Week 16 Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Detroit Lions vs Denver Broncos

Now that we're into the fantasy football championship week, every single lineup decision you make is absolutely crucial. And since we're done with bye weeks for the year, there are also a huge number of plays to consider at every position. Some matchups carry more weight than others for fantasy production, and this one is no exception.

With that in mind, here is some start 'em, sit 'em advice for Sunday's matchup between the Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos.

Start Danny Amendola, WR, Detroit Lions: Danny Amendola's fantasy value had been on the rise prior to Week 15, posting back-to-back games with at least eight targets, but the injury to Marvin Jones might've accelerated his ascent. In his first game without Jones, Amendola turned 13 targets into eight receptions for 102 receiving yards. That came against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that allows the most fantasy points per game to opposing wideouts, but an average of 9.7 targets per game across his last three is enough to make him fantasy viable, even in a tough matchup with Denver.

Start Noah Fant, TE, Denver Broncos: The entire Broncos' passing attack gets a significant boost against the Lions here. Matt Patricia's defense has been downright horrendous against the pass, checking in as the fourth-worst unit against the pass by Football Outsiders' DVOA metric while surrendering top-four PPR production to opposing QBs and WRs. They've been better against tight ends (15th), but Noah Fant has developed a nice rapport with rookie Drew Lock, averaging 84.5 receiving yards across his last two games. Fant might be a boom-or-bust option, but he's got a massive ceiling this week.

Sit Bo Scarborough, RB, Detroit Lions: Denver's defense isn't quite the force that it once was, but the Broncos have still been solid against the run. They are surrendering bottom-10 PPR production to opposing running backs, and have allowed the eighth-fewest rushing TDs on the year. Denver is also a 6.5-point favorite in this one, on FanDuel Sportsbook, which could limit Scarborough's workload. That's especially true because he's a non-factor in the passing game, averaging 18.0 carries and just 0.3 receptions per contest. He doesn't crack the top 36 at RB in our Week 16 fantasy football PPR rankings, and his outlook will be especially bad if Kerryon Johnson returns to action.

Sit Royce Freeman, RB, Denver Broncos: Royce Freeman has been much less involved in Denver's offense lately, averaging 7.8 opportunities (targets plus carries) since Week 9. That's down from the 15.1 opportunities he averaged per game across his first eight. Even in a matchup against a very exploitable Lions' defense, Freeman isn't explosive enough to turn his low usage into solid fantasy production.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.