Week 17 Fantasy Football Matchups: Scouting Report

Fantasy sports news, analysis, and waiver wire advice.

By Fantasy Roundup · December 28, 2025 · Updated October 13, 2026

12/20/25 Written by: William Dempsey The promised land, the 2025 Fantasy Football Championship week is here. Everything is on the line: the glory, the crown, the honor and of course the shame of the one who loses. We have fought for three months to get to where we are now. It's more than just luck, its skill and dedication that has gotten you this far. Don't be the one who falls right before they win the race, cross the finish line first. Because at The Fantasy Roundup, if you're not first, your last. Let’s win this thing. QB:

Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys - Quarterback) Weapons galore, the options are endless for Dak Prescott to use to completely dismantle some of the best defenses in the NFL. This offense has been one of the best both in Fantasy Football and in real life. Between Ceedee lamb, George Pickens, Jake Ferguson, Javonte Williams, etc., Dak will use everything he has and this Washington Commanders team stands no chance. On Christmas this is the perfect gift for your fantasy team. Jaxon Dart (New York Giants - Quarterback) I hate to tell you I told you so but I did try and warn you that Jaxon Dart and the whole New York Giant offense would struggle against the Minnesota Vikings stout defense. Luckily their matchup this week against the Las Vegas Raiders is the perfect bounce back game. This Raiders defense is not the strongest. The points are in the air and I'm sure dart will snag them this week. Jacoby Brissett (Arizona Cardinals - Quarterback) It's only right if I brag about what I got right I have to take accountability for what I got wrong, and the call to play Jacoby Brissett was clearly not the best. But I'm not scared to tell you that he is a great play this week, though I'm sure that's no surprise since they go up against the Cincinnati Bengals and they have allowed some of the most fantasy points. Don't let this past week against the Miami Dolphins fool you, they are still bad. So Brissett should cook this team like they are some brisket. C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans - Quarterback) Since his rookie year Stroud hasn't been a reliable start in Fantasy Football, he is no more than a spot start and even against some of the worst defenses he doesn't provide the points you need. This week the Texans matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, and they have been the 2nd best defense against quarterbacks this year. So with his already mediocre production it's an easy pass on Stroud this week. Jared Goff (Detroit Lions - Quarterback) Boom or bust is the perfect way to describe Jared Goff, he is either giving you some of the best performances for the week in Fantasy Football or he is giving you an astounding 10 points. This is Championship week and that just wont fly. To make it worse this week he gets the worst possible matchup for quarterbacks this year, the Minnesota Vikings, and they just put on an utter clinic against Jaxon Dart and the New York Giants. RB Javonte Williams (Dallas Cowboys - Running Back) All year Javonte Williams has been a great option and is without a doubt one of the good surprises for this 2025 Fantasy Football season. This past week wasn't his brightest but in week 17 he draws the Washington Commanders. I could easily see the Dallas Cowboys go up by such a substantial amount that the run game gets even more involved. The Cowboys may not be winning anything this year as a team but Javonte could win you the crown of King or Queen of Fantasy Football. Josh Jacobs (Green Bay Packers - Running Back) Don’t even get me started on the absolute disaster last week was if you owned Josh Jacobs in fantasy football, it's hard to believe that it was really just the good production coming of the no.2 running back, Emmanuel Wilson, that stopped Jacobs from returning to the game and not his goalline fumble. But that's what Matt LaFleur is telling us. Regardless this year Jacobs has only had one game under ten points and if he is playing then I want him in my lineup. The Baltimore Ravens have been a pretty leaky defense to the run game this year so unless you have better options to start this week starting Jacobs could be a good play. If you are unsure if you do have better plays be sure to check out this week's RB Fantasy Football Rankings. Chase Brown (Cincinnati Bengals - Running Back) The return of Joe Burrow in this explosive offense has made everyone better in this offense, and Chase Brown is no exception to that. Since then he has been exactly what you drafted him to be. A game changer and in the Fantasy Football Championship week that's exactly what we need. This week Brown faces off against the Arizona Cardinals and they have been one of the better matchups for you running back this year. So chase glory with Chase brown this week and let him run up your points. Ashton Jeanty (Las Vegas Raiders - Running Back) This is my second apology, I definitely did not expect Ashton to abuse this Houston Texans rush defense. To be fair a good chunk of his points came from one play but this matchup for week 17 of Fantasy Football he gets the beautiful against the New York Giants and when I say he is a MUST start this week I confidently mean that. Who am I to say he can't have even more of those breakout plays this week. Jaylen Warren & Kenneth Gainwell (Pittsburgh Steelers - Running Backs) There is nothing worse in Fantasy Football than having to deal with a dual running back backfield, you never really know who is the right play. But I have to give it to them, these two have found a way to both be productive at the same time when they are having a good game. If this Steelers offense can get on a roll both of these guys can give you an easy 15+ point performance especially Gainwell since he's done it multiple times this year. Now this Cleveland Defense is a strong rush defense but with James Cook, cooking them this past week it's definitely within the realm of possibilities for these guys to run a muck. R.J. Harvey (Denver Broncos - Running Back) Since Harvey’s week 12 bye he has been dynamic in Fantasy Football. He has had 20+ points PPR, in three of his last four games. With his increased involvement as a pass catcher Harvey has been even more productive, and this week Harvey and the Broncos go up against the Kansas City Chiefs, who used to be a bit scarier of an opponent but its a different age and you can start R.J. Harvey happily. D’Andre Swift & Kyle Monangai (Chicago Bears - Running Backs) Similarly to Gainwell and Warren, the Chicago Bears double headed running game is annoying to navigate. Though the ceiling for the Steelers back is a little higher. Swift and Monangai haven't been as explosive as we would like but they still give decent production. My issue is that his Chicago offense isn't the smoothest and with them going up against the 49ers in week 17 of Fantasy Football this game could definitely get away from them and in turn slow down this rush game. WR Chris Olave (New Orleans Saints - Wide Receiver) It's so refreshing to see Olave show off the talent we all knew he had, and who would've guessed that it was Derrick Carr and Spencer Rattler slowing him down…. This Saints offense is a very different one than the one we saw at the start of the year. Going up against the Tennessee Titans this week should give Olave another chance to get peppered with targets. I fear that the Titans might be getting Shough’ed on Sunday by Tyler and Olave. George Pickens (Dallas Cowboys - Wide Receiver) Shame on me for saying that Pickens was a sit last week, that was a bad call for sure.This Cowboys receiver room might really be WR 1A and WR 1B. So without a doubt if you want to win this 2025 Fantasy Football season he is a must start, and this should be an easy game for George to pick this Washington secondary apart. Courtland Sutton (Denver Broncos - Wide Receiver) Apparently that week 12 bye changed more than just R.J. Harvey, because Sutton looks like a good option again and no longer one of your biggest regrets of the 2025 Fantasy Football season draft. The Chiefs just got beat down by Cam Ward and the Titans so I expect Bo Nix and Courtland Sutton to ravage them. Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings - Wide Receiver) Man oh man, is Justin back?? It was good to see him and J.J. McCarthy get on the same page and it's very promising. I can’t go against my gut though, no matter how much I love him as a player, I still don't trust their connection. That's not to say he's a bad start but I just can't bring myself to start him in my championship matchup. I’d rather look like a fool and not start him then going against my gut and telling you that this is a good start. Ladd McConkey (Los Angeles Chargers - Wide Receiver) It's hard trying to predict what you're going to get from Ladd and Justin Herbert, and going up against the Houston Texans that only makes it that much harder. With how good this defense is, Justin Herbert will likely be forced to spread the ball all over the field and not just lean on Ladd like we would all like him to do. There are always worse options but be sure to check out this week's rankings to see exactly who is expected to be a better play for this last week of your Fantasy Football season. Jaylen Waddle (Miami Dolphins - Wide Receiver) This past week was extremely promising for Jaylen Waddle, seeing him get more targets in Quinn Ewers first start than he has had in the last couple of weeks with Tua. If this is repeatable then waddle would return to being a good start, but we can't get too ahead of ourselves. This game was against the Bengals and their leaky secondary, so is it really a sign of the times or was it the perfect storm? This week Waddle goes up against the Tampa Bay Bucs and this is definitely a spot for him to eat again. I mean Bryce Young just gave them a spanking so lets see if Ewers and Waddle can do the same.