Even though I left Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty and his 30.8 fantasy points on my bench last weekend (whoopsie daisy), I managed to sneak my way into our league finals. For that, I thank, among others, 49ers QB Brock Purdy (31.9 fantasy points, QB1) and TE George Kittle (17.5, TE1), as well as Falcons RB Bijan Robinson (22.8, RB6) and Cowboys WR George Pickens (19.0, WR5).
In my two-QB, two-TE league, I racked up 247.70 points. Ta-da.
Now if I’m being honest, here, I’m just happy to make it into the finals, because the way my league’s payout system is structured, the runner-up gets their buy-in back, while the winner gets everything else. So as long as I don’t have to go out of pocket, I’m good.
Which brings us to our Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em, NFL Week 17.
In the championship round, you start your best players, period. No sleepers, no shots-in-the-dark, just your point-getters.
Thing is, some of your point-getters might be dinged up — after all, come Week 17, everybody’s dinged up — so chances are pretty good you’ll have to dig somewhat deep into your roster and/or your waiver wire for a starter…but how deep should you dig?
Let’s pull out our shovels and find out.
Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em, NFL Week 17
Here’s who to consider throwing into your lineup or parking on the bench in your fantasy finale.
Saints QB Tyler Shough: Start ‘Em
Saints @ Titans - 1:00 p.m. ET
If repicking the 2025 NFL Draft were a thing, do you think Tennessee would’ve grabbed QB Cam Ward? Yeah, me neither.
Sure, they needed a quarterback, and sure, Ward was the top-ranked prospect at the position, but the dude — who enters Week 17 as fantasy’s QB24 — isn’t yet what we in the football industry like to refer to as “good.”
But Tyler Shough, the Louisville product who the Saints chose 39 spots behind Ward, is, indeed, good…or at least he’s better than Ward, having racked up 119.3 fantasy points to Cam’s 167.4…and Shough started eight fewer games.
Shough and Ward go face-to-face on Sunday, and the Saints are on a heater (there’s something you don’t hear every day), having won three in a row, two of which came over teams in the playoff mix, those being Carolina and Tampa Bay.
For their part, Tennessee has shown some signs of life, winning two of their last three. Granted, the dubs came over a crippled Chiefs squad and a Browns team in free-fall. But over that stretch, they’ve given up the third-most fantasy points to opposing QBs.
Second-rounder Shough will want to smack down first-rounder Ward, so if you’re in a QB pickle, you could do worse.
Tyler Shough PrizePicks Projection: 216.5 Pass Yards
Browns QB Shedeur Sanders: Sit ‘Em
Browns vs. Steelers - 1:00 p.m. ET
While we’re on the subject of Cam Ward, here’s a question for you: Who will have a better NFL career, No. 1 pick Ward, or No. 144 pick Shedeur Sanders?
If you’re gauging by fantasy point average, it’s Sanders by a half a mile, with Baby Prime dropping 13.1 per game as opposed to Ward’s 11.2.
That said, Sanders is coming off a pair of rough fantasy outings, averaging a hair over 9 points in his last two games. We could see some progression this week, as the Steelers allow the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing QBs, but the Steelers are playing for postseason positioning, and the Browns are playing because they have to. So unless you’re in a 30-team league, just say no.
Shedeur Sanders PrizePicks Projection: 159.5 Pass Yards
Jaguars RB Travis Etienne Jr.: Start ‘Em
Jaguars @ Colts - 1:00 p.m. ET
I’m writing this about 10 hours after the 49ers straight-up abused the Colts on Monday Night Football to the tune of 48-27. To exactly nobody’s surprise, Niners RB Christian McCaffrey caused much of the damage, racking up 146 scrimmage yards, 2 tuddies, and 26.6 fantasy points (RB1). And Indy allowed 34.6 total fantasy points to San Fran’s backfield, the sixth-most of the week.
Meanwhile down in Florida, ever so quietly, Etienne climbed up to RB9 for the season, topping the likes of Philly’s Saquon Barkley and Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs, a pair of big-name bell cow backs who you likely drafted way ahead of Etienne.
Both teams are fighting for postseason positioning — actually, the Colts are fighting for a spot, period — so the stars will probably come out to play. And here in 2025, Travis Etienne Jr. is damn near a star.
