Who Should I Start? Derrick Henry or Deebo Samuel

Saturday, December 21, 9:21 PM

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry handled 24 carries, rushing for 162 yards in his team's 34-17 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The bruising back added another 27 yards through the air, hauling in both of his targets. Henry was a force on Saturday, swatting Steelers defenders to the ground en route to a robust 6.75 yards per carry. The only thing missing from his line was a score -- something he has not done since Week 12. Still, the 30-year-old put together his sixth performance of the season with more than 130 rushing yards, gashing the Steelers' defense for chunk gains whenever he touched the rock. It was a nice bounce-back effort after he put up a dud against the Giants in Week 15. Henry will get another stiff test in Week 17 against a tough Houston Texans team.

Friday, December 20, 11:40 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. will bring the least productive five-game stretch of his career into a Week 16 matchup in Miami on Sunday. He is averaging 3.3 half-PPR points over that stretch, including a 3.4-point performance last Thursday at home versus the Los Angeles Rams. Samuel Sr. reached a low point when he dropped an important 3rd-down pass in LA territory to a chorus of boos from the home fans. He'll have better days ahead -- he's certainly a better player than this -- but at this point, Samuel Sr. is untrustable in fantasy. In addition, Miami's tough pass defense has limited fantasy receivers to the second-lowest total in the league. Perhaps Samuel Sr. sees an increase in carries, with the 49ers down to their fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-string running backs due to a deluge of injuries. It might not matter much, though, as he's only averaging 2.7 yards per carry this year with one rushing touchdown, way back in Week 1. He's projected as a WR4 this week, and most Samuel Sr. managers still in the fantasy playoffs probably benched him long ago.