Tennessee Titans RB and WRs @ Indianapolis Colts
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard (ankle), wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (ankle) and slot receiver Tyler Boyd (foot) remain sidelined through two Week 16 practices though Boyd has been active for cardio duties since injuring his foot in Week 13. Tennessee’s No. 2 running back Tyjae Spears is available in more than 44.0 percent of Yahoo! leagues and ESPN leagues while tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo is available in 94.0-plus percent. If Pollard is unable to play, Spears is RB2-viable against the Indianapolis Colts while Okonkwo profiles as a top-12 tight end.
Pollard suited up for Tennessee’s Week 15 game against the Cincinnati Bengals despite practicing just once all week; a limited Friday session. He aggravated the injury in-game and played just two offensive snaps to Spears’ 20 in the fourth quarter.
Pollard (12 targets), Westbrook-Ikhine (17 targets) and Boyd (16 targets) combine for a Weeks 12-15, 37.5 percent team target share. Pulling one or more player(s) out of the lineup increases both Spears and Okonkwo’s target-earning potential. With Tennessee trailing and Pollard sidelined in Week 15’s fourth quarter, Spears caught 5-of-5 targets for 83 yards and one touchdown in that quarter alone.
Among 47 NFL running backs with at least 125 receiving snaps, Spears ties for 15th in yards per route run (YPRR, 1.35) while ranking 12th in target rate (19.9%) and eighth in catch rate (92.3%).
Okonkwo has quietly become a featured pass catcher in recent weeks. Among 18 NFL tight ends with at least 15 targets in Weeks 12-15, Okonkwo ranks fifth in target rate (21.9 percent) while tying for eighth in YPRR (1.71) and first in missed tackles forced (five).
Among NFL teams in Weeks 11-15, Indianapolis’ running back-coverage unit ranks 29th in catch rate allowed (80.0 percent) and success rate (41.9 percent). Indianapolis’ tight end-coverage unit ranks 21st in catch rate allowed (78.1 percent) and 27th in success rate (43.5 percent).
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New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara (groin) @ Green Bay Packers
Date/Time: Monday, 8:15 pm Eastern
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara underwent additional testing on his injured groin earlier this week, revealing a more significant strain than thought. Per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, Kamara is unlikely to play in Week 16 and his recovery timeline is now considered week-to-week. He may fail to return in time for fantasy football Week 17 championship matchups. Nominal No. 3 running back Kendre Miller should be added immediately, wherever available. Miller should safely clear double-digit touches in a potentially snowy game hosted by the Green Bay Packers. A top-12 positional finish is squarely within his range of outcomes.
Underhill notes nominal No. 2 running back Jamaal Williams could eat into Miller’s passing-down snap share but Miller quietly leads New Orleans’ running backs in two-minute-drill snaps (11 snaps, 52.4 percent share) over the last two games. He took one snap (6.7 percent share) in third- and fourth-and-long situations. Williams has been left out of the two-minute drill entirely while taking three third- and fourth-and-long snaps (20.0 percent snap share) during that span. The two-minute drill is fantasy football’s most fantasy-friendly receiving role for running backs.
Miller’s 43.2 percent (19 rushing attempts) positional rushing share in Weeks 14 and 15 towers over Williams’ 6.8 percent (three rushing attempts).
Miller is a highly talented rusher, ranking seventh in yards after contact per rushing attempt (3.6) and third in missed tackles forced per rushing attempt (0.32) among 36 NFL running backs with at least 15 rushing attempts in Weeks 14 and 15. His pass-catching productivity varies but he has efficiently averaged 1.37 YPRR on 16 targets and 89 receiving snaps through two NFL seasons.
Green Bay linebacker Quay Walker is considered “week to week” after suffering a Week 15 ankle sprain. His 35 run-defense tackles are 11 more than all remaining Green Bay defenders.
Baltimore Ravens WR Rashod Bateman (foot) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Date/Time: Saturday, 4:30 pm Eastern
The Baltimore Ravens labeled wide receiver Rashod Bateman (foot) as questionable to play against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, evidently having suffered a foot injury in Wednesday’s practice. He was unable to participate in Thursday’s practice and was seen wearing a boot on one foot in the locker room. His questionable status reads more so as obfuscation than an honest listing. Fantasy managers should consider him doubtful for Week 16. He would offer no fantasy-scoring floor if active. Baltimore’s post-Week 14-bye offense provides hints as to whom will absorb Bateman’s would-be workload.
