Who Should I Start? Tony Pollard or Justin Jefferson

Saturday, December 13, 10:33 AM

Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard had been an underwhelming fantasy contributor ever since Tyjae Spears returned from injured reserve, but that all changed last week as Pollard exploded for 161 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Titans' Week 14 win over the Cleveland Browns. The 28-year-old will look to carry the momentum from last weekend into this Sunday's Week 15 contest against the San Francisco 49ers. Tennessee seems to be riding the hot hand at running back, so Pollard will likely get the first crack at handling the every-down role this week. If he starts strong, he could have a shot at replicating last week's huge game. If Pollard can excel against a strong Browns run defense, he's capable of finding similar success against the Niners, who rank near the middle of the league in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this year. With that being said, we can't guarantee that Pollard will explode just because of one big, unexpected performance. There's still some risk here, making Pollard a low-floor, high-ceiling option for Week 15. He ranks as the overall RB34 in this week's RotoBaller fantasy rankings and can be deployed as a flex in most formats.

Monday, December 15, 8:07 AM

For the second straight week, the Minnesota Vikings put together an excellent offensive day with modest output from wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who was held to only two catches in his team's 34-26 victory against the Dallas Cowboys. The Vikings targeted Jefferson a team-high eight times, but the result was two catches for 22 yards. It was a hard-luck night for Jefferson, who caught a touchdown from quarterback J.J. McCarthy that was negated by an illegal formation penalty in the first half, missed out on a would-have-been big play when McCarthy overthrew him in the fourth quarter, and then dropped a touchdown later on the same drive. Managers who survived into Week 16 will see Jefferson in a favorable setting against the New York Giants, yet with just six catches in the past three games, it's getting more and more difficult to trust Minnesota's offense to get Jefferson the ball.