Week 17 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Advice on Fantasy Football Stars to Play or Bench

Happy holidays, fantasy fans. Week 17 has brought the gift of a Christmas tripleheader just in time for fantasy football championships.

Over the next five days, title games will be played in most season-long leagues. While most managers know which centerpiece players they can trust by now, bad matchups and injuries will leave plenty of folks relying on second-tier stars in the most important week of the season.

Here, you'll find some start/sit advice for Week 17, based on matchups, projected roles, and point-per-reception (PPR) scoring.

Quarterback

AP Photo/Matt Patterson

Dak Prescott

Start: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott has been good more often than not this season, at times propelled by a bad defense and the Dallas Cowboys' need to rack up points. However, he's dipped below his average of 20 fantasy points in each of the past two weeks.

The Cowboys were also eliminated in Week 16 and will have nothing to play for on Thursday. However, they will want to win against a division rival—one who happens to present Prescott with a terrific matchup.

The Washington Commanders have surrendered the third-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

Sit: Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

Like Prescott, Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff has been mostly steady this season, averaging 19 fantasy points per week. Also like Prescott, though, Goff rarely adds bonus points via rushing yards.

That's a problem against one of the tougher matchups of Week 17. The Minnesota Vikings have surrendered fewer fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks than any other team this season.

Dual-threat quarterbacks can often overcome good pass defenses in fantasy, but Goff is a pure pocket passer who will disappoint if Detroit can't spark its aerial attack.

Running Back

AP Photo/David Dermer

RJ Harvey

Start: RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos will face the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night in a game that only matters for one team. Kansas City has been eliminated, but Denver is still battling for the AFC West crown and the AFC's No. 1 seed.

Expect a heavy dose of running back RJ Harvey against a Chiefs team that appears ready to pack it in.

Harvey has been on a fantasy heater, reaching double-digit points in each of his last four games and topping 21 in three of those four. Expect another strong outing on Thursday.

Sit: Breece Hall, New York Jets

The New York Jets also find themselves in a game that only matters for one team. New York is chasing draft positioning, while the rival New England Patriots are chasing Denver and that No. 1 seed.

It's an overall bad situation for Jets running back Breece Hall. New England has surrendered the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs and will likely score enough early to steer New York away from its ground game.

Expect Hall, who has fallen below 10 points in three straight games, to continue his disappointing trend.

Wide Receiver

AP Photo/AJ Mast

Jauan Jennings

Start: Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers

Fans will get a treat to cap Sunday's action, with a playoff-caliber matchup between the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers. Both teams have secured playoff berths, but both are also still in the running for the NFC's No. 1 seed.

San Francisco will likely lean on running back Christian McCaffrey in this one, but wideout Jauan Jennings should see enough targets to come through for fantasy managers. He and Brock Purdy are both healthy, and they've reestablished the remarkable chemistry we first saw last season.

Jennings has topped 18 fantasy points in back-to-back games and has reached double digits in four straight.

Sit: Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers

Fans will get some bonus football on Saturday with a pair of games, including a showdown between the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers are already in the postseason, while Houston is battling to punch its ticket.

Expect both defenses to be on display in this one, and for Chargers wideout Ladd McConkey to have an underwhelming afternoon.

McConkey fared well against a bad Dallas Cowboys defense last week but has scored fewer than five fantasy points in three of his last five games. This week, he'll face a Texans defense that has surrendered the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing WRs.

Tight End

AP Photo/Rick Scuteri

Kyle Pitts

Start: Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

For most of this season, Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts has been, at best, a matchup-based streamer. After Kirk Cousins took over at quarterback, however, the Falcons seemingly remembered that they're allowed to feature their biggest mismatch in the passing game.

Pitts has gone on to top 15 fantasy points in four straight games and has reached 18 points in each of the past two. He should see a hefty workload again this week, as the Falcons look to play spoiler against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Rams have a solid defense, but they're also likely to score enough to leave Atlanta in a pass-heavy mode.

Sit: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

It's been a fun fantasy run with Travis Kelce over the years. While leaning on the Chiefs star in fantasy championships used to be an easy choice, managers should look elsewhere in Week 17 of 2025.

The problems for Kelce are twofold. For one, Denver has an excellent defense. Secondly, Patrick Mahomes isn't coming off injured reserve to make sure Kelce gets the football.

The Chiefs are down to third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun, and Kelce may not fare better than he did in Week 16, which he finished with 1.6 fantasy points.

*Fantasy scoring information from FantasyPros.