Rhamondre Stevenson was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, which should make Damien Harris the lead running back for the Patriots in Week 16 against the Bills. Harris is dealing with a hamstring injury, but if he plays as expected then he’s a potential top-15 Fantasy running back in all leagues.
Harris missed Week 15 at Indianapolis with the hamstring injury, but prior to that he had been doing a quality job for the Patriots and Fantasy managers. He had scored a touchdown in seven of his previous games, including five outings with at least 12 PPR points.
One of those games was against the Bills in Week 13 when Harris got hurt. Prior to going out, he had 10 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown, and Stevenson had 24 carries for 78 yards in that matchup.
Harris isn’t getting 30-plus touches this week, but he should have the chance for at least 20 touches if healthy. Brandon Bolden and potentially J.J. Taylor will help Harris, but he’s the lead running back for New England with Stevenson out.
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And the Bills have struggled with running backs lately. Since Week 10, a span of six games, five running backs have scored at least 15 PPR points against Buffalo, with three guys (Jonathan Taylor, Harris and Leonard Fournette) rushing for at least 111 yards. And the Bills have allowed nine touchdowns to running backs in those six games.
This could be a big week for Harris. With Stevenson out, Harris has the chance to be a league-winning running back for Fantasy managers.
Editor’s Note: Projections are provided by CBS Sports and not Jamey Eisenberg. Projected points are for PPR leagues.
Week 16 Sleepers
Week 16 Preview
DFS LINEUPS
DFS Lineups for Week 16 …
DraftKings
QB: Joe Burrow (vs. BAL) $5,900
RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (vs. PIT) $5,800
RB: Ronald Jones (at CAR) $5,100
WR: Ja’Marr Chase (vs. BAL) $7,100
WR: Russell Gage (vs. DET) $5,900
WR: Mecole Hardman (vs. PIT) $3,500
TE: Rob Gronkowski (at CAR) $6,200
FLEX: Alexander Mattison (vs. LAR) $6,800
DST: Seahawks (vs. CHI) $3,000
Let’s go with a Bengals stack of Burrow and Chase in this lineup. The last time these two faced the Ravens, Burrow had 416 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception, while Chase had eight catches for 201 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets.
Edwards-Helaire has a good opportunity against the Steelers with Tyreek Hill (COVID) and Travis Kelce (COVID) likely out, which should help Hardman. And I love the potential for Mattison with Dalvin Cook (COVID) out, as well as Jones with Leonard Fournette (hamstring) out. Jones is my Start of the Week.
Gage has been awesome for the past month, and he should excel against the Lions. And Gronkowski should benefit with Chris Godwin (ACL) and Mike Evans (hamstring) out this week.
FanDuel
QB: Matthew Stafford (at MIN) $7,900
RB: James Robinson (at NYJ) $8,200
RB: Alexander Mattison (vs. LAR) $5,500
WR: Cooper Kupp (at MIN) $9,800
WR: Antonio Brown (at CAR) $7,000
WR: Tee Higgins (vs. BAL) $6,500
TE: Dallas Goedert (vs. NYG) $5,900
FLEX: Ronald Jones (at CAR) $5,400
DEF: Falcons (vs. DET) $3,800
It’s not often we get to stack the Rams, but I’ll do it here with Stafford and Kupp. They have a tremendous matchup against the Vikings, and both should score plenty of points.
The reason I can play high-end guys like Stafford, Kupp, Brown, Robinson and Higgins is the cheap options we have at running back with Mattison and Jones. They are less expensive on FanDuel, and even though both should be popular, they are worth it.
At tight end, I’ll go with Goedert, who feels undervalued at his price. He should be able to dominate the Giants as the lead option in the passing game for Jalen Hurts.
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