Week 17 fantasy sleepers: 8 high-upside lineup picks for championship week

The expectations for Ewers were low in his first NFL start. Having that start come against the Bengals’ porous defense was the biggest reason for hope. The result was about as expected. The rookie threw for 260 yards in a negative game script. He didn’t throw a touchdown while tossing two picks. That may have been enough to earn him the starting job for the rest of the season. 

Next up are the free-falling Buccaneers. Tampa has lost six of its last eight games and has been shredded through the air. Bryce Young’s 17.64 points in Week 16 marked the first time since Week 7 that a quarterback failed to reach 18 points against the Bucs. Seventeen might be a high bar for Ewers, but he should still be a worthy QB2 or an interesting DFS contrarian play. 

There were a lot of questions about Carter leading into Week 16. Named the starter after Bam Knight’s injury, Carter left you wanting a whole lot more than just 65 rushing yards and no catches. The good news is that he still played more than 50 percent of the snaps -- even if it was down from Week 15’s 80 percent snap share. 

If Carter is the lead back, he’ll have flex value against the Bengals. Cincinnati is no longer historically bad. Just regular bad. Which is honestly less interesting to talk about. Even in a shellacking of the Dolphins last week, Miami still managed to rack up 129 yards on the ground. If Carter can connect on any of his targets (0-for-2 last week), he should have a solid double-digit floor.

Singletary had a month-long stretch of fantasy relevance, coinciding with an injury to Tyrone Tracy Jr. When Tracy returned after New York’s bye in Week 14, Singletary returned to a secondary role. That’s a tough place to make a fantasy impact when it’s connected to an unproductive offense. It’s also why Singletary has scored a combined eight points in the past two weeks. 

This week offers a softer matchup against the Raiders. Las Vegas has allowed eight rushing touchdowns to RBs in its past five games. It’s a symptom of facing an above average run rate from opposing offenses. Entering Week 16, teams were running the ball nearly 50 percent of the time against the Raiders. That level of volume gives the duo of Tracy and Singletary some DFS appeal this week. 

I’m not saying Mumpfield is here because he was a guest on the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast during training camp. But I’m not not saying it. In reality, the Rams have been working the rookie into the offense more as the season progresses. With Davante Adams likely sidelined for Sunday's game, Mumpfield is in line for a lot more snaps and targets. Look no further than last week against Seattle when he nearly doubled his season total of targets. 

The good times could keep rolling this week against the Falcons. After a good start to the season, the wheels have come off the Falcons defense. Over the past four weeks, Atlanta has been one of the six best matchups for wide receivers. With Matthew Stafford on an MVP track, Mumpfield has WR3 upside this week.

One of Week 16’s biggest surprises was the Raiders offense coming to life against the Texans defense. A much less-discussed part of the Vegas attack is the recent emergence of rookie Bech. Over the past three weeks, Bech’s usage has spiked -- including a target share that is second on the club behind Brock Bowers, who was placed on IR this week. At a time when the Raiders are trying to showcase some of their young players, Bech is taking center stage. 

The rookie should have a solid role this week against the Giants. New York hasn’t offered much resistance this season. It is the fifth-best matchup for wideouts this season, allowing more than 35 points per game to the position. The Raiders aren’t a juggernaut, so expect a low ceiling for Bech. But as far as contrarian DFS plays go, the rookie offers some intrigue. 

The Bucs offense has fallen off a cliff after a hot start. Since Week 11, Tampa has averaged 153 passing yards per game. What production they have had through the air has gone heavily to Mike Evans, who has nearly 40 percent of the team’s receiving yards since returning in Week 15. Otton has been a forgotten man. Since Week 11, he has just 92 yards on 15 targets, a far cry from Weeks 5-10 when he was a top-12 tight end -- without the benefit of scoring a touchdown. 

Making him a sleeper this week is purely about the matchup. The Dolphins have been very tight end friendly in 2025. Miami is the second-best opponent for tight ends, having allowed the second-most receptions and third-most receiving yards to the position. The Dolphins have done a good job clamping down on receivers. If Baker Mayfield struggles to get the ball to his wideouts, Otton should see plenty of looks in the passing game.

Welcome back to our fantasy lives, Juwan Johnson. He was an early-season darling with back-to-back double-digit games. Then after a disappearing act, he returned to us in Weeks 7-10 when he was the TE4. Johnson faded back to mundane for a few weeks before posting nearly 17 points in Week 16. 

What’s old is new again ... and just in time. This week, the Saints are heading to Nashville to face a Titans team that has generally been bad against tight ends but have gotten worse in recent weeks. Seven different tight ends this season have had a top-12 finish against the Titans -- including unheralded names like Michael Mayer and Oronde Gadsden II. With few consistent receiving options in New Orleans, Johnson should see enough work to warrant a start. 

Late-season fantasy football makes for some strange bedfellows. Ask anyone who considered starting Audric Estimé in Week 16. By now, you’ve dealt with myriad injuries. You’ve had to bench or drop players you thought would carry you. And you’ve figured out which buttons to push to get you this far. That one last button could be the Saints defense. That’s not a sentence I imagined typing way back in August. 

New Orleans has been an unremarkable fantasy defense for most of the season. Not terrible. Just not particularly good outside of a few matchups. One of those matchups was last week against the Jets and Brady Cook. This week against the Titans could be another. Credit where it’s due, Cam Ward and the Tennessee offense have improved recently. But they still give up sacks at a terrifying rate. The Saints might not duplicate last week’s 19-point performance, but they’re worth a championship stream nonetheless.