Week 16 Lineup Busts? Julio Jones, Alshon Jeffery, A.J. Green

The fears and doubts associated with decision making are part of the fun but can be quite stressful. Any lucky souls in the fantasy finals are in the tough spot of having to start the correct players. There are a couple of WR1 studs that are in terrible scenarios due to injury or bad matchups.

Atlanta Falcons star Julio Jones has delivered another outstanding fantasy season worthy of the likely first round selection. This week may be one of the rare cases where you can’t put your faith in the usual trustworthy receiver. Jones will face the undefeated Carolina Panthers and outstanding cornerback Josh Norman. The battle between Norman and Odell Beckham Jr. last week was must-see television and the hottest sports story of the month but lost in the confusion, Norman did his job. If not for Beckham’s final drive, his stats would have been terrible.

Jones is one of the most talented players at any position in the league so you will likely have to start him but if you lucked into wide receiver depth and have three other very good options, you can bench him. In the rare role of a WR3 due to the matchup and quarterback Matt Ryan’s poor play, starting Jones will be a stressful decision.

Alshon Jeffery has been one of the best wide receivers this season, when on the field. The issue has been the injury troubles surrounding the Chicago Bears star. Jeffery has missed games and even worse, he has left games early due to injury. You can’t risk getting a zero from one of your best players.

Jeffery is listed as questionable this week with a hamstring issue and there is no clear indication of if he will start and how much he will play. Chicago does not have anything to play for and it would be risky to play their best young talent at less than 100%. If you made it to the finals, you likely have another good receiver on the bench that will be a better play this week.

The Cincinnati Bengals fantasy value diminished after the injury to quarterback Andy Dalton. Stud wide receiver A.J. Green was likely the only wide receiver on the team you would trust without Dalton, but now he’s dealing with a bruised back.

The Cincinnati Enquirer believes Green is on track to suit up on Monday Night Football but the poor quarterback play of A.J. McCarron will limit him even more. Oh, yeah. Green is also facing the league best Denver Broncos secondary. Between his injury, the weak quarterback and the brutal matchup, you’re forced to bench Green in Week 16 unless your roster is extremely limited.