Fantasy Football: Who to start and sit in NFL Week 16

The week is finally here. It is Championship Week in fantasy football. It is time to win whatever trophy you and your friends may have, and hold the bragging rights through all of next season. Or you could be playing for third place. I really hope you aren’t the guy playing not to be in last place trying to avoid whatever embarrassing punishment your league has lined up.

In any case here are the players you should be starting and sitting in Week 16.

Must starts

Ezekiel Elliott (Cowboys RB): Sure Elliott hasn’t played for six weeks, but why else have you held onto him for all this time? You held onto him for six weeks to not play him in the Championship game? The Seahawks just allowed Todd Gurely to absolutely wreck them, so you should expect a typical week from Elliott this week.

JuJu Smith-Schuster (Steelers WR): This is an easy one. Smith-Schuster has been a fairly big part of the Steelers passing attack this season. Now that Antonio Brown is out he has to be in the line up against a Texans team who can’t cover anyone.

Favorable matchups

Theo Riddick (Lions RB): The Bengals run defense has gone way down hill with all the injuries to linebackers, and they have had a terrible time trying to cover running backs out of the backfield all season. Riddick should be a great option in PPR leagues this week.

Doug Baldwin (Seahawks WR): He hasn’t been as reliable as the past couple of seasons, but Baldwin needs to be in your lineup this week. The Cowboys are terrible at stopping the pass, and Baldwin is a target machine. He is one of the only offensive players worth playing on the Seahawks.

Good but not great

DeMarco Murray (Titans RB): The one concern you will have about playing Murray is if the Titans can keep it close enough to be able to run the ball enough. If they can though the Rams allow over 20 fantasy points per game to running backs, according to Fantasy Pros. He isn’t an ideal start, but he is a solid flex option this week.

Unfavorable match ups

Marquise Goodwin (49ers WR): I personally have rode with Goodwin for a few weeks now, so trust me when I say he probably shouldn’t be played against the Jaguars. Goodwin has had a terrific stretch, and he could become a nice player to have next season, but you shouldn’t risk your championship on a guy playing against the Jaguars defense.

Marshawn Lynch (Raiders RB): Lynch has been a solid running back the second half of the season. He has scored a touchdown in three of the last four weeks, and the week he didn’t he totaled over 90 yards. Still the Eagles have one of the best rushing defenses in the league, so Lynch’s streak of solid games may end at the worst possible time for fantasy owners.

Just sit them

Carlos Hyde (49ers RB): Hyde had a horrendous game last week against the Titans. Running the ball is going to be tough against the Jaguars this week, and Jimmy Garoppolo hasn’t made use of Hyde out of the backfield like the previous quarterbacks. It just isn’t necessary to play Hyde this week and stare at that single digit score.

Jamison Crowder (Washington WR): Crowder has had slight up tick in his stats as he has gotten fully healthy. That shouldn’t keep you from finding a guy with a better matchup on the wire or on your bench. Crowder has only caught two touchdowns this season, and if he can’t manage one next week it’ll hurt your chances pretty bad. The Broncos secondary has been great at stopping receivers all year long.