The Atlanta Falcons will face the New York Giants in Week 16. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Falcons skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 16 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Kirk Cousins, QB
Kirk Cousins struggled last week to the point where the Falcons essentially tried to melt the clock against an overmatched Raiders team.
With an interception in five straight games, Atlanta decided that its veteran QB was not their best way to make a playoff push, leading to Michael Penix Jr.’s elevation to the top of the depth chart.
Cousins was never labeled as the future of this franchise — but he’s no longer the present, either.
Michael Penix Jr., QB
Michael Penix Jr., the eighth overall pick in April, will make his starting debut this weekend with the postseason hopes of this franchise on his shoulders.
It’s a soft landing spot (bottom-five in interception rate, yards per attempt, completion percentage, and passer rating), but that doesn’t mean that you blindly start a rookie with your fantasy season on the line.
Realistically, I’m not changing much in terms of my rankings for Week 16 because we simply don’t know what to expect. Bijan Robinson and Drake London remain starters in all formats while Darnell Mooney and Kyle Pitts are outside of my comfort zone.
Bijan Robinson, RB
Bijan Robinson ran for a season-high 125 yards last week against the Raiders and has at least 22 carries in back-to-back-to-back games (he didn’t have a single such game previously this season).
If you gave me Robinson’s role OR volume, I’d be talking him up as an RB1, the fact that we get both is what league championships are made of, especially when facing the third-worst rush defense by EPA.
I don’t love his four targets netting just 19 yards over the past two weeks, but I’m willing to acknowledge that we can’t have everything. I prefer Saquon Barkley’s offensive environment and Jahmyr Gibbs’ situations sans David Montgomery, but that’s it at the running back position for this week, for the rest of this season, and potentially for the next handful of years.
Tyler Allgeier, RB
Kirk Cousins’ struggles have made this a chance to set up the running offense, a style of playcalling that I think we very well could see for a second consecutive week with the lowly Giants coming to town for Michael Penix Jr.’s debut
That said, Tyler Allgeier ran 12 times for 43 yards against the Raiders in that script. That’s it. He’s seen just two balls thrown his way over the past seven games; with Bijan Robinson as the featured back more often than not in scoring situations, there really isn’t much of a path for Allgeier to offer much for fantasy purposes.
I’m comfortable cutting most players without a fantasy-relevant role at this point, but Allgeier is the exception. With the Commanders and the Panthers left on the books, if you play through Week 18, I’m keeping Atlanta’s handcuff until this season concludes. I don’t think he holds stand-alone value this week or any of the next two, but he’s a Robinson rolled ankle away from being a top-15 RB for a team in the playoff mix.
Drake London, WR
Drake London hauled in a 30-yard touchdown on Monday night, the longest pass (23 air yards) resulting in a score during his young career. It was a good thing he got on the board early — after another Kirk Cousins interception, the Falcons committed essentially to the football equivalent of the four-corners offense: 37 rush attempts against 17 passes.
Atlanta was able to get away with the game plan because of an inferior opponent, and while I don’t think that’s a sticky offensive game plan in 2024, it could last another week with the Falcons opening as a 10-point favorite against the Giants.
I expect this offensive structure to tank the value of Darnell Mooney more than London, but there’s no overlooking the risk that is present given Cousins’ struggles. London is currently a low-end WR2 for me this week, checking ahead of Brian Thomas Jr. — yes, I’m drawing the line at Mac Jones when it comes to QBs I trust more than Cousins right now.
Darnell Mooney, WR
How does it feel to be a Darnell Mooney manager? It’s the full range of emotions. He’s basically like one of those sappy RomComs — you know the ups and downs are going to be a part of a ride that ultimately ends where you expected.
- There are only three receivers with more games of 85 receiving yards and a TD catch than Mooney this season (Ja’Marr Chase, A.J. Brown, and CeeDee Lamb)
- There are only three viable fantasy receivers with more games turning over 20 routes into under 30 receiving yards than Mooney this season (Elijah Moore, Xavier Worthy, and Deebo Samuel Sr.)
Over his past nine games, Mooney is averaging 3.7 catches with a touchdown reception once every 4.5 contests. During his four seasons in Chicago, he was good for 3.6 grabs per game with a TD once every 4.9 games. RomCom Mooney is ending his season exactly like we thought — it’s been a weird ride, but here we are, in a spot where, like in the preseason, we aren’t excited about counting on him.
Kyle Pitts, TE
Disaster. Bust. Waste of my time.
I hear of these things weekly and, more often than not, it feels accurate. There’s nothing in Kyle Pitts’ production profile that suggests that his physical tools are going to be unlocked at the right time.
That said, would you believe me if I told you that, through 15 weeks, he is one of five tight ends with a four-game streak of double-digit PPR performances (Weeks 5-8)? The other names on that list are universally trusted at this point (Trey McBride, George Kittle, Brock Bowers, and Jonnu Smith), but the dots just haven’t connected.
It’s crazy that Pitts’ name is on the list. That’s kind of like me asking you to guess which two QBs drafted in 2021, 2022, or 2023 have at least three top-10 fantasy finishes this season.
The answers are Brock Purdy and … Anthony Richardson, the quarterback equivalent to Pitts.
Richardson and Pitts are the Spiderman meme for me — the idea of that player holding upside makes plenty of sense, but the idea of counting on either with my season on the line is nauseating.
