Week 16 Saturday Fantasy Football Outlook: Should You Start Jake Browning, Austin Ekeler, Joshua Palmer, Dalton Kincaid and More?

Week 16 of the NFL will continue with a pair of Saturday games.

The Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers battle in one game, while the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers square off in the other. Let’s take a look at some of the top fantasy football options and determine whether or not they should be considered as starting options.

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Quarterback Options

Cincinnati will start Jake Browning again, while Pittsburgh will switch to Mason Rudolph. The Bills will be led by Josh Allen, while Easton Stick guides the Chargers again.

Over the past two weeks, Browning has thrown for at least 275 yards and two touchdowns. He also has a rushing score over that time, while throwing one interception per game.

Rudolph is replacing Mitch Trubisky, who was starting for the injured Kenny Pickett. Rudolph has made 10 starts in his NFL career and has a 5-4-1 record.

Rudolph will be making his first start of the season. He played in relief of Trubisky last week, completing 2-of-3 passes for 3 yards. For his career, Rudolph has 16 touchdown passes to 11 interceptions.

Allen is coming off a weird week 15 win in which he only threw for 94 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for a touchdown and 24 yards on eight attempts.

Allen has thrown for over 200 yards in all but three games this season, and has multiple touchdown passes in eight contests. He’s also rushed for a touchdown in all but four contests.

Stick has deceivingly good numbers in his first start, which was a 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. He completed 23-of-32 passes for 257 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Stick also fumbled two times.

Allen is unsurprisingly the highest-ranked QB of this group, coming in second in the weekly projections. He’s also got one of the best matchups available for QBs this week, as the Chargers’ defense allows opposing QBs to average 19 fantasy points per week. Allen is a must-start player this week. 

Browning’s matchup is a bit tougher, but he’ll still be starting a bunch because of what he’s done in his time on the field. I’d try to stay away from him, unless you have worse matchups with your other QBs.

Stick and Rudolph are guys I want to avoid at all costs. You might be forced to start them in deeper leagues, and at that point, all you can do is hope they don’t turn the ball over a bunch. Stick is the better option of the two, even with the far more difficult matchup.

Running Back Options

Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon and Chase Brown, Pittsburgh’s Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris, Buffalo’s James Cook, Latavius Murray and Ty Johnson and Los Angeles’ Austin Ekeler, Joshua Kelley and Isaiah Spiller are the best RB options in standard leagues for Saturday’s games.

Cook is coming off a monster 200+ total yard showing on 27 touches a week ago. He’s scored six total touchdowns this season and has at least 15 touches over the past three games.

Johnson got 10 touches last week, but is questionable going into Saturday’s game. Murray, who got five touches last week, would have a bigger workload with Johnson out.

Harris and Warren continue to split the workload in Pittsburgh’s backfield. Warren got 15 touches last week to Harris’ 12 - they’ve split being the lead back over the past four weeks.

Neither guy was all that productive last week and the same can be said for the week before that. They should be heavily involved, but with Rudolph at QB, you’d expect the Bengals to stack the box and take away the run game.

Mixon continues to lead the Cincy backfield, although Chase Brown also has carved out a decent role now.

Last week, Mixon had 13 touches to Brown’s 10. Mixon has scored four times over the past three weeks and has topped 60 scrimmage yards in five straight contests. Brown has between 9-11 touches the past three weeks, going for at least 50 scrimmage yards in each game.

The Chargers’ backfield was split three ways in the lopsided loss to the Raiders. Spiller had 16 touches, while Ekeler was at nine and Kelley six. Spiller had 50 total yards, Ekeler tallied 38 and Kelley had 28.

The Bills’ backs have the easiest matchup on paper, while the Cincy, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles RBs all have average matchups.

In the weekly projections, Cook is the top-ranked back among the ones in Saturday’s games, coming in third overall.

Cook is my top option for Saturday and should be in everyone’s starting lineups. Murray and Johnson are possible starting options in deeper leagues.

I’d lean toward starting Mixon this week, with Brown as a possible flex option in standard leagues. Brown is a must start in deeper leagues.

I like Harris this week and would consider him as a possible flex starter. Warren I’m not as high on. Both are good starting options in deeper leagues.

