Week 17 Fantasy Football Busts? Players Who May Disappoint (2025)

December 26, 2025

Who should I start or sit for fantasy football in Week 17 of the 2025 season? Andrew's potential fantasy football busts to avoid in Week 17 fantasy football lineups.

The hard part is over. Now, it's up to the fantasy football gods.

The grind you underwent to clinch a spot in the fantasy championship proved to be well worth the time. One more week of managerial decisions could lead to a trophy, but a bit of bad luck could make it all for naught.

Below, we sort through the stats and find 10 fantasy football busts, or players who may disappoint, for Week 17 of the 2025 NFL season. Good luck, RotoBallers!

Michael Wilson (WR, ARI) at Cincinnati

If you survived the Trey McBride Week 16 dud, rejoice. He may go for 60 against the best matchup for tight ends, the Cincinnati Bengals.

While that's an exaggeration, fantasy football's TE1 will return to dominating target and reception numbers in Arizona. In a rarity, an Arizona running back didn't catch a pass in Week 16. It is fourth this season for running back targets. Week 16 was backward in the desert.

All this to say, the target numbers in Arizona should revert in Week 17, except maybe for Michael Wilson. The late-season surge exhibits a clear, yet problematic trend. Whenever Marvin Harrison Jr. is in the lineup, Wilson is mostly an afterthought. Yes, he scored on a spectacular touchdown against the Falcons, but it was one of just three targets.

MICHAEL WILSON WHAT A CATCH 😱

ATLvsAZ on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/eh1GMHMrFx

— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2025

Wilson also has modest production in Harrison's previous appearance: three catches for 36 yards on seven targets. In the four games Harrison sat out, Wilson averaged 15 targets.

If the volume isn't there, and there are clear advantages for the Arizona offense to attack (tight end and running back), then there are enough red flags to make fantasy managers nervous about Wilson this weekend.

Justin Jefferson (WR, MIN) vs. Detroit (Thursday)

Third-string quarterbacks may be the theme of this week's busts article. Remember the Max Brosmer experiment a few weeks ago? The undrafted rookie threw for 126 yards, zero touchdowns, and four interceptions. Justin Jefferson snagged two catches for four yards.

ERNEST JONES 84-YARD PICK-SIX

MINvsSEA on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/VA6dvef6w6

— NFL (@NFL) November 30, 2025

The two-time first-team All-Pro wide receiver shouldn't be that bad again. The matchup against the Lions is far better than the one against the Seahawks. However, Jefferson has had a string of plus matchups (defenses allowing the ninth-most, most, and fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers) and has been anywhere from bad to acceptable.

Detroit surrenders the second-most points to wideouts, but it feels as if Jefferson's six for 85 last week is his ceiling. And that was with J.J. McCarthy, who, incredibly, is a quarterback upgrade over Brosmer.

Breece Hall (RB, NYJ) vs. New England

Brady Cook was named New York's starting quarterback again in Week 17.

That's really all you need to know for Breece Hall's championship weekend outlook. The Jets are averaging 12 points per game with the undrafted rookie under center. He's being sacked on an absurd 14% of his dropbacks. He has seven turnovers in three starts. That's not creating many, if any, scoring opportunities for Hall.

Outside of Cook's sacks and turnovers, there is one offensive skill player for opposing defenses to worry about. Hall faces a stacked box at the ninth-highest rate among running backs. That's led to 2.85 yards per carry in games with Cook. His involvement in the passing game hasn't been much better. Cook has targeted him five times in this stretch.

The Patriots front seven, as evidenced by Derrick Henry's monster game, is beat up, and it's still not enough to convince me that Hall is worth a starting spot in championship matchups.

Tyrone Tracy Jr. (RB, NYG) at Las Vegas

Who actually wants to win this football game? I think the only answer is Pete Carroll.

The Raiders and Giants, both 2-13, are competing for the first overall pick in next year's NFL Draft. The loser of this game, while not guaranteed, has the inside track to be on the clock. With four teams at 3-12, the winner could fall several spots in the projected order.

The Raiders have already given up on their season, shelving All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers due to the knee issue he's been playing through.

The Raiders are placing star TE Brock Bowers on injured reserve today, officially ending his season, per sources.

Bowers has dealt with a knee injury since Week 1. With playoffs long out of reach, the decision was made to get it taken care of now and focus on being 100% in 2026. pic.twitter.com/6MipUECoO9

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 24, 2025

With back-to-back 70-yard rushing games, Tyrone Tracy Jr. has reestablished himself as a flex option. While the Raiders allow the 10th-most points per game to running backs, it's largely on volume.

The Raiders are constantly trailing and, therefore, have seen the fourth-most rush attempts this season. However, they actually only allow 3.8 yards per carry, tied for the second-best mark in the league.

The Raiders are favored in this game (believe it or not), and shouldn't see the ground volume they're used to seeing. Unless, of course, coaches decide to not-so-subtly tank and allow some third-stringers to see some extra work.

Woody Marks (RB, HOU) at Los Angeles Chargers (Saturday)

Woody Marks is back practicing after a one-game, ankle injury-induced absence. You may think you're getting a flex-caliber player back in your lineup. I'm here to tell you that you're wrong.

