5 breakout fantasy football stars to pick up for Week 17

4. D.J. Chark, WR, Carolina Panthers

One of the more underrated developments of the past month in the NFL is the growing confidence of Carolina Panthers' quarterback Bryce Young. The team's decision to fire Frank Reich has appeared to light a spark under Young, who has been playing his best football over the past few weeks.

Young's strong play has lifted the boats of all Panthers' pass catchers, including veteran D.J. Chark, who had his best day of the season on Sunday. Chark torched the Green Bay Packers' abysmal defense with six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns, piling up 24.8 fantasy points in half-PPR leagues for anyone brave enough to start him.

The other positive here is that Chark was targeted eight times by Young, which is a huge increase over his recent workload in the offense. While Adam Thielen has emerged as Young's favorite target, Chark is a big-play threat the Panthers will likely look to incorporate more in order to grow Young's confidence headed into the offseason.

Chark is rostered in seven percent of leagues and has an enticing matchup in Week 17 against Jacksonville's extremely suspect secondary. The Panthers may also be playing catch up in that game as well, which could lead to some very valuable garbage time stats for Chark in the title round.