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Who Should I Start for Week 17? Fantasy Football outlooks for Colston Loveland, Brenton Strange, A.J. Barner, Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, Kyle Pitts Sr., Dallas Goedert, Tyler Warren, Mark Andrews, Oronde Gadsden II.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 17 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Colston Loveland, Brenton Strange, A.J. Barner, Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, Kyle Pitts Sr., Dallas Goedert, Tyler Warren, Mark Andrews, Oronde Gadsden II. 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:
Oronde Gadsden II, TE, Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden saw his role shrink significantly in the team's 34-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, recording just one catch for seven yards while playing only 59% of the snaps and posting a 3.5% target share. This marked his lowest usage since becoming a regular contributor, continuing a troubling post-bye trend in which his snap rate has dipped as the Chargers prioritize pass protection for their depleted offensive line. For the first time since Week 2, veteran Will Dissly out-targeted Gadsden, highlighting the rookie's diminishing involvement.
Week 17 brings a difficult matchup against the Houston Texans, who rank among the top pass defenses and top-10 units against tight ends in yards allowed. With declining playing time, reduced targets, and a challenging opponent, Gadsden should not be trusted in fantasy lineups during championship week.
Kyle Pitts Sr., TE, Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. continued his recent stretch of success in Sunday's 26-19 win over the Cardinals, hauling in seven of nine targets for 57 yards and a touchdown. It was the fourth straight game with at least eight targets and at least six catches, and the 25-year-old has quickly vaulted himself into the position of second-ranked tight end for fantasy this year after recording four touchdowns in the last two weeks alone (five on the season).
The 6-foot-6 pass catcher was able to perform in Week 16 despite the return of Drake London (knee), who played just 69 percent of the team's offensive snaps. Pitts draws a home matchup against the Rams in what is most likely the championship round of the fantasy playoffs for most managers, a defense that is middle of the pack in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends, although the Seahawks' AJ Barner just registered a 4-49-1 line in Week 16 against Los Angeles. With a solid role in the Atlanta offense, Pitts will surely be a TE1 in Week 17.
Darren Waller, TE, Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller has caught 23 of 31 targets for 283 yards and six touchdowns in eight games this season. The veteran has been one of the best red-zone threats in the league, scoring on 19% of his targets, best among tight ends with at least 20 targets. Despite playing just over half the season, the 33-year-old is one of only six tight ends with two or more games with multiple touchdowns.
Miami's offense didn't look as fantasy-friendly with rookie Quinn Ewers in the lineup for Tua Tagovailoa in Week 16, but Waller finished second on the team in targets and is a weekly threat to find the end zone. In leagues where he is available, Waller offers streaming appeal in 12-team leagues for Week 17's matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brenton Strange, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange hauled in five of seven targets for 93 yards and a touchdown in the 34-20 win over the Denver Broncos. Strange returned from a hip injury in Week 12 and hasn't looked back since, averaging 46 yards on 3.4 receptions and adding two touchdowns in the last five games. The third-year tight end is having a career-best season, averaging 9.2 PPR fantasy points per game and on pace to finish as the TE18.
With the Jaguars heating up, winning seven of their last eight and scoring over 25 points in each of those games, Strange will have opportunities to produce, especially in the red zone. There are plenty of options at the tight end position entering Week 17, but Strange could beat them all given the Jaguars' offensive firepower.
Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears
Across 14 games this season, Chicago Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland has recorded 42 receptions for 528 yards and four touchdowns on 58 targets. The 21-year-old has provided remarkably consistent production in the second half of the year. Loveland has recorded no fewer than three and no more than four receptions in each of his last seven games. In that stretch, he's also logged between four and six targets and between 29 and 63 receiving yards in every outing.
With Bears wideouts Rome Odunze (foot) and Luther Burden III (ankle) potentially set to miss the team's Week 17 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, Loveland could finally see a production spike. Even if his role remains the same, he's a good bet to continue to provide around 10 PPR fantasy points. In leagues where he remains available, Loveland should be viewed as a low-end TE1 option for fantasy managers to target on the waiver wire.
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 - Colston Loveland, Brenton Strange, A.J. Barner, Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, Kyle Pitts Sr., Dallas Goedert, Tyler Warren, Mark Andrews, Oronde Gadsden II. 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 Colston Loveland, Brenton Strange, A.J. Barner, Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, Kyle Pitts Sr., Dallas Goedert, Tyler Warren, Mark Andrews, Oronde Gadsden II:
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