The 2022 fantasy football playoffs are here, and start/sit decisions are at their most critical. Let’s take a look at our WR start/sit Week 17 plays, which include Brandon Aiyuk and Michael Pittman Jr. Be sure to also check out our full Week 17 wide receiver rankings.
Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers (at LV)
I love everything about Brandon Aiyuk’s setup this week. Since Deebo Samuel went down, Aiyuk has been operating as the 49ers’ WR1. It’s led to mixed results. Game script has prevented him from really seeing significant volume. As a result, he’s been a bit touchdown-dependent.
This week, the 49ers get a Raiders’ defense that just bleeds points to opposing WR1s. In their last eight games, the opposing WR1 has averaged 6.3 receptions for 73 yards. Despite their season-long numbers being average, the Raiders are a bottom-10 defense against wide receivers.
As long as Vegas puts up a little bit of a fight and doesn’t let this game get out of hand, San Francisco should call enough pass plays for Aiyuk to be a solid WR2 this week. Start him.
Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos (at KC)
I faded Jerry Jeudy hard this season. Technically, that wound up being a good call. But, I’m taking the L on my Jeudy evaluation. He’s good at football and should’ve been a very good fantasy asset, if not for injuries and Russell Wilson.
Jeudy has posted at least 53 receiving yards in his last nine healthy games. Over his last three, he’s seen a minimum of eight targets in each and caught at least six passes for no less than 73 yards. He was even so kind as to toss in a three-touchdown game. That just so happened to be against these very Chiefs in Week 14.
MORE: Midweek Fantasy WR Rankings Week 17
Of course, no one is projecting Jeudy for even multiple touchdowns this week. However, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t risen to must-start status. The Chiefs allow the sixth-most fantasy points to wide receivers. That’s largely because they’ve allowed the most touchdowns to the position.
As an added bonus, we do have a non-stat-based narrative working in our favor here. The Broncos just fired a whole bunch of coaches, including their head coach. Time and again, we’ve seen teams play inspired football the week after a coach is fired. We could see that from the Broncos on Sunday.
Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts (at NYG)
All the Colts lowers on Underdog Fantasy this week. All of them.
Head coach Jeff Saturday is committed to giving Nick Foles these final three weeks of the season. The first one went about as bad as possible.
Foles completed 17 of 29 attempts for 143 scoreless yards and three interceptions. He also took seven sacks. Foles looked absolutely clueless in the pocket. When he took shots downfield, they were completely forced and almost looked predetermined. None of them succeeded.
As for Michael Pittman Jr., he remains just an underneath guy. His 6.7 average depth of target is outside the top 90.
There’s a chance Foles plays better this week, given that last week was his first start in a year. I just think it’s a very small chance.
The most likely outcome is a highly motivated Giants defense does to Foles exactly what the Chargers did. Neither of these defenses is anything special…but they sure looked it against Foles.
Pittman hasn’t been the WR1 I expected this season, but the volume has been there. He’s been more reliable than not. In fantasy championship week, I can’t trust anyone playing with Foles in lineups.
Christian Kirk, Jacksonville Jaguars (at HOU)
After a scorching start to the season, Christian Kirk has been inconsistent, at best. There have been spike weeks mixed in, but they’ve been difficult to predict. Not helping matters is the rise of Zay Jones.
I believe Trevor Lawrence prefers Jones to Kirk. Last week, against the Jets’ elite pass defense in horrible weather, no one could get going. This week, I think we see a Jones bounce back while Kirk once again disappoints.
MORE: Fantasy RB Start ’em Sit ’em Week 17
When these teams met in Week 5, Kirk caught one of three targets for 11 yards. Of course, that was a very different Lawrence who hadn’t yet taken the leap forward. Nevertheless, the Texans aren’t bad against wide receivers. They actually allow the third-fewest fantasy points to the position.
While I do think Lawrence plays well and is able to move the ball on the Texans, Kirk’s erratic and unpredictable production makes him a difficult start this week. Sit him if you can.
