The Miami Dolphins will face the Cleveland Browns in Week 17. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Dolphins and Browns 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.
Tua Tagovailoa, QB
Updated at 2:35 PM ET on Sunday, December 29
Tagovailoa is inactive for today's game.
Tua Tagovailoa is far from a perfect fantasy quarterback. He doesn’t run (two rushing yards thus far in December), and he doesn’t stretch the field through the air. Instead, he relies fully on his playmakers to do the heavy lifting.
That’s not a profile I make a habit of investing in, especially with one of those pieces (Jaylen Waddle) battling a knee injury, but I think this has the potential to be the week — the week where you cash a nice DFS lineup courtesy of an explosive Dolphins game at low ownership.
Think about it.
Tagovailoa is unlikely to attract ownership for the reasons mentioned above. He’s also not in great form (411 passing yards with more interceptions than touchdowns over the past two weeks), and this game is being played in the Northeast.
But wait.
Is a warm front coming up the coast for the week?
But wait.
Do the Browns rank 31st in deep pass interception rate and 32nd in yards per short completion?
If either the Chargers or Broncos lose this week (both play before Miami is scheduled to kick off), the Dolphins will still have postseason life. It would be little more than a pulse, but that heart would still be beating if one of those things happens, thus giving us a high-motivation spot against a defense that is playing out the string (all four losses during their current skid have come by multiple scores).
Interesting.
Obviously, I’d prefer Waddle be healthy and to get a Denver loss on Saturday to ensure these things, but the more ambiguity that takes place, the more I like the odds of getting a condensed passing game with upside at a very low cost.
Tentative Main Slate Soppe DFS Lineup
- QB – Tua Tagovailoa
- RB – Jonathan Taylor
- RB – Jerome Ford
- WR – Tyreek Hill
- WR – Jayden Reed
- WR – Adam Thielen
- TE – Chig Okonkwo
- FLEX – Jalen McMillan
- D/ST – Indianapolis Colts
Let’s pay off some Christmas debt!
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB
Updated at 2:35 PM ET on Sunday, December 29
Thompson-Robinson is active for today's game.
If you ever need to feel good about your quarterback (be it for your favorite team or your fantasy squad), throw on the game film from Cleveland’s loss in Cincinnati last week, and you’ll be in a better mental spot.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s sack count was higher than the yards he averaged per pass, and I’m not sure the box score (20-of-34 for 157 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions) even does it justice.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson on passes thrown 15+ yards this season: 0-11 with 3 interceptions pic.twitter.com/lFzMzsSJHM
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 23, 2024
Could we get Jameis Winston back in our lives? DTR suffered a calf injury on Sunday and is being managed thus far. The Dolphins allow the third-highest deep completion percentage, a weakness that holds much more weight if it’s Winston under center.
De’Von Achane, RB
De’Von Achane is just the second running back over the past three seasons to have a four-game streak with at least seven targets and seven rush attempts, joining Alvin Kamara (Weeks 4-9 earlier this season).
He fits this Tua Tagovailoa-led offense like a glove, and there’s no reason to pivot now. The efficiency on the ground hasn’t been close to what we saw a season ago, but the spike in usage through the air has more than compensated for that.
Achane has been a top-15 producer at the position in six straight games, and that feels like a near lock to continue through this week. The tricky part will be projecting for 2025 — do we middle his efficiency and keep the receiving role as is? If that’s the path you take, we are talking about a running back who is an unquestionable first-round pick.
Nick Chubb, RB
Nick Chubb broke his foot in Week 15, bringing to a close what has been a lost season for anyone who rolled the dice on him off of last season’s knee injury (3.3 yards per carry).
The team doesn’t expect this injury to require surgery, and that’s good news, but we are firmly in a spot where we will need to see more than him squatting a small village to reinvest this summer with the injuries piling up on a soon-to-be 29-year-old body that has north of 1,500 NFL touches. Reports have come out of Cleveland that it’s “ hard to say what his future in Cleveland might be” and that makes it difficult to project anything close to confidence in a meaningful role for 2025.
I’m rooting for him as I’m sure most are – but doing so from a distance.
Jerome Ford, RB
Jerome Ford has seven games with 10+ touches this season and has produced 7.7% over expectation in the process. He has plenty of boom/bust in his profile, but the numbers don’t lie – when he sees his role expand, he pays off.
D’Onta Foreman was handed Cleveland’s first two doorstep carries last week, but with a failure and a fumble, we can probably eliminate that from our worries this week. Dorian Thompson-Robinson isn’t going to have this offense in scoring position too often, but his conservative approach does favor a player like Ford.
It’s not crazy to pencil in 16-20 touches in this game, and given the ability to win in the passing game, I’m playing Ford as an RB2 and will have DFS exposure in a game that I expect to be higher scoring than sportsbooks do.
Raheem Mostert, RB
When this game kicks off, we will be more than two months removed from Raheem Mostert’s last touchdown; not a sentence I thought I’d type following a 21-score 2023 campaign, but here we are.
There is no reason to look Mostert’s way this week; his story should serve as a good reminder that every season is its own entity. Production from the past is certainly something to consider, but overweighing it will land you a great 2024 team and out of the 2025 playoff picture.
Jaylen Wright, RB
It’s fair to question how Jaylen Wright has been used this season (65 touches), but that’s not going to change anything. I’m of the belief that we could see him carve out a Jaylen Warren-like role next season, but that’s a projection to battle in June — he’s not helping you win a title over the next few weeks unless Miami elects to call his number if/when mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.
Jerry Jeudy, WR
Updated at 2:35 PM ET on Sunday, December 29
Jeudy is active for today's game.
Situations like this allow you to learn plenty about yourself as a fantasy manager.
Just how much risk are you willing to take on with all of the chips in the middle of the table?
