Fantasy Football Week 16 Running Back Start Sits: Mike Boone/Alexander Mattison, More

Fantasy Football Week 16 Running Back Start Sits: Mike Boone or Alexander Mattison should have a great game for your fantasy championship.

Fantasy football championship weekend is here, which means it’s never been more important to have the best lineup possible. Deciding on who to start and sit isn’t easy, especially when a player like Mike Boone steps into a fantastic situation. Let’s take a dive into all of the best start em’, sit em’ matchups of the week to put together the best possible lineup.

Week 16 Wide Receiver Start Sits
Week 16 Quarterback Start Sits

Mike Boone/Alexander Mattison Highlight Fantasy Football Week 16 Running Back Start Sits

Start: Mike Boone, Alexander Mattison, or Dalvin Cook

Update: Dalvin Cook has been ruled out for Week 16

As of this posting, nobody knows exactly who is going to start at running back for the Minnesota Vikings. Dalvin Cook suffered a shoulder injury in Week 15 and is in serious risk of missing Week 16. Alexander Mattison would normally be the next man up, but he suffered an injury of his own which kept him out of Week 15. Mike Boone is the only healthy option on the table, but he won’t carry any value if Cook or Mattison play.

Anyone receiving carries in Minnesota’s backfield is going to carry some fantasy value, so make sure to monitor the injury report on this one. All three should be rostered, but we should have a better idea as to who will actually play as the week approaches. If you own the guy on the top of the depth chart come kickoff, make sure he’s in your lineup.

Sit: Kerryon Johnson

Kerryon Johnson is back, but he’s not going to make an impact for fantasy. The second-year running back had one of the hottest hype trains in recent memory before flaming out with underwhelming performances and injuries. Even though he hasn’t had any setbacks in his return from injury, don’t expect him to receive a full workload. Even when he was healthy, he only received over 16 carries twice during his first seven games.

The Detroit Lions aren’t going to suddenly ramp up Johnson’s workload with him coming back from injury and with the emergence of Bo Scarbrough. Even if he did somehow get a full workload, he still probably wouldn’t carry much fantasy relevance. The Lions have one of the worst offenses in the league and David Blough won’t produce many extended drives or scoring opportunities.

Start: Miles Sanders

Jordan Howard might play in Week 16, but this is going to be Miles Sanders’ backfield moving forward. The rookie running back had a fantastic game last week, recording 19 carries for 122 yards and a score to go along with six receptions for 50 yards and another touchdown. The Eagles invested a second-round pick in Sanders, and the rookie has a considerably higher ceiling than Howard.

Even if Howard eats into some of the carries, Sanders is still going to carry plenty of value in the passing game. The Eagles don’t have any healthy wide receivers, leaving Sanders as one of the more dangerous pass-catching weapons in the offense. Anyone who follows fantasy football knows Jordan Howard cannot catch the ball, whereas Sanders excels out of the backfield. The Eagles face off against the Cowboys in what should be a high-scoring affair, so Sanders should have a solid fantasy night.

Sit: Sony Michel

Sony Michel recorded 19 carries in Week 15, but it’s hard to see him getting that type of workload in Week 16 against the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots faced off against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15 and used Michel to run out the clock late in the game. That probably won’t happen against a Buffalo Bills team that slowed Tom Brady down each of the past three times these teams met. Michel is going to need to get into the end zone to have any fantasy value, and he hasn’t done that since his three-touchdown performance back in Week 7.

Start: Marlon Mack

Marlon Mack has had a rough go over the past two weeks, recording just 57 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. This obviously isn’t the result you want to see with this type of work, but there should be better days on the horizon. Over the last two weeks, Mack faced off against two strong run defenses in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints. Now, Mack gets to face possibly the worst run defense in the league in the Carolina Panthers. Carolina can’t stop anything on the ground, and the Colts should build a comfortable lead thanks to Will Grier making his first start.

Sit: Devin Singletary

Devin Singletary is an exciting young player, but he’s going to struggle against the New England Patriots run defense. The Bills are traveling on the road to face off against New England in what should be a low-scoring, defensive driven game. Singletary won’t have too many scoring opportunities and his penchant for fumbling could be bad news against an opportunistic defense like New England’s.