Fantasy Football Week 16 Starts, Sits: Advice For Toughest Lineup Decisions

If you're reading this, chances are you made it to your fantasy football league championship.

Way to go.

However, fantasy becomes especially tricky toward the end of NFL seasons. Teams that have clinched playoff spots might decrease workloads for some of their stars, and so, too, could teams who already have been eliminated from playoff contention. As such, it can be difficult to identify which matchups to exploit.

Who should you start? Who should you sit?

Here's our Week 16 fantasy football start/sit advice:

STARTS:
Le'Veon Bell, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Bell has been a fantasy non-factor since joining the Chiefs, but that should change this weekend. With rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire expected to miss time, Bell should handle lead-back duties against the Falcons. Yes, Atlanta has a decent run defense, but Bell's action in the passing game should make up for any shortcomings on the ground.

Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
Hurts will make his share of mistakes, but his dual-threat abilities are impossible to ignore. The rookie is coming off a game in which he threw for 338 yards with three touchdowns to go along with 63 rushing yards and another score. Expect a big performance against a bad Dallas Cowboys defense.

Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills
This might seem obvious now, but it wasn't a few days ago. Though Diggs at this point seems like an automatic start, a matchup with Stephon Gilmore and a New England Patriots defense that always eliminates its opponent's top weapon had us fearing a dud. But, with Gilmore likely done for the season, fantasy managers should have no reservations about deploying Diggs as they normally would.

Tyler Higbee, TE, Los Angeles Rams
Higbee has found the end zone in two of his last three games and racked up 67 receiving yards last weekend. The Seattle Seahawks are middle of the road in defending tight ends, making Higbee a solid play this weekend.

SITS:
Patriots running backs
We love Damien Harris, but he missed last weekend's game with an injury and is questionable for the Patriots' matchup with the Bills. Even if he plays, Harris likely will lose touches to James White and and Sony Michel, making it hard to trust any Patriots back as more than a flex.

Marcus Mariota, QB, Oakland Raiders
A popular waiver-wire add this week, Mariota likely will start this weekend with Derek Carr expected to miss another game. The former Tennessee Titan impressed after entering last Thursday's overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, finishing the game with 226 passing yards and a touchdown to go along with 88 rushing yard and another score. So, why are we benching him this weekend against the Dolphins? Because Miami's defense is good and you'd have to be quite desperate to trust Mariota in a fantasy championship game. Don't overthink this.

Jakobi Meyers WR, New England Patriots
Meyers is a good player who occasionally has shown an ability to post fantasy-relevant numbers, such as last weekend's 111-yard performance. But the Patriots' quarterback situation is not good, and it simply is impossible to recommend starting anyone from one of the NFL's worst offenses.

Gerald Everett, TE, Los Angeles Rams
As Higbee has trended upward, Everett has gone the other direction. Do not take a chance on him.