Who Should I Start? Terry McLaurin or Rico Dowdle

Friday, December 20, 7:14 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin should be viewed as a top-12 option in Week 16 when he faces the Philadelphia Eagles in a pivotal NFC East clash. McLaurin is carrying a three-game touchdown streak into this matchup. In his past two games, he has found the end zone twice in each of them. Since Week 3, the Ohio State product has averaged a stellar 18.3 PPR points per game with 77.5 yards per game. McLaurin is on track to post his fifth-straight 1,000-yard campaign. However, he has a difficult task ahead of him this weekend, facing the Philadelphia Eagles, who have allowed the fewest PPR points to opposing wideouts this season. In their previous Week 11 matchup, the Eagles held McLaurin to just one reception. Despite his struggles last time, fantasy managers should feel confident starting him in all formats as a WR1, given his strong production all season. In addition, with Noah Brown (kidney) on the IR and Zach Ertz (concussion) questionable, McLaurin could even see a higher target share in this matchup.

Saturday, December 21, 12:03 PM

Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle will be facing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense on Sunday Night Football in Week 16 that has allowed the fewest half-PPR points to opposing RBs in the last five weeks, which includes just one rushing touchdown given up. However, because of the high volume that Dowdle has been seeing of late as Dallas' clear-cut No. 1 RB, he'll carry high-end RB2 value for fantasy managers still alive in the playoffs. The 26-year-old is coming off a a career-best 149 rushing yards on 25 carries in last week's win over the Carolina Panthers after setting a previous career-best with 131 rushing yards the week prior. In the last four games, Dowdle has really been eating, seeing at least 18 carries per game and averaging 5.69 yards per attempt with a touchdown. Fantasy managers may not want to expect another career performance on Sunday night, but Dowdle is certainly trending up.