Fantasy football advice, Week 16: who to start/sit for Washington vs. Chicago Bears

Fantasy owners know what’s at stake at this point of the season, and when the Bears take on Washington, 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 one of Saturday’s games:

Rob Kelley, through the fortunes of finding the end zone in Week 15, posted a respectable fantasy total against the Panthers during a night where the offense could get nothing going on the ground. The offense may run more smoothly on Saturday against the Bears, who, despite playing respectable defense as a whole, have allowed 115.6 yards per game on the ground. Against a stout pass defense, and likely without Jordan Reed, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Washington lean more on Kelley in the frigid conditions at Soldier Field. If Reed does indeed sit, it propels Vernon Davis to TE1 status.

Thanks to his Monday night dud against the Panthers, owners who have Kirk Cousins would be lucky to have advanced to the fantasy championship. It will be tough to trust Cousins without Reed against the NFL’s sixth-ranked pass defense on the road, but the high-volume passing attack should at least give Cousins a decent floor despite coming off of one of his worst games of the season. Cousins can be considered a low-end QB1 for championship week, while DeSean Jackson, Jamison Crowder, and Pierre Garcon enter the conversation as volatile flex options.

If Reed manages to suit up, fantasy owners are not in a position to trust him. Reed has taken the field in consecutive weeks, but has been a shell of his usual, dominant self. Until he shows he is over his shoulder injury suffered on Thanksgiving, Reed isn’t usable in any fantasy lineup.

Jordan Howard remains a solid RB1 in a fantasy spectrum that doesn’t include many of them. Against a porous Washington run defense, he will likely be looked to early and often to move the chains while Washington dares Matt Barkley to beat them. Only two teams have allowed more rushing touchdowns than the 17 given up by Washington in 2016.

It was an unexpected explosion of fantasy production from the Bears passing game against the Packers in Week 15, as Barkley threw for 362 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Barkley’s three interceptions prevented him from cracking the top-12 in fantasy points among quarterbacks, but Alshon Jeffery, Cameron Meredith, and an unexpected outburst from Deonte Thompson all lit up the stat sheet. Thompson may be in line for another week of heavy targets if Josh Norman follows Jeffery around the formation, but expecting fantasy value to trickle down to three receivers with Howard likely involved in the running game is a lot to ask. Jeffery is a volatile WR2 while Thompson and Meredith make for desperate flex options.

Though Barkley has some streamer appeal against a Washington defense that has been repeatedly gashed, more reliable quarterback options likely present themselves in Week 16.