The semifinals of the fantasy football playoffs are here! Are you still alive? Did you lose Jalen Hurts this past week? If so, check out the Stream Team to see who is available to help replace him these next few weeks. Here we will help out with starts and sits, the matchups this week across the board aren’t great but some under-the-radar guys can help this week.
READ MORE: Week 16 DraftKings Plays
Fantasy Football Starts and Sits for Week 16
Quarterback Starts: Daniel Jones
With Kyler Murray being out and Jalen Hurts most likely being out this week Daniel Jones is a good waiver pickup for Week 16. Jones is QB11 on the season and has been a top-10 quarterback since week 11. Jones has 17 touchdowns (five rushing) and over 3,000 total yards on the season. These aren’t overly impressive numbers but they have allowed him to be a top-12 fantasy option this season. In week 15 the Minnesota Vikings gave up 36 points to an Indianapolis Colts offense that only averages 16 points per game. The Giants don’t have great options in the passing game but Jones’ rushing ability will give him solid upside in a great matchup this week.
Quarterback Sits: Deshaun Watson
Since returning from his 11-game suspension Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has been useless for fantasy. Deshaun Watson is QB34 in points per game and hasn’t finished higher than QB13. Watson is bottom 10 in every major quarterback statistic on a points-per-game basis. Watson is also at the bottom of the league in pass attempts per game, which is not great for fantasy. He has over 30 pass attempts in one game this season and that was week 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals. In that game, the Browns were trailing for most of it which led to Watson throwing 42 times. The Browns are 2.5 point favorites this week against the New Orleans Saints so the game script may lead to Watson not throwing that often. What also may affect Watson this week is the weather, a significant snowstorm is expected to come through the midwestern and eastern states this weekend, and Cleveland looks to be getting the worst of it.
From the fantasy weather man (@KevinRothWx): "This is without a doubt one of the worst, if not the single worst week of weather I’ve ever seen in the NFL."
He thinks Saints at Browns will be the worst: https://t.co/VR2HiB8680 pic.twitter.com/PzeTH5Am1C
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) December 21, 2022
This will obviously impact the passing games for the Browns and Saints. Passing attempts may be limited for two teams that prefer to run the ball either way. Watson has struggled throwing the ball in perfect conditions, the chance of 50 mph winds leaves him as a stay away this week.
Running Back Starts: Miles Sanders and Deon Jackson
Miles Sanders went over 1,000 for the first time in his career in week 15. Earlier this season against the Dallas Cowboys, Sanders had fourteen PPR points. This time around Sanders will most likely be without his quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Eagles QB and MVP candidate Jalen Hurts is uncertain to play Saturday vs. the Cowboys due to a sprained shoulder that he suffered during Sunday's win over the Bears, per league sources.
Hurts was hurt late in the third quarter, when Bears' DE Trevis Gipson drove him into ground. pic.twitter.com/KsWbMkCszW
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 19, 2022
The Cowboys gave up over 150 yards to the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 15. The Cowboys lost nose tackle, Jonathan Hankins, in week 14 and middle linebacker Leighton Vander Esch in week 15. Both are integral parts of their run defense and it showed this past week. With Hurts possibly being out the Eagles may look to lean on the clear advantage they have which is Sanders and the running game.
Deon Jackson has been a key contributor for the Indianapolis Colts this season whenever Jonathan Taylor has missed time. Taylor sustained a high ankle sprain and will miss the rest of the season.
Colts placed RB Jonathan Taylor on IR – his season is over.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 20, 2022
Zack Moss out-snapped Jackson 53 to 25 but Jackson was significantly more efficient with less work. Jackson is also a factor in the passing game while Moss has never been considered a receiving option. 18% of Colt’s passing attempts this season have been targeted to running backs. Out of all of the healthy Colts running backs, Jackson has 82% of the running back targets. At the very least Jackson will be the passing downs back. Add in that the matchup against the Chargers is an A+ matchup Jackson has top-20 running back potential this week.
Running Back Sits: Brian Robinson
Brian Robinson has been over 4.5 yards per carry the last three weeks, before that he was under four in his first seven games. Whichever running back is facing the San Francisco 49ers should be a sit each week. That is how good the 49er’s rush defense has been this season. The 49ers have the number one DVOA defense this season and they rank either 1st or 2nd in six rush defense DVOA categories. Robinson has been better as of late but this is asking a lot out of the young running back this week. No involvement as a receiver and that cuts down his upside by quite a bit. Without a touchdown or two, it is hard seeing him put up a good fantasy number this week.
Wide Receiver Starts: Garrett Wilson
Garrett Wilson is WR18 on the season and WR8 since week 11, Wilson has been the most consistent rookie wide receiver this year and is currently the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Wilson is averaging 113 yards on 11 targets in his last three games. The most points the New York Jets scored in these games is 22. This is great for Wilson, it means no matter the game script he is a huge part of the offense. Wilson has a great matchup this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, just three days ago the Jags gave up 126 yards on 7 targets to Ceedee Lamb and also two touchdown catches to Noah Brown. Look for Wilson to have a similar performance as Lamb did against Jacksonville.
Wide Receiver Sits: DJ Moore
DJ Moore has mainly been a fantasy disappointment this season, three different quarterbacks certainly have not helped him. The inconsistencies are things you can’t trust in the fantasy playoffs. 18 PPR points last week, the previous week he had three targets for zero yards. This year Moore has four games over 18 PPR points and seven games under 10 PPR points including six games under 30 yards. Moore has a good matchup against the Detroit Lions this week but with it being the semifinals of the fantasy playoffs trusting DJ Moore is something you cannot risk this week.
Tight End Starts: Dalton Schultz
Dalton Schultz only had 15 yards on four targets in week 15 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In a high-scoring game that was a surprising result. Since Schultz has returned from his knee injury he is averaging over six targets per game. The Dallas Cowboys struggle in the passing game outside of CeeDee Lamb. Noah Brown scored two touchdowns in week 15 but he did have a couple of drops that ended up costing the Cowboys the game. The matchup for Schultz this week is against the Philadelphia Eagles who are solid against tight ends but it is the weak link in the Eagle’s defense. The Eagles have two great outside cornerbacks in Darius Slay and James Bradberry, they’re weak links are at linebacker and safety. Schultz did not play in the game earlier this season at Philadelphia but Cowboys tight ends combined for 72 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets. Schultz averages over 40 yards per game in eight home games this season.
