To win your fantasy football championship, you can ill afford to have any underwhelming starters in your lineup. With all 32 teams in action and most skill position groups relatively healthy, a large player pool can make your start 'em, sit 'em decisions even tougher. Our Week 17 fantasy busts list is here to help, pointing out potential landmines like Najee Harris, Tyler Lockett, and Tyler Higbee who could undermine your chances of winning it all.
Even "must-starts" can struggle (we pray DeAndre Hopkins owners' made it to the fantasy championship), but you won't see those types of players among our bust picks unless we legitimately advise benching them. We target players on the start-sit bubble -- not obvious plays and not players owned in just a limited number of leagues. You might not have enough depth to bench the players below -- or you might just completely disagree with our picks -- but either way, it's your team, so make the decisions that work best for you.
We had a good feel for potential underperformers in Week 16, predicting uneasy showings from Deshaun Watson, Derek Carr, Tyler Boyd, Adam Thielen, K.J. Osborn, Cole Kmet, David Njoku, Gerald Everett, and Washington's D/ST. With the season on the line, we hope to be even better this week.
WEEK 17 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Start 'em, sit 'em
Win your fantasy league by shying away from our Week 17 bust picks.
Week 17 Fantasy Busts: Running backs
Najee Harris, Steelers @ Ravens (Sloan Piva). It's always difficult to bench a player you drafted in the first or second round, but chances are you have other options if you're competing in Week 17. Harris has exhibited a decent floor over the past few weeks, but his upside remains limited and TD-dependent in the feeble Steelers offense. The Ravens have allowed the sixth-fewest fantasy points to RBs this season, at one point surrendering just 53.1 ground yards per game during a six-game stretch between Weeks 8 and 14. If you can, pivot.
Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys at Titans (Vinnie Iyer). He's been living on TDs of late, and here's thinking he won’t get one against a tough power run defense on the road even if Tony Pollard (thigh) is out.
D’Onta Foreman, Panthers @ Buccaneers (Matt Lutovsky). When the Panthers are winning, Foreman gets a lot of carries and usually has success. When they’re losing – or even in a close game – Foreman disappears (28 carries, 56 yards in Carolina's past three losses). This NFC South slugfest figures to be close, and with Tampa allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points to RBs, there’s no reason to take a chance with Foreman outside of deep leagues
WEEK 17 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Week 17 Fantasy Busts: Quarterbacks
Tom Brady, Buccaneers vs. Panthers (Piva). Initially, I listed Derek Carr as my bust — but obviously, Josh McDaniels and company agreed because the Raiders announced Wednesday that they're benching him. Thus, I'll go with Brady, who has underwhelmed us as a fantasy asset pretty much all season. The old GOAT has averaged 15.7 fantasy points, eclipsing 18 points just three times and maintaining an average per-week ranking of QB16. Woof! Carolina has been surprisingly good at containing QBs this season, and the Panthers held TB to 12 points when these teams last met in Week 7. You might want to consider better options.
Deshaun Watson, Browns at Commanders (Iyer). It might seem like a rebound spot, but this figures to be a defensive grind of a game as both teams go run-heavy.
Geno Smith, Seahawks vs. Jets (Lutovsky). Smith has thrown for just two TDs in the past two games, and while we can chalk some of that up to the weather last week, it’s still disappointing he couldn’t get more done against Kansas City’s porous pass defense. Even if Tyler Lockett (finger) returns this week, we don’t expect much from Smith in his revenge game against New York's fifth-ranked pass defense.
WEEK 17 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Week 17 Fantasy Football Busts: Wide receivers
Tyler Lockett and Marquise Goodwin, Seahawks vs. Jets (Piva). Look, you gotta stay away from the Jets' secondary at this point. Defensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner Sauce Gardner has this unit playing inspired football, and we've seen stud receivers walk away from games against Gang Green in various states of shock. With Lockett nursing a broken finger and Goodwin aggravating his wrist injury Sunday (while laying a goose egg), you can't trust either wideout in your championship matchup.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chiefs vs. Broncos (Iyer). The Broncos’ secondary is still tough, and the Chiefs are fine throwing to backs and tight ends.
Darius Slayton, Giants vs. Colts (Lutovsky). Richie James (12) and Isaiah Hodgins (11) both had more targets than Slayton (6) last week, and that spells trouble heading into a matchup against a Colts’ defense allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points to WRs. One of these three will likely have a good game, but good luck figuring out which one.
WEEK 17 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
Week 17 Fantasy Football Busts: Tight ends
Juwan Johnson, Saints @ Eagles (Piva). He's been a TD machine this season, but Johnson sometimes goes silent against strong defenses. Despite Philly's tough Week 16 loss to Dallas, it has looked like one of the stronger units all year. Dalton Schultz only managed 5.8 half-PPR points against the Eagles last week, and we'd set the bar even lower for JJ in Philly this weekend.
Tyler Higbee, Rams at Chargers (Iyer). The Chargers’ defense is playing well all-around in coverage, so the Higbee magic will run out here.
Darren Waller, Raiders vs. 49ers (Lutovsky). Waller has been solid in his two games since returning from a hamstring injury (seven catches, eight targets, 106 yards, TD), but he hasn’t been otherworldly. Only four teams allow fewer fantasy points to TEs than San Francisco, so it’s tough to get too excited about Waller this week.
Week 17 DFS: Best values
Week 17 Fantasy Busts: Defenses
Green Bay Packers vs. Vikings (Piva). The Packers have looked great defensively at times this season, but Minnesota is a different animal with stud playmakers at QB, RB, WR, and TE. Expect a high-scoring game, and in turn a low-scoring performance from the Packers' D.
Miami Dolphins at Patriots (Iyer). It’s tempting, but they are struggling overall, especially against the pass, and this one’s on the road.
Buffalo Bills @ Bengals (Lutovsky). The Bengals had some turnover issues against New England last week, but they’re still below average in terms of fantasy points allowed to D/STs. Buffalo has had issues of its own lately, managing just four takeaways in its past four games. The Bills usually have a decent floor, but their ceiling is much lower than usual this week.
