Start em or sit em? Fantasy football start or sit decisions can be excruciating. While it feels great to make the right call and cruise to fantasy glory, it hurts just as much when you have someone erupt while on your bench. You can use our Who Should I Start? tool to gauge advice from fantasy football experts as you make your lineup decisions. And you can also sync your fantasy football league for free using our My Playbook tool for custom advice, rankings and analysis.
Let’s take a look at a few polarizing players and what fantasy football expert Derek Brown advises. And you can find all of DBro’s fantasy football outlook in this week’s fantasy football primer.
- Waiver Wire Picks
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Start’em, Sit’em Lineup Advice
Start’em
Despite his incredible efficiency and his standout performances this season, Dowdle took a back seat to Chuba Hubbard last week with a 43.5% snap rate, a 20.8% route share, and a 10% target share. Dowdle has outplayed Hubbard handily on a per-touch basis. Among 57 qualifying backs, Dowdle ranks 13th in explosive run rate, 17th in missed tackle rate, and sixth in yards after contact per attempt. Last week, Dowdle finished with 20 touches and 79 total yards, seeing a touch or a target on 20 of his 27 snaps played. That type of usage on a per-snap basis is difficult to maintain. You’re threading a fine needle, so if Dowdle’s snap count doesn’t flip back in the other direction, he could become volatile, while on the surface it looked like he got an RB2-level workload in his last game. Dowdle is a strong flex and could be an RB2 this week (RB36 in Week 13). Since Week 10, New Orleans has allowed the tenth-most rushing yards per game, the 13th-most yards before contact per attempt, and the third-highest yards per carry to zone runs (Hubbard 58.6% zone).
In Carolina’s last game, Chuba Hubbard reclaimed the lead back role with a 58.1% snap rate, a 54.2% route share, and a 10% target share. Hubbard finished with 19 touches and 124 total yards as the RB5 for the week. Hubbard’s lack of efficiency has been startling, especially with Carolina’s insistence on reinstalling him as the lead back. Among 57 qualifying backs, he has zero explosive runs and ranks 54th in missed tackle rate and 55th in yards after contact per attempt. Hubbard could still have a nice day against a burnable Saints’ run defense. Since Week 10, New Orleans has allowed the tenth-most rushing yards per game, the 13th-most yards before contact per attempt, and the third-highest yards per carry to zone runs (Hubbard 58.6% zone).
Tyrone Tracy opened the week with a full practice (hip). Tracy sustained the hip injury in Week 13 and was forced to leave the game, so the full practice to open the week was nice to see. I expect that Tracy will be a full go this week and return to the role we saw him operate in for Week 12. Against the Lions, he played 70.7% of the snaps with 23 touches and 130 total yards. He was the Giants’ clear lead back. Tracy has been a volume play that has lacked efficiency with his 2.7% explosive run rate, his 7% missed tackle rate, and 2.04 yards after contact per attempt. Tracy could easily be an RB2 this week, though, against the Commanders’ Swiss cheese run defense. Since Week 10, Washington has allowed the second-most rushing yards per game, the fourth-highest explosive run rate, and the fifth-highest missed tackle rate.
Woody Marks has been an RB3 receiving workhorse RB2 usage. Since Week 10, he has had a 71.1% snap share with 20 touches per game and 69 total yards per game as the RB35 in fantasy points per game. The big issue that has been holding down Marks’ fantasy production outside of efficiency and the offensive ecosystem has been touchdowns (or lack thereof). In his last five games, he has only two scores. Add another touchdown or two on top of his volume over the last five weeks, and he’s a strong mid-tier RB2 in fantasy points per game. Marks could have a monster Week 15 performance. The Arizona run defense has been competing with the pass defense for which unit can falter the most over the last few weeks. Since Week 10, Arizona has allowed the fifth-highest explosive run rate, the fourth-most rushing yards per game, the highest missed tackle rate, and the ninth-most yards after contact per attempt.
Chris Rodriguez is a touchdown-dependent flex again this week with a nice matchup. Since Week 11, he has averaged 12.3 touches and 59.3 total yards as Washington’s backfield leader. During that span, he has had 64.2% of the running back red zone carries. Rodriguez has only two targets, one reception, and six receiving yards this season, so if you’re playing him, just understand that he offers nothing through the air. He has been quite good as a rusher, though. Among 57 qualifying rushers, he ranks 33rd in explosive run rate and first in yards after contact per attempt. The Giants remain a horrendous run defense. Since Week 10, they have allowed the most rushing yards per game, the highest explosive run rate, the third-highest missed tackle rate, and the most yards after contact per attempt.
