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RotoBaller staff's fantasy football sleepers, avoids, and start 'em sit 'em picks for Week 17 of 2025. Expert lineup advice from Adam Koffler, Frank Ammirante, and Thunder Dan Palyo.
The final week of the fantasy football season in most leagues has arrived. Only two teams remain, and one win stands between you and the fantasy football championship. It's never been more important to nail your lineup calls by finding under-the-radar sleepers and avoiding potential landmines. As always, we're here to assist!
It's time for the last edition of our RotoBaller staff start-or-sit calls. Three of the industry's best analysts are here to break down potential sleepers and busts ahead of the full slate of Week 17 NFL action.
These fantasy football sleepers, avoids, and busts are from top RotoBaller contributors Adam Koffler, Frank Ammirante, and "Thunder Dan" Palyo.
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Week 17 Fantasy Football Start 'Em Picks
Blake Corum, Rams at Falcons (Adam Koffler)
Corum continues to rack up yards and touchdowns. He’s scored in each of his last four games and is averaging 82 rushing yards on 11 carries per game in his last four games. The Rams are 8-point road favorites against the Falcons on Monday night with an implied total of 28.8 points. Atlanta allows the 8th-most rushing yards per game this season and has nothing to play for in Week 17. Expect a hungry Rams team coming off a tough loss against Seattle in Week 16 to pound the ball and score a ton of points on Monday night. Corum will be a beneficiary of the lopsided game script.
Blake Corum rumbles 48 yards for the TD!
LARvsAZ on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/aroS7jo0iI
— NFL (@NFL) December 7, 2025
Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots at Jets (Frank Ammirante)
UPDATE: Henderson has cleared concussion protocol and is expected to play.
With TreVeyon Henderson in concussion protocol, there's a good chance that Rhamondre Stevenson will carry the load in the Patriots' backfield in a smash spot against the Jets. The Pats are double-digit favorites in this game, so they're projected to play with a lead, which means more rushing volume for Rhamondre. The Jets rank 30th in fantasy points per game allowed to running backs, making this a smash spot for Rhamondre. We saw him put up 88 yards and a touchdown against the Titans earlier this year. We could see something similar here.
Tony Pollard, Titans vs. Saints (Thunder Dan)
Pollard is enjoying a late-season resurgence, stacking up three consecutive 100-yard games for Tennessee, and now he will face a mediocre Saints defense that definitely can be run on. You'd think that the Titans would be letting Cam Ward sling it around as much as possible, but they've been extremely run-heavy in their two wins this month over Cleveland and Kansas City, with Polland carrying the ball over 20 times in each game. Tennessee is just a 2.5-point underdog here, so in a close game script, I would expect Pollard to see plenty of work, and he could easily provide some solid RB2 or FLEX value, especially if he finds the end zone.
Parker Washington, Jaguars at Colts (Adam Koffler)
This isn’t points chasing. Washington is a legit weapon in the Jaguars’ passing attack. After another double-digit target game in Week 16, Washington has now earned double-digit targets in three games this season. Brian Thomas Jr. has just two such games. Per PlayerProfiler, Washington is top-25 in target rate (24.1%), first downs per route run (0.101), and yards per route run (2.04).
There’s more competition for targets now that Jakobi Meyers is in town, but there should be enough to go around against a bad Colts secondary, allowing the most receptions per game (13.4) to opposing wideouts this season. Not only that, but the Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence have found success recently through the air (second in neutral pass rate in the last three weeks), so there’s no reason to believe that won’t continue in Week 17. Start Washington.
Trevor Lawrence to Parker Washington for the TD!
JAXvsDEN on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/cHFgVwot0m
— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2025
Michael Carter, Cardinals at Bengals (Frank Ammirante)
Michael Carter disappointed us against the Falcons last week, but he was still pretty efficient, rushing for 65 yards on only 11 carries. Perhaps the Cardinals will try to get Carter more involved against the Bengals, who rank 32nd in fantasy points per game allowed to running backs. This game looks like a projected shootout, featuring the second-highest total on the slate. You're going to want to get some players in this game, with Carter being one of them. Don't be discouraged by last week's disappointment vs. the Falcons.