I’m not a fan of the Chargers’ backs this week, simply because I have no idea who the lead guy might be. If you want to start one, I’d try Ekeler. All three guys are decent starting options in deeper leagues.

Wide Receiver Options

There’s a number of quality wideouts playing on Saturday.

Stefon Diggs leads the Bills, although he only had five targets last week. He’s got 1,041 yards and eight touchdowns this season. 

Gabe Davis and Khalil Shakir are two more options for the Bills. Davis has just three targets over the past two weeks, while Shakir is at just two targets.

Pittsburgh relies on George Pickens and Diontae Johnson the most. Allen Robinson has three targets in each of the past three weeks.

Pickens leads the team with 814 yards to go along with three scores. Johnson is at 537 yards and four touchdowns and has gotten more targets than Pickens over the past four weeks. Robinson has just 244 yards on the season, and hasn’t scored.

Ja’Marr Chase has been ruled out with a shoulder injury, so Cincy will be led by Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins.

Higgins is coming off his best game of the season and is up to 497 yards and four scores overall. Boyd has 575 yards, but just two touchdowns.

Keenan Allen is out for Saturday’s game, so Joshua Palmer and Quentin Johnston will power the Chargers’ wideout room.

Palmer had over 100 yards and a score in his first game back from injury last week. Johnston had only 23 yards, but also scored.

In the weekly projections, Diggs is the top-ranked receiver playing Saturday, coming in 11th overall. He’s also got the best matchup. The matchup for the Steelers and Bengals’ receivers are pretty average, while the matchup for the Chargers’ wideouts is a bit tougher.

Diggs should be starting this week - that matchup is just too good to pass on. I’d consider Davis and Shakir in deeper leagues, but they’ve been too inconsistent to trust with a starting spot in standard leagues.

Higgins and Boyd are both flex options in standard leagues. I like Higgins a bit more and would make my decision on them based on who else you could possibly start.

I like Palmer this week as a starting flex option in standard leagues. Johnston is a solid starting option in deeper leagues. 

As for the Steelers’ wideouts, Pickens and Johnson are possible flex starting options, but I’d try to avoid them. Those two make good starting options in deeper leagues, while I’d leave Robinson on the bench (or in free agency).

Tight End Options

There’s some borderline starters at tight end in the Saturday games.

Buffalo’s tight ends are Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. Kincaid is up to 495 yards and two scores this season, but had just two targets last week. Knox has 138 yards and one score, but has just three targets in his first two games back from injury.

Pat Freiermuth is the top Pittsburgh TE, while Connor Heyward could also factor in.

Freiermuth has 243 yards and two scores this season, while Heyward is at 163 yards and no scores. Freiermuth has just 16 targets since an 11-target week four weeks ago. 

Cincy uses four tight ends, with Tanner Hudson being the best option. He’s gotten at least three targets over the past four games and has 298 yards and one touchdown this season.

Irv Smith had just five targets over the past four weeks. Drew Sample and Mitchell Wilcox are also at five targets in that span. Sample has scored twice this year, while Smith has found the end zone once.

Gerald Everett and Donald Parham are the top LA options at TE. 

Everett had eight targets last week, but went for just 41 yards on five grabs. Parham didn’t play last week, and only had six targets combined the previous two weeks.

In the weekly projections, Kincaid is the top Saturday TE option at 11th overall. The Steelers’ TEs have the easiest matchup on paper, with the Bills’ tight ends not too far behind. The Bengals and Chargers’ options have pretty average matchups ahead.

I like Kincaid as the best starting option among the Saturday TEs - I’d lean toward starting him, but need to see your other options first. Knox I’d try to avoid in all formats.

Freiermuth has a great matchup, so he needs to at least get some consideration for a starting spot. He’s a for sure starter in deeper leagues, while Hayward can be avoided.

Everett is a starting option in standard PPR leagues, but I’d only feel confident in him in deeper leagues. Parham I’d try to avoid in all formats.

As for the Bengals’ tight ends, Hudson is the guy you’d want to start, and I’d only feel good about doing so in deeper leagues. The other three guys should be avoided.