Week 16 Running Back Starts & Sits: Who Can We Trust For The Fantasy Playoffs?
In case you’re new to the column, here’s a quick explainer of what we’re trying to do here (skip down if you’ve been here before). We’re here to wrestle with the decisions that are keeping us up at night. Do you bench a struggling player you took in the second round? Do you take a chance on the guy who has seemingly been playing over his head? Do you sit the high-floor/low-ceiling player for the low-floor/high-ceiling player? We won’t know the “correct” answers until the games are over. But we’re going to do our best to talk through it.
With quarterbacks in the books, let’s dive into the Week 16 running back start/sit decisions that are keeping us up at night.
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Running Back
Start ‘Em
START OF THE WEEK: Zonovan Knight, New York Jets
Didn’t think I’d be writing about Zonovan Knight for the fantasy football playoffs, but that’s why we love this beautiful (and frustrating) game, right? Knight had a bit of an off week against the Lions, but I still think he’s a solid start against a bad Jaguars run defense this week. He still saw 13 carries last week and had been utilized in the Jets passing attack leading up to that game. Is he risky? Maybe a tad. But I still think the matchup (and his spot in the Jets offense) is strong enough to slot in Knight as an RB2/flex play this week.
Zack Moss and Deon Jackson, Indianapolis Colts
Add these two to the list of players I didn’t think I’d be recommending for the fantasy football playoffs. But here we are! With Jonathan Taylor out for the rest of the year, Moss and Jackson are both viable this week against a Chargers defense that can be run upon. Of the two, I’d lean toward Moss as he out-touched Jackson by a 2:1 ratio last week, but I still think Jackson can be viable – especially in PPR leagues.
Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
We’re getting into risky territory here as I don’t love starting anyone against the Ravens, but Allgeier is a strong RB2/flex play this week either way. He’s coming off his best game of the season (which included his biggest workload of the season) and finished as RB7 on the week. I don’t think he’ll finish the week as a top-10 running back, but I wouldn’t be shy starting him if you’re struggling to find players for your starting lineup.
Sit ‘Em
SIT OF THE WEEK: D’Onta Foreman, Carolina Panthers
It was a fun run, but I think Foreman’s time as a must-start running back has come to an end. He’s finished the past four weeks as RB47, RB26, RB27, and RB71, and is coming off a game in which he carried the ball 10 times for a grand total of nine yards. While he has a decent matchup this week, the Lions defense has been much better as of late and I just can’t bring myself to recommend Foreman for such an important week. Quite the opposite, really.
Jamaal Williams, Detroit Lions
Speaking of the Lions, Williams’ touchdown luck seems to have run dry. And that’s not good news for anyone who has him on their fantasy roster. He’s still seeing a fair share of carries (29 over his last two games), but that hasn’t translated into production as he hasn’t topped 37 all-purpose yards in any of his last three games and hasn’t scored a touchdown in his last two. While Williams could always prove me wrong here, I just take the risk on him finding the end zone this week.
Antonio Gibson, Washington Commanders
I’m still not really sure what Washington is doing with Gibson, but that’s really here nor there for our purposes. The fact of the matter is that he’s way to risky to start right now. He’s seen his touches drop by a LOT over the past three weeks and he’s failed to top eight PPR points in each of his last three games. And to make matters worse, the Commanders are facing a really good 49ers defense this week. Keep Gibson on your bench.
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