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Start/Sit: Running Backs (Week 17)

December 22, 2025

START

Tyrone Tracy at Raiders

Tracy has been highly productive when receiving a bulk of the workload and has outproduced Singletary as of late. I am starting with confidence against a Raiders team that is just looking to pack their bags and go home. Las Vegas is better than you think they are against the run, but they still rank in the bottom half of the league. Dart will get them up early, Tracy will grind down that lock.

Tony Pollard vs Saints

The Titans back has gotten hot right when you need him most by going over 100 yards in two of the last three weeks. It’s certainly been a rough go but I’m happy to report that you can start him with full confidence against a Saints squad that ranks 26th against the run. Opportunity will be there as the Saints defense has been surrendering 100+ yard efforts on the ground for weeks now.

Blake Corum vs Falcons

The former Michigan back might be the 1B to Kyren Williams 1A but, does it matter? He’s scored 5 touchdowns in the last 4 games and has clearly carved out a more reliable role for fantasy owners. What’s most interesting is that Corum played so well against Seattle despite only playing in 29% of the snaps. Even better, the Falcons present a juicy matchup where, even if Kyren gets more work than Blake again, there should be PLENTY to go around.

SIT

Rico Dowdle vs Seahawks

Though they’ve slowed down, Carolina still boasts a top ten rushing attack in the league, but it’ll be matching up against a top 3 run defense in the Seahawks. Seattle just gave up a decent amount of production to both of the Los Angeles backs, but it was on a short week against a division rival. Those games can be tricky with teams knowing each other so well. I would bet that Seattle gets back to shutting down opponent running backs. Especially here where Carolina could find themselves in a negative game script in a hurry.

Kareem Hunt vs Broncos

I just hope you’ve found something better to play on the waiver wire as the Chiefs are going to be in for a LONG day. A Gardner Minshew offense will leave a lot to be desired, and it’s not like this run game was something fantastic even before Mahomes exited the offense. The Denver run defense is right up there with the best in the league. Hunt was shut down the first time they matched up against the Broncos but was saved by a touchdown plunge. Kansas City won’t be in many opportunities to see an easy score.

Breece Hall vs Patriots

New England isn’t messing around. They’ve done a great job, as most teams have, shutting down the Jets and there’s just no reason to believe any of this will change in week 17. With the mixture of quarterbacks going in and out, Hall has struggled to even reach 3 yards per carry. Defenses just don’t respect the Jets ability to pass and I’d expect fantasy owners to be let down once again if they’re relying on Breece. With the possibility of checkdowns not being an alternative for points, I’d look elsewhere.

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.