Saints Fantasy Football: Start 'em or Sit 'em in Week 16

Saints Fantasy Football's Start'em or Sit'em for Week 16's fantasy advice regarding members of the Black and Gold.

Here are the Saints News Network's Saints Fantasy Football Start'em or Sit'em for Week 16 of the 2021 NFL Regular Season.

Start 'em: RB Alvin Kamara

Even in a disappointing fantasy week for the entire Saints offense in Week 15, one thing became evident, Alvin Kamara is this team's offensive focal point. Kamara only touched the ball 13 times in New Orleans' 9-0 victory over Tampa Bay, accumulating 31 yards, and was relatively quiet in the second half. On Monday night, Sean Payton will need the polar opposite as Kamara will be relied on heavily, with Ian Book making his NFL debut at quarterback.

Let's face it, every team in the league is dealing with COVID-19 issues, and the Saints fall right into that category with 20 players added to the reserve list this week, headlined by Taysom Hill, Trevor Siemian, and Demario Davis.

Without two quarterbacks who made starts for the Saints this season, it is up to rookie Ian Book to lead the Saints in a crucial matchup amid a playoff push.

Good thing for Book is he has one of the most versatile backs in the league behind him but faces a defense ranked 7th against the run and 21st against the pass.

Miami surrenders 20+ fantasy points to running backs per week in PPR leagues, giving Kamara the green light already. Add his expected heavy workload, and Kamara jumps into the top-five running backs in Week 16 for me.

Start 'em: Mark Ingram II

With COVID-19 knocking so many players out this week, you may be scrambling for a running back to play, and if available in your league, Mark Ingram should be on your radar.

The former Heisman winner pieced together multiple solid weeks during Alvin Kamara's absence this season and has proved to still be a borderline FLEX play week to week.

This week may be the best week to play Ingram in the fore-mentioned FLEX position because Monday Night could easily be an old-school smash-mouth type of game for New Orleans.

As I mentioned above, Taysom Hill will not play for the Saints this week after being added to the reserve/virus list. Thrusting Ian Book into his first NFL start. And while Sean Payton has complimented his rookie quarterback, the ground game is any quarterback's best friend, which may be twice as true in an NFL debut.

Kamara and Ingram (aka "Boom-n-Zoom") should receive a high dose of carries this week, and with Kamara's ability to play out of the slot, Ingram could see an uptick in snaps at running back.

The touchdown will be crucial for Ingram's fantasy value this week, but I expect plenty of touches and at least 50 yards on the ground, making him a viable FLEX option.

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