Who Should I Start for Week 17? Fantasy Football outlooks for Jalen Hurts, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams, Jacoby Brissett, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Drake Maye, Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 17 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Jalen Hurts, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams, Jacoby Brissett, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Drake Maye, Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins. 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:
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been superb in the back half of the season, and there's reason to believe he'll keep the good times rolling against the hosting Indianapolis Colts this Sunday. The Clemson product has been on a tear over the last month. Since Week 13, he's averaging a robust 270.5 passing yards per game with a sterling 12:0 TD:INT ratio. Moreover, he's begun utilizing his legs more often, adding strong production on the ground with a career-high seven rushing scores on the campaign, including five since Week 9.
While Indy's defense has been a formidable spot for fantasy QBs, it's affording opposing offenses the second-most passing yards per game (250.7). With Lawrence playing on another level and the emergence of wide receivers Jakobi Meyers and Parker Washington, the signal-caller is in an excellent position to continue his recent torrid pace, and slots in as a high-end QB1 for Sunday's matchup.
Jacoby Brissett, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett enters Week 17 as a QB1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, who allow the fourth most fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season. Week 16 was underwhelming for Brissett, as he threw for only 203 yards and one touchdown with an interception. Before Week 16, Brissett had finished as a QB12 or better on the week in nine consecutive contests since he took over as the starter in Week 6, and he deserves a pass for his poor showing in Week 16, where he only scored 11.62 points.
Looking forward to Week 17, he should be fired up with confidence as Marvin Harrison Jr. is back from injury and should help the offense even more, combined with his rapport with Trey McBride and Michael Wilson, which has allowed Brissett to elevate his play and make both of those players tremendous fantasy assets during the second half of the fantasy season. On the season as a whole, Brissett has thrown for 2,911 yards and 19 touchdowns with seven interceptions in 12 games played. RotoBaller ranks Brissett as the QB9 this week.
Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is coming off one of his best performances of the season in last Thursday's 38-37 shootout with the Seahawks, and remains a high-end fantasy option moving forward. Stafford tossed three touchdowns across 457 yards in Week 16's defeat. The yardage total was a career-high, and it was the eighth time he'd thrown at least three TDs and no interceptions in the 2025 campaign.
The former Georgia Bulldog has been lights out this season, and managers can continue rolling him out with confidence deep into the fantasy playoffs. While LA may decide to sit the veteran and other starters in Week 18 depending on this weekend's outcomes, Stafford will be afforded an excellent outing on Monday night against a Falcons' defense that's yielded 24 points per game -- ranking in the bottom third of the league.
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (foot) was limited on Wednesday after sitting out of Tuesday's walkthrough. Allen suffered a foot injury in the Bills' Week 16 win over the Browns, and while he didn't miss any time, he was seen getting attention on the sideline. With Buffalo still in the hunt for a sixth consecutive AFC East title, the expectation is that he will be available for the team's Week 17 matchup with the Eagles, but any limitations to Allen's mobility could cap his fantasy ceiling against a Philadelphia defense that has held opposing quarterbacks to nearly four points below expectation.
Fantasy managers will need to continue monitoring his status heading into championship weekend, though in most cases, anyone who has gotten this far with Allen at quarterback is unlikely to find a more attractive option with a title on the line.
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 - Jalen Hurts, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams, Jacoby Brissett, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Drake Maye, Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins. 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 Jalen Hurts, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams, Jacoby Brissett, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Drake Maye, Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins:
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