The Minnesota Vikings are fighting for their playoff lives as they play the Detroit Lions this week. And the battle becomes even harder as RB Alexander Mattison is recovering from an ankle injury that caused him to miss Week 15 against Cincinnati. Ty Chandler played in his stead and performed well, logging the first game of 100+ rushing yards by a Viking this year.
Mattison is questionable heading into Week 16, so there is a chance he plays, but is he worth the start if he goes? Can you trust either of the Viking RBs heading into the semifinal week of the fantasy football playoffs?
Should You Start Alexander Mattison in Fantasy This Week?
Again, we are assuming here that if Mattison does play this weekend, he will be limited. Mattison missed the first two practices of the week but managed to practice on Friday. It is unclear how recovered Mattison is from the ankle injury.
Minnesota needs to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Detroit if they have any hope of staying in the playoff hunt, and that includes Mattison, even if he is not 100%.
But even when Mattison was at or close to full strength earlier in the season, he hasn’t been incredibly valuable in fantasy. Fantasy managers drafted Mattison with the hopes that his sheer volume would be enough to make him a valuable staple on their team. Yet, even with an average of 13 carries a game, Mattison only managed a top-10 finish twice this season.
Throw in the lingering ankle injury, and I am not starting Mattison, even if he is active. Last week, we saw a slight change of the guard in Minnesota as Chandler shined.
Should You Start Ty Chandler in Fantasy This Week?
If you were courageous enough to start Chandler last week, you were rewarded with an RB4 finish and probably enough points to help you win your matchup and push you into the finals. This week, it is a tough decision against a Lions team that allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing RBs.
Comparing the two Vikings RBs, it is clear that Chandler is the much more explosive back, as fantasy managers saw last week. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said this week that “Ty is absolutely a guy that is going to continue to see a feature role in our offense.” Chandler is the RB27 in PFN Consensus Rankings this week.
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In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, PFN’s Consensus Rankings say that Chandler is the player to start if you are deciding between the two Detroit RBs. His projected 8.6 fantasy points include a projection of 85.9 rushing yards. Mattison is projected to have 1.9 fantasy points on 7.7 rushing yards.
My ranking for the Vikings RBs aligns with the consensus — it is a tough matchup for the running game against Detroit. But if you are deciding between one of them, Chandler has the highest ceiling and is your best fantasy option.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!
