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Who Should I Start for Week 17? Fantasy Football outlooks for Michael Carter, Ashton Jeanty, Kyle Monangai, Tony Pollard, Kareem Hunt, Bucky Irving, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Xavier Worthy, TreVeyon Henderson, Kimani Vidal.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 17 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Michael Carter, Ashton Jeanty, Kyle Monangai, Tony Pollard, Kareem Hunt, Bucky Irving, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Xavier Worthy, TreVeyon Henderson, Kimani Vidal. 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:
Michael Carter, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter had 11 carries for 65 yards in the 26-19 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The Cardinals have been decimated by injuries this season, especially in their RB room. James Conner (ankle), Trey Benson (knee), and Bam Knight (ankle) are all on injured reserve, leaving Carter and Emari Demercado as the two lead backs. Carter played 54% of the snaps and led the team in carries, while Demercado played 30% of the snaps.
Their Week 17 matchup brings some upside, as they face the Cincinnati Bengals, who have allowed the most fantasy points to running backs this season. While he entered the season as an afterthought in Arizona, he could determine fantasy championships this week and offers low-end RB2 value against this struggling Bengals defense.
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty once again dominated the Raiders' backfield, turning his 24 rushing attempts into 128 yards and one touchdown in Sunday's 23-21 loss to the Houston Texans. The electric rookie also had a 60-yard touchdown reception, putting up 31.8 PPR fantasy points for managers brave enough to start him against the stout Texans defense.
This is Jeanty's second 100-yard rushing game this season, and he almost certainly will keep his bell cow role as the season comes to a close in two weeks. The Las Vegas Raiders will host the New York Giants in Week 17, whose defense is a top-three matchup for opposing running backs. Fantasy managers should feel confident in starting Jeanty in Week 17 in all formats.
Kimani Vidal, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers running back Kimani Vidal was diagnosed with a neck strain and is considered day-to-day after an MRI, according to Ian Rapoport. Vidal left Sunday's win over the Dallas Cowboys early in the fourth quarter. Before his exit, Vidal had five carries for 11 rushing yards. The Chargers leaned on rookie Omarion Hampton and Hassan Haskins to close out the game on the ground.
The 24-year-old has stepped up when needed this season, totaling 152 carries for 631 yards and three touchdowns. Vidal could miss some time, but the belief is that the injury is not serious. If Vidal does miss time, Hampton and Haskins will get more work in the backfield in his absence.
Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears
Dating back to Week 10, Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai has recorded double-digit touches in six straight games. While the 23-year-old remains stuck in a backfield time share with veteran running back D'Andre Swift, the Bears have shown a willingness to force-feed the ball to both players every week. Monangai has rewarded his team with efficient rushing as well. Across 15 games this season, he's logged 731 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 155 carries, averaging 4.7 yards per rush attempt. Swift remains the lead back in Chicago, but just barely.
Monangai has played at least 41% of his team's offensive snaps in five straight games. In that five-game stretch, Swift has recorded 70 carries while Monangai has logged 68. As long as the split between the two backs remains close to even, the Bears' rushing offense is powerful enough to support production from two players. In fantasy leagues where he remains available, Monangai is a priority waiver wire target heading into his Week 17 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.
TreVeyon Henderson, RB, New England Patriots
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said on Tuesday that rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson (concussion) is in the NFL's concussion protocol, per ESPN's Mike Reiss. Henderson was forced to exit early from New England's Week 16 win over the Baltimore Ravens after suffering a head injury. He will now need to clear the league's testing to be available for the Patriots' Week 17 matchup against the New York Jets.
Across 15 games this season, the 23-year-old has racked up 997 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns on 183 touches. Coming into Week 16, Henderson had recorded at least 75 scrimmage yards in seven straight games, scoring seven touchdowns in that stretch. If he's unavailable in Week 17, Rhamondre Stevenson would likely be in line to dominate New England's backfield snaps against the Jets.
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 - Michael Carter, Ashton Jeanty, Kyle Monangai, Tony Pollard, Kareem Hunt, Bucky Irving, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Xavier Worthy, TreVeyon Henderson, Kimani Vidal. 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 Michael Carter, Ashton Jeanty, Kyle Monangai, Tony Pollard, Kareem Hunt, Bucky Irving, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Xavier Worthy, TreVeyon Henderson, Kimani Vidal:
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