Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 17: Examining Fringe Fantasy Football Flex Starters

Fantasy football leagues still going on in Week 17 feature some different challenges, but it all comes down to putting the right players in your lineup.

While most leagues end in Week 16 to avoid the possible resting of players on teams heading to the playoffs, that shouldn't be much of an issue with most teams fighting for either playoff spots or seeding. Only the Washington Redskins are locked into their seed, although they might stay active in a game against the rival Dallas Cowboys.

The rest of the league should be handled like any other week, which still features some tough calls at the end of your lineup. Here is a look at what you should do with some of the closer calls for Week 17.

Start 'Em

Pos.	Player	Team	Opp.
RB	Charcandrick West	Kansas City Chiefs	OAK
RB	Rashad Jennings	New York Giants	PHI
RB	Danny Woodhead	San Diego Chargers	DEN
RB	Alfred Blue	Houston Texans	TEN
WR	Tavon Austin	St. Louis Rams	SF
WR	Rueben Randle	New York Giants	PHI
WR	Kamar Aiken	Baltimore Ravens	CIN
WR	Jordan Matthews	Philadelphia Eagles	NYG
TE	Zach Ertz	Philadelphia Eagles	NYG

Charcandrick West, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Last week wasn't a big fantasy showing for Charcandrick West, but he still had an efficient performance (62 rushing yards on 4.4 per carry) and remains a major part of a run-heavy attack.

Although Spencer Ware is still recovering from a rib injury, he wasn't a big factor in the latest win over the Cleveland Browns, as noted by Adam Levitan of DraftKings:

This implies the job is West's to lose, which is a big deal in this offense. West has fared well as a starter, averaging 20.7 fantasy points in three games from Weeks 7 to 10 and then totaling 76 rushing yards and a touchdown in Week 15.

Behind an offensive line that has done a great job of creating space this season and a coaching staff that likes to run the ball, West should be able to bounce back with some high yardage and a good chance for a touchdown.

Tavon Austin, WR, St. Louis Rams

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Probably one of the biggest boom-or-bust players in fantasy football, Tavon Austin is always a difficult person to trust in your lineups. He went from 19 fantasy points in standard leagues in Week 15 to just two points in Week 16.

In reality, the biggest difference was simply the opponent. Even though the St. Louis Rams were able to upset the Seattle Seahawks, the defense is still one of the best in the NFL thanks to its ability to tackle. The Rams scored 23 points, but there were no plays longer than 30 yards. In fact, only one scoring drive covered this distance.

These big plays are usually Austin's specialty, but they were unavailable against Seattle.

There will be more opportunities against the San Francisco 49ers. This defense allows the second-most passing yards per attempt in the NFL, and tackling issues have been a problem all year long. Austin had both a rushing and a receiving touchdown against this defense in Week 8 and can post similar numbers against this same group in Week 17.

Sit 'Em

Pos.	Player	Team	Opp.
RB	Lamar Miller	Miami Dolphins	NE
RB	Brandon Bolden	New England Patriots	MIA
RB	Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati Bengals	BAL
RB	Isaiah Crowell	Cleveland Browns	PIT
WR	Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers	MIN
WR	Anquan Boldin	San Francisco 49ers	STL
WR	John Brown	Arizona Cardinals	SEA
WR	Stefon Diggs	Minnesota Vikings	GB
TE	Antonio Gates	San Diego Chargers	DEN

Lamar Miller, RB, Miami Dolphins

Brad Penner/Associated Press

It hasn't been a good end to the year for Lamar Miller, even if a one-yard touchdown did make his fantasy numbers respectable in Week 16. Even this score wasn't part of the Miami Dolphins' plan, as noted by Alex Gelhar of NFL.com:

Jay Ajayi continues to get a heavy workload as the likely future running back in Miami while the free-agent Miller moves out of the game plan. When the starter did get his chances, he struggled immensely with just 31 rushing yards on 15 carries.

To make things even tougher, a matchup against the New England Patriots will likely cause the Dolphins to go behind early, which usually means fewer rushing attempts on this team.

Miller is always a threat to post big numbers, but he simply can't be trusted in your championship game.

Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

After excusing some of the issues he faced this season, Randall Cobb admitted he needed to improve heading into Week 16, per SiriusXM NFL Radio: 

The result was three catches for 15 yards as the Green Bay Packers were blown out by the Arizona Cardinals.

Cobb was a popular pick in fantasy drafts, but he has been nothing short of a disappointment outside of a couple of solid games. The receiver doesn't have a receiving touchdown since Week 11 and hasn't reached double-digit fantasy points in standard leagues since Week 9. The team has gone out of its way to get him the ball, even moving him into the backfield at times, but that still hasn't led to much production.

After his dud in Week 16, there is no reason to expect too much of a better showing in the final game of the year against a solid Minnesota Vikings defense.

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