a popular name a few weeks ago and has had some decent performances this season, yet I wouldn’t trust him this week, even in deeper leagues. Even with Ja'Marr Chase out last week, Hudson saw just two targets, catching one for five yards. This week, he has a tough matchup, too, as he heads on the road to KC to face a Chiefs defense that is top five against the pass in the NFL and top five against TEs in fantasy football. Stay away from Hudson this week. 

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots

Kincaid has had a nice rookie season; however, the past two weeks he has been non-existent in the offense. He has seen just four targets, making one catch for seven yards. Dawson Knox is back from injury which has definitely impacted Kincaid’s target share, although the biggest factor is that the Bills have become more reliant on the run game and using their RBs in the pass game. The matchup for the rookie TE is another reason to consider benching him, too. He faces the Patriots, who rank third in fantasy football against the TE position. 

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