The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Denver Broncos in Week 17. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Bengals skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 17 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Joe Burrow, QB
Week 17 Status: PLAYING
You know that Joe Burrow is the first ever with 250 passing yards and three passing TDs in seven straight. Extend his numbers from those games for a full season, and he’s posting a 5,430-yard, 58-TD season (for reference, 2007 Tom Brady’s 17-game pace: 5,106 yards and 53 TDs).
It’s hard to overstate just how good Burrow has been. The passing floor has been special and should continue to be for the remainder of this season, but the trick is not to get too excited about 2025.
Burrow is as good as advertised; we know that. But he’s run hot this season, and if regression kicks in and Tee Higgins is out, there’s a world in which he’s an overdrafted commodity this summer.
Rates on short passes:
- 2024: 6.6% TD rate and a 0.8% INT rate
- 2020-23: 4.2% TD rate and a 1.1% INT rate
Without much projectable rushing in his profile, injury risks are still in the mix, and potentially, there is less firepower—consider me a skeptic based on early ADP projections.
Chase Brown, RB
Chase Brown has reached 20 touches in three straight games and has an 88.2% catch rate in December. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase get the attention for the success of this offense, but Brown has been critical for this team to make its late-season run.
I’ve lowered expectations due to a matchup against the second-best red-zone and yards-per-play defense in the league, but not to the point where there is a decision to be made. You made a great pick at the draft and you’re reaping the rewards – don’t stop now!
Ja’Marr Chase, WR
Ja’Marr Chase is seeking a seventh straight game with 18+ PPR points. Since 2013, only twice (Cooper Kupp in 2021 and Davante Adams in 2020) has a receiver had a longer such streak in a single season.
He’s already set the franchise record for receiving yards in a season, so why not challenge more all-time marks? The matchup with the Broncos isn’t optimal (eighth fewest yards allowed per deep pass), but we saw this Bengals juggernaut take on a stingy Chargers defense not long ago, and the Chase/Tee Higgins tandem turned 16 catches into 223 yards and three scores.
Matchups matter when making fringe lineup decisions, not at the top of the board. If you want to be different and fade Chase in the three-game Saturday DFS window, you can do it due to his cost, but you’re not making any moves in season-long formats, and that goes without saying.
Tee Higgins, WR
Week 17 Status: Higgins is officially active and will play in Week 17.
This hasn’t exactly been a bump-free season for Tee Higgins, but the man produces far more often than not, and it’s clear that the Bengals know what they have in him (whether they want to pay him or not is a different discussion). Last weekend against the Browns, Joe Burrow directed three of his first four passes toward Higgins and was rewarded with three completions and a score.
That’s now five of six games with a score for Higgins. The failure in there was a 2-23-0 dud against the Cowboys on national TV, and that hurts the narrative around him, but make no mistake about it — Higgins is a fantasy star and a threat to be a top-12 receiver next season should he land in a situation with some level of stability under center.
Mike Gesicki, TE
We always hear that Mike Gesicki is a “glorified WR” — who is “glorifying” the tight end position? Yes, 96.3% of Gesicki’s snaps this season have yielded a route run, but that’s the football equivalent of “even a broken clock is right twice a day.”
Gesicki’s skill set is fantasy-friendly, but the role simply is not. He hasn’t been on the field for the majority of Cincinnati’s snaps once this month and has been held under 35% in three straight contests. Joe Burrow funneled 67.9% of his targets last week to either Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins, something I have a hard time thinking changes as the 2024 regular season nears its conclusion.
I’m willing to prioritize role over talent in the lower rungs of the tight end position more often than not, and that is why I’m never going to land on this profile in its current state.