Fantasy Football Start/Sit: Emari Demercado, Terry McLaurin, Ashton Jeanty

Week 17 of the fantasy football season has arrived, which means your fantasy season has boiled down to one final lineup decision… or 12 of them, depending on how much second-guessing you’ve done since Tuesday. For most leagues, this is Championship Week — the moment where legends are made, group chats are muted, and one questionable Flex decision can haunt you well into the offseason.

To help you avoid that particular brand of misery, we’ve turned to our Featured Pros for guidance. The sleepers and duds below reflect expert consensus on which players are set up to outperform expectations and which ones might be quietly plotting to sabotage your title run. Trust the process, trust the data and, above all, trust that you’re not alone in stressing over whether this is finally the week your gut gets it right.

Fantasy Football Week 17 Start/Sit Advice

Sleepers

Which player outside of the top 100 in the FantasyPros Flex rankings is a good sleeper start, and why do you think he has upside this week?

Emari Demercado (RB – ARI)

“I hope you’re having a Happy Holiday out here because if you’re looking for a post-100-ranked player to start in your fantasy finals, you may get coal in their stocking. The pickings are slim. Emari Demercado is an intriguing stocking stuffer, however. In three of what I would say are seven actual starts in 2025, Demercado produced like a low-end RB2. He’s run for 79, 81 and 64 yards in those three starts. For a post-100-ranked Week 17 player, that’s not too bad. Demercado hasn’t been consistently productive or healthy, and he has competition for snaps, targets and touches from Michael Carter. In Demercado’s favor, he has shown flashes of RB2 potential, athleticism and explosiveness. He faces the Cincinnati Bengals, who rank dead last in points allowed to running backs. Arizona should see what they have in him in a meaningless game where the Bengals absolutely could be a no-show. Even when they do show, they’re awful. That sounds like a sleeper with upside to me.”
– Chris Mitchell (FantasyData)

Duds

Which player inside the top 40 in the FantasyPros Flex rankings is likely to disappoint fantasy managers this week?

Terry McLaurin (WR – WSH)

“Terry McLaurin. With Josh Johnson likely under center on Christmas, all your Commanders are fragile for fantasy.”
– Richard Savill (Fantasy Six Pack)

Ashton Jeanty (RB – LV)

“Ashton Jeanty’s had high highs and low lows in his rookie campaign, and it isn’t clear why. He’s not just been bad, but awful, in seven out of 15 games. He’s scored over 30 fantasy points twice, including 30 fantasy points, over 120 rushing yards and 60 receiving yards against a really good defense in Houston. However, he busted against running back-friendly opponents like Dallas and Philadelphia. This week, he gets another running back-friendly foe. A New York Giants defense that ranks third-worst in points allowed to running backs. I’m betting on the bust Jeanty showing up rather than the home-run hitter version. If he weren’t ranked so high, I’d beg Santa for one of those 30-point days in my stocking, but there is far too much inconsistency for me with a ranking as poultry as No. 13. That’s unlucky number 13, to me. Jeanty’s a top-50 bust for Week 17. Sorry, holiday hopefuls. Enjoy the Christmas carols anyway.”
– Chris Mitchell (FantasyData)