Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 17: Latest Review Heading Toward Sunday

Fantasy football owners who still care about their teams are the lucky ones. They have either reached the final week of the championship or are just a few days from finding out which team had the best overall record.

Winning in Week 17 is imperative, and setting the optimal lineup is a must.

Making a mistake now could cost owners a championship, so it's important to sift through the rankings to find the players to start and the players to sit.

Here are the top starts and sits at each position, focusing on the one player each team must bench and which star every owner must get in their lineup.

Position	Start 'Em	Sit 'Em
Quarterback	Robert Griffin III, WSH	Matt Ryan, ATL
Running Back	Fred Jackson, BUF	Tre Mason, StL
Wide Receiver	Sammy Watkins, BUF	Josh Gordon, CLE
Tight End	Travis Kelce, KC	Larry Donnell, NYG
Team Defense	Houston Texans	New York Giants
Kicker	Dan Carpenter, BUF	Cody Parkey, PHI

Start ‘Em: Sammy Watkins, WR, Buffalo Bills

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

The player fantasy owners must start this week is Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins.

Despite playing against the New England Patriots and seeing coverage from Darrelle Revis, Watkins has the upside to justify taking this risk.

The rookie is coming off a big game in a loss against the Oakland Raiders, racking up three catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. With quarterback Kyle Orton targeting Watkins seven times last week, the offense will once again go through the wideout.

When asked about his recent struggles, Watkins told Jerry Sullivan of The Buffalo News:

"

Later in the year, defenders read your body language, how you come off the ball. There’s some things I got to switch up. That comes with just changing your game up. If you do the same thing for nine or 10 weeks, people can figure out how you do things.

"

Despite going six games without a touchdown before scoring in Week 16, Watkins has a good chance to find the end zone once again. Orton has showed trust in the rookie and will be targeting him again once the Bills enter the red zone.

New England’s secondary has been better with Revis in the fold, but the team is still ranked 21st in the NFL in that area, allowing 244.9 passing yards per game. If Fred Jackson and the rushing attack get going early, Watkins should have the room to put together a big day.

Projected Stat Line: Six receptions for 75 yards and one touchdown.

Sit ‘Em: Tre Mason, RB, St. Louis Rams

Mark Tenally/Associated Press

St. Louis Rams rookie running back Tre Mason has had a great first season in the NFL, but fantasy owners must sit him in Week 17 in a less-than-favorable matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

Despite coming off a solid performance against the New York Giants that saw Mason amass 83 all-purpose yards and a touchdown, Seattle’s run defense is ranked third in the league, allowing just 84.1 yards on the ground per game.

Add in the fact that Mason has shown glimpses of the wear and tear that can result in a player hitting the rookie wall, and fantasy owners should be looking to find another option on the bench if applicable.

With the combination of a tough matchup and Mason slowing down physically, it is time to look in a different direction.

Projected Stat Line: 14 carries for 25 yards and zero touchdowns, one reception for seven yards and zero touchdowns.

*Stats via NFL.com.