Nick Westbrook-Ikhine start or sit: Week 16 fantasy football advice

Game day update: Julio Jones returned to practice on Wednesday and is expected to play on Thursday. Additionally, A.J. Brown is expected to be activated for Thursday Night Football, per Jeremy Fowler.

With Julio Jones looking unlikely to suit up for the Titans, wideout Nick Westbrook-Ikhine could have a bigger opportunity this Thursday night against the San Francisco 49ers. Will he take advantage of it?

Fantasy Football analysis: Titans WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

Westbrook-Ikhine gained 107 yards on seven receptions in Week 11, the game in which A.J. Brown suffered a chest injury that ultimately landed him on injured reserve. In three games since, NW-I has tallied nine catches for 88 yards. Brown is on track to return for this week’s game, but Julio Jones hasn’t practiced this week as of Wednesday because of a hamstring injury.

Assuming that Julio is down for the week, Westbrook should at least have a nice target floor; he has seen six or more looks in three of his past four games. If he gets that many chances on Thursday, he could certainly pay off for fantasy managers against a defense that has been pretty friendly to opposing WRs. San Francisco has allowed the 11th-most DraftKings points per game to wideouts, including seven touchdowns over the past four weeks.

Fantasy Start/Sit Recommendation

UPDATE: Sit Westbrook-Ikhine outside of the deepest of leagues.

Westbrook-Ikhine is viable as a WR3/flex in deeper PPR leagues this week, but the matchup and Tennessee’s injury-marred WR depth chart does provide some upside.