Championship Starts and Sits!
START - Jalen Hurts @ DAL Over the last two weeks, Jalen Hurts is the QB2, and now he’s got a great matchup against Dallas. He’s got a really opportunity to put up a TON of points and has proved to be a reliable fantasy asset in such a short time..
START - David Montgomery @ JAC At this point, Montgomery is a MUST start. No matter what RBs you have, you need to be able to fit Monty into at least your flex position. From Weeks 12-16, David Montgomery is the RB1, averaging 26.5 PPG!!!
START - Leonard Fournette @ DET I had my doubts about Fournette last week, but with Rojo being ruled out again, Fournette is in line to see another decent workload with the same goal line opportunities. 17 Touches last week resulted in 21.5 Fantasy Points, and Detroit has given up the MOST fantasy points to RBs this season.
START - David Johnson vs CIN DJ didn’t get much done on the ground last week, but with the loss of Will Fuller and Duke Johnson, David saw 11 Targets (and caught all of them). With Duke being out again, and a great matchup at home against Cincy, DJ is worth a FLEX/RB2 play.
START - George Kittle @ ARI Only listing Kittle as a start because I’m getting a TON of questions regarding whether you can trust him. My answer is yes. Regardless of Beathard, regardless of coming off injury. Shannahan called Kittle their “healthiest player”, and he’s an absolute playmaker. If you don’t have Kelce or Waller, Kittle is 100% the guy you should be starting..
DESPERATE STARTS - Jalen Reagor @ DAL; Reagor in W15 tied the team lead for 8 Targets, and the Dallas Cowboys have given up the 7th Most Points to WRs. It’s tough to think that with Jalen Hurts throwing the ball 44 Times that at least one pass catcher would become fantasy relevant. - Le’Veon Bell vs ATL; CEH is out this upcoming week, which opens the door for someone else to become the “starter”. Although Bell is technically next in line, we’ve seen situations in the past where Darrel Williams was very much involved. Such as Week 13 when DW had 48% of Snaps, and Bell had 52%. Bell had 13 Touches that week compared to DW’s 7. So although Bell might be the 1a, don’t expect a workhorse role.
SIT - James Conner vs IND Conner has been extremely unreliable as of late, and he’s also been dealing with a fair share of injuries as well. Not to mention the Colts have been a Top 5 defense against defending the run..
SIT - Ben Roethlisberger vs IND Another guy who just hasn’t been good at all. The fact that he’s owned in more leagues than Jalen Hurts is just a catastrophe. Again, the Colts have one of the best defenses in the entire NFL and I don’t trust Ben, even at home..
SIT - Ezekiel Elliot vs PHI Not only is Zeke not healthy, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this backfield as more of a committee. Considering the Cowboys are technically still “in it”, and Pollard far and away outperformed anything Zeke has done in the 2nd half of the season. Pollard is slowly closing the gap between the two..
SIT - Marquise Brown vs NYG Brown has averaged about 15 PPG over the last 4 (Easy) Matchups. That comes to an end this week lined up against James Bradbury and the Giants. Not to mention he is also dealing with a knee injury.
SIT - D.J. Chark vs CHI Minshew is back to the bench, but it’s not like that mattered. Chark has been increasingly disappointing throughout the season, and he’s not getting the same targets he was last year. He’s unstartable at this point..
LOWER EXPECTATIONS - Chris Carson vs LAR; Carson has been getting a bulk of the work, but Carlos Hyde was the one who shined last week. There’s also a growing chance that Rashaad Penny, their former 1st Round pick, begins to see some work as well. Plus, regardless of how bad the Rams looked last week, they still have THE best run defense in the NFL. - Mike Davis @ WAS; Davis might be the RB1 in Carolina right now, but rookie RB Rodney Smith’s role has been increasing as of late. Smith actually out targeted Davis last week and played a season high 35% of snaps, while Davis played a season low (when CMC is out) of 54% of snaps. Not to mention going up against that Washington front 7..
Best of luck, and go with your gut!