Sit/Start 2024 Week 17: Reviewing All Fantasy Relevant Players in Every Game

Game Info

Kickoff: Sunday, December 29, 2024, 4:05 ET

Location: Huntington Bank Field, Cleveland, Ohio

Network: CBS

Writer: Chris Helle (@ChrisHelleQBL on Twitter)

Miami Dolphins

Quarterback

Tua Tagovailoa: Sit

Tua hit a hot streak between Weeks 11-14 but has now had back-to-back games outside a top-20 QB finish. A December game up North is generally one to avoid for Tua and the Dolphins, and the Browns’ defense held Burrow to 250 yards on the road. The Dolphins are just under .500 and are a long shot to make playoffs so there’s a chance they kick it into high gear this week, but the high-level signs point toward looking elsewhere for your QB this week. 

Running Back

Devon Achane: Start, RB1
Raheem Mostert: Sit
Jaylen Wright: Sit

The most reliable piece of this offense is undoubtedly Devon Achane – these past 4 weeks he’s averaged 7.5 targets/game for 51.5 receiving yards/game and just had his season-high 120 yards on the ground. He’s essentially a bellcow and WR1 combined and there’s no way you’d consider taking him out of your lineup. With his level of usage, the other two RBs in this backfield are left for scraps and the Dolphins simply don’t have a high enough rushing efficiency for either to be relevant for fantasy.

Wide Receiver

Tyreek Hill: Start, WR2
Jaylen Waddle: FLEX Option, WR4
Malik Washington: Sit

Tyreek Hill has been a poor return on the high draft investment, but he’s scored a TD in 5 of his last 7 games. He’s definitely taken a big step back from his highly efficient receiving numbers from seasons past, but his target share and TD potential is still valuable relative to the other WRs across the league. Despite only catching 5 receptions over the last two games, he’s seen no fewer than 7 targets in the past 4 games. Things haven’t been clicking, but the boom potential should keep him in your lineup unless you have equally or higher-valued WRs to consider over him. Jaylen Waddle missed this past game with a knee injury, but he could be considered for your FLEX position if he is able to suit up this week. 

Tight End

Jonnu Smith: Start, TE1

Jonnu has now gone 6 straight weeks as a top-10 TE in fantasy and is a borderline must-start given his level of continued involvement and red zone targets. He’s found the end zone 5 times in the last 6 weeks and is averaging over 7 receptions/game in that span. This level of usage is hard to come by with the current TE landscape of the NFL, so it’d be hard to find a better option than him to trust going forward. 

Cleveland Browns

Quarterback

Dorian Thompson-Robinson: Sit

DTR got his first start of the season this past week against the Bengals, but was only able to complete 58.8% of his passes for a mere 157 yards and threw 2 INTs without a TD. There’s practically no chance he’s going to be a valuable fantasy asset, but he left the game with a calf injury that may result in the return of Jameis Winston. If Jameis is the starter, he could be a mid-level QB2 option given how poorly the Dolphins’ secondary plays in cold-weather games. He’s still a risky start, so he likely shouldn’t find his way into your lineup even if he gets the start. 

Running Back

Jerome Ford: FLEX Option, RB3
Pierre Strong: Sit

Jerome Ford has taken over the backfield since Nick Chubb‘s injury and put up back-to-back RB1 finishes with a touchdown in each of his last two games. He had a 60+ rush in each of those two games which skews his average yards per carry, so be cautious to expect the same level of production going forward. Ford hasn’t had more than 11 carries in a game, but he did see 5 targets this past week and caught them all. Similar to the WRs on this offense, Ford’s production might take an uptick if Jameis is back under center due to Jameis’s ability to stretch the defense. Consider Ford a low-end RB2 with Jameis under center or a FLEX option if it’s DTR. 

Wide Receiver

Jerry Jeudy: FLEX Option, WR4
Cedric Tillman: Sit
Elijah Moore: Sit

We all knew the fantasy production from Jerry Jeudy & Co. would take a hit with DTR under center, and boy were we right. It was actually Elijah Moore who led the WRs in targets, but catching only 2 of the 5 balls thrown his way was still far from exciting. If DTR remains the starter, it’s hard to trust any of these WRs to produce, but if Winston returns then Jeudy should jump right back into a high-end WR3 to low-end WR2 range. It’s been since Week 12’s game against the Steelers since we’ve seen Cedric Tillman, so if he returns it would pull a few targets away from Jeudy and Moore in addition to Njoku’s high target share. 

Tight End

David Njoku: Start, TE1

David Njoku is far and away the most reliable asset to have on this offense – he’s seen 40 targets over his last 3 games and has had a top-5 TE finish in four of his last five games. He was still able to produce with DTR at the helm, so you should be able to continue to trust his production regardless of who starts in this one.