In a perfect world, injuries would just go away in Week 16 of the Fantasy Football season. Injuries are, of course, a part of this game at all times, but there's something especially unwelcome about a championship game being decided by something as arbitrary as who is healthy at the right time. Of course, you still need to navigate injuries, and the fill-in options could actually help you bring home the championship, so here's what we're watching out for this week:
Ronald Jones (reserve/COVID-19/finger), Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle), and Cam Akers (ankle) are expected to miss Week 16, meaning Leonard Fournette, Le'Veon Bell, and Darrell Henderson should be in line for starts this week. James Robinson (ankle), Christian McCaffrey (quad), Ezekiel Elliott (calf), Antonio Gibson (toe), Joe Mixon (foot), and Damien Harris (ankle) are all at least in question for this week, and several of them may not play at all, so we'll have to wait for the rest of the week of practice to see who will be available. That also includes Chase Edmonds (ankle/knee), Jamaal Williams (quad), Myles Gaskin (reserve/COVID-19), and Duke Johnson (neck).
Check in with the rest of our content throughout the week for updates on who will and won't be available, and Jamey Eisenberg's Start 'Em & Sit 'Em calls may be updated depending on what happens in practice with some of these names. For now, here's who he's riding with in the championship and who he is avoiding:
More Week 16: Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: QB | Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: RB | Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: WR | Waiver Wire | QB Preview | RB Preview | WR Preview | TE Preview | Who Can You Trust?
START 'EM & SIT 'EM
Running Backs
Start 'Em
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In two starts with Jalen Hurts, Sanders is back to being the running back we love. He had 18 total touches in each game against the Saints and Cardinals, and he had at least 90 total yards in each outing. He has a great matchup this week against the Cowboys, who are No. 6 in Fantasy points allowed to running backs and No. 4 in touchdowns allowed to the position with 14. And Sanders had 25 PPR points in his last meeting with the Cowboys in 2019, so hopefully history repeats itself this week.
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Fournette is expected to start again in Week 16 for Ronald Jones (illness), and he should have the chance for another big game. Fournette started in place of Jones in Week 15 at Atlanta and finished with 14 carries for 49 yards and two touchdowns, along with three catches for 16 yards on five targets, which was good for 20 PPR points. This week, he's facing a Lions defense that allows the most Fantasy points to opposing running backs and most touchdowns to the position (25). There have been seven times this season where a running back has scored multiple times against Detroit, so hopefully Fournette can accomplish that feat again in consecutive weeks.
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Gordon goes back to Los Angeles for the first time since leaving the Chargers after last season, and hopefully this revenge game goes better for him than the initial meeting with these teams. He faced the Chargers in Denver in Week 8 and was held to eight carries for 26 yards, along with six catches for 21 yards on seven targets, but I'm expecting a better performance in the rematch. He's scored at least 11 PPR points in three games in a row and is averaging 13.3 PPR points over that span. Gordon also has eight games this season with at least 15 total touches, and he's scored at least 11 PPR points in all of them. Hopefully, he gets that type of workload this week.
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Dobbins was solid as the Start of the Week in Week 15 against the Jaguars, and he's worth starting again in Week 16 against the Giants. Now, the Giants run defense has been good this season, but it has allowed a running back to score in three games in a row. And Dobbins has a touchdown in four games in a row, including three outings over that span with at least 70 total yards. I expect him to again be the lead running back for the Ravens, and he's worth starting as a No. 2 Fantasy option in all leagues.
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Bell should be considered a low-end starting option in all leagues with Clyde Edwards-Helaire (hip) now out, and hopefully Bell produces at least as well as he did in Week 15 at the Saints when he scored 14 PPR points. That was a season-high for him, and it also was a season high in touches with 16 (15 carries). He should be in that range for work again, although Darrel Williams will also be a factor and should be considered a sleeper. The Falcons have allowed a running back to score or gain over 100 total yards in three games in a row, and hopefully Bell takes advantage of this opportunity with Edwards-Helaire hurt.
