• Tony Pollard is a secure begin: The Tennessee Titans have an awesome matchup this week, which ought to permit Pollard to see at the very least 15 carries.
• Watch out for Adam Thielen: The Carolina Panthers veteran had an awesome Week 13, however Jalen Coker‘s return might complicate his position.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full entry to all our in-season fantasy instruments, together with weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Begin-Sit Optimizer and extra. Enroll now!
Estimated Studying Time: 22 minutes
The beginning/sit article is getting a makeover for the ultimate few weeks of the 2024 fantasy soccer season.
The New Format: I’ve requested fantasy managers on the PFF Discord and Bluesky which gamers they’re least certain about this week, and I compiled that checklist and ranked them in opposition to one another. You probably have a number of gamers talked about, you must begin the participant ranked highest. On the backside of every place are some gamers you must begin over all the featured gamers, in addition to some gamers you must sit in favor of the featured gamers.
If a participant isn’t talked about, meaning they’re very near these with blurbs, and elements like accidents on the opposing defenses or climate might affect the rankings. Conditions involving accidents are additionally typically prevented as a result of there may be some gray space early within the week and issues sometimes change into clearer nearer to kickoff. As all the time, examine our weekly fantasy rankings for essentially the most up-to-date info that can assist you make all start-sit choices.
Why It is Altering: There are fantasy leagues of all sizes and styles. At 9:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, I reply begin/sit questions on the PFF Discord and infrequently discover myself telling some individuals to start out gamers and others to take a seat those self same gamers based mostly on the circumstances. The gamers to start out in a 10-team league on a squad with sturdy depth at working again may be very completely different from a 12-team squad with a weak point at working again. Only a few gamers may be universally began and universally sat, however it doesn’t assist anybody to say, “Begin Saquon Barkley,” for instance.
RUNNING BACKS
1. Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans
Pollard has been much less constant in current weeks. Throughout his first eight video games, he dealt with at the very least 16 carries seven instances. Over the previous 5 weeks, he has two video games with 24 or extra carries within the Titans’ wins and 8-9 carries of their previous three losses. Pollard has constantly caught 2-4 passes per recreation this season.
Tennessee’s current wins have coincided with Tyjae Spears lacking time, and losses have coincided with Spears enjoying. Pollard performs at the very least 80% of snaps when Spears doesn’t play and 60%-67% when he does. Whereas that’s seemingly simply correlation as a substitute of causation, it has contributed to Pollard’s giant splits in current wins in comparison with losses. Pollard did play 73% of snaps final week, essentially the most for him in a recreation with Spears absolutely obtainable. Despite the fact that Spears is enjoying in Week 14, Pollard ought to see extra touches than in previous video games with Spears.
The Titans are at house in opposition to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who received’t have injured quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Tennessee is a 3.5-point favourite, and the Jaguars have allowed the second-most fantasy factors to working backs this season. The sport script and the Jaguars’ run protection make this a constructive matchup for Pollard.
Pollard could be solely an RB2 this week in 10- or 12-team leagues, however he needs to be a high-end RB2 and have a greater recreation than most of his current performances. Pollard needs to be beginning until your group is totally stacked at working again.
