As we head into the fantasy football championships, every start ’em or sit ’em decision carries more weight than ever and can become the difference between taking home the glory or coming up just short. With not all matchups being equal, here are our top start ’em and sit ’em plays for Week 17.
NFL Start’ Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 17: Quarterbacks
While the focus in the majority of fantasy leagues falls on skill positions, quarterbacks — in most cases — consistently bring the highest weekly total. Which QBs are must-starts, and who should remain on the bench in Week 17?
Start ‘Em | Trey Lance, San Francisco 49ers (vs. HOU)
To play a rookie making his second start of his career with your fantasy championship on the line is a huge risk. Well, I’m your huckleberry. In just one half of football back in Week 4, Trey Lance scored 20.4 fantasy points on the back of 157 passing yards and 2 TDs plus 41 yards on 7 carries. Then in Week 5, against an Arizona Cardinals team that was on fire at the time, he threw for just 192 yards but rushed 16 times for 89 yards.
2022 could be the year where Lance pulls off his best impression of 2019 Lamar Jackson. He has that much upside. With Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle as targets, and the Texans coming to town, Lance is a low-end QB1.
Sit ‘Em | Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans (vs. MIA)
Ryan Tannehill was a selection for many managers who opted for the late-round quarterback strategy. Well, that sure has backfired. He has failed to score more than 16.5 fantasy points in six of his last seven games, including last week with A.J. Brown back in the lineup.
Speaking of Brown, he was a late addition to the injury report with a calf injury, putting his status in doubt. Tannehill has thrown for 215 yards or less in five of his last six games. Miami has no issue attacking the QB with the blitz and Xavien Howard lurking in the secondary, so Tannehill is not a starter in Week 17.
Running Backs
While these RBs found themselves with adjusted roles following injuries to surrounding players and poor play from others, they are on opposite sides of start/sit debates for Week 17. Let’s look at the top start and sit options from RB committees around the league for this week.
Start ‘Em | Devin Singletary, Buffalo Bills (vs. ATL)
For the last two seasons, we have been asking for a running game in Buffalo. It appears we finally have that with Devin Singletary. Now that he’s no longer in a committee with Zack Moss, he is thriving. He’s scored 14-plus fantasy points in each of his last three games while finishing inside the top-15 RBs in each contest.
Singletary played on 54 of the 79 offensive snaps and ran 33 routes, which helped to add to his receiving upside. An RB dominating the opportunities on a high-scoring offense like the Bills is a true fantasy asset. Singletary has high-end RB2 upside.
Sit ‘Em | Michael Carter, New York Jets (vs. TB)
In his second game back after a stint on IR, Michael Carter had a sensational game in Week 16. Against the Jaguars, Carter rushed 16 times for 118 yards while adding 6 yards on 3 receptions. For as much as I like Carter and believe he was the best scheme fit from the 2021 NFL Draft, his Week 17 matchup is brutal.
Tampa Bay hasn’t allowed a running back to score a touchdown in three consecutive games, and the Buccaneers are No. 5 in fantasy points allowed to running backs over the last four contests (16.65). They’re allowing just 58 rushing yards per game. So while I would give him a boost in PPR formats, Carter’s floor is a bit too low for comfort in Week 17 against the defending Super Bowl champions.
NFL Start’ Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 17: Wide Receivers
The WR position is the deepest in fantasy football, with a plethora of quality starting options to choose from every single week. As matchups can be the final deciding factor, here are some of our start ’em or sit ’em recommendations for Week 17.
Start ‘Em | Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions (@ SEA)
At this point, you should expect this out of me, as I will not miss an opportunity to talk about Amon-Ra St. Brown. Since Week 13, he is the No. 4 WR in all of fantasy, with three finishes as the WR6 in PPR scoring.
In Week 16, St. Brown had 9 receptions on 11 targets for 91 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons. Sure, he wasn’t Deebo Samuel, but he did add 19 yards on 2 carries. In his last four weeks, he’s hauled in 35 of 46 targets for 340 yards and 3 TDs. During that time, St. Brown has seen 11 or more targets in every game while scoring 23+ fantasy points in three of the last four. The only time it didn’t happen was in Week 15 against Denver, but he still had 15.3 PPR points. St. Brown is a WR2 for Week 17, and I have him in my championship lineups. Anything less would be disingenuous.
Sit ‘Em | Terry McLaurin, Washington Football Team (@ PHI)
This one hurts, I’m not going to lie. The NFL needs to institute the transfer portal this offseason, and I want to see Terry McLaurin at the front of the line. The issues he is having have nothing to do with his skills and everything to do with the situation he is dealing with in Washington. I mean, the guy has had to catch passes from Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Allen, and Garrett Gilbert.
Over his last four games, McLaurin has 8 receptions and 113 yards combined. He has over 60 yards or a TD just once since Week 7. In his last five contests, he has been held to sub-51 yards in every game. When Washington faced off against Philadelphia in Week 15, McLaurin caught 2 passes for 15 yards. Add in a matchup against Darius Slay, and McLaurin is not someone I can start with fantasy championships on the line.
Tight Ends
It’s notoriously hard for fantasy managers to find consistent production from the tight end position. In Week 17, start ’em or sit ’em decisions could mean the difference between a win or loss as the margins are razor-thin.
Start ‘Em | Gerald Everett, Seattle Seahawks (vs. DET)
It took some time, but Gerald Everett is finding his role in Seattle. The former Ram has scored 10 or more fantasy points in three straight games and five of his last seven. Everett has 8 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown over the past two weeks combined, and he’s finished as a top-15 TE in four out of his last five outings. That’s a very usable tight end in fantasy.
The Lions have allowed three tight ends to finish with 10-plus PPR points in their last two games and are allowing the third-most points to the position during the previous four games. Everett is in the low-end TE1/high-end TE2 range for Week 17.
Sit ‘Em | Jared Cook, Los Angeles Chargers (vs. DEN)
Last week was a perfect matchup for Jared Cook. Not only did he face the Texans, but the loss of Mike Williams should have led to more work. But Cook floundered the opportunity. He had just 3 receptions for 44 yards and scored a 2-point conversion to end with 9.4 PPR points.
The Broncos have allowed just 1 TD to a tight end this season, which coincidentally was against Cook back in Week 12. But Denver has yet to allow over 11 points to the position in a game and is No. 4 in points allowed to TEs in the last four games.