My answer: not much. Jerry Jeudy had a nice run with Jameis Winston under center, but that’s kind of like saying that my exercise plan went great in the summer when it was nice out — it doesn’t matter right now.
This Dorian Thompson-Robinson-led offense doesn’t come preloaded with anything close to the upside of the Winston-led version but it carries all of the same downside. Jeudy managed just 20 yards last weekend in Cincinnati against one of the most forgiving secondaries in the league. Why would we expect him to flip the script now?
The Dolphins can be had down the field, though that doesn’t project to be a major issue against this now ultra-conservative offense. What Miami can do is get off the field on third downs (third-best in the league this season), and with Cleveland going 3-of-12 in those spots last week, forgive me if I think that the road team has every chance to control this game.
The Browns are going to struggle against anyone, and if their offense can’t stay on the field, I’m told that’s bad for business.
Jeudy resides in the Marvin Harrison Jr./Aam Thielen tier this week of WR1s for his NFL team that I’d rather not roll with for my fantasy team if possible.
Tyreek Hill, WR
Updated at 2:35 PM ET on Sunday, December 29
Hill is active for today's game.
Tyreek Hill hasn’t had a catch gaining more than 30 yards since Week 1 and has caught just five of 14 targets over the past two weeks after pulling in 10 of his 14 looks against the Jets in Week 14. We spent a first-round pick on him this summer, hoping for groundbreaking games — we aren’t even getting flashes of it these days.
The short touchdown last week was nice, a little sprint out that seems close to uncoverable if the defense isn’t 100% willing to sell out, and gives him five in his past seven games, but that’s allowing him to stay afloat for fantasy managers instead of dominate.
I doubt you have three receivers I’d rather play, but I suppose it’s not impossible. In theory, this is as good a spot as any to break out – the Browns have intercepted deep passes at the second-lowest rate this season, so why not try?
You’re playing Hill, even if it’s not as comfortable as we had hoped. There aren’t expected to be any weather issues, so I’ll refrain from spamming you with “Tua in the cold” numbers. I’ve already bet this game to go over the total; if I cash that ticket, I feel good about the position of all fantasy teams with Hill exposure.
Elijah Moore, WR
I was more in on Elijah Moore last week than most, and I can assure you that I will not make that mistake in consecutive games. My thought process was that the short-yardage target in a low-octane offense could see enough high-percentage targets to return reasonable PPR value.
As it turns out, this offense has no “high-percentage targets” with Dorian Thompson-Robinson under center. Moore has turned 11 targets into just 20 yards over the past two weeks and has found the end zone just twice in his past 24 games. There are many more paths to failure than success, and that’s not a math equation I’m comfortable backing.
Cedric Tillman, WR
Updated at 2:35 PM ET on Sunday, December 29
Tillman is inactive for today's game.
The Browns are “hopeful” that Cedric Tillman can return from a concussion that has resulted in four missed games, but I can’t imagine a situation in which you’re rolling the dice on a player like this in an offense that went from recklessly aggressive to mind-numbingly conservative with their change under center.
The Tillman-coaster was a fun ride for three weeks (32 targets and three touchdowns), but his skill set, when fully healthy, aligns perfectly with Jameis Winston, not Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Could a 24-year-old with high-end athletic traits develop into something? Of course. Can he do it with Cleveland seemingly committed to Deshaun Watson? I’m not so sure – I don’t think he’ll be on my list of favorite late-round flyers for 2025.
Jaylen Waddle, WR
Updated at 2:35 PM ET on Sunday, December 29
Waddle is inactive for today's game.
Jaylen Waddle seems to get dinged up consistently, and an ailing knee held him out of Week 16’s win. Malik Washington stepped into his role and gave Miami all of 28 yards, so I don’t think you’re at any risk of losing looks should he return to action.
This is a read-and-react situation for me. There’s a decent chance the Dolphins will be eliminated from playoff contention by kickoff, and that would obviously impact Waddle’s appeal should he get in some work in practice this week.
That said, IF he clears all medical hurdles and IF Miami remains alive in the playoff rate, I’ll be labeling Waddle as a top-35 receiver. He’s had plenty of bumps in his road this season, but in a matchup against a defense that allows the fourth-most YAC to the position and ranks dead last in both yards per attempt and per completion to the slot this season, there’s a path to viable PPR production.
David Njoku, TE
Updated at 2:35 PM ET on Sunday, December 29
Njoku is inactive for today's game.
David Njoku was questionable entering last week, but he posted his seventh top-10 week of the season and seems to be close to quarterback agnostic. His big play on Sunday was a 29-yard screen pass — a great design to beat a heavy blitz and one that he probably turns into six points if at full strength.
Even if he’s a bit compromised … even if the quarterback play in Cleveland is underwhelming … even if Miami is a top-10 pass defense in both yards per attempt and touchdown rate, you’re starting Njoku.
The more I look at my tight ends every week, the more I tend to believe that this is a position that rewards skill (be it athletic abilities or route running precision) over the situation, something that I’ll take into consideration when constructing my way-too-early 2025 overalls.
Jonnu Smith, TE
Since 2021, Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Jonnu Smith are the only tight ends with a dozen PPR points in six straight games. I’m not calling him Tom Brady, but like the GOAT, Smith is breaking all sorts of age curves.
An age-29 career year?
At this point in the season, I’m past asking questions and just impressed by the profile. Smith has earned at least a 24% share of targets when he’s on the field in four of his past five games and has found stability in this quick-strike offense.
Smith’s athletic gifts were initially his calling card, but with just three games of 50+ air yards, I like his fit in Miami’s offense more than the hope for him to make a play down the field. We are looking at one of the cheat codes for successful fantasy teams in 2024—there’s no reason to shy away now with your season on the line!