Gore has struggled but he could be ready to break through in week 16.
This is it. After 15 weeks of battling it out, you have one more chance to make the correct lineup decisions to cap off your season the right way. Just one slip-up with your Start/Sit decisions and those title hopes may be derailed. No pressure, right?
Fortunately, we’ve rounded up a crew of four Featured Experts to offer Championship Week advice. If you need more help specific to your team, be sure to check out the links below.
[More Lineup Advice: Who Should You Start? | Lineup Picks for your Team]
Q1: Every year, a surprise stud steps up to help lead fantasy owners to a title. What under-the-radar player fits this bill and should be started as a result?
Markus Wheaton: WR, PIT at BAL
“The Steelers offense is so absurdly good that even No. 3 WR Markus Wheaton is a threat to put up big numbers. He’s averaged nearly 10 targets per game over the last four weeks and is being covered by nickel and dime cornerbacks. Wheaton also has a peach matchup against the Ravens this week.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)
Tyler Lockett: WR, SEA vs. STL
“Lockett is moving towards WR2 status with the rise of the Seahawks passing game. Over the past three weeks, he has averaged 14.3 Fantasy PPG (20.3 PPR) on 6.0 catches for 83 yards and 1 TD per game in that span. It’s not just the numbers either. I see the move by Russell Wilson towards Lockett increasing every week. Someday, Lockett will be Wilson’s Antonio Brown. If the Rams deploy extra efforts to halt the ultra-hot Doug Baldwin, Lockett is going to destroy them on the other side with gaudy numbers for Fantasy.”
– RC Fischer (Fantasy Football Metrics)
Willie Snead: WR, NO vs. JAC
“Snead is the perfect replacement for anyone needing a WR (see: not wanting to wait on A.J. Green). He’s not so much of a “surprise” at this point, but I still see owners and leagues reluctant to use him, and especially with the Drew Brees news. If Brees starts, Snead will be a Top 25 WR this week in a juicy matchup…after all, Brees played through the injury last week.”
– Jake Ciely (RotoExperts)
“Williams has the best chance at filling the role of playoff waiver stud this week. He took a backseat to Mike Gillislee in his return last week but did so while averaging over 10 yards per carry and he reportedly “came out of the game no worse for the wear”. Let’s remember that Williams scored 7 times in the first six games while playing second fiddle to LeSean McCoy, who just tore his MCL. This week’s matchup against the Cowboys won’t hurt matters. They’ve allowed 24 standard fantasy points per game in the last three weeks, good enough for 6th worst in the league. ”
– Sean Morris (Bruno Boys)
Q2: Name one “dud” for Week 16 and tell us why you think this is one player owners should strongly consider benching.
“I’m completely off Hightower now that Drew Brees is ailing. The Saints’ running game will be extremely easy to defend if Brees is out, and I’m not sure I want to have any stake in the New Orleans offense if Brees is at less than full capacity. Hightower’s comeback is a wonderful story, but I don’t think fantasy owners should use him this week.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)
“Stafford has become a ‘sleeper’ start for Week 16, coming off a nice game on Monday Night Football, and a solid recent run of production (12 TD/1 INT the past four games). It’s not Stafford as a concern, it’s the 49ers pass defense. Yes, you read that correctly. Over the past four games, the 49ers have held opposing QBs to 0.5 passing TDs/game with just 233.8 passing yards allowed. They have stifled four QBs in a row, including holding Carson Palmer to zero passing TDs, and Arizona’s offense to a season-low 19 points. Based on recent trends, the likelihood Stafford has a big Fantasy day is limited.”
– RC Fischer (Fantasy Football Metrics)
“Dez should be benched. Heck, he should have been for weeks now. It’s time to face facts folks (alliteration much?). When Tony Romo isn’t at quarterback, the entire Cowboys offense stinks, and that includes Dez, who seems like he just doesn’t care anymore anyway.”
– Jake Ciely (RotoExperts)
“The obvious answer here is Murray who the Eagles’ coaching staff has completely lost faith with. It’s unlikely his owners are even considering playing him but just in case name value might still factor into your playoff lineup decisions, don’t let it. He’s only managed double digit touches in two of the last three games and his snap count has plummeted to third amongst the team’s running backs. Avoid at all costs.”
– Sean Morris (Bruno Boys)
Q3: Give us one struggling player that owners should resist the temptation to sit because a payoff is coming this week.
“Gore has faced five top-10 run defenses in his last seven games. Not surprisingly, his rushing numbers have been grisly during that stretch. But Gore has a gem of a matchup this week against a bad, unmotivated Dolphins defense. I think the old guy comes through with 100-plus yards from scrimmage and a TD.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)
“Yes, Gore looks his age, but the matchup is just too good, and truthfully, who else are you going to start over Gore at this point? The NFL backfields are a mess and you can count on your hands the number of teams that have running backs with guaranteed work. Gore, even as quiet as he’s been, is one of them.”
– Jake Ciely (RotoExperts)
“There are a variety of normally stud receivers on some horrendous cold streaks right now but you can’t bench any of them. Stick with studs like Fitzgerald and Megatron who sit at WR61 and WR62, respectively, over the last three weeks. Yes, they are playing terrible and have poor matchups this week but you have to play your elite options. Both have immense upside every week and could easily be the difference in your playoff games.”
– Sean Morris (Bruno Boys)
T.Y. Hilton: WR, IND at MIA
“Hilton has been disappointing most of this season. Between an early foot injury and the walking wounded QBs, Hilton has had a huge fall from Fantasy grace. This week might be one of those moments where Hilton has a performance spike. Matt Hasselbeck is expected to play, and the Colts face the worst pass defense in the NFL this side of the New Orleans Saints—Miami has allowed the second most passing TDs of any defense this season. It’s a must-win game for Indy, against a team that can be crushed via the air and Hilton is their best weapon that can take simple passes to the house. This do-or-die game sets up for a heavy a dose of Hilton.”
– RC Fischer (Fantasy Football Metrics)
Q4: The RB situations in New England, Seattle & Carolina continue to be tough to predict. If you could start 1 back from these teams (standard scoring), who would it be and why?
– Jake Ciely (RotoExperts)
“James White. When the Patriots beat the Jets in Week 7, their running backs carried the ball only five times, and Tom Brady threw 54 passes. Their gameplan will probably be similar this week against a Jets defense that’s tough against the run but has been vulnerable against the pass, and I think White is going to see a bunch of targets. I’m not entirely confident that C-Mike will continue to be the main man in Seattle’s RB rotation, and I don’t have much interest in any of the Carolina RBs with Jonathan Stewart out.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)
“Though the flavor of the week in Seattle is likely to get more touches, the only running back on any of these teams you can realistically trust in week 16 is James White. The Patriots’ extreme lack of passing game targets have forced White into an integral receiving role in recent weeks. He’s hit double digit fantasy points in 4 of the last 5 weeks on the back of 25 receptions for 261 yards and 3 scores in that time period.”
– Sean Morris (Bruno Boys)
“With so much confusion with these three backfields, between injuries and recent signees not having any established/reliable trends, I’d stick with the one guy who has produced a TD for three weeks straight: James White. The last time the Patriots played the Jets, they abandoned the run and threw the ball 54 times. White is likely to see 10+ targets and have a few shots at scoring a TD when in the red-zone this week.”
– RC Fischer (Fantasy Football Metrics)
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Thanks to this week’s Featured Experts for sharing their insight with us. To get more advice from the experts, please visit their sites (click their names below) and follow them on Twitter. Best of luck to everyone in your championship matchups!
