The wide receiver position in fantasy football has looked like a M*A*S*H* unit in recent weeks, with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, DeAndre Hopkins, Brandin Cooks, and Mike Williams all disappearing for one reason or another. So, it’s understandable that you might need some help with the position in your fantasy football finals with some sleeper wide receivers for week seventeen to help you win your championship!
To make the list, a player must be rostered in 50% or fewer leagues, with one deep leaguer available in at least 90% of leagues.
K.J. Osborn at Green Bay (36% rostered)
Osborn has been legitimately good lately, taking full advantage of Adam Thielen’s nagging ankle injury (which Thielen underwent season-ending surgery for this week). Osborn has more than three targets in three of his last four games, and he has 12.7, 15.8, and 15.3 fantasy points in those three games. This is mostly thanks to touchdowns, but without Thielen and without a viable tight end (looking at you, Tyler Conklin), the Vikings have turned to Osborn more and more, giving him 7, 9, 3, and 7 targets in the last four games.
The Packers are a middling matchup for opposing wide receivers but have given up seven games of at least 14 fantasy points (HPPR) to opposing wide receivers in the last five games. That likely funnels to Justin Jefferson, but K.J. Osborn should pick up some runoff.
Allen Lazard (27%) & Marquez Valdes-Scantling (44%) versus Minnesota
The Packers are about to lay a Sunday Night Football smackdown on the Vikings in what might be Aaron Rodgers’ last Sunday Night Football game in a Packers uniform. It’s been a COVID-fueled Rage/Farewell Tour for Rodgers this year against his NFC North rivals, who haven’t immunized themselves against Rodgers. I also like Marquez Valdes-Scantling (44% rostered), but Valdes-Scantling is on the (nigh useless) COVID-19 IR. Should he make it off of the IR before game time, we’ve seen what the virus can do to speedsters in their first game back (Tyreek Hill managers slam the table as you play for third place) so I’ll lean Lazard. Allen Lazard isn’t all that great, but he takes advantage of his opportunities, notching a 17.9 half-PPR game and a 12.8 HPPR game in his last three games.
Also, one major point: The Vikings are terrible. Minnesota allows the most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers. In fact, they’ve given up double-digit PPR days to Darnell Mooney, James Robinson, and Josh Reynolds… all in the last four weeks. Only Matthew Stafford’s inexplicable picks issue (again, managers slam your table) stopped the Rams from letting me add Van Jefferson to that tally.
Deonte Harty versus Carolina (10% rostered)
We haven’t seen Deonte Harris for a while thanks to him serving his three-game suspension stemming from an offseason DUI charge, and in the meantime, he changed his last name to honor his stepfather. But once he returns, he’s automatically the second-best player on the Saints’ offense. The last time we saw Harty, he had four catches for 96 yards and a touchdown on eight targets. The slippery speedster has had some boom weeks sprinkled among uselessness, mostly tied to a lack of targets. That shouldn’t be a problem this week.
Hartyalso has a primo matchup, as the Panthers have played three games since their bye, and have given up 11 fantasy points or more to a running back four times. That’s a hole in the defense and one that Harty can slip by and sprint past.
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