Michael Mayer, Raiders vs. Giants (Thunder Dan)
Brock Bowers is on IR for the last two games of the season, and now Mayer steps into a very valuable role in this offense. Even though Mayer doesn't have the same talent and athleticism as Bowers, he should still be a significant part of the Raiders' passing attack, as they lack other dependable options in the receiver room. He had mixed results as a starter in Bowers' place this year, but his one good game was very solid as he went 5-50-1 against Tennessee back in October.
Week 17 Fantasy Football Busts and Sits
Taysom Hill, Saints at Titans (Adam Koffler)
In Week 16, in front of Saints faithful in New Orleans, Hill became the first player in the Super Bowl era to accumulate 1,000 passing yards, 1,000 rushing yards, and 1,000 receiving yards. Alvin Kamara was out, Devin Neal was out, but it felt like Hill’s utilization came out of left field.
He had six targets, whereas he hadn’t earned more than two in any other game this season. His route participation rate was also on the low side (just 36%), so don’t expect another six targets against the Titans. Last week’s game was possibly his last in front of Saints fans at the Superdome, and the record has been achieved. It feels like we’re chasing points with Taysom in Week 17.
Tyrone Tracy Jr., Giants at Raiders (Frank Ammirante)
Tyrone Tracy Jr. has been rock-solid with heavier usage lately, but the Giants are a tanking team. The loser of this game against the Raiders is essentially locked into the first overall pick. With an interim coaching staff led by Mike Kafka, I'm not too confident about this offense, especially what we saw against the Vikings last week. It was extremely vanilla playcalling. With that in mind, I don't want to trust the Giants in the fantasy championship. I'd rather play Carter than Tracy this week.
Emeka Egbuka, Buccaneers at Dolphins (Thunder Dan)
It's not a bad matchup this week by any means, but Egbuka bottomed out last week with just an 8% target share and finished with just one catch for 40 yards. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin present a ton of competition for targets, and the running game behind Bucky Irving could also be a priority for Tampa here, especially if they can get out to a lead early. He had a great rookie season, but there's no reason to force him into lineups this week. He's a desperation flex play here at best.
Breece Hall, Jets vs. Patriots (Adam Koffler)
Since Brady Cook took over at quarterback for the Jets, Hall is averaging just 6.1 fantasy points per game. His usage in the passing game has taken a hit as well since the bye week. Before the bye, he averaged 3.8 targets per game. Since then, just 2.1. Isaiah Davis has also worked in more in the last two games, averaging 8.5 touches per contest. The Jets have a tough matchup vs. the Patriots this weekend with an implied team total of just 14.5. It wouldn’t be shocking to see them limit Hall’s workload here with nothing to play for.
Ladd McConkey, Chargers vs. Texans (Frank Ammirante)
It's hard to start Ladd McConkey against the Texans, who have one of the best defenses in the NFL. Justin Herbert is likely to be under duress against this tough pass rush, plus McConkey's production has been volatile all year. If that's not enough for you, the Texans are allowing the fewest fantasy points per game to wideouts this season. I would suggest just staying clear of McConkey this week.
Dallas Goedert, Eagles at Bills (Thunder Dan)
Harold Fannin Jr. was the first tight end to make any real noise against the Bills all season last week, but I think that was more of a product of the Browns force feeding him targets and using him as a very non-traditional TE and more like a wide receiver. Goedert has had a great season, but this is a tough matchup for him, and the Eagles are far more likely to run the football and keep feeding their top two wide receivers than look for Goedert. He's a touchdown-dependent play this week based on his lack of target volume, and if you have another option in a better spot, I'd consider sitting him down.
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