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Who Should I Start for Week 17? Fantasy Football outlooks for Kenneth Gainwell, Michael Carter, Emeka Egbuka, Breece Hall, Chris Godwin Jr., Kyren Williams, Harold Fannin Jr., D'Andre Swift, Khalil Shakir, Tre Tucker.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 17 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Kenneth Gainwell, Michael Carter, Emeka Egbuka, Breece Hall, Chris Godwin Jr., Kyren Williams, Harold Fannin Jr., D'Andre Swift, Khalil Shakir, Tre Tucker. 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:
Harold Fannin Jr., TE, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. has been one of the few bright spots for the Browns' offense this season. The 21-year-old rookie has taken the league by storm with 70 receptions for 701 yards with five touchdowns on 105 targets. Fannin has recently taken his game up a notch during the most important part of the fantasy football season.
Over the last four weeks, Fannin has been a TE1 and has finished as a Top-2 tight end twice in PPR leagues. During that stretch, he has commanded 36 targets and found the end zone three times. There has yet to be an offensive rookie to take a firm grip on the 2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year race. If Fannin continues to put up big numbers over his last two games, he could set himself up to become the second-ever tight end to win the award.
Michael Carter, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter had 11 carries for 65 yards in the 26-19 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The Cardinals have been decimated by injuries this season, especially in their RB room. James Conner (ankle), Trey Benson (knee), and Bam Knight (ankle) are all on injured reserve, leaving Carter and Emari Demercado as the two lead backs.
Carter played 54% of the snaps and led the team in carries, while Demercado played 30% of the snaps. Their Week 17 matchup brings some upside, as they face the Cincinnati Bengals, who have allowed the most fantasy points to running backs this season. While he entered the season as an afterthought in Arizona, he could determine fantasy championships this week and offers low-end RB2 value against this struggling Bengals defense.
Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
As the 2025 season has progressed, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell has emerged as one of his team's most reliable all-purpose weapons. Over his last six games, the 26-year-old has recorded 568 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns on 84 touches. Gainwell has earned 38 targets in that six-game stretch and has now hauled in at least five receptions in five out of his last six outings. The Steelers continue to deploy a near 50/50 split in the backfield between Gainwell and Jaylen Warren, which limits the upside for both players to some degree.
However, as long as Gainwell continues to function as a featured piece in the Pittsburgh passing game, he should provide a safe production floor in PPR fantasy leagues. In any league where he remains available, Gainwell is a must-add player off the waiver wire heading into his Week 17 matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
Chris Godwin Jr., WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr. has been a consistent target on offense, and his steady role should make him a priority waiver wire target for Week 17. Godwin has 24 targets, 17 catches, 183 yards, and one touchdown over his last four games. He has tallied double-digit fantasy points in three of those four contests, and he ranks as the overall WR31 in half-PPR leagues during that span. Although Godwin remains the No. 2 option behind Mike Evans, he has been able to carve out solid volume in all of his games.
He should continue to handle plenty of targets as this Baker Mayfield-led offense pushes for a playoff berth. The 29-year-old receiver ranks as a strong WR3 option ahead of Week 17 against the Miami Dolphins, who have allowed the 10th-most touchdowns to wide receivers in 2025. The struggling Dolphins just allowed Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to combine for 162 yards and a touchdown.
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 - Kenneth Gainwell, Michael Carter, Emeka Egbuka, Breece Hall, Chris Godwin Jr., Kyren Williams, Harold Fannin Jr., D'Andre Swift, Khalil Shakir, Tre Tucker. 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 Kenneth Gainwell, Michael Carter, Emeka Egbuka, Breece Hall, Chris Godwin Jr., Kyren Williams, Harold Fannin Jr., D'Andre Swift, Khalil Shakir, Tre Tucker:
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