Fantasy Football Start or Sit, Week 16: Start Jalen Hurts vs. Cowboys

Fantasy football start and sit advice for Week 16 of the 2020 NFL season.

Welcome back to the final week of fantasy football start and sit advice. Even though 15 weeks into the season you are likely aware of who your weekly starters are and who is there merely for backup, sometimes you need a little extra vote of confidence to slide a smaller name into your lineup and a big name player to your bench.

Without further ado, here are players that you may find on your roster that need to make your final lineup along with some others that may have helped you get to the finals but should take a back seat in the championship game.

As always, keep an eye on injury reports and news leading up to kickoff and best of luck in taking home your championship!

Note: All stats and info via Fantasy Pros. 

Fantasy Football Starts for Week 16

QB Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia (vs. Dallas)

After leading his team to an impressive upset in his debut as a starter, Hurts put up an even more impressive performance in Week 15, albeit ending in a loss. His stat line of 338 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 63 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown was good for the QB1 performance on the week and the fifth-best quarterback performance of the year!

In Week 16 Hurts draws an even better matchup against Dallas. Though we likely saw his ceiling last week, Hurts still slots in as a QB1 and a potential league winning pickup in championship week.

Projection: 297 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 82 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 33.1 fantasy points. 

RB Leonard Fournette, Tampa Bay (vs. Detroit)

After being a healthy scratch in Week 14, Leonard Fournette took over the starting role in Week 15 with Ronald Jones out. Though he was not particularly effective, he turned two goal-line carries into touchdowns which made him an RB1 on the week.

With Ronald Jones not expected to play in Week 16, Fournette will likely receive a bulk of the load against the league’s worst rushing defense. Since he clearly gets the goal line works and is heavily involved in the passing game, Fournette can be a back-end RB1 for your championship roster.

Projection: 102 total yards, 4 receptions, 1 touchdown, 18.2 fantasy points. 

WR Marvin Jones Jr., Detroit (vs. Tampa Bay)

After disappointing for most of the season, Marvin Jones Jr has had some of his classic blow-up games these past couple of weeks. He has seen 12 targets in three of his past four games, a trend that looks to continue against a Tampa Bay defense that has been much more vulnerable to the pass than the run this year. As long as Matthew Stafford is healthy and Jones Jr is the number one option on his team, he can provide your team with a high floor and a tremendous ceiling.

Projection: 8 receptions, 112 yards, 1 touchdown, 21.2 fantasy points. 

TE Hunter Henry, Los Angeles (vs. Denver)

Henry has his best week of the season in Week 15, turning seven targets into five receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown. Much of this can be attributed to the limited roles of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, although Allen appears highly questionable to even play in Week 16. Henry recently popped up on the injury report, so keep an eye on that, but if he is good to go he is a high-end TE1 in a matchup where Justin Herbert should solidify his rookie of the year campaign.

Projection: 5 receptions, 59 yards, 1 touchdown, 14.4 fantasy points.

Fantasy Football Sits for Week 16

QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh (vs. Indianapolis)

Roethlisberger looked every bit of 38 years old on Monday Night, throwing for only 170 yards on 52.6 percent passing. After blowing it against the Ryan Finley led Bengals, the Steelers losing streak looks likely to continue in Week 16 against a hot Indianapolis team. If you have been relying on Roethlisberger throughout the year, there are many waiver-wire options like Mayfield or Trubisky that I would much rather pivot to.

Projection: 243 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 15.7 fantasy points. 

RB Le’Veon Bell, Kansas City (vs. Atlanta)

Bell has been the hot waiver add this week after Clyde Edwards-Helaire suffered high ankle sprain in their Week 15 game and has been ruled out for Week 16. Even though Bell immediately has fantasy value as the starting running back on the best offense in football, I would certainly temper expectations against a surprisingly tough Atlanta run defense.

The Chiefs could legitimately win the game without running the ball once, and they have shown that they are still willing to throw it with a lead. Add the fact that Bell has looked extremely slow in his limited opportunity, and he could certainly disappoint when fantasy managers need him most.

Projection: 61 total yards, 3 receptions, 7.6 fantasy points. 

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh (vs. Indianapolis)

Smith-Schuster put up his worst game of the year in Week 15, turning six targets into three receptions for 15 yards and a lost fumble. When you consider the fact that Diontae Johnson was able to succeed despite an ailing Ben Roethlisberger, Smith-Schuster should be clearly viewed as the WR2/3 on the team going forward.

With a tough matchup with the Colts on the docket for Week 16, Smith-Schuster offers no floor and very limited upside and needs to be kept on your bench.

Projection: 4 receptions, 39 yards, 5.9 fantasy points. 

TE Jonnu Smith, Tennessee (vs. Green Bay)

Smith had his best performance in the past four weeks in Week 15, turning five targets into five receptions for 52 yards. This was his first game with five receptions since Week 5 and his second-highest yardage total of the season.

This is likely to be a blip in an otherwise disappointing season, as Smith has the Green Bay Packers on tap in Week 16. Considering the Packers have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends, Smith can be safely left on the waiver wire or dropped in favor of better tight end streaming options.

Projection: 2 receptions, 28 yards, 3.8 fantasy points.