The Denver Broncos will face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17. We have fantasy football start-sit advice for every fantasy-relevant player for the Broncos and Bengals so you can make the best decisions for your lineups.
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.
Bo Nix, QB
Bo Nix joined some pretty strong company last Thursday night, even in defeat.
The always talked about 20-20-2 club.
20 completions
20 rush yards
2 pass TDSince 2000, Bo Nix is the 3rd rookie drafted outside of the top-10 to do it in consecutive games, joining …
*2012 Russell Wilson
*2017 Deshaun Watson— Kyle Soppe (@KyleSoppePFN) December 20, 2024
Through 16 weeks, Nix is responsible for two of the five best fantasy QB performances against the Chargers this season. By itself, that is impressive. For a rookie to do that when you recall that Los Angeles has faced Patrick Mahomes twice, Kyler Murray, and (don’t laugh) Jameis Winston, it’s even better.
As you’d expect, there have been ups and downs within those performances, but the level of “ups” have been more than enough to go in this direction with a nice level of confidence.
- Week 6, second half: 16-of-23 for 194 yards and two touchdowns
- Week 16, first half: 15-of-21 for 155 yards and two touchdowns
The irresponsible analyst would combine those numbers and label that as a ceiling. I’m not going that far, but is it really that crazy of an idea?
There are no real signs of efficiency from this running game, which opens the door for high-end volume against a bottom-five secondary in terms of yards per slot target, end-zone passer rating, and about three million other niche statistics that I won’t bore you with.
Over the past decade, how many rookie QBs do you think had more 20-yard runs through 16 weeks of their rookie season than Nix (five)?
Four: Kyler Murray, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Jayden Daniels.
Over the past decade, how many rookie QBs do you think had more multi-TD pass games through 16 weeks of their rookie season than Nix (eight)?
One — Justin Herbert.
If you’re still playing meaningful games at this point of the season and have Nix rostered, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. You’ve likely been comfortable being uncomfortable at some level up to this point, and with a long week to prepare for Cincinnati’s “defense,” I expect more of the same as his first season nears a conclusion.
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!
Audric Estimé, RB
Audric Estimé has seen his snap share increase for three straight weeks, but those are drops in an ocean. The rookie out of Notre Dame showed the ability to carry the mail while with the Irish (210 carries in 2023) but hasn’t been trusted with more than six in nine of 11 games this season.
Seeing Estimé get Denver’s first carry in Week 16 and score on the opening drive was encouraging. Yet, even in an increased role with part of the Broncos committee sidelined (Jaleel McLaughlin), Estimé didn’t reach double figures in touches, which makes him a tough sell on an offense that can be sporadic.
Like every other RB listed on this depth chart, Estimé is a track-not-trust option. We can take another crack at extracting value from this Sean Payton-led situation in 2025.
Jaleel McLaughlin, RB
Week 17 Status: PLAYING
For my money, Jaleel McLaughlin is the best back on this roster.
2024: Jaleel McLaughlin vs. Javonte Williams
- PPR Production Relative to Expectations: McLaughlin (-6.8%), Williams (-19.1%)
- Percentage Of Carries Gaining 5+ Yards: McLaughlin (41.4%), Williams (30.6%)
- PFN Elusive Score (higher is better): McLaughlin (37.9%), Williams (23.9%)
We can debate whether you agree or not with that, but it doesn’t matter. Playing anyone from this backfield is nothing more than a blind leap of faith.
McLaughlin sat out last week with a quad injury, and introducing health concerns isn’t exactly selling me on the idea of going this direction.
2025 — the year of the Denver running attack. Hopefully. Maybe. Probably not.
Javonte Williams, RB
If you’re to play a Denver RB with any level of confidence in the year 2024, I think I have a pretty good idea of how your season has gone. Thank you for sticking with us as you head into what is almost certainly a meaningless week for your team.
Week 16 Bronco RB Production
- Javonte Williams: 50.8% snaps, 12.3 fantasy points, 22 routes run
- Audric Estimé: 20.6% snaps, 10.8 fantasy points, 4 routes run
- Michael Burton: 15.9% snaps, 10.9 fantasy points, 6 routes run
- Jaleel McLaughlin: DNP (quad)
Yes, any of those point totals would have worked based on expectations, but c’mon, you’re better than that. You’ve been rocking with PFN this entire season, so you’re a savvy manager who values stability over single scores, projectability over production, and roles over randomness.
This cluttered backfield racked up 37.3 PPR points against the Chargers in Week 16, and that allowed everyone to produce with McLaughlin sidelined. Again, that’s a story of the past, not of the future.
This season, under 12% of team games see 35+ running back points scored, making the output we saw last week an outlier. Toss in the fact that this offense has no pre-determined hierarchy, and there’s simply no way to go to this backfield this week; I don’t care how badly you want exposure to this Bengals defense.
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.
Courtland Sutton, WR
Fantasy managers were left wanting a little bit more on Thursday night (10.0 PPR points, Courtland Sutton’s worst showing since being shut out in New Orleans (Week 7), but all things considered, was it that bad of an outcome?
Bo Nix completed 83.3% of passes when throwing to his WR1 last week (all other Broncos: 70.6%) and, for the sixth time in seven games, he produced a PPR point total over what was expected given his targets.
That fact isn’t going to help you last week, but it should help you go back to Sutton without much in the way of worries this week against a defense that is vulnerable across the board, but most so downfield (sixth-highest deep touchdown pass rate).
With Sutton already at a career-high in air yards (1,612), there’s no reason to hesitate in plugging him in this week as you chase glory.
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.