Week 16 Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for New York Giants vs Washington Redskins

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 New York Giants and Washington Redskins.

Start Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giants: Sterling Shepard's value has been on the rise in recent weeks, and he's looking like the Giants' No. 1 option in the passing game with Evan Engram out. Over the last four weeks, Shepard is averaging 8.3 targets per game, while Darius Slayton is at 6.8 during that span, and Golden Tate has seen 5.3 per game across his last three (he missed Week 13). Coming off a 20.1-point performance in PPR scoring, Shepard could be in line for another strong outing against Washington's mediocre secondary (No. 18 in Football Outsiders' pass defense DVOA metric).

Start Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Redskins: Terry McLaurin has been on fire lately, averaging 93.5 receiving yards per game with two touchdowns across his last two contests. It should come as no surprise that McLaurin's resurgence has coincided with Dwayne Haskins playing some of the best football of his young career. With the two rookies settling into a nice groove, McLaurin has a chance to torch a Giants' defense that checks in as the league's third worst against the pass by DVOA. McLaurin is the WR19 in our Week 16 PPR rankings.

Sit Golden Tate, WR, New York Giants: Tate just isn't seeing the kind of volume he needs to be fantasy-viable in the championship weekend. As mentioned above, he's only seeing 5.3 targets per game over his last three, and he hasn't exceeded 51 receiving yards since Week 10. While he has found the end zone twice over the last three weeks, touchdowns are a pretty unpredictable stat, and it's tough to trust a player seeing so few targets.

Sit Adrian Peterson, RB, Washington Redskins: Adrian Peterson is the Redskins' lead back now that Derrius Guice is out for the year, but this doesn't look like a great matchup for him. While the Giants' have been horrendous against the pass, they're actually decent against the run, checking in at No. 8 in rush defense DVOA. Peterson's volume (16.3 carries per game across his last three) gives him a solid floor, but he could struggle to do much against a surprisingly stout NYG run defense. He's our RB28 this week.

Join FanDuel Sportsbook Today. New users get a risk-free bet up to $500. Join Now.

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.