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The Circle of Trust

December 24, 2025

CJ Stroud, Texans

The performance against Arizona was a sham!! He’s not here for real yet and is still back on his old nonsense. The Texans offense struggled against what should have been a good spot to build on their momentum from the week before. Instead, Stroud fought to post a measly 187 yards and thankfully cashed in one touchdown through the air. The positive is that he hasn’t been turning the ball over like he was earlier in the year, but the production still isn’t enough to justify a starting spot. Hopefully, you have access to guys like Tyler Shough instead.

Cam Ward, Titans

He’s been so good since their bye week and is now coming off three straight games of throwing for two touchdowns. The week 17 matchup could be a rough one with New Orleans coming to town, but Ward has proven to be much more trustworthy over the season than guys like CJ Stroud. The run game has completely come alive and Tennessee is playing their best football going into the final weeks of the year. It’s long past time, trust in Ward.

Buccaneers Pass Catchers

I might want to extend this to the backfield as well at this point with Sean Tucker stealing the touchdowns from Bucky lately. Baker has been off for weeks and the lack of production has been felt by the pass catchers. Evans came back two weeks ago and was the main target, putting up a great game. However, Egbuka and Godwin continued to struggle. The only player I have an interest in this week is Mike Evans, and even then, I’m not feeling great about it. I can admit the matchup has the makings of a nice blowup game for Tampa, but there’s enough data at this point to show that it may not play out favorably.

Ashton Jeanty, Raiders

Right when you wrote him off, he comes back and shows you why he had such a high ADP in August. He received the most carries of his career, the second most yards of his career and had his most productive day through the air as well. Jeanty was all over the place and had his skills on full display for a Raiders team playing for nothing. He had a decent game in week 12, then struggled against the Chargers, Broncos and Eagles defenses who have been known to shut down their opponent. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I might trust him this week against the Giants. 128 yards against a tough Texans defense is no joke, let it ride in week 17.

Josh Jacobs, Packers

It might have just been easier for managers everywhere had he just been ruled out and taken the week off. So many people could have just subbed in Emanuel Wilson and been fine with the production. Instead, Jacobs gave it a go and put up a massive dud on a crucial week for fantasy. It was reported that he was on crutches earlier in the week, he didn’t practice.. But it could have easily been one of those games where you bench him, he fights through and finishes as a low end RB1. That wasn’t the case, and now we’ll play this game again right up until kickoff in week 17. Monitor the Green Bay situation closely. If you have Wilson, be prepared to use him and expect Mid RB2 results or better.

CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys

It has been an off year for Lamb for sure. The injuries, Pickens seemingly coming in and taking over as WR1. 51 yards on 7 targets won’t get it done, and there are early rumors that Dak might be on a pitch count or not play at all. Prescott has shot those rumors down up to this point but you just never know for a quarterback that has endured injuries in the past and has a chance to get out of this season healthy. This will be a situation to watch as many are relying on just one more CeeDee Lamb type performance during Championship week.

George Kittle, 49ers

Kittle has been one of the best tight ends when available this season. The overall rankings don’t show it, but the points per game do. He’s been lights out during the last two weeks of fantasy play, but picked up an ankle injury during his week 16 game. Fortunately, he put up a monster game before exiting and getting the rest of the night off. The current word is that he’s avoided the high ankle sprain but still sustained a mid-to-low sprain. It’s not nothing, but it needs to be monitored the rest of this week to check in on his practice status. The 49ers need to win out in order to secure the win seed. I think we’re rolling with him regardless of his status come Sunday (Unless it’s OUT).

Keith, Author

Keith runs youth flag football leagues by day, and by night he hosts the podcast and writes articles with the confidence of a man who’s been rushing quarterbacks since dial-up. A longtime flag football DE and lifelong Falcons fan, he’s no stranger to heartbreak and enjoys watching the bears get slaughtered each week. Equal parts coach, critic, and chaos, Keith calls it like he sees it… even if it hurts.