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Who Should I Start for Week 17? Fantasy Football outlooks for Ashton Jeanty, Wan'Dale Robinson, Khalil Shakir, Tyrone Tracy Jr., DeVonta Smith, Theo Johnson, Jaxson Dart, Tre Tucker, Jalen Hurts, Dalton Kincaid.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 17 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Ashton Jeanty, Wan'Dale Robinson, Khalil Shakir, Tyrone Tracy Jr., DeVonta Smith, Theo Johnson, Jaxson Dart, Tre Tucker, Jalen Hurts, Dalton Kincaid. 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:
DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (illness) does not carry an injury designation heading into the weekend. Smith snapped a five game scoreless streak last week against the Commanders, with his six receptions also being his most in an outing since Week 12. While the touchdown helped out his final stat line, the Philly wideout has still finished a game with more than 50 receiving yards just once in his last six performances.
This Sunday, he'll line up against a tough Buffalo defense that has given up just 17 passing touchdowns this season-tied for fourth-fewest in the league. Smith does get a decent amount of looks though, averaging 7.4 targets per game in the last five weeks. Scoring in back-to-back weeks seems unlikely, so managers have to bank on Smith returning to mid-season form and upping his overall production. Consider him a low-end WR3/FLEX with an unfavorable matchup in Week 17.
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty had the best game of his young career last week, logging a career-high in touches (25), carries (24), receiving yards (60), and scrimmage yards (188). He also had 128 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns. The rookie managed to turn in this impressive performance despite a challenging matchup against the Houston Texans, whose run defense has played very well in 2025. He'll move on to a much softer matchup in Week 17, when he takes on the New York Giants.
The Giants have allowed the third-most rushing yards and fifth-most fantasy points to running backs in 2025. Jeanty has been a lone bright spot in the Raiders' offense this year, and he should continue to see a large opportunity share in a favorable matchup with Brock Bowers (knee) done for the season. Jeanty is the RB6 in RotoBaller's latest fantasy rankings for Week 17, and he could possibly end up as this week's highest-scoring running back. It goes without saying that he should be started in all fantasy leagues.
Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts helped out fantasy managers last week with two passing touchdowns and his biggest day on the ground since Week 4, tallying 40 rushing yards. Hurts may have to rely on his legs some more in his upcoming game against the Bills, as Buffalo allows just 167.1 passing yards per game this season, which is the second-fewest in the league. Luckily, the Bills let Browns QB Shedeur Sanders scramble all around them last week as the rookie led his team with 49 rushing yards.
While it may be tough to get it going through the air, Hurts has shown he can score in more ways than one with his eight rushing touchdowns this season. In this high-octane clash of Super Bowl-hopefuls, expect Hurts to bring his A-game. Especially with his five passing touchdowns in his last two games, consider him a solid QB1 despite the slightly intimidating matchup.
Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's contest against the Philadelphia Eagles. The team's top tight end opened the week as a non-participant on Wednesday and Thursday before being upgraded to limited participation on Friday afternoon. Managers should continue to monitor his progress during the weekend. Kincaid is coming off a disappointing showing in Week 16, where he was unable to bring in his lone target and finish his day with 0.0 PPR points.
However, in Weeks 14 and 15, Kincaid averaged a solid 10.3 PPR points per game and saw 4.5 targets per game. With No. 2 tight end Dawson Knox (knee )also carrying a questionable tag, managers could see wideouts Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer, and Tyrell Shavers take on an increased role on Sunday.
Tre Tucker, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker is shaping up to be the Raiders' primary downfield receiving option in Week 17. The 24-year-old wide-out managed to overcome a terrible road matchup in Week 16 against the Houston Texans to haul in four of his five targets for 43 yards. The Raiders placed their primary pass-catching target, tight end Brock Bowers (knee), on season-ending IR after Week 16, and Tucker is likely to see increased usage in Week 17. Since Week 9, Tucker has averaged a 98% snap share and a near-perfect route participation rate, but has only 21 receptions for 228 yards and one touchdown off 41 targets over that span.
The third-year wide receiver's last touchdown was in Week 11 against the Dallas Cowboys, which was his first touchdown since his hat-trick performance in Week 3 against the Washington Commanders. Tucker has demonstrated a proclivity to perform at WR2 or higher levels against subpar pass defenses, which bodes well for his week 17 matchup against the New York Giants. The Giants' pass defense is a top-five matchup for wide receivers and, for the season, has given up an average of 30+ fantasy points to the position each game.
Due to injuries and a very favorable matchup, Tucker should warrant start consideration in deep, three-wide receiver leagues as a low-end WR3/Flex option.
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 - Ashton Jeanty, Wan'Dale Robinson, Khalil Shakir, Tyrone Tracy Jr., DeVonta Smith, Theo Johnson, Jaxson Dart, Tre Tucker, Jalen Hurts, Dalton Kincaid. 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 Ashton Jeanty, Wan'Dale Robinson, Khalil Shakir, Tyrone Tracy Jr., DeVonta Smith, Theo Johnson, Jaxson Dart, Tre Tucker, Jalen Hurts, Dalton Kincaid:
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