Welcome back to another edition of the running back start and sit article! As you know by now, in this analysis, we have reviewed the adjusted line yards of the offensive and defensive lines to identify the top matchups for Week 16. Below you will see the matchup rank for each player. The matchup rank represents the rank of the overall matchup based on our adjusted line yards metric.
To see the full analysis and where each offense, defense, and matchup ranks, go check out our new adjusted line yards metric here on Razzball.com.
If you want to see the original data, you can find it on FTN!
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Top Running Back Starts
- Player: James Cook
- Opponent: Los Angeles Chargers
- Matchup Rank: 1st
Let’s address the fact that this might be an obvious start, but James Cook makes the article this week because he’s almost a must-start. The Bills have found their groove, and it has been riding the hot hand of Cook. Over the past five weeks, Cook has been the RB3 in fantasy football. This week, Cook faces a Chargers DST that has allowed at least 13 PPR points to an RB in three straight games. This puts Cook inside the top five starts for this week and could be the RB2 in fantasy football in Week 16.
- Player: Ezekiel Elliott
- Opponent: Denver Broncos
- Matchup Rank: 3rd
Ezekiel Elliott was a miss for us last week but was 0.4 points away from another top-24 finish. The workload for Elliott is undeniable, as he saw another 16 touches with Rhamondre Stevenson out. If Stevenson does return, we shouldn’t expect Stevenson to get a full workload, which should allow Elliott to be on the flex radar. This week, Elliott faces a Broncos defense that has allowed a league-high 1806 rushing yards and inside the top 10 in receiving yards allowed to running backs this season.
- Player: De’Von Achane
- Opponent: Dallas Cowboys
- Matchup Rank: 2nd
Since his return from injury back in Week 11, it hasn’t been the same for De’Von Achance. Achane only has one game over 13 PPR points. That is something he did in three of his first four games of the season. Now, heading into Week 16 of the fantasy playoffs, how confident should we be in Achane? Well, if you saw what the Bills did to Dallas last week on the ground, the answer is very confident. His upside alone should make Achane a near auto-start in your fantasy lineups this week, but his high floor in this offense makes him a safe start as well this week.
- Player: Najee Harris
- Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
- Matchup Rank: 11th
The last time the Steelers faced the Bengals, Pittsburgh leaned on the ground game with Najee Harris. Harris had his best game of the season, rushing for 99 yards and finding the end zone in a 16-10 win. This week, the Bengals will be down their top run stuffer, D.J. Reader, which should only open things up for Harris and the Steelers on the ground. Last week, Ty Chandler rushed for 23-132-1, finishing as a top-five RB on the week with Reader out for the Bengals.
Top Running Back Sits
- Player: Saquon Barkley
- Opponent: Philadelphia Eagles
- Matchup Rank: 30th
Call it a hunch, but the Giants might be walking into a buzz saw this week vs. the Eagles. The Eagles have hit a slump and were recently called out by their QB, Jalen Hurts. This game went from an afterthought a few weeks ago to a must-win for Philadelphia. Kenneth Walker just had a solid game vs. the Eagles, but that hasn’t been the case for Saquon Barkley in quite some time. Over the past three games vs. the Eagles, Barkley has failed to crack 10 PPR points. This makes him a risky start in Week 16.
Week 15 Recap
Start Chuba Hubbard vs. the Falcons – HIT
Start Jaylen Warren vs. the Colts – HIT
Start Ty Chandler vs. the Bengals – HIT
Sit Zeke Elliott vs. the Chiefs – MISS
Sit James Cook vs. the Cowboys – MISS
Score – 3 out of 5
If you have lineup questions or want more information on starts and sits, don’t forget to join us LIVE every Sunday for our Sunday Live Start and Sit Show on the Razzball Fantasy YouTube Channel!
For more from Bobby and his Razzball content, find him on Twitter @bobbylamarco.
Sources: Razzball.com, PFF.com, FantasyPros, FFToday, Pro Football Reference and Football Outsiders
