Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 17: Wide Receivers - Sleepers, Fades, Matchups, DFS Bargains

Start 'em and sit 'em wide receivers for Week 17 from senior fantasy football expert Michael Fabiano.

Week 17 Start ‘Em: Wide Receivers

Start of the Week

Brandin Cooks vs. Titans (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS): Cooks is coming off his best stat line of the season, posting 141 yards, one touchdown, and 27.1 fantasy points in a loss to the Bengals. Assuming Deshaun Watson (hand) is active, Cooks would be in line for another solid performance, this time against the Titans. Their defense has given up 20 touchdown catches and the third-most fantasy points to wideouts, including the most points to receivers lined out wide, in 2020.

Week 17 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

• QUARTERBACKS
• RUNNING BACKS
• WIDE RECEIVERS
• TIGHT ENDS
• KICKERS
• TEAM DEFENSES

Be sure to check out my Week 17 rankings before finalizing any lineup decisions or if your league has special scoring rules, sign up for SI Fantasy+ for customized rankings.

MORE: Week 17 Rankings, Articles, Reports & Tools Hub

Start ‘Em

Corey Davis at Texans (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS): Davis put up a stinker in last week’s loss to the Packers, failing to score a single point on just two targets. Regardless, he still has a great matchup against the Texans next on the schedule. Houston has allowed 21 touchdown catches and the sixth-most fantasy points to wideouts, so Davis is in a good spot to rebound. In what is a very meaningful game for the Titans, I’d consider the veteran an attractive flex starter.

Marquise Brown at Bengals (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Brown has caught fire in recent weeks, scoring 12-plus fantasy points in five straight games. He’ll look to make it six straight against the Bengals, who have allowed 15 touchdown catches and the eighth-most fantasy points to receivers lined out wide. That includes a Week 5 game against Baltimore where Brown posted six catches, 77 yards, one touchdown, and a season-high 19.8 fantasy points in a 27-3 win.

More Starts

• T.Y. Hilton vs. Jaguars (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS)
• Marvin Jones Jr. vs. Vikings (1 p.m. ET, FOX)
• Emmanuel Sanders at Panthers (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX)

DFS Bargains

• Marquise Brown at Bengals (DraftKings: $5,900)
• T.Y. Hilton vs. Jaguars (DraftKings: $5,800)
• Curtis Samuel vs. Saints (DraftKings: $5,300)

Week 17 Sit ‘Em: Wide Receivers

Sit of the Week

Tyler Lockett at 49ers (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX): I've been fading Lockett for weeks, and for a good reason. He's failed to score more than 12.3 fantasy points in each of his last six games, and he's been held to single digits three times in that time. Next up is a date with the 49ers, who have held slot receivers to average numbers but kept Lockett in check (7.3 points) in Week 8. At best, the veteran wideout should be seen as a risk-reward flex starter in most fantasy leagues.

Sit ‘Em

JuJu Smith-Schuster at Browns (1 p.m. ET, CBS): It's tough to sit a player like Smith-Schuster, even more so when he is coming off a huge performance in a win over the Colts. But the loss of Ben Roethlisberger should harken back memories of 2019 when the USC product was a dud, often times when Mason Rudolph was under center. That's the case this week, and it's coupled with a matchup against a Browns defense that's been pretty tough at home against wide receivers.

Robert Woods vs. Cardinals (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX): There's good news and bad news with Woods. The good news is that he should see more targets with Cooper Kupp (COVID-19) out of action. The bad news is that those targets won't be coming from Jared Goff but John Wolford, who is making his first NFL start. Heck, he's never thrown a pass in an NFL game. The Cardinals will no doubt look to stop Woods too, so he could post modest totals. He's a risk-reward flex option.

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More Sits

• DeVante Parker at Bills (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
• Diontae Johnson at Browns (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
• Chase Claypool at Browns (1 p.m. ET, CBS)

DFS Fades

• DeAndre Hopkins (DraftKings: $7,900)
• Tyler Lockett at 49ers (DraftKings: $5,800)
• Chase Claypool at Browns (DraftKings: $5,700)

Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for all of the latest breaking fantasy football news and the best analysis in the business!

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