Fantasy Football Wide Receiver & Tight End Start/Sit Week 16: Gabe Davis, Tyler Higbee, Terry McLaurin

Lou breaks down some of the toughest Start/Sit decisions at the wide receiver and tight end positions for fantasy football in Week 16.

It’s the fantasy football playoffs, a time when making the right start/sit choices becomes the most important part of playing fantasy. If you made the playoffs, your team is good, now you have to make sure to use the right players and not just rely on the "Start your studs" mantra. Let's take a look at some players that might be on the bubble of your lineup this week.

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Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Week 16 Starts

Gabe Davis, Buffalo Bills @ Los Angeles Chargers

This one may seem crazy if you have been holding Davis on your roster and have been monitoring his game-to-game performances. In three of his past four games, he has zero receptions. But, in the one game where he did have receptions, he made six catches for 105 yards and a TD. That performance came against an Eagles defense that has struggled against the pass. Well, this week, Davis has a great matchup against a Chargers defense that ranks 30th in the NFL vs. the pass and 29th in fantasy football against WRs.

Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers 

Ja'Marr Chase has been ruled out, so Boyd is going to see a lot more snaps and targets than usual. Joe Burrow being sidelined as well isn't a good thing, but Jake Browning has been surprisingly solid. With Chase out, Boyd is start-worthy in 12, 14, and 16-team leagues against a Steelers defense that ranks middle of the pack against the pass. 

Wan’Dale Robinson, New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles

The Giants' offense struggled mightily in Week 15 against the Saints. However, Robinson at least caught all of his targets. He has a consistent starting role in this offense and he has improved his play over the past few weeks since Tommy DeVito took over at QB. He is a deeper league option for his Week 16 matchup, Monday night against an Eagles defense that ranks 32nd in fantasy against WRs and 28th against the pass overall. 

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Week 16 Sits

Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders @ New York Jets (shallow leagues)

McLaurin has seen plenty of targets and he is clearly the number-one pass-catching option in Washington. The thing is, the targets he is receiving aren’t translating to good fantasy results. He has double-digit PPR points only once in the past five games, and now he faces a Jets defense that ranks second in the NFL vs. the pass and is the best in fantasy football against WRs. I would hate to sit him and have him go off for seven catches and 100 yards with a TD, which is why in deeper leagues he still needs to be considered as a starter. But in the shallower leagues, the risk isn’t worth it. 

Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers @ Carolina Panthers

Although he has more experience than guys like Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, Doubs' target share has been inconsistent over the past five weeks and he hasn’t scored a TD in four games after having a TD in four of the five games prior. With him possibly being the third-favorite WR of QB Jordan Love now and a matchup against the Panthers, who rank third in the NFL against the pass and fourth against WRs, starting Doubs this week seems like a risky proposition. 

Fantasy Football Tight End Week 16 Starts

The first two players here are veterans on teams that are in must-win games. They also have excellent matchups against two of the worst teams at defending TEs.

Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams vs. New Orleans Saints

Higbee is healthy after missing Week 14 with a concussion. He is old reliable for QB Matthew Stafford and although the Saints' defense has been good vs. the pass this season, they have been horrible defending the TE position. The Saints rank 31st in fantasy football against TEs, which opens the door for Higbee to be one of Stafford’s top targets on Thursday night. 

Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

We still don’t know who will be playing QB for the Steelers this week. It could be Mason Rudolph or Kenny Pickett could return from injury. What we do know is that “Muth” is healthy and has been seeing consistent targets in the passing game over the past four weeks. His matchup this weekend is excellent, taking on a Bengals defense that ranks 27th in the NFL vs. the pass this season and dead last in fantasy football against the TE position. 

Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens @ San Francisco 49ers

Likely has been great since becoming the starter, and although the 49ers matchup is tough on paper, they did just allow double-digit catches and over 100 yards to fellow TE Trey McBride last week. Likely has seen at least six targets in each of the last three weeks, and over the past two weeks he has 10 catches for 153 yards and two TDs. Start him in any league size.

Fantasy Football Tight End Week 16 Sits

Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Otton has no more than two catches in three straight games and has just one TD since Week 9. He also hasn’t seen more than five targets in a game since Week 9, and that’s mostly due to the fact that Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Rachaad White dominate the touches in the Bucs' offense. I would only consider starting Otton in leagues with 14 teams or more.

Logan Thomas, Washington Commanders @ New York Jets

Thomas has just three catches for 22 yards over the past three games and simply cannot be trusted, especially in a tough matchup vs. the Jets, who rank second in the NFL against the pass this season. It’s also worth noting that Thomas has performed much better in Washington this season, so this road game in a cold and possibly wet environment in New York is not to his benefit.

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