Every game counts in fantasy football. The majority of the money and the league championships are won during the final stretch of the season though and there’s nothing like having a player or two on your team take off just at the right time.

Here is a look at five players that not only likely played a hand in winning some owners league titles a year ago, but there are also plenty of reasons to suggest they will keep that trend going heading into 2017.

Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts

Matt Ryan won the NFL MVP. Tom Brady won a Super Bowl, again. Aaron Rodgers was fantasy’s top-scoring quarterback. Drew Brees passed for over 5,000 yards for the fifth time in his career. Lost in the shuffle was the bounceback season turned in by Luck.

He finished 2016 as the fourth-best scoring quarterback. After missing Week 12 versus Pittsburgh with a concussion, the Colts’ signal-caller finished with a bang by throwing 12 touchdowns and just five interceptions while averaging 282.6 passing yards per game over his final five contests. He added 95 yards and a score on the ground.

He was limited to seven games in 2015, so it was a big step in the right direction. Even before his hot finish, Luck accounted for two or more touchdowns in 11 of 12 games down the stretch while throwing for 275-plus yards in nine of his 15 starts.

Getting protection has been an issue and that was once again the case a year ago as he was sacked 41 times. Still, the offensive line showed vast improvement (12th-best pass-blocking rank by PFF) and that helped. If he stays healthy, Luck is a safe bet for Tier 1 production with a reasonable price tag.

One of the biggest differences between Andrew Luck's 2015 and 2016 was his ability to have success on plays where he held the ball longer. pic.twitter.com/jNjQNgiLJu

— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) April 27, 2017

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