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Justin's fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 17 of 2025. He looks at surprising performances from Ashton Jeanty, Jaylen Warren, Parker Washington, Quentin Johnston, A.J. Barner.
Welcome back to Fact or Fiction, RotoBaller's weekly look at some of the NFL's most shocking performances. For most of you, this is it: the Super Bowl of fantasy football. Championship week is here, so only one thing matters: winning your fantasy football game.
With that in mind, there's no looking ahead this week. There's no way to analyze if a random player has stash value. The only thing that matters is winning.
Let's talk about the Week 16 performances from Ashton Jeanty, Jaylen Warren, Parker Washington, Quentin Johnston, and A.J. Barner. Will they be able to repeat this in Week 17 to lead your fantasy team to a championship?
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Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
Week 16 stats: 24 carries for 128 yards and a touchdown, one catch for 60 yards and a touchdown -- overall RB1
If I told you before this season began that Ashton Jeanty would have an overall RB1 week late in the year, you'd probably say, "yeah, sure, that makes sense."
If I told you this a week ago, though, you'd be like "what???," because the rookie first-round pick simply hasn't lived up to the hype at all. Before this performance, Jeanty had finished as RB34 or worse in four of the last five games.
Finally, Jeanty looked like the player that the Raiders expected him to be. He consistently ran through contact, pushing forward for extra yards against a stout Texans defense, and scored on a long touchdown reception where he had to fight his way to the end zone.
GENO TO JEANTY FOR THE 60-YARD TD!
LVvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/k8CknFOEcy
— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2025
At the same time, the fact that Jeanty had to run through contact so much speaks to how bad the Raiders' offensive line is, and that makes it tough to project Jeanty's week-to-week production. It's possible that he's just never able to gain much traction.
Luckily, Jeanty faces the Giants this week, a team that's allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. Yes, there's a low floor based on his recent showings, but the matchup and last week's strong performance give him enough upside that he should be played in all formats.
Verdict: I'm not totally sold on Jeanty, but you have to start him this week because of the upside
Jaylen Warren, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 16 stats: 14 carries for 143 yards and two touchdowns, two catches for eight yards -- overall RB3
After rushing for 35 yards or fewer in three consecutive games, Steelers running back Jaylen Warren finally got back on track against the Lions, rushing for 143 yards and two touchdowns. It was his first time finishing as a fantasy RB1 since Week 9.
It was a good showing, but two things worry me heading into Week 17.
First is that Warren was limited in practice to start the week. Head coach Mike Tomlin didn't disclose what Warren's injury is, but did say he was "optimistic" that the Steelers will have Warren back for the game against Cleveland. This is something worth monitoring.
The other concern is simply that Warren's risky because he's in a timeshare with Kenneth Gainwell. Warren's played over half of Pittsburgh's snaps just once in the past seven games as the team has cut things fairly evenly down the middle. That stresses the importance of each touch and makes it more likely he'll do what he did against the Dolphins a couple of weeks ago, when he finished with 33 rushing yards and was the RB40.
Verdict: Warren's a fine RB3 option, but I wouldn't expect a repeat of last week
Parker Washington, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 16 stats: six catches for 145 yards and a touchdown -- overall WR4
The Jaguars' offense kicked into high gear against Denver, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence throwing three touchdowns. The first of those went to Parker Washington, who finished the game with six catches for 145 yards and a score.
This was the best game we've seen this season out of Washington, who looked like the best receiver on a team with Jakobi Meyers and Brian Thomas Jr., but that's also part of the problem going forward: Jacksonville has a lot of options.
That makes it tough to trust Washington against the Colts this weekend, but it's worth noting that the Indianapolis defense has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to the wide receiver position. There's upside here because of the matchup, but the fact that his targets could easily go to Meyers or Thomas makes him risky, and it doesn't help that Thomas has played very well against this team in the past.
Brian Thomas Jr. is going to have a nice week in the fantasy championship.
Thomas dominates the Colts:
3 REC, 87 YDS
7 REC, 103 YDS
5 REC, 122 YDS, 1 TDI feel like Parker Washington is a trap.
Washington went off because Pat Surtain locked down Thomas.
— Frank Ammirante (@FAmmiranteTFJ) December 23, 2025
Verdict: Washington has appeal as a streaming WR4 option, but he's definitely risky
Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
Week 16 stats: six catches for 85 yards and a touchdown -- overall WR7
It feels like a common theme of this week's column is players who had good moments earlier in the season before hitting a wall.
Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston had over 70 receiving yards in each of the first four games of the season, but Sunday's win over the Cowboys marked the first time since then that he'd reached that mark, and this performance came one game after Johnston was held to two catches for eight yards against the Eagles.
herbo + Q >>>>>
📺 | @nflonfox pic.twitter.com/62udb60dVx
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) December 21, 2025
It was a good reminder that Johnston is a talented receiver who can have these explosive games, but it can't negate what we've seen over recent weeks, which is that Johnston's role in Los Angeles isn't very clear. His five targets were his most since Week 10, and he's topped six targets just once since Week 4.
To add to the concern, Johnston faces the Texans' defense this week. Houston has shown a few more holes over the last two games, but the Texans are still one of the league's top defensive units. They've also largely shut down opposing wide receivers, holding the position to the second-fewest fantasy points per game of any NFL team.
Verdict: Fiction
A.J. Barner, TE, Seattle Seahawks
Week 16 stats: four catches for 49 yards and one touchdown -- overall TE5
Over the first five games of the 2025 season, Seahawks tight end A.J. Barner found the end zone four times. Then came a nine-game streak without a score, which was finally broken on Thursday against the Rams.
Barner's 50 scrimmage yards also marked his first time hitting that mark since Nov. 16 against the Rams. We, uhh...should be concerned that his last good game against a team that wasn't the Rams was Oct. 12, right?
Probably! Barner's an intriguing long-term option, but you have to have a better option to start at tight end in the fantasy championship game, right? Barner hasn't been consistent enough to trust.
It also doesn't help that Carolina has only allowed five touchdowns to the position this season. Things are working against Barner, who is a mid-range TE2 option in a week where fantasy managers can't afford to play a mid-range TE2.
Verdict: Fiction
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 17 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Ashton Jeanty, Jaylen Warren, Parker Washington, Quentin Johnston, and A.J. Barner. But not to worry, we are here to help 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.
Week 17 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Ashton Jeanty, Jaylen Warren, Parker Washington, Quentin Johnston, and A.J. Barner. 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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's 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, player 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 circles), 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 Ashton Jeanty, Jaylen Warren, Parker Washington, Quentin Johnston, and A.J. Barner:
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