Who Should I Start? Saquon Barkley or Khalil Shakir

Friday, December 19, 9:26 PM

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley has now scored touchdowns in consecutive games for the first time since the first two weeks of the season. Barkley's 22 carries were also his most attempts in a game since Week 11. The star RB was able to capitalize on the favorable matchup against the Raiders, and will look to do the same in his upcoming meeting with the Commanders. Washington's defense allows 136.3 rushing yards per game-fifth-most in the league-and has let up 14 rushing touchdowns-good for 12th-most in the NFL. It's also encouraging that Barkley had his most red zone rushing attempts in a game this season last week, getting the ball 10 times inside the 20 against Las Vegas. He's had a general uptick in touches and has returned to his scoring ways, so there's no doubt he's a solid RB1 this week.

Saturday, December 20, 10:40 AM

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir hauled in all five of his targets for 65 yards in the 35-31 win over the division rival New England Patriots. With struggling weapons in the Bills' receiving room, Shakir has retained his WR1 role in the offense, giving him fantasy value moving forward. Shakir has caught 62 passes for 650 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games this season, placing him as WR33. However, production may be hard to come by against this Browns secondary, which has given up the second-fewest receiving yards to wide receivers this season. They've also allowed only 6.4 fantasy points per game to slot receivers this season, which is where Shakir consistently lines up. Despite being the WR1 in this strong Bills offense, Shakir is a fade this week against this strong Browns secondary.