Fantasy Football Week 16 Start 'Em And Sit' Em: Troy Franklin Vs. Khalil Shakir
In this story:
Welcome to a new wide receiver Start ‘Em and Sit’ Em decision for Week 16!
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at whether fantasy football owners should be starting Troy Franklin against the Jacksonville Jaguars or Khalil Shakir against the Cleveland Browns. Both players are coming off a strong Week 15 performance, so this is a tough Start 'Em and Sit 'Em decision for Week 16.
Shawn Childs has a great Week 16 wide receiver projections article that dives into the numbers behind this decision (and others!), but let’s go through the decision and see if we can come up with our own thoughts on Troy Franklin vs. Khalil Shakir this week.
WR Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos
Troy Franklin is currently WR27 on the season, but comes in ranked at WR38 in our wide receiver rankings this week. Franklin is coming off his best game since Week 8, so things are trending upward for the Broncos' young receiver.
Franklin has had a solid second year in the league and has earned Bo Nix's trust as part of a 1A/1B duo with Courtland Sutton, and put up six catches for 85 yards and a touchdown last week. While it's worth noting his targets have fallen off a bit over the last few weeks, Franklin still saw the ball come his way six times last week.
Franklin and the Broncos will play the Jacksonville Jaguars this week, which represents a relatively neutral fantasy matchup. While the Jaguars are statistically a team that can be thrown against, they haven't allowed a 100-yard receiver for their last three games. However, their opponents in those games have been quarterbacked by Cam Ward, Riley Leonard, and Brady Cook, so we'll take that input with a grain of salt.
WR Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills
Ranked as our WR35 in our Week 16 wide receiver rankings, Khalil Shakir is currently WR32 on the season with 62 receptions, 650 yards, and four touchdowns on 83 targets. He's had an up-and-down season, but had success last week as he put up five catches for 65 yards on six targets.
While Shakir has operated as Josh Allen's top receiver this season, he hasn't exactly put up WR1 numbers. Over his last five games, Shakir has caught two or fewer balls three times, so he's been a volatile fantasy play as of late. And though he saw 10 targets in Week 12, he's only seen 14 total targets over his last three games combined.
The Bills have a tough matchup this week as they face the Cleveland Browns. The Browns have allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing receivers, so Shakir has his work cut out for him.
The Verdict
While Shakir is the Bills' WR1 and should theoretically be a better play than the Broncos' WR1B (or even WR2), Franklin has been more reliable as of late and has a better matchup this weekend. While their production will likely be very close this week, I'm going to lean toward Franklin.
I’m locking in Troy Franklin over Khalil Shakir for Week 16. Good luck in your fantasy playoffs!
Once a top-ranked fantasy gamer on ESPN, Nick Raducanu has been playing fantasy sports for over 25 years. His written fantasy coverage includes stops at Rotoworld, Rotowire, and The New York Times.