Fantasy Football Start ’em, Sit ’em: Week 17 RBs Include Tyrone Tracy

Merry Christmas and happy Fantasy Football Championship Week everyone! Congrats on lasting through the playoffs and now being on the doorstep of a title. At the end of this week, all that will matter is which players wound up in your starting lineup. Navigating the tough fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em decisions adequately is critical to victory. The last thing we want is to sit championship-winning production on the bench in Week 17! Hopefully, we can help you avoid this when it comes to the RB position with our discussion of some of the players below.

Of course, players like Jahmyr Gibbs, Saquon Barkley and Bijan Robinson will be started in your championship lineup with the championship on the line. As has been the case all season, the focus of this column will be the RB2 and FLEX spots. To help you feel more confident with some of the tough calls you may be facing, be sure to check out our weekly fantasy football rankings and read on for our Week 17 RB fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em analysis.

Wide Receivers — Week 17 Fantasy Football Start/Sit

Tight Ends — Week 17 Fantasy Football Start/Sit

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Fantasy Football Start ’em, Sit ’em: Week 17 RBs

Start: Tyrone Tracy Jr. Fantasy Outlook vs Colts

Expert Consensus Ranking (ECR) Rank: 22

Check out our fantasy football rankings here!

Recently, Tyrone Tracy Jr. has been popping up on the naughty side of Santa’s fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em RB list. He is back on the nice side just in time for the holidays and fantasy championship matchups. The New York Giants continue to stink and their offensive line is one of the biggest problems. Yet, that hasn’t prevented Tracy from scoring 14.5+ PPR points in three of the last four weeks. His ability to complement all production achieved on the ground as a reliable pass-catcher has resulted in a floor that fantasy managers can feel pretty good about.

Tyrone Tracy is low-key one of the best young running backs in the game. pic.twitter.com/GrkNzSxwhR

— Dave Kluge (@DaveKluge) December 22, 2024

The one major concern regarding Tracy ahead of Week 17 is his health. After aggravating an injury in the latest Giants’ loss last Sunday, he may be very limited in terms of practicing this week. Assuming that he is ready to roll on game day, Tracy has a decent matchup to look forward to against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts rank 28th in the NFL in total rushing defense. They are allowing 136.8 rushing yards per game and are also giving up a healthy 24.65 PPR points per contest to opposing RBs. Combine that caliber of defense with Tracy’s high-usage role in the Giants’ offense and the recipe for success is there.

Start: Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears Fantasy Outlook vs Jaguars

ECR Rank: 23 and 24, respectively

It’s been a brutal year for the Tennessee Titans. From an offensive standpoint, the rushing attack has been the only stable facet. With fantasy titles on the line in Week 17, there is a case to be made for starting both Titans RBs. Tony Pollard has been the mainstay of the backfield, suiting up in all 15 games to date. He has been about as steady as one could hope for when it comes to an RB2-caliber player and is top-20 in PPR scoring on the year. Pollard dominated the workload early on, but Tyjae Spears has truly burst onto the scene in recent weeks. After multiple injury stints, Spears is fully healthy and has actually played the lion’s share of snaps in the last two games.

With nine receptions over the last two games in addition to his production on the ground, Spears appears to have a comfortable floor cushion at this juncture. With a pair of touchdowns scored in each game, he has truly rewarded fantasy managers who utilized him as a FLEX option. It’s worth noting that Pollard does carry an injury designation at the time of writing. However, the assumption is that he will be good to go and the two backs should split touches fairly evenly. Since the matchup comes against an awful Jacksonville Jaguars defense, both players find themselves on the fringes of RB2 consideration for fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em this week. The Jags have allowed the second-most PPR points per game to opposing RBs.

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Sit: Rico Dowdle Fantasy Outlook vs Eagles

ECR Rank: 19

Over the past month, Rico Dowdle has been a tremendous asset for fantasy managers. Since obtaining a stranglehold on the RB1 role for the Dallas Cowboys, Dowdle has been a lock to see double-digit touches every week. Dating back to Week 9, he has had at least a dozen touches in every game. He also had 20+ opportunities in four straight games (averaged over 4.5 yards per carry in each) before last week’s 16. Dowdle failed to get out of the blocks from a yardage standpoint in last week’s contest, resulting in a much lower fantasy point total than has been typical for him of late.

Unfortunately, it could be another slower week for Dowdle with fantasy championships at stake. The Cowboys are set to face the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in a matchup that is not ideal as far as Dowdle’s fantasy production is concerned. When the two teams squared off back in Week 10, Dowdle turned 12 carries and three receptions into just 56 total yards and an 8.6-PPR point effort. Philly has been tough on opposing RBs in fantasy all year, giving up the second-fewest points at 16.91 per game. The fact that the Eagles defense got embarrassed by Washington last week also doesn’t bode well for this contest. With a buttoned up effort from Vic Fangio’s unit expected, it feels as though Dowdle’s ECR ranking of RB19 is rather bullish.

Sit: Rhamondre Stevenson Fantasy Outlook vs Chargers

ECR Rank: 25

If the New England Patriots weren’t such a sorry outfit collectively, Rhamondre Stevenson might have been one of the heroes of the Fantasy Football Playoffs this year. His matchups in each of the last three games have been brilliant as far as the RB position is concerned. Unfortunately, whether it’s been due to game script, stupidity or whatever else, the Patriots haven’t taken full advantage of the opportunities to lean on him and the rushing attack. Stevenson has averaged north of five yards per carry in each of the last two weeks. The problem? He only got 13 and 12 carries in the two games, respectively. Looking ahead to Week 17, Stevenson no longer has the benefit of going against a poor run defense.

#Patriots HC Jerod Mayo on whether Antonio Gibson starting over Rhamondre Stevenson is under consideration:

“I think everyone understands how important the football is. We’re a team that we just can’t turn the ball over… I thought Gibby, when he got in there, did a great job.… pic.twitter.com/UouN1abCa1

— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) December 23, 2024

While it is worth pointing out that the Los Angeles Chargers have given up nearly 20 more rushing yards on average in their last three games compared to what they have allowed for the season overall, this is still a much better run stopping unit than what Stevenson has had to contend with recently. The other factor that plays into his fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em outlook is the ever-growing possibility that he won’t be the starter on Sunday. Head coach Jerod Mayo suggested earlier this week that Antonio Gibson could receive that designation in Week 17. Although Stevenson still figures to be involved, his fantasy floor could be remarkably lower as a result, making him tough to trust with championships on the line.

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