Week 16 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Advice for Fringe Flex Fantasy Football Starters

Week 16 of the 2024 NFL season has arrived.

That makes it semifinal time for most fantasy football leagues, meaning the stakes should speak for themselves. Win this week, and your championship hopes stay alive; fall short, and you're in for a long offseason of wondering where it all went wrong.

To help make sure things go right, we'll spotlight a few of our top start or sit recommendations for the upcoming slate.

Start: Baker Mayfield, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at Dallas Cowboys)

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INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 15: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on December 15, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

The Buccaneers are rolling, and Baker Mayfield is the biggest reason why.

The 2018 No. 1 overall pick might get bitten by the interception bug every now and then, but he'll put up enough volume to drown out his mistakes.

Sure, it's not ideal that he has five interceptions in his last three outings, but you can live with the giveaways when he has also tallied 818 passing yards and eight passing touchdowns during this stretch.

Mayfield just thrived in a tough matchup against the typically stingy Los Angeles Chargers (288 yards, four touchdowns), and he has a great chance to do the same in a favorable matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, who have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks.

Sit: Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers (at Miami Dolphins)

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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 12: Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers drops back looking to pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium on December 12, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

When Brock Purdy is at his best, he is maximizing the many playmakers around him. Given San Francisco's injury issues, though, he doesn't have enough playmakers to do that.

The 49ers are beat up at wide receiver, running back and along the offensive line. On a very related note, the quarterback's production is plummeting.

Over his last seven games, he has six touchdown passes and five interceptions. He has only topped 260 passing yards twice in this stretch and had another three games (in his last four) where he failed to reach 160 passing yards.

The stars have aligned every once in a while for Purdy this season, but no one should bank on that happening in this spot. Not after the Niners effectively saw their playoff hopes dashed during last week's loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and certainly not against a Miami Dolphins defense allowing the fewest fantasy points to the position.

Start: Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers (vs. Arizona Cardinals)

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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 15: Chuba Hubbard #30 of the Carolina Panthers carries the ball against the Dallas Cowboys during the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium on December 15, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Fantasy managers sometimes need to have short memories. Yes, Chuba Hubbard was a massive letdown in Week 15 (49 scrimmage yards and zero scores in a great-on-paper matchup with Dallas), but you shouldn't hold that against him for Week 16.

The Panthers have proved they'll lean heavily on Hubbard—they don't have much of a choice with Jonathon Brooks lost for the season and Miles Sanders yet to return from an ankle injury—and he has made that matter more often than not.

The 25-year-old has had 18-plus carries in five different contests this season and averaged 133.8 scrimmage yards and 0.8 touchdowns in those games.

If Hubbard sees anything near that volume this week, he should be good to go against an Arizona Cardinals defense that allowed Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson to go for 149 combined scrimmage yards this past week and Zach Charbonnet to tally 193 on his own the week prior.

Sit: Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. Houston Texans)

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KANSAS CITY, MO - DECEMBER 08: Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) finds running room up the middle in the fourth quarter of an NFL game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs on December 8, 2024 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

If you waited nearly three months to get Isiah Pacheco back, then it's a bummer not being able to use him in this spot. Know what would be worse, though? Bowing out of the playoffs for trusting a player who, frankly, hasn't earned it with his play of late.

Since returning from injured reserve, the 25-year-old hasn't handled the volume or delivered the production anywhere near expected. He has 157 scrimmage yards and zero touchdowns on 38 touches in his three games back. Those aren't numbers you can even use in a flex spot.

Hoping Pacheco snaps out of this and salvages your season feels either wildly optimistic or outright reckless. If his own play wasn't worrisome enough, he's also set to lock horns with a Houston Texans defense allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points to the position and might wind up in a Carson Wentz-led offense if Patrick Mahomes' ankle injury keeps him sidelined.