5 breakout fantasy football stars to pick up for Week 17

1. Top Fantasy Football Pickups For Week 17 – New York Giants WR Isaiah Hodgins

It feels like we’ve spent the whole season trying to identify who the top pass catcher (outside of running back Saquon Barkley) is for the Giants. We’ve discussed Darius Slayton in this space several times and Kenny Golladay has been a bust, creating an opening for Isaiah Hodgins to emerge as Daniel Jones’ top target.

Hodgins, who has been heating up of late, had a breakout performance in New York’s 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday. Jones looked Hodgins’ way a season-high 11 times and he caught eight of them for 89 yards and scored a touchdown while looking like the Giants’ most effective receiver.

There was some familiarity within the Giants’ front office with Hodgins, who was a lightly-used sixth-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 2020 who was waived in November. New York immediately scooped Hodgins up and plugged him into Brian Daboll’s system, the same one that the Bills run, and have gotten a strong return on their investment.

Fantasy owners in need of a flex option for championship week should scoop up Hodgins, who is rostered in just two percent of leagues, ahead of a Week 17 matchup against a Colts’ team that is playing out the string. Hodgins has scored a touchdown in three of his past four games so there is a good possibility that trend continues in Week 17, which could make Hodgins a league-winning pickup.