Week 17 Fantasy Football Who Should I Start? George Pickens, Zay Flowers, Xavier Worthy and More

We already took a look at quarterback and running back starting fantasy options for week 17, and now will move on to wide receivers.

I just want to look at trending decisions from the FantasySP start/sit tool regarding players in Wednesday’s games though. George Pickens, Zay Flowers and Xavier Worthy are the guys we’ll talk about today.

For the latest player updates, be sure to head to FantasySP to utilize the real-time player news engine for all sports. The player news engine is the most robust and fastest player news system in fantasy sports. Signing up for a FantasySP membership can help you track all your fantasy players.

George Pickens Fantasy Outlook

Pickens hasn’t played since week 13 because of a hamstring injury. He’s off the injury report and ready to go for a Christmas game against the Chiefs.

Pickens is averaging 13 PPR fantasy points per week, and had 16 or more in three of his past four appearances. His matchup against the Chiefs is a pretty average one. He’s projected for 14 fantasy points.

Should I Start George Pickens or Keenan Allen?

Pickens is part of a trending decision against Keenan Allen. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pickens shows up in more decisions before his week 17 game kicks off.

Allen is averaging 13.3 PPR points per week this season. He’s been great of late, with four games over 20 points over the past five contests.

Allen takes on the Seahawks, who are a slightly above-average matchup for the wideout. He’s projected for 13 PPR points.

Despite Pickens coming off an injury, being in a tougher matchup and having Allen be the better fantasy asset of late, I still prefer starting Pickens this week. He’s his team’s clear No. 1 target, while Allen can shift between WR1-3 any given week. It’s risky starting Pickens after the injury, but if you waited a couple weeks to get him back, I’m doing what I can to get him back in my starting lineup.

Xavier Worthy Fantasy Outlook

Worthy has been trending up, especially over the past two weeks. He’s averaging 11 PPR fantasy points per week this season, but has 19.6 and 20.5 the past two weeks.

Worthy was at at least nine PPR points in the previous four weeks as well, so his fantasy value has been steadily rising after an up-and-down start to the season.

He’s projected for 11 PPR fantasy points in a below-average matchup against the Steelers. This will be a nice test to see if Worthy has truly established himself as a go-to option in the Chiefs’ offense.

Should I Start Xavier Worthy or DeVonta Smith?

Worthy is part of a trending decision with DeVonta Smith. 

Smith has missed a couple games this season, but is averaging 14.1 PPR points a week. He had 11.1 last week, 28 the week before that and 13.7 the week prior. 

Smith faces the Cowboys in week 17, which is a pretty favorable matchup on paper. He’s projected for 13 PPR points.

Another thing to keep in mind with Smith is the status of quarterback Jalen Hurts. The QB has told reporters he expects to play against Dallas, but we won’t officially know that until after the Chiefs have already played, so it leaves fantasy owners making this decision in a tough spot.

The decision really comes down to one thing, and that’s if you trust Smith to still outperform Worthy if Kenny Pickett is his quarterback instead of Hurts. 

In that scenario, I’d want Worthy. Unless you have a third option to possibly go to, I’d start Worthy over Smith in week 17.

Zay Flowers Fantasy Outlook

Flowers has been a double-digit PPR fantasy scorer in five straight weeks. He is averaging 13.4 fantasy points per week.

Flowers is dealing with a shoulder injury going into his matchup against the Texans. It’s a pretty favorable matchup on paper, and Flowers is projected for 15 PPR fantasy points.

Should I Start Zay Flowers Over Ladd McConkey, Khalil Shakir and Jauan Jennings?

As you can see, Flowers is the most popular early-week start/sit player. He’s in a trending decision with Ladd McConkey, another with Khalil Shakir and a final one with Jauan Jennings.

McConkey is averaging 13.9 PPR fantasy points per game this season. He’s scored at least 14 points in five straight appearances.

He takes on the Patriots in week 17, which is a slightly below-average test for the rookie. McConkey is projected for 14 points.

Shakir is averaging 12.6 PPR points per week. He only had 4.2 last week, but was at 21.6 and 15.9 in his previous two games.

He faces the Jets, who are one of the tougher matchups on paper. Shakir is projected for 11 PPR points.

Jennings checks in at 14.2 PPR points per game this season. He has just 14.2 points over the past two games combined though.

He will face the Lions this week, which is a very favorable matchup on paper. Jennings is projected for 14 fantasy points.

As long as Flowers isn’t facing any limitations going into Wednesday’s game, I like him over Jennings, McConkey and Shakir (that’s how I’d rank the four wideouts this week too).

I like what Flowers has done of late and believe he will continue performing well in a pretty favorable matchup. 

I think Jennings has a nice game this week, but after what he’s done of late, I don’t trust him like I do Flowers. McConkey falls below Jennings in a bit tougher matchup, and a less favorable game script. Shakir is usually a player I like, but coming off a down week and in a tough matchup, I don’t trust him ahead of these other wideouts.