Fantasy Football Week 16: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em

Welcome to The Big Lead’s weekly start ’em, sit ’em column. We are here to dig into the toughest decisions you may be facing for your fantasy matchup in Week 16 of NFL action and give you answers. Some of those answers may even be right!

Presenting our Week 16 start ’em, sit ’em calls.

Chandler came in clutch on Saturday afternoon, racking up over 20 fantasy points while receiving pretty much all of the RB carries for Minnesota with Alexander Mattison hurt. The various backup quarterbacks the team is shuffling through helps incentivize Kevin O’Connell’s staff to keep leaning on the run game, too. However, he’s a risky start for this week. Mattison could siphon some of his carries if he returns to full health and, more importantly, the Vikings are likely to be playing from behind for some (if not all) of their upcoming contest with the Lions. Chandler recorded only three catches against Cincinnati. If Minnesota has to start passing the ball early and often Chandler isn’t guaranteed to get the same number of touches. Thus, we recommend looking elsewhere. SIT ‘EM

Achane has been frustratingly inconsistent since returning from his injury and it’s tough to know when to trust him. Yes, he has a big-play ability that could change the outcome of your fantasy matchup on any given snap. But Raheem Mostert is guaranteed to get at least half the carries in every game and it’s become obvious Mike McDaniel trusts him a whole lot more than Achane on the goal line. Achane gets touches in the passing game to balance things out a bit but ultimately he’s overly dependent on touchdowns for good days. Fortunately he’s going up against a Cowboys defense that just gave up every single bit of ground (and then some) possible to the James Cook/Josh Allen combination. And if Dallas offense bounces back enough to keep things close there could be many possessions and yards to go around for both Achane and Mostert. Ride with him. START ‘EM

Jones put forth a bummer of a statline despite things appearing to line up for him on Sunday. He was healthy and fresh returning from injury, AJ Dillon was going to be out with a broken thumb, and the Packers needed to win badly. All that led to a outing that barely got past the double-digit mark in full PPR leagues. But fear not. There’s hope for Jones yet. It’s quite unlikely Dillon will come back and eat into his carries if he couldn’t go this past Sunday, and the Packers will visit Carolina to take on the third-worst fantasy run defense in the league. Now that he’s shaken the rust off Jones is primed for a big week. START ‘EM

It was a weird week for Diggs as the Bills absolutely dominated and put up 30-plus points yet his fantasy statline was terrible because they did zero damage through the air. It is unlikely, shall we say, that Josh Allen will throw for 95 yards again this season, much less in a winning effort. It’s just more concerning for Diggs because the outing marks the fourth in the last five games where he failed to crack double-digit points. We recommend staying the course, though. The Bills are fully in playoff mode since they basically need to win out in order to get to the actual postseason and when the Bills are in playoff mode, Allen goes to Diggs whenever he can. Plus they’re playing the Chargers this week. Who just gave up so many points to an Aidan O’Connell-led offense on national television just last Thursday. START ‘EM

Aiyuk had one of his very few down weeks throughout his tremendous fantasy season this past Sunday, catching only three passes on five targets for 37 yards and no touchdowns. It wasn’t really a bad week for Aiyuk as much as it was just falling victim to the endless talent pool San Francisco enjoys at their skill positions. It was his first single-digit outing since Week 7 and it’s reasonable to believe he’ll bounce back next week. But! The Niners have the Ravens coming to visit and Baltimore’s secondary ranks seventh in the league in points given up to opposing wideouts. There’s still plenty of opportunity for Aiyuk to put forth a solid day but if you’re staring down the barrel of an underdog playoff matchup and need a big splash from someone, Aiyuk is not going to be your guy. SIT ‘EM