Who Should I Start? Geno Smith or Kyren Williams

Monday, December 15, 2:59 PM

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (shoulder, back) has a chance to return to practice this week and play in the team's Week 16 game against the Texans, according to head coach Pete Carroll. Smith was unable to practice in any capacity leading up to the Raiders' Week 15 contest with the Eagles and was officially ruled out on Saturday, leaving Kenny Pickett to make his first start for Las Vegas. Pickett was unable to throw for even 65 yards in the shutout loss to the Eagles, rendering all Raiders players unusable for fantasy. Carroll noted that the team will know more about Smith's status on Wednesday. Whether or not he's able to suit up carries major fantasy implications for managers who were able to slip into the semifinals with Brock Bowers or Ashton Jeanty and are now wondering if they'll need to make the difficult decision to leave them on the bench.

Saturday, December 13, 9:03 AM

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams continues to handle a reduced role as the team looks to keep him fresh heading into the 2025 NFL playoffs. While Williams is now averaging 14.0 touches per game over the last five weeks (compared to 21.9 touches per game last season), he has been able to stay on the fantasy radar as a low-end RB1 thanks to his yardage and touchdown efficiency. He averaged 6.5 yards per carry on the ground last week, and he's averaging 5.7 yards per carry over his last five games combined. He also has five touchdowns during those five games, including a trip to the end zone in back-to-back contests. Williams ranks as the overall RB9 in PPR leagues this year while starting to co-exist with Blake Corum, who has taken on a much larger role lately. He has also proven to be matchup-proof, which means managers shouldn't be too concerned about this week's game against the Lions, who have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs. Even with Corum making an impact and a tough Lions run defense on tap, we expect Williams to remain a very strong running back option ahead of the fantasy playoffs in most leagues. He ranks as the overall RB12 in the latest RotoBaller fantasy rankings for Week 15.