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Sleepers
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Even though Ezekiel Elliott (calf) appears on track to play in Week 16, I still like Pollard as a flex option in most leagues. With Elliott out in Week 15 against San Francisco, Pollard was a star with 12 carries for 69 yards and two touchdowns, along with six catches for 63 yards on nine targets. He also caught a touchdown in Week 14 at Cincinnati, and he's looked much more explosive than Elliott for most of the season. The Eagles have allowed a running back to score or gain at least 100 total yards in six games in a row, and it would have been great if Elliott sat out one more week to give Pollard another chance to be a star.
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McKissic remains a starter in PPR and a flex in non-PPR leagues even if Antonio Gibson (toe) is back in Week 16. Hopefully, Alex Smith (calf) returns this week, and McKissic has scored at least 17 PPR points in two of his past three games. Carolina is among the league leaders in receptions allowed to running backs with 82, and eight running backs have at least four catches against the Panthers this year.
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Moss gets the Patriots this week, and New England has allowed back-to-back 100-yard games against Cam Akers and Ahmed. And Moss had 14 carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns against the Patriots in Week 8. Moss has back-to-back games with 13 carries, and the Bills are giving him the chance to be the lead back ahead of Devin Singletary. While both have flex appeal this week at New England, I expect Moss to have the better performance and hopefully find the end zone.
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Wilson should be considered a borderline starter in all leagues with Raheem Mostert (ankle) out. Wilson took over for Mostert in Week 15 at Dallas and had 16 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown and no catches on four targets. This is now five games this season with double digits in carries for Wilson, and he's scored a touchdown in four of them, including three outings with at least 12 PPR points. The Cardinals have also allowed opposing running backs to score six touchdowns in their past five games.
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I didn't expect to buy back into Bernard this season, but it was nice to see him get 25 carries and 26 total touches in Week 15 against Pittsburgh. He converted that into 97 total yards and two touchdowns, and hopefully the Bengals stick with him in Week 16 at Houston. The Texans are No. 2 in Fantasy points allowed to running backs, and only once this season has a running back failed to score against this defense. It's risky to trust Bernard or any Bengals player at this point in the season, but Bernard has flex appeal given the matchup.
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Sit 'Em
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Things have fallen apart for Gallman in the past two weeks against Arizona and Cleveland, and he combined for 11 PPR points over that span. Prior to that, Gallman had scored at least 12 PPR points in six games in a row. He continues to share touches with Alfred Morris and Dion Lewis, and the quarterback situation has been tough for Gallman with an injured Daniel Jones (ankle) or an ineffective Colt McCoy. I don't expect the Giants to score many points against the Ravens, and Gallman could have another rough outing this week.
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Conner is back after missing Week 15 at Cincinnati with a quad injury, but it's hard to trust him this week. He hasn't played well for most of this season and has only one game with more than six PPR points since Week 8. Now, part of that stretch is missing three games due to illness and injury, but the Steelers will likely still give work to Benny Snell against Indianapolis. And this is a tough matchup against the Colts, who should be able to contain the Pittsburgh ground attack. The Steelers have scored the fourth-fewest Fantasy points among running backs this season.
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Henderson will start for the injured Cam Akers (ankle), but Sean McVay said Henderson and Malcolm Brown will split work. Henderson should be considered a flex option this week against the Seahawks, but I'm hesitant to start him in most leagues. The last three times he had double digits in carries -- Week 6 at San Francisco, Week 7 against Chicago and Week 12 against the 49ers -- he combined for just 18 PPR points over that span. He did score against Seattle in Week 10, but he only had seven carries for 28 yards, as well as one catch for 5 yards. Even though the Seahawks have allowed five total touchdowns to running backs in their past five games, I'm not expecting a big performance from Henderson this week.
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This posting is with the potential of Davis starting and Christian McCaffrey (thigh) still out. You're obviously going to sit Davis if McCaffrey plays. But if Davis remains the starter you might want to put him on the bench in your Fantasy leagues because the Washington Football Team has been tough on opposing running backs all season. Washington is among the leaders in fewest receptions (55) and touchdowns (11 total) allowed to running backs. Davis has scored 10 PPR points or less in six of his past seven games without McCaffrey, and he's become touchdown dependent. If he doesn't score this week, your Fantasy team could be in trouble.
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So who should you start and sit this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 16 rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big-time last season.