Last week, Tony Pollard reclaimed his lead back role with a 59.4% snap rate and 25 of the 33 running back carries. He didn’t play much on passing downs with only a 10.3% route share, so he could get game-scripted out this week if (or when) the 49ers run away with the game. Pollard finished with 25 carries and 161 rushing yards (two scores). It was his highest carry total of the season and his first 100-yard rushing day in 2025. Among 57 qualifying backs, Pollard ranks 36th in explosive run rate and 26th in yards after contact per attempt. Pollard could have another nice day if the Titans lean on the run. Since Week 10, the 49ers have allowed the third-highest rushing success rate, the eighth-highest missed tackle rate, the eighth-highest yards after contact per attempt, and had the third-lowest stuff rate.
Sit’em
Since Week 10, Kyle Monangai has been the RB28 in fantasy points per game, averaging 13.8 touches and 60 total yards. He has added little receiving value during this stretch, with only two receptions and 14 receiving yards total. Monangai has been a steamroller on early downs, though. Among 57 qualifying backs, he ranks 19th in explosive run rate and 20th in yards after contact per attempt. Monangai has split the red zone usage with D’Andre Swift, with each back seeing five red zone rushing attempts. This week, he has another tough matchup. Yes, I know Tony Pollard ran all over Cleveland last week, but this run defense still scares me. Since Week 10, they have allowed the 14th-lowest explosive run rate, the lowest rushing success rate, and had the second-highest stuff rate. Monangai is a volume-based RB2/3.
Blake Corum exploded last week in a good matchup in his part-time role with a 31.4% snap rate, 13 touches, and 131 total yards (two touchdowns). Since Week 7, he has averaged 10.7 touches and 56.9 total yards with a 32.8% snap rate. Among 57 qualifying backs, Corum ranks second in explosive run rate, sixth in missed tackle rate, and 23rd in yards after contact per attempt. Corum will likely see 8-12 touches this week, but he’ll need a touchdown to pay off as a flex play with a rough matchup. Since Week 10, Detroit has limited backs to the second-lowest explosive run rate, the 11th-lowest rushing success rate, the fifth-fewest yards after contact per attempt, and the 12th-fewest yards before contact per attempt.
David Montgomery is a touchdown-dependent flex play again this week. Since Week 11, he has averaged 8.1 touches and 48.8 total yards with a 35.3% snap rate. Montgomery has still been effective on a per-carry basis. Among 57 qualifying backs, he ranks 27th in explosive run rate and 11th in yards after contact per attempt. Montgomery will have a tough time with his early down grinding this week. Since Week 10, the Rams have allowed the 12th-fewest rushing yards per game, the fifth-lowest explosive run rate, the tenth-lowest rushing success rate, and the ninth-lowest yards before contact per attempt. Montgomery needs a touchdown to pay off for fantasy this week.
The Seattle backfield has been an exhausting situation to attempt to project all season. Even when we think we have it figured out, the offensive line can’t block, or the game script goes awry. It has been maddening. Since Week 11, Walker has had a 54.1% snap rate and 40.4% route share with a 9.5% target share. He has averaged 15 touches and 78.6 total yards with eight red zone rushing attempts (Zach Charbonnet had ten). Among 57 qualifying backs, Walker remains one of the best tackle breakers in the NFL, sitting at fourth in explosive run rate and second in missed tackle rate. Walker will be running uphill again this week. Since Week 10, Indy has allowed the seventh-lowest explosive run rate, the eighth-lowest missed tackle rate, and the sixth-fewest yards after contact per attempt.
Since Week 11, Zach Charbonnet has averaged 10.5 touches with 50 total yards per game while leading the way with ten red zone rushing attempts. During that span, he has had a 40.2% snap rate with a 25% route share and a 4.0% target share. Among 57 qualifying backs, Charbonnet ranks ninth in yards after contact per attempt and 15th in missed tackle rate. Charbonnet remains a touchdown-or-bust flex play. Since Week 10, Indy has allowed the seventh-lowest explosive run rate, the eighth-lowest missed tackle rate, and the sixth-fewest yards after contact per attempt.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