Baltimore wide receiver Diontae Johnson has been ruled out due to personal reasons.
Baltimore jumped out to a seven-point lead with three minutes and 23 seconds remaining in the first quarter against the New York Giants in Week 15 and never once gave up the seven-point margin.
Despite the lead, Baltimore continued using its pass-catching personnel; tight end Isaiah Likely (30 snaps) and running back Justice Hill (18 snaps) led their position groups in snaps on plays where Baltimore maintained a seven-point lead. Rookie running back Rasheen Ali also logged his first snaps of the season (10 snaps), totaling eight rushing attempts. Pittsburgh will likely remain competitive more so than New York did, casting doubt on Ali’s ability to repeat the eight-touch workload though Baltimore is currently favored as a 6.5-point home favorite, per ProFootballFocus’ Scores & Schedule.
Likely and Hill remain flex-viable this week. Hill notably tied Bateman for a team-high five targets while playing with a seven-plus-point lead last week.
San Francisco 49ers RB Isaac Guerendo (hamstring/foot) @ Miami Dolphins
Date/Time: Sunday, 4:25 pm Eastern
The San Francisco 49ers’ latest starting running back Isaac Guerendo entered Week 15 with a foot injury and evidently picked up a hamstring strain in-game. He remains sidelined through two Week 16 practices and is unlikely to play, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Per Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Edwin Porras’ 2024 Injury Prone Draft Guide, running backs experience a 24.0 percent weekly recurrence rate after suffering hamstring strains.
San Francisco’s starting running back has totaled at least 14 rushing attempts in 10-of-14 games this season. Running back Patrick Taylor Jr. projects as the Week 16 starter and recent signee, running back Israel Abanikanda has leapfrogged Ke’Shawn Vaughn on the team’s depth chart.
Taylor is a reasonably safe bet to hit the 14-rushing-attempt floor though the spry Abanikanda should not be overlooked as a high-upside bench stash. The 6-foot-3, 217-pound Taylor has run well this season, averaging 0.29 missed tackles forced per rushing attempt on 14 rushing attempts, quietly leading all San Francisco running backs on an admittedly small sample.
Miami’s 22 missed tackles in run defense tie for the 14th-most among NFL teams in Week 11-15 and their 3.5 yards allowed after contact per rushing attempt ranks 29th. This is a great matchup for the bruising Taylor.
Cincinnati Bengals WR Tee Higgins (not injury related - rest/knee) vs. Cleveland Browns
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
As extensively detailed in Top five NFL injuries and contingency plans for Week 9, reports and quotes regarding Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins’ myriad injuries this season have proven terribly unreliable, often serving as a harbinger. Higgins practiced in a limited capacity on Wednesday before being downgraded to a non-participant on Thursday. While his “not injury related - rest/knee)” injury designation suggests his paltry participation is due to veteran rest, the knee aspect is unignorable, as is Higgins’ swelling injury history. He now has 11 recorded lower-body injuries flanked by three recorded upper-body injuries. Cincinnati tight end Mike Gesicki is likely to benefit from Higgins’ potential absence.
With Higgins sidelined in Weeks 1, 2 and 8-10, Gesicki notched three TE1 finishes, including one as the TE4 and another as the overall TE1. Rotational tight end Tanner Hudson was added to Thursday’s injury report with a knee injury, suggesting he suffered the injury in practice.
Cincinnati’s undrafted free agent tight end Cam Grandy makes for a single-game DFS dart throw, having joined his position group’s rotation in Week 13. Grandy averaged 1.82 YPRR in his 2023 season at Illinois State, catching 63-of-74 targets for 617 yards and three touchdowns, per ProFootballFocus’ Premium Stats.
Among NFL teams in Weeks 11-15, Cleveland’s pass defense ranks 21st in expected points added (EPA) allowed per play (0.136).
Wide receiver-needy fantasy managers can consider replacing Higgins with available Green Bay Packers wide receivers, facing a New Orleans Saints pass defense that ties for the sixth-most explosive pass plays allowed (38) since cornerback Marshon Lattimore was shut down pre-Week 9 trade.
