Start 'Em, Sit 'Em For Week 17 Fantasy Football: Should You Bench Tetairoa McMillan?

And just like that, our fantasy season has come to a close. Let us just say, thanks for reading. It’s been a ton of fun. And from Coach Gene and yours truly, we extend a joyous and healthy holiday season to you and yours. Be safe. Have fun. Repair a relationship. And Happy New Year!

RELATED: Pair these start/sit recommendations with our fantasy football start/sit tool, presented by Xfinity!

Start These Players In Week 17 Fantasy Football

Kendrick Bourne, WR, SF

LAGHEZZA: With literally no time left for speculation as the holiday hubbub clamps down on everyone’s schedules, my Christmas gift to all of you is brevity for once (you’re welcome). Strike my fantasy hopes of drinking from a trophy filled with my friends’ and family’s tears where the iron is hot. Honestly, is anywhere more of a low-key weekly circus than San Francisco? The Niners sit top-five in average game totals since Week 9, spiking to an incredible 68 points per contest in December. That’s how everyone gets home.

Just as Brock Purdy finally settled back in under center and a healthy SF offense hit true levels of ascendency (37.0 PPG over their last four games), foundational piece George Kittle goes down with an ankle injury. Sigh. Kyle Shanahan is unsurprisingly feigning optimism, but while the stud TE’s status remains uncertain, I’m highly doubtful he suits up Sunday night. Stay tuned.

Without Kittle, there’s a massive target void on a high-powered offense compensating for a leaky defense. Mind you, isolated for Brock Purdy snaps only, Kittle led all 49ers this season in targets, catches, yards and touchdowns—the clear top option.

Ricky Pearsall’s still down, recouping an ankle injury of his own, leaving plenty of opportunities to go around against the Bears. I’ll concede Chicago’s improved their defense somewhat, though I’d question the competition level—not that I care, given the way San Fran’s humming on offense.

Kendrick Bourne once again took on an every-down role against Indy without Pearsall playing, earning five targets. Remove Kittle, and we could be talking about six, closer to seven or eight this weekend. Boost Bourne’s volume, and it doesn’t take much to see the upside—he racked up 15 catches for 284 yards between Weeks 6 and 7 alone.

NOTE: If Ricky Pearsall does get activated, all of this goes doubly for him …

Jaxson Dart, QB, NYG

CLEMONS: Week 16 was a nightmare for those who put Jaxson Dart into their lineups. Yes, I told you to bench Dart if you had him, and last week, he finished with one fantasy point.

Yes, it was a bad matchup against the Vikings, but it just felt like they didn't get him properly involved. He only threw the football 13 times in the game and he only ran twice. Get ready for the overcorrection. Sure, the Raiders defense is suspect and thus a great matchup, but they will need to make Dart look good down the stretch so they don't have to listen to people talk about them taking Fernando Mendoza all offseason. Success for Dart looks like him being a part of the run game. Every time he looks dynamic in a game, his rushing totals are good, and he is likely finding the endzone with his feet. I know they want to protect him, but neutering him is not the way. They must let him be free against a team that should provide a runway to fantasy relevance.

Sit These Players In Week 17 Fantasy Football

Omarion Hampton, RB, LAC

CLEMONS: Yes, Kimani Vidal is hurt and may miss week 17, so the prevailing thought is that this could be a big day for Omarion Hampton. Some might consider him a smash start, but I don't feel the same.

Hampton has not looked the greatest since returning from injury in Week 14. Week 16, he had his best performance. His 16.5 points were good for RB19 on the week. That was against the Cowboys and their porous defense. This week, they take on an extremely upset and slightly embarrassed Houston Texans defense that plays with a lot of pride, and for a head coach who is not only a former defensive coordinator but also a former starting linebacker for the Texans. They will look to correct flaws that were exposed in Week 16 against the Raiders, and more specifically, running back Ashton Jeanty. After a season full of disappointing performances, we saw Jeanty show why many believed he was the most talented player in the draft. Houston will lock in and make sure that they don't allow Hampton to pull a Jeanty. There will be a lot of attention on the rookie, and it will result in a mediocre performance.

Tetairoa McMillan, WR, CAR

LAGHEZZA: Currently sitting as fantasy football’s overall WR13, rookie Tetairoa McMillan has posted a heck of a first-year campaign thus far (64-924-7)—truly a supremely talented player. However, there’s always something to be said for availability’s impact on volume-affected totals.

Not to call McMillan a compiler, but he’s logged just one top-10 positional finish in 2025—which happens to be his only 20-plus-fantasy-point game this season. Carolina’s a run-heavy, slow-paced, plodding offense and Bryce Young’s 6.4 yards per attempt ranks second-worst among all starters behind only Cam Ward. Vegas books pegged the Panthers at 16.5 points this weekend for a reason. Expectations should be low.

Lastly, the very obvious College Navy, Action Green and Wolf Grey colored elephant in the room (yes, I researched team color schemes). Ignore last week’s faceplant versus a god-tier Matthew Stafford—Seattle’s defense, anchored by game-wrecker Ernest Jones, is awesome. I especially love the bounce-back spot against a pressure-sensitive team like Carolina. McMillan’s +25% cardio route rate (post + go) needs time to develop, something which will likely stay in short order all game.

Touchdowns managed to provide the necessary cologne to keep most from realizing McMillan has reeled in fewer than three receptions per game since Thanksgiving week, and his 4.3 catches per game is the second-fewest among all WRs with at least 100 targets (Emeka Egbuka). There’s a very, very low floor here.