Who Should I Start? D'Andre Swift or George Pickens

Thursday, December 18, 3:24 PM

Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift (groin) popped up on the Week 16 injury report on Wednesday and is now listed as questionable to play in another big divisional game against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night. Swift was limited on Wednesday and Thursday after not being listed at all on Tuesday. The 26-year-old should be on the right side of questionable this weekend, but if he ends up not playing, rookie Kyle Monangai would be a must-start, plug-and-play option for fantasy football managers against Green Bay. If Swift does get the green light to play in Week 16, he'll be a more risky RB3/flex option and potentially give up valuable backfield touches to Monangai, who has been more involved in Chicago's backfield in the second half of the season. In the first game against the Packers on Dec. 7, Swift had 13 carries for 63 yards and caught three of his four targets for 19 yards. He's the RB13 on the year with 14.0 half-PPR points per game.

Saturday, December 20, 12:09 PM

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens is coming off his worst two-game stretch of the season and faces a Chargers defense in Week 16 that has been the sixth-toughest matchup for opposing receivers. In spite of that, he ranks as RotoBaller's WR12 for the week and should be a reliable play for the fantasy semifinals. The Cowboys are slight home favorites in a game that features the second-highest over/under of the week. Prior to his mini-slump, Pickens faced two of the league's stingiest pass defenses in the Eagles and Chiefs, and was able to put up a combined 234 yards with a receiving touchdown. And despite failing to crack a 20% target share in either of the past two games, with Dallas' high-volume passing attack, that has still been enough for a healthy 15 targets over that span. With Javonte Williams (neck) limited to begin the week and CeeDee Lamb (illness) unable to practice until Friday, it would not be surprising to learn that this week's install featured a healthy dose of Pickens, and he remains a trustworthy start despite his last two lackluster efforts.