The fantasy football championship has officially arrived! If you’re facing tough lineup decisions for this upcoming must-win matchup, I’ve got you covered.
Let’s break down my start/sit fantasy football picks for Week 17 of the NFL season.
Quarterback
Start ‘Em: Bo Nix (Broncos) at Bengals
After throwing a ridiculous five interceptions across his prior two contests, Nix bounced back nicely against a tough Chargers defense, racking up 21 fantasy points with no turnovers.
The rookie is now QB9 on the season and is trending upwards at the right time. This week, the Broncos take on Cincinnati in a game with significant postseason implications. The Bengals allow the sixth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks, putting Nix in a fantastic position to keep the positive momentum rolling.
Sit ‘Em: C.J. Stroud (Texans) vs. Ravens — Christmas Day
I don’t care that Stroud put up his best fantasy performance since Week 6 against the Chiefs. The second-year signal-caller has still only scored 20 points in one outing on the entire season, and will now be missing Tank Dell for the remainder of the season.
Nico Collins and Joe Mixon should still find ways to be productive, but I wouldn’t trust Stroud in a big-time matchup against a Ravens secondary that has only allowed 163.6 passing yards per game over their last three contests.
Running Back
Start ‘Em: Jerome Ford (Browns) vs. Dolphins
Ford was my start of the week at running back last Sunday, as I deemed him a potential league-winner.
After his performance against the Bengals, it seems that prediction may be coming to fruition. The third-year back took his 16 touches for 131 yards and a touchdown, making it the second consecutive week he’s scored at least 18 PPR points. With Cleveland’s quarterback room in disarray, the Browns should heavily feature Ford again on Sunday.
Sit ‘Em: Rhamondre Stevenson (Patriots) vs. Chargers
Stevenson opened New England’s matchup against the Bills strong with a touchdown on the second drive, but it was all downhill from there.
The fumbling issues that plagued Rhamondre in the early portion of the season reared its ugly head again, as the talented back turned it over at the beginning of the third quarter, and then dropped a backwards pass from Drake Maye at the start of the fourth, which Buffalo recovered for a touchdown.
Stevenson was benched from there on out in favor of Antonio Gibson, and that will likely remain the case against a tough Chargers run defense this week. Even if he sees touches, it won’t be his typical workload, which means you need to leave the 26-year-old on your bench.
Wide Receiver
Start ‘Em: Xavier Worthy (Chiefs) at Steelers — Christmas Day
A switch has flipped for the rookie over his last two games.
Worthy’s big play upside has been on display all season long, just alongside plenty of growing pains and inconsistent involvement in the offense. However, over Kansas City’s last two outings, the speedster has hauled in 13 of 22 targets for 111 yards and a touchdown, also carrying the ball six times for 40 additional yards and a score.
Worthy has played at least 80% of snaps in three straight games, and the recent return of Hollywood Brown appears to have unlocked some space for him to take advantage of. Fire up the rookie as a solid WR2 on Christmas despite the tough matchup.
Sit ‘Em: Jerry Jeudy (Browns) vs. Dolphins
With Jameis Winston under center in Cleveland, Jeudy’s full potential as a receiver was finally realized, as the 25-year-old put up WR1 numbers on a consistent basis.
With Cleveland making the change to Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jeudy is now virtually unplayable. That’s not the fifth-year receiver’s fault, it’s just the unfortunate reality of the Browns’ offense with DTR as the signal caller. Jeudy saw his targets drop from 14 against Kansas City with Winston at QB to just three against a vulnerable Bengals defense.
He cannot be trusted in lineups against a strong Dolphins secondary.
Tight End
Start ‘Em: Hunter Henry (Patriots) vs. Chargers
While Rhamondre Stevenson can’t be trusted in lineups against the Chargers, you can fire up Drake Maye’s safety blanket as a solid TE1. Henry has seen at least eight targets in four of his last five outings, racking up 13.9 PPR points in Week 16 thanks to a touchdown against Buffalo.
New England’s running game can’t be trusted, but Maye has been allowed to let it loose through the air a bit more as of late. He should look to his trusted No. 1 target early and often against L.A.
Sit ‘Em: Isaiah Likely (Ravens) at Texans — Christmas Day
Don’t be fooled by Likely scoring double-digit fantasy points in two of his last three outings.
The third-year tight end has caught just 10 balls for 84 yards over that stretch, bolstering his numbers by finding the end zone twice. Mark Andrews has clearly reestablished himself as the top TE in Baltimore, leaving Likely as a touchdown-dependent option against a tough Texans defense.
That’s not a game you want to play in the fantasy championship with better options out there at this position.
Those are my start ’em, sit ’em Week 17 fantasy football picks! Stay tuned for more fantasy advice and Week 17 start/sit picks over the next few days.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
