• Tony Pollard is a safe start: The Tennessee Titans have a great matchup this week, which should allow Pollard to see at least 15 carries.
• Beware of Adam Thielen: The Carolina Panthers veteran had a great Week 13, but Jalen Coker‘s return could complicate his role.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!
Estimated Reading Time: 22 minutes
The start/sit article is getting a makeover for the final few weeks of the 2024 fantasy football season.
The New Format: I have asked fantasy managers on the PFF Discord and Bluesky which players they are least sure about this week, and I compiled that list and ranked them against each other. If you have multiple players mentioned, you should start the player ranked highest. At the bottom of each position are some players you should start over all of the featured players, as well as some players you should sit in favor of the featured players.
If a player isn’t mentioned, that means they are very close to those with blurbs, and factors like injuries on the opposing defenses or weather could influence the rankings. Situations involving injuries are also generally avoided because there is some grey area early in the week and things typically become clearer closer to kickoff. As always, check our weekly fantasy rankings for the most up-to-date information to help you make all start-sit decisions.
Why It's Changing: There are fantasy leagues of all shapes and sizes. At 9:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, I answer start/sit questions on the PFF Discord and often find myself telling some people to start players and others to sit those same players based on the circumstances. The players to start in a 10-team league on a squad with strong depth at running back can be very different from a 12-team squad with a weakness at running back. Very few players can be universally started and universally sat, but it doesn’t help anyone to say, “Start Saquon Barkley,” for example.
RUNNING BACKS
1. Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans
Pollard has been less consistent in recent weeks. Across his first eight games, he handled at least 16 carries seven times. Over the past five weeks, he has two games with 24 or more carries in the Titans' wins and 8-9 carries in their past three losses. Pollard has consistently caught 2-4 passes per game this season.
Tennessee's recent wins have coincided with Tyjae Spears missing time, and losses have coincided with Spears playing. Pollard plays at least 80% of snaps when Spears doesn’t play and 60%-67% when he does. While that is likely just correlation instead of causation, it has contributed to Pollard’s large splits in recent wins compared to losses. Pollard did play 73% of snaps last week, the most for him in a game with Spears fully available. Even though Spears is playing in Week 14, Pollard should see more touches than in past games with Spears.
The Titans are at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who won’t have injured quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Tennessee is a 3.5-point favorite, and the Jaguars have allowed the second-most fantasy points to running backs this season. The game script and the Jaguars' run defense make this a positive matchup for Pollard.
Pollard might be only an RB2 this week in 10- or 12-team leagues, but he should be a high-end RB2 and have a better game than most of his recent performances. Pollard should be starting unless your team is completely stacked at running back.
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