Week 16 start/sit: Can Blake Bortles be trusted under pressure?
For all of those difficult decisions setting lineups in season-long leagues – or putting together the best roster in daily fantasy contests – Bruno Boys Fantasy Football presents our weekly collections of players to consider starting and sitting.
START
QB Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars
Bortles and the Jaguars reached an all-time low in Week 15. They blew a nine-point fourth-quarter lead and coach Gus Bradley was fired. Bortles had a season-low 92 passing yards. But he passed for 337 yards and three touchdowns in Week 8 against the Titans’ 29th-ranked pass defense.
WR Malcolm Mitchell, New England Patriots
Mitchell was held in check in Week 15 (one catch for 14 yards) but only because the Patriots opted to go run heavy. But Mitchell had five receptions for 42 yards and two touchdowns against the Jets in Week 12 and should be a bigger part of the game plan this week.
WR Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears
Jeffery returned from his four-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use in a big way. He had six receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown in the Bears’ loss to the Green Bay Packers. QB Matt Barkley and Jeffery found a rapport in the second half.
RB Jay Ajayi, Miami Dolphins
Ajayi has been neutralized over the last six weeks and hasn't run for more than 80 yards in a game since Week 10. However, look for him to get back on track against the Bills. They rank 27th in the NFL against the run, and Ajayi burned them for 214 rushing yards and a touchdown in Week 7.
QB Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
Luck is heating up at the right time with at least 250 passing yards in his last five games and eight total touchdown passes over his last three. The showdown with the Raiders projects to be high scoring. The Raiders rank 26th in the NFL against the pass and have given up 23 passing touchdowns.
RB Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams
Gurley can remedy an unspectacular season against the 49ers. They give up 31 points per game and allow 5.0 yards per carry, 176.3 rushing yards per game and 22 rushing touchdowns, all worst in the league. As bad as Gurley has been, look for him to get his first 100-yard game of the season.
WR Willie Snead, New Orleans Saints
Snead has 14 receptions and 161 yards over his last two games and has at least six targets in nine of his 10 games. With the Saints playing an up-tempo style, Snead’s value should remain consistent. He had 85 yards against the Buccaneers and should come close to matching that this week.
WR DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans
For the first time since Week 6, Hopkins looked like his elite self with eight receptions for 87 yards and 17 targets. Why? Houston benched
QB Brock Osweiler in the first half in favor of backup Tom Savage. Savage, who hooked up with Hopkins for all eight receptions, will start this week.
TE Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (Sunday)
Kelce has a career high in receptions (73) and yards (957). QB Alex Smith has found his go-to target, and there is no slowing down this dynamic duo. In a previous meeting with the Broncos, Kelce had 101 receiving yards on eight receptions, and he’s a candidate to repeat that on Christmas.
WR Golden Tate, Detroit Lions (Monday)
Tate has 20 receptions for 325 receiving yards and a touchdown over his last three games. The way you beat the Cowboys is through the air — they rank 28th against the pass — and Lions QB Matthew Stafford is going to feed his playmaker the football on Monday night.
SIT
WR Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles (Thursday)
Matthews has 46 catches over his last seven games. But he rarely has any red-zone chances and all of his receptions are for short yardage. He has scored three touchdowns, one since Week 8. He faces a Giants secondary that is second in the NFL at shutting down wideouts.
RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
In his first game back from injury, he played 12 snaps and totaled 23 yards on seven touches. Peterson also lost a fumble. While Peterson is likely to surpass his yardage total from last weekend, the Packers have been stout against the run. They limited Peterson to 19 rushing yards in Week 2.
RB Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland Browns
Crowell has topped 30 rushing yards twice since Week 8 and hasn’t scored during that span. Things won’t get any easier in Week 16 against the Chargers, who give up 3.8 yards per carry and 95.7 rushing yards per game.
RB Thomas Rawls, Seattle Seahawks
After returning from injury in Week 11, Rawls has been hit or miss. He rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns in Week 13 but was a bust the next two weeks, including a 34-yard performance against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15. He’s tough to trust as the seasons winds down.
Baltimore Ravens running backs (Sunday)
Predicting value for Kenneth Dixon and Terrance West is tricky. After Dixon went off in Week 14, everyone thought it was his time to shine, but he was outplayed by West in Week 15. Both have a tough matchup this weekend. The Steelers limited the Ravens to 50 rushing yards in Week 9.