Wharton’s Start ‘em Sit ‘em Week 16: Start J.K. Dobbins, Sit Miles Sanders

Week 16 of the fantasy football season has a great slate of games, with some strong playoff contenders going head-to-head. Hopefully, your carefully curated roster is in good shape after the devastating slew of injuries that have affected the NFL. You’re in the right place if you’re in a challenging situation with your start/sit questions.

Week 16 Fantasy Football Start ’ems

We’ve dug through the latest roster percentages to identify fantasy football players who you must either start or sit. Our two start options are currently starting in around 40% or fewer leagues, whereas our two sit players are at about 70% or more. We’re also looking at players owned in a majority of leagues.

DJ Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers

The Panthers are somehow still alive in the NFC South race, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to pitter-patter through their season. At 5-9, Carolina has found some success over the last five games, winning three. Their decision to move on from Baker Mayfield and start Sam Darnold has at least brought consistent personnel.

Facing Detroit’s 30th-ranked pass defense should bring another good performance for DJ Moore. Moore has been struggling with his weekly involvement in the offense as the quarterback play remains poor, but he’s had big games in two of his three last outings. He caught nine passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns against the Broncos and Steelers in Weeks 12 and 15.

MORE: Fantasy Football Sleepers Week 16

The Lions have won three in a row and six of their last seven, but their passing defense is still susceptible to big plays. Carolina’s running game has stalled in recent games, and it’s likely they do once again. Detroit hasn’t allowed more than 95 rushing yards in three of their last four games, including only 22 yards to Minnesota and 50 to the Jets.

Moore’s speed and playmaking after the catch are major problems for any defense. He simply needs accurate targets. I’m willing to gamble that Moore will make the most of his opportunities this week because his upside is as high as any receiver’s.

J.K. Dobbins, RB, Baltimore Ravens

Unlike last season, when the Ravens’ rushing game collapsed due to injuries to J.K. Dobbins and Ronnie Stanley, Baltimore has been able to sustain a productive ground game regardless of the back. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Kenyan Drake, and Justice Hill have each averaged at least 4.5 yards per carry. Their job is a lot harder without Lamar Jackson in the lineup, but Dobbins has shown he’s still a top-tier playmaker even without Jackson’s presence.

Dobbins hasn’t looked smooth in his last two games, but he’s certainly been productive. After totaling 44 or fewer rushing yards in his first four games back before sitting for seven weeks, he’s made a statement with 28 carries, 245 yards, and a touchdown against Pittsburgh and Cleveland. He’s back to being an RB1 for fantasy managers with this type of production.

You can consider taking the higher on Dobbins’ rushing categories on Underdog Fantasy because the Falcons are weak against the run. Our PFN expert PPR fantasy rankings for Week 16 has Dobbins as the RB10 against Atlanta, making him an elite play.

Facing Atlanta is an advantageous matchup. Though the Falcons had some success slowing the run in the middle of the season, that was more of a byproduct of offenses having extreme efficiency passing the ball. Atlanta’s allowed at least 134 rushing yards per game over the last five games.

Dobbins, who will have Tyler Huntley back at quarterback, will be the featured back once again with Edwards as the No. 2. You must play Dobbins this week as he could have a matchup-winning performance.

Week 16 Fantasy Football Sit ’ems

Amari Cooper, WR, Cleveland Browns

A core muscle injury has Amari Cooper questionable to play against the New Orleans Saints this week, but it’s not the reason why I’d play it safe by sitting him. Cooper was supposed to benefit from Deshaun Watson’s return to action, but instead, Watson’s been much better for Donovan Peoples-Jones.

Cooper hasn’t totaled more than 7.8 fantasy points in the last three weeks. The Browns’ offense is still trying to find its identity with Watson and overcome some fluky mistakes and penalties that have ended their drives. Watson’s been rusty, as expected, but is looking more like the guy we last saw in 2020. Yet, it’s clearly not an offense firing on all cylinders, and I think head coach Kevin Stefanski will continue to rely on the ground game more than what Cooper’s managers would benefit from.

MORE: Week 16 WR Fantasy Football Rankings

We also have to consider the matchup for Cleveland. The Saints have a top-seven pass defense but are giving up 4.6 yards per carry. They’re the perfect team for Cleveland to bring into cold weather and punish with their highly-effective ground game. With temperatures dipping into the teens for kickoff, expect this to be an ugly, conservative game.

Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

With quarterback Jalen Hurts unlikely to play this week against the Dallas Cowboys, now is not the time to put faith in the Eagles’ ability to get into a competitive game. Yes, Gardner Minshew is a good backup who can help Philadelphia win this matchup outright, but the player who suffers the most without Hurts is Miles Sanders.

Hurts’ gravity as a runner makes everything else easier for Sanders. It’s painful for fantasy managers to get this far off Sanders’ surprisingly good campaign as the lead back and then consider benching the RB12. But Dallas has the third-best defense against running backs, only giving up 0.43 touchdowns per game and 127.4 total yards to the position.

Sanders will struggle to replicate his 18-carry, 71-yard, and one-touchdown performance in Week 6 against Dallas. He’s been streaky even with Hurts around, producing 54 yards or less in four of his last six games. You’re banking on a breakout performance or a touchdown, but Sanders has been less consistent than what he showed until Week 9.

It’s possible you simply can’t afford to bench Sanders since it’s hard to have two solid starting backs. You shouldn’t feel terrible about sitting him, but I’d rather hunt a better matchup if it’s at all possible.