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Who Should I Start for Week 17? Fantasy Football outlooks for Jake Tonges, Mike Gesicki, Pat Freiermuth, George Kittle, Oronde Gadsden II, Trey McBride, Chig Okonkwo, Dawson Knox, Terrance Ferguson, Gunnar Helm.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 17 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Jake Tonges, Mike Gesicki, Pat Freiermuth, George Kittle, Oronde Gadsden II, Trey McBride, Chig Okonkwo, Dawson Knox, Terrance Ferguson, Gunnar Helm. However, don't worry, we are here to help you make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 17. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 17 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Fantasy Football Matchup Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in Week 17:
George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (ankle) was forced to make an early exit from Monday's win over the Indianapolis Colts. The good news is that Kittle appears to have avoided any serious issues. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Kittle suffered a mid-to-low ankle sprain during Monday's blowout victory at Indy. His status for the Week 17 matchup against the Chicago Bears is up in the air right now. The 49ers will monitor Kittle during practice throughout the week before making a final decision.
Fantasy managers will need to check back throughout the week for more updates on his status. Jake Tonges would be in line for increased playing time if Kittle is forced to miss any action, and he'd be in play as a TE2 streamer in deeper leagues if Kittle is unable to face Chicago on Sunday night.
Chig Okonkwo, TE, Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans tight end Chig Okonkwo had one of his better games of the 2025 season in Week 16 against the Kansas City Chiefs, recording six catches for 44 yards and a touchdown on eight targets. Across 15 games this season, the 26-year-old has hauled in 51 receptions for 503 yards and a score on 67 targets. Okonkwo is averaging exactly five targets per game over his last five contests and has scored at least seven PPR fantasy points in four out of his last six games.
However, his ceiling is limited by the presence of Titans tight end Gunnar Helm, as Tennessee has split playing time between its two tight ends throughout the second half of the season. Still, Okonkwo has proven that he can provide a relatively stable production floor. In fantasy leagues with 14 or more teams, he could be a viable streaming option in his Week 17 matchup against the New Orleans Saints for managers in need of help at the tight end position.
Oronde Gadsden II, TE, Los Angeles
Los Angeles Chargers rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden saw his role shrink significantly in the team's 34-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, recording just one catch for seven yards while playing only 59% of the snaps and posting a 3.5% target share. This marked his lowest usage since becoming a regular contributor, continuing a troubling post-bye trend in which his snap rate has dipped as the Chargers prioritize pass protection for their depleted offensive line. For the first time since Week 2, veteran Will Dissly out-targeted Gadsden, highlighting the rookie's diminishing involvement.
Week 17 brings a difficult matchup against the Houston Texans, who rank among the top pass defenses and top-10 units against tight ends in yards allowed. With declining playing time, reduced targets, and a challenging opponent, Gadsden should not be trusted in fantasy lineups during championship week.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 17 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Jake Tonges, Mike Gesicki, Pat Freiermuth, George Kittle, Oronde Gadsden II, Trey McBride, Chig Okonkwo, Dawson Knox, Terrance Ferguson, Gunnar Helm. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 17.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 17 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 17 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 17 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 17 for Jake Tonges, Mike Gesicki, Pat Freiermuth, George Kittle, Oronde Gadsden II, Trey McBride, Chig Okonkwo, Dawson Knox, Terrance Ferguson, Gunnar Helm:
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