Weyrauch: NFL Week 16 Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

With COVID-19, injuries and other information playing major roles from week to week in the NFL landscape, secondary and tertiary starting options will continue to enter your fantasy football starting lineups as the season grinds on. Riskier plays can be rewarded if discovered correctly and complacent managers rely too heavily on drafted players. Trust your instincts — coupled with solid PFF metrics, of course.

So, let's get to it: the Week 16 edition of fantasy football start ’em or sit ’em.

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START

QB RUSSELL WILSON, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

Let’s let spades be spades: Russell Wilson played poorly last week against the Los Angeles Rams. His 34.4 passing grade was the second-worst quarterback performance, better than only Carson Wentz. Wilson completed 17-of-31 passing attempts for just 156 yards and a pick. However, Tyler Lockett was missing from the lineup due to COVID-19 protocols. Prior to this game, Wilson was cooking: He posted three straight games with at least 231 passing yards and two scores a piece.

This week, Wilson should pick up where he left off in Week 14. The Seahawks travel back home to host the Chicago Bears, who just lost in ugly fashion to the Minnesota Vikings. The Bears had just one player with a defensive grade better than 65.2, as their secondary was devastated by a non-COVID-19 illness. They already give up the sixth-most points to opposing quarterbacks, which makes Wilson a must-start.

RB MICHAEL CARTER, NEW YORK JETS

Carter’s return to play was definitely lackluster. He rushed the ball just eight times and caught one of two targets for a grand total of 20 scrimmage yards. Granted, this was his first game back from injury, and the Dolphins boast a top-five run defense. One positive from this game was that Carter played on 54% of the team’s offensive snaps, so the role is likely to return to mid-season form.

The Jets face off with the Jacksonville Jaguars this week in a battle for the No. 1 draft selection. While the Jaguars are middle of the pack on paper when it comes to points allowed to running backs, they’ve averaged 105 rushing yards per game over their past six contests. If Carter can reclaim his top position in the Jets’ backfield, a big day is in store for him.

WR AMON-RA ST. BROWN, DETROIT LIONS