Travis Etienne Jr. PrizePicks Projection: 68.5 Rush Yards
Lions RB David Montgomery: Sit ‘Em
Lions @ Vikings - 4:30 p.m. ET (Christmas Day football)
As a Bears guy, I’ve seen up close what head coach Ben Johnson can do as a play caller.
Dude’s good. Like, really good.
Without Johnson, the former Lions offensive coordinator, calling their plays, Detroit’s team rushing average plummeted from 146.4 per game last season to 123.4. And Monty — who, as a Bears guy, I legit love — suffered the brunt of the slide, seeing his TD total fall from 12 to 8. Granted, he still has two more games left to pad his stats, but do you see him finding paydirt 4 times? Yeah, me neither.
The Vikings have had a less-than-good year, currently boasting a record of 7-8, but they’re not terrible at stopping the run, allowing 127.6 rush yards per game.
That all being the case, consider Montgomery a low-end RB2, and a low-end RB2 ain’t winning you a fantasy championship.
David Montgomery PrizePicks Projection: 70.5 Rush Yards
Jaguars WR Parker Washington: Start ‘Em
Jaguars @ Colts - 1:00 p.m. ET
I think we can all agree that Brian Thomas Jr. is no longer Jacksonville’s WR1.
Granted, Thomas — who finished fourth in last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year voting — missed seven games this season, and never really found his groove, currently sitting as fantasy WR44.
Washington, however, planted his flag on Sunday, dropping 145 yards and a TD on a generally excellent Broncos defense. With Jags QB Trevor Lawrence playing out of his mind — he was Week 16’s QB2 and Week 15’s QB1 — and the Colts licking their wounds after Monday Night's Purdy Fest, the third-year man out of Penn State could make for a fantastic flex play.
Unless you dropped him after Week 8. Like I did.
Parker Washington PrizePicks Projection: 31.5 Receiving Yards
Raiders WR Tre Tucker: Sit ‘Em
Raiders vs. Giants - 4:05 p.m. ET
The only Raiders I’d consider slotting into my fantasy starting lineup are RB Ashton Jeanty and TE Brock Bowers — and if there were even a slightly better option, I’d bench either of them without hesitation, as PFF ranks Vegas’ O-line as the 23rd-worst in the league.
That said, I don’t care if Tucker is a WR1, nor do I care if he’s averaging 5.6 targets over his last five games, nor do I care that he’s facing a Giants team that allows the 14th-most fantasy points to opposing receivers. Tucker is saddled with his garbage O-line, and he’s catching balls from QB Geno Smith, so thanks, but no thanks.
Bears TE Colston Loveland: Start ‘Em
Bears @ 49ers - 8:20 p.m. ET (Sunday Night Football)
As noted, I’m a Bears guy, so I have to include a Bear, and what better than the rookie out of Penn State.
After a wobbly start to the season, the former Michigan Wolverine finished as a top-ten fantasy TE in two of the last five weeks, and hasn’t seen less than 4 targets in a game since Week 4.
The aforementioned coach Johnson will stare down Niners head man Kyle Shanahan, another brainiac who likes to be all silly and daring with his offenses. If you don’t think Ben Johnson will want to show up his San Fran counterpart, well, you don’t know Ben Johnson.
And what better way to get silly and daring than with an athletic, hungry rookie tight end.
Seahawks TE A.J. Barner: Sit ‘Em
Seahawks @ Panthers - 1:00 p.m. ET
There was a two-week period in mid-season where I insisted — insisted — that you insert Barner into your lineup, all because of his 2-touchdown outing in Week 5. Since then, the former Indiana product has found paydirt just once, and is currently a middling TE14 in FantasyLand.
The fact that the Panthers allow TEs an average of 6.8 fantasy points per game doesn’t exactly help Barner’s cause.
Good luck in your finals!
More PrizePicks’ Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Ems to Come in 2026!
We hope you enjoyed visiting PrizePicks Playbook throughout your fantasy football season for our Start 'Em, Sit 'Em breakdowns — hopefully they helped you win real money on NFL games.
The NFL playoffs kick off in two-ish weeks, so be prepared to pick your players, predict More or Less on their season-long stats, and lock in your Lineup to win real money when you're right.
