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Who Should I Start for Week 17? Fantasy Football outlooks for Tyler Shough, Jaxson Dart, Brock Purdy, Justin Herbert, C.J. Stroud, Sam Darnold, Jordan Love, Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers, Dak Prescott.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 17 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Tyler Shough, Jaxson Dart, Brock Purdy, Justin Herbert, C.J. Stroud, Sam Darnold, Jordan Love, Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers, Dak Prescott. 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.
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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:
Tyler Shough, QB, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough has been playing really well of late, scoring 17 or more fantasy points in five of his last six starts. What is providing him a safe floor during this stretch is that he is averaging five rush attempts per contest and has built an excellent rapport with wide receiver Chris Olave and tight end Juwan Johnson. For the season (nine games), Shough has thrown for 1,792 yards, completing 66 percent of his passes, thrown for seven touchdowns and five interceptions, and has rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
Depending on his matchup for the week, he is borderlining the QB1 ranks, but given his limited experience and upside, he usually finds himself in the QB2 ranks. Shough is a solid Superflex (two-quarterback play) and should be viewed as a higher-end QB2 in Week 17 against the Tennessee Titans, who are vulnerable against the passing game.
Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy came through in a big way for those relying on him for a Monday night miracle to advance to the fantasy football championship round. Purdy went 25-for-34 for 295 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception in the 49ers' 48-27 win over the Colts. Two of his touchdown throws went to running back Christian McCaffrey, with tight end George Kittle and wide receivers Jauan Jennings and Demarcus Robinson each getting one.
Once again, Purdy concentrated the majority of his attempts on McCaffrey, Kittle, and Jennings, though Kendrick Bourne worked in for five targets with Ricky Pearsall (knee, ankle) out. Purdy and the 49ers host the Chicago Bears in Week 17. It will be a welcome matchup for Purdy, as the Bears have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season.
C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is coming off one of his worst starts of the season in Week 16 against the Las Vegas Raiders. He completed 23 of 36 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown, with his 5.3 yards-per-attempt mark being his second-lowest output of the season and lowest since the Week 7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The 24-year-old was excellent just one week prior against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 15, completing 22 of 29 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns, his second game this season with three or more scores through the air.
Stroud profiles more as a reliable QB2 in superflex leagues for most weeks, but he has a tough matchup in Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers, who have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Stroud still profiles as a viable QB2 option, ranking as RotoBaller's QB19 in Week 17.
Sam Darnold, QB, Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold led his team to a big win last Thursday against the Rams, throwing for 270 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He's had a few down games lately, but has also thrown for at least 249 yards in three straight games. When the touchdowns are there, he's typically a solid, QB2 or low-end option in single-QB deep leagues.
Darnold and the Seahawks have a tough matchup on the road against the Panthers in Week 17, in a battle of teams pushing towards the playoffs. He's not in an elite spot, but he still brings enough upside to be a decent pickup if you need help at the position in two-QB formats or deep leagues.
Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Sun's Mike Preston writes that "it's clear that head coach John Harbaugh has become tired" of quarterback Lamar Jackson (back), "even though he builds him up after every game. He has to, or Jackson will go into his own self-exile." Preston suggests that the Ravens should look into trading Jackson as a way to land two or three first-round draft picks for the future. Jackson has had an extremely disappointing 2025 season that has been filled with nagging lower-body injuries.
After injuring his back in Sunday night's loss to the New England Patriots, Jackson is now in danger of missing the Week 17 game this Saturday at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers after missing two practices already this week. It's unclear if Baltimore would realistically entertain trading the two-time MVP QB, but it sounds like the coaching staff has at least soured on Jackson after this season.
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 - Tyler Shough, Jaxson Dart, Brock Purdy, Justin Herbert, C.J. Stroud, Sam Darnold, Jordan Love, Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers, Dak Prescott. 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 Tyler Shough, Jaxson Dart, Brock Purdy, Justin Herbert, C.J. Stroud, Sam Darnold, Jordan Love, Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers, Dak Prescott:
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