Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em For Fantasy Football Conference Round

Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em is the ultimate look at the best and worst playoff matchups based on a PPR scoring system in fantasy football leagues. This column will focus on players who could exceed or fall short of their statistical expectations at each position. For all of your final lineup decisions, check out my weekly player rankings, which will be updated daily.

Fab’s Five Top 4 Fantasy Conference Quarterback Rankings

Matthew Stafford at Seahawks
Drake Maye at Broncos
Sam Darnold vs. Rams
Jarrett Stidham vs. Patriots

Conference Round Start ‘Em Quarterbacks

Drake Maye at Broncos (3 p.m. ET, CBS): Let’s be honest … there are very few great matchups when you get to this point in the NFL season. That’s obvious at quarterback, even more so with Bo Nix out, so I’ll go with Maye this week. While he is turning the ball over way too much lately, he faces a Broncos defense that has allowed nearly 18 points per game to opposing field generals over the last eight weeks.

Conference Round Sit ‘Em Quarterbacks

Sam Darnold vs. Rams (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox): Darnold actually has the best matchup (on paper) of the four remaining quarterbacks this weekend, but can you trust him to produce? He has scored fewer than 12 fantasy points in three of his last four games, one of which came against this week’s opponent, the Rams. Furthermore, Darnold has combined to score just 14.9 points over his past two games.

Fab’s Five Top 5 Fantasy Conference Running Back Rankings

Kenneth Walker III vs. Rams
Kyren Williams at Seahawks
Rhamondre Stevenson at Broncos
RJ Harvey vs. Patriots
TreVeyon Henderson at Broncos

Conference Round Start ‘Em Running Backs

Kenneth Walker III vs. Rams (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox): Walker has been on fire over the past month, scoring 17-plus points three times, including 35.5 points last week. He’ll see a huge workload with Zach Charbonnet out of action, and Walker owned the Rams in the regular season with a combined 275 total yards and 45.5 fantasy points. He is, at least on paper, the best fantasy running back on the board.

Conference Round Sit ‘Em Running Backs

RJ Harvey vs. Patriots (3 p.m. ET, CBS): Harvey’s value this week depends on the status of J.K. Dobbins. who could return from injured reserve in time to face the Patriots. In that scenario, Harvey would lose snaps and touches to his veteran teammate, which is obviously bad news for his ceiling. It’s also worrisome that the rookie had only 11 touches in last week’s win against a bad Bills run defense.

Fab’s Five Top 5 Fantasy Conference Wide Receiver Rankings

Puka Nacua at Seahawks
Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs. Rams
Courtland Sutton vs. Patriots
Stefon Diggs at Broncos
Davante Adams at Seahawks

Conference Round Start ‘Em Wide Receivers

Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs. Rams (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox): This is 100% obvious, but I can’t find a wide receiver not named Smith-Njigba or Puka Nacua that I like this week. Both the Broncos and Patriots receivers have tough matchups or are catching passes from backup Jarrett Stidham, and the Seahawks defense has been dominant lately. As a result, I’m going with the low-hanging fruit with JSN.

Conference Round Sit ‘Em Wide Receivers

Stefon Diggs at Broncos (3 p.m. ET, CBS): Diggs scored only 7.3 fantasy points last week, and he’s been held to single digits in four of his past six games. He could be in for another rough statistical week against the Broncos, who field one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks in Patrick Surtain II. Denver has also allowed only one wideout to beat them for more than 14.6 fantasy points since Week 14.

Fab’s Five Top 5 Fantasy Conference Tight End Rankings

Hunter Henry at Broncos
Colby Parkinson at Seahawks
AJ Barner vs. Rams
Evan Engram vs. Patriots
Austin Hooper at Broncos

Conference Round Start ‘Em Tight Ends

Hunter Henry at Broncos (3 p.m. ET, CBS): Tight end is a dumpster fire at this point, as all of the high-end options have already been eliminated. With that said, Henry is clearly the best option at the position this week. He has scored 10-plus fantasy points in three consecutive games and five of his past six, and the Broncos have allowed the seventh-most points per game to tight ends since Week 13.

Conference Round Sit ‘Em Tight Ends

Evan Engram vs. Patriots (3 p.m. ET, CBS): Engram scored 7.5 fantasy points in last week’s win over the Bills, but that’s the best stat line he’s had in his past five games! His stats don’t figure to get better this week, as he’ll be catching passes from Stidham against a Patriots defense that’s allowed only two touchdowns to tight ends in their past seven games. Engram is a player to avoid this week.

Fab’s Five Top 4 Fantasy Divisional Kicker Rankings

Jason Meyers vs. Rams
Harrison Mevis at Seahawks
Andy Borregales at Broncos
Wil Lutz vs. Patriots

Conference Round Start ‘Em Kickers

Andy Borregales at Broncos (3 p.m. ET, CBS): Borregales scored nine fantasy points last week and has posted nine or more points in four of his past six games. He’ll be a worthwhile option against the Broncos, who have allowed an average of more than nine points per game to kickers since Week 13. What’s more, Denver has surrendered nine or more points to kickers in four of their past five games.

Conference Round Sit ‘Em Kickers

Wil Lutz vs. Patriots (3 p.m. ET, CBS): New England did give up 12 fantasy points to Ka’imi Fairbairn last week, but no kicker had beaten them for more than six points in each of their previous six contests. So, while Lutz posted a stellar 14 points in last week’s win over the Bills, the veteran clearly has the toughest matchup (on paper) of the four remaining kickers in the Conference Round.

Fab’s Five Top 4 Fantasy Divisional Defense Rankings

Patriots defense at Broncos
Seahawks defense vs. Rams
Broncos defense vs. Patriots
Rams defense at Seahawks

Conference Round Start ‘Em Defenses

Patriots defense at Broncos (3 p.m. ET, CBS): The Patriots' defense has the biggest advantage of any of the remaining four defenses this week, facing Stidham. He hasn’t thrown a single pass this season, and this will be only his fifth career start in the NFL. Look for New England to pressure Stidham often, creating enough sacks and turnovers to be a nice option.

Conference Round Sit ‘Em Defenses

Rams defense at Seahawks (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox): The Rams have the most vulnerable defense of the final four, and playing in Seattle isn’t going to make it any more of a fantasy option. In fact, this unit allowed 38 points and 415 yards of total offense to Sam Darnold and crew in their last meeting at Lumen Field. This could evolve into a high-scoring game as well, so I’d beware the Rams defense.