Marks' season-long inefficiency has been masked by volume. Veteran Nick Chubb has been slowly phased out of the offense, leading to an average of 18.6 carries per game for the rookie. Multiple visits to the blue medical tent, including the most recent one in Week 15 that knocked him out of the game, have proved that the 5'10" runner can't handle that kind of workload.

The difference between two weeks ago and now is Jawhar Jordan. The second-year back handled 17 and 20 touches, respectively, in the last two games. The efficiency against Las Vegas wasn't quite as good as it was against Arizona (3.5 versus 6.9 yards per touch), but his play has earned the trust of the coaching staff. Chubb saw just seven touches in Week 16.

Let's say we see a Marks-Jordan split akin to Chubb and Marks' midseason usage. That's going to end with two running backs who are better left on fantasy football benches, especially since the Texans are facing the Chargers, who allow the fifth-fewest points to running backs.

Rico Dowdle (RB, CAR) vs. Seattle

First, it was Chuba Hubbard. Then, it was Rico Dowdle. Now, it's a full-blown, dreaded committee.

Dowdle is still the "leader" of the backfield, but it's been at about a 60/40 split for the last three weeks. And the 27-year-old isn't taking advantage of his now reduced touches, failing to reach 60 rushing yards in any of the last six games. His yards per carry over that stretch? 2.9, 2.4, 6.3, 3.2, 3.1, and 3.2.

Now, Dowdle draws a Seattle defense that has given up the fourth-fewest rushing yards and fewest rushing touchdowns to the position this season. That includes just two scores in Seattle's last six games, despite stiff competition like Bijan Robinson and Jonathan Taylor.

Dowdle has a contract incentive worth playing for. He'll cash a $1 million check if he gains 70 more total yards this season. With two games left to do that, the Panthers won't force-feed him, especially when they need wins to clinch the NFC South.

Jared Goff (QB, DET) at Minnesota (Thursday)

Following another dominant performance, the Minnesota Vikings have vaulted to the second-best defense against fantasy football quarterbacks. This stretch has been brutal for signal-callers. Jared Goff, who last played against Minnesota in Week 9, is the most recent quarterback to throw for 200+ yards and multiple scores against the Vikings.

In fact, the Vikings haven't allowed a passing score in six weeks, and just one quarterback has surpassed 200 passing yards.

The Lions need to win out and have the Packers lose their remaining games to sneak back into the postseason. While Goff and Co. will be playing for their season on Christmas Day, it's an uphill battle. Even the slightest lack of motivation, especially against this Brian Flores defense, will lead to a down game for this season's QB9.

Justin Herbert (QB, LAC) vs. Houston (Saturday)

Good pass rush, bad pass rush, it doesn't matter. The Los Angeles Chargers offensive line is riddled with injuries and has the worst pass-block win rate in football. Justin Herbert is under pressure constantly. It's led to subpar fantasy football results.

He's been below 15 fantasy points in every game since Week 10, with last week being the lone exception. That speaks to the state of the Dallas defense, especially when defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was out of the lineup. A high-stakes, playoff-like atmosphere versus the Texans is the opposite of the cushy Dallas matchup.

Houston is allowing the fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season (a hair over 12 points per game). There's a laundry list of high-profile quarterbacks who have floundered against the Texans: Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Trevor Lawrence, to name a few. Odds are that Herbert adds his name to that list by the end of the week.

Travis Kelce (TE, KC) vs. Denver (Thursday)

Raise your hand if you had heard of Chris Oladokun before Sunday. Nobody? Thought so.

The Kansas City Chiefs are onto their third-string quarterback and have completely given up on a lost season. Even with a third-stringer under center, trying teams don't lose to the Tennessee Titans by 17 points.

With Rashee Rice on injured reserve and the running backs eating into each other's production, Travis Kelce is the only Chief even worth considering in Week 17. The Denver defense may not be all it's talked up to be. While still fifth in points per game allowed, it is middle of the pack in fantasy points per game to wide receivers and tight ends. Yet, it's still not enough to confidently start Kelce.

The mighty have fallen. Would you believe me if I told you that the Chiefs have the lowest implied point total of the Week 17 slate? Whenever that's the case, that's an offense to avoid.

Dallas Goedert (TE, PHI) at Buffalo

The Buffalo matchup is one we've tried to avoid all season long for tight ends, and Harold Fannin Jr.'s surprise success against it last week doesn't change much.

Fannin scored twice, but one was a late-game fullback belly. We know that the Eagles would never call that play on the goal line. The football is going straight forward in Jalen Hurts' hands.

Fannin's other touchdown was a nice 13-yard play. It was just the third receiving touchdown Buffalo has allowed this season. That's tied for the second-lowest mark in the league.

But, more concerning, is the volume. Fannin saw back-to-back games with double-digit targets in Weeks 14 and 15. That number plunged to six against Buffalo, which has seen 14 fewer targets and allowed 16 fewer receptions than the next best defense.

Dallas Goedert is not going to win on volume on Sunday. It's a touchdown-or-bust outlook with unfavorable odds. And, as always, keep an eye on the weather report. It's late December in upstate New York. Things could be a little nasty.

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