Our Week 17 fantasy football start and sit recommendations are now live. It’s championship week in most fantasy football leagues, meaning that you have braved injuries and the unknown to be one win away from winning that title.
We’re hear to help. The same thing can be said for daily fantasy contests, which play out in real time through Week 18. Are some big-name players better off relegated to the bench?
A certain rookie quarterback is coming off a career-best performance and has a great Week 17 matchup. The same thing can be said about a generational rookie running back that has been fantasy relevant for the most part all season.
Without further ado, here is a look at our Weeek 17 fantasy football start and sit recommendations.
Related: NFL Week 17 power rankings
Week 17 fantasy football start and sit: Quarterbacks
Start
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Young is coming off a career-best performance that saw him tally 332 total yards with two touchdowns in a narrow loss to the Green Bay Packers. He’s played much better football since the Panthers fired head coach Frnk Reich, accounting for nearly 900 yards. Week 17 will see Young take on a disastrous Jacksonville Jaguars defense that was torched by Baker Mayfield (283 yards, 2 TD) last week and has yielded the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season.
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
What an ideal matchup it is for the NFL MVP candidate Week 17. He’s taking on a Commanders defense that has given up nearly 4,100 passing yards to go with 33 touchdown passes and just seven interceptions on the season. While there might be a draw back to the 49ers blowing out Washington early, we love this matchup for the fourth-ranked fantasy quarterback in the NFL.
Related: NFL Week 17 QB rankings
Sit
Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns
Some might want to nab Flacco while he’s hot. The veteran is averaging 327 passing yards in his four starts and has accounted for 10 touchdown passes during that span. Despite this, Flacco has also thrown a whoping seven interceptions in those four starts. He does not have a good matchup Week 17 against his former Jets team. New York’s defense heads into this week’s action having allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Look for a mistake or two from Flacco here.
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
Pittsburgh’s defense just picked off Jake Browning three times in a huge Week 16 win. It has 16 intereptions on the season and is playing absolutely stellar football. For his part, Geno Smith has been up and down this season. He’s a bottom-end QB2 option heading into this must-win matchup for both teams. Don’t buy him from a fantasy perspective.
Week 17 fantasy football start and sit: Running backs
Start
D’Andre Swift, Philadelphia Eagles
What a disaster the Arizona Cardinals run defense has been this season. It yielded 250 yards on the ground in last week’s loss to the Chicago Bears. That included Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson going for a combined 149 yards on 29 attempts. Swift is an elite-level play in this one, especially with Philadelphia playing for something in Week 17.
Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
Battling for its playoff lives, we’re expecting Atlanta to rely heavily on Robinson Week 17 against the Chicago Bears. Look for him to be a dual-threat option with Chicago having given up a whopping 887 receiving yards and six touchdowns to running backs on the season. For his part, the rookie has now tallied 1,246 total yards and seven touchdowns on the season. That’s good enough for Robinson to rank as a bottom-end RB1 heading into Week 17.
Sit
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
We’re not buying Barkley as a solid fantasy option Week 17 against a stout Los Angeles Rams defense that has given up the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs. Players at this position have scored all of six touchdowns when facing off with the Rams in 2023. They are also averaging just 79 rushing yards per game.
Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears
As well as Herbert played in last week’s win over Arizona, we’re still having a hard time buying Bears running backs with the handcuff that is Justin Fields doing his thing on the ground. The quarterback put up 97 rushing yards last week. It doesn’t help that Chicago is taking on a Falcons defense that is giving up an average of just 3.7 yards per rush to opposing running backs.
Related: NFL Playoff and Super Bowl predictions
Week 17 fantasy football start and sit: Wide receivers
Start
Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
Samuel headed into Week 16 having tallied 347 total yards and seven touchdowns over the past three outings alone. Brock Purdy boasts a 137.8 QB rating when targeting the offensive weapon in 2023. He has a tremendous Week 17 matchup against a Commanders defense that has given up a 65% completion and the second-most points to fantasy wide receivers on the season. The math is not hard here.
Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers
This sophomore receiver is coming off a Week 16 outing in which he caught four passes for 79 yards with a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers. It might not be spectacular, but Doubs is averaging 53 yards over the past four games. He also has a nice little matchup this week in that of a Minnesota Vikings defense which is allowing a 68% completion to wide receivers on the campaign.
Sit
Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns
Coming off a Week 16 outing in which he broke the Browns’ single-game receiving yards record (265 yards), people are going to be pushing to start Cooper. We’re just not buying it. The Jets have been stellar against fantasy receivers, yielding just four touchdowns and the fewest points through 15 games.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
St. Brown has been a PPR stud over the past two games, catching 19 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns. So, why are we recommending you sit him Week 17? It’s all about the matchup. The Dallas Cowboys are giving up an average of just 10 receptions per game to wide receivers, good enough for their defense to rank in the top-five stopping this position in the fake football world.
Week 17 fantasy football start and sit: Tight ends
Start
Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers
It’s always a crap shoot when looking at fantasy tight ends. It makes sense to go with matchups and recency bias. That’s where Everett comes into play. With Keenan Allen and Mike Williams sidelined, he’s taken on a lead receiving role for Los Angeles Chargers QB Easton Stick. That included catching 7-of-8 targets against the Bills last week. Set to take on a Broncos defense that has given up the most fantasy points to tight ends, we like this matchup for Everett.
Sit
Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
Remember when Kincaid was a solid weekly play once Dawson Knox went down to injury? About that. He’s done nothing of substance over the past two games, catching just one pass for seven yards. It’s not going to be easier Week 17 against a Patriots defense that has allowed just two touchdowns and the third-fewest fantasy points to tight ends on the season.