Fantasy football advice, Week 16: who to start/sit for New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Fantasy owners know what’s at stake at this point of the season, and when the Giants take on the Eagles, there are lots of volatile options that won’t sit well in the nervous stomachs of those competing for fantasy league championships. Let’s take a look at the options for Thursday night’s game:

Though the Giants offense ranks 27th in total yards, Odell Beckham will always be start-worthy regardless of matchup and game script, and Thursday night is no different against the Eagles’ middling pass defense. The story is the same for Beckham: The Giants offense begins and ends with him, and he has the talent to do special things with his opportunities. Beckham is a WR1 in championship week.

Despite Beckham’s usual dominance, there just hasn’t been enough fantasy wealth to trickle down the Giants offense to make starting any of their complementary weapons anything but an unnecessary risk with better options likely in tow. Sterling Shepard, Eli Manning, and Rashad Jennings would be best left out of lineups except in desperate situations. The floors are decent enough to keep fantasy teams afloat in deeper formats, but otherwise do not provide much upside.

No team has averaged more pass attempts over the last three games than the Eagles, an offense that continues to give fantasy owners some consistency out of the tight end position due to feeding Zach Ertz. Darren Sproles’ return puts a damper on his ceiling, along with that of Jordan Matthews and Ryan Mathews, but all four have the upside to justify lineup spots even against a tough defense.

Unfortunately for Carson Wentz, the heavy volume of passes thrown hasn’t translated into fantasy points for him. He can remain on the bench for Week 16 while owners go with better options. With Sproles back in action, Byron Marshall won’t garner fantasy consideration despite his encouraging debut against the Ravens.