It's never easy guessing Bill Belichick's plan for running backs, but with the fantasy football playoffs under way we will do our best to plan for Damien Harris and Brandon Bolden.
New England will be without fellow running back Rhamondre Stevenson, and Harris is expected to return from injury this week against the Bills. Bolden could move up to No. 2 on the running back depth chart as a result.
Harris hasn't played since Dec. 6 against the Bills when he carried 10 times for 111 yards in the ultimate wind-and-rain game. In the one game he missed, Stevenson carried the ball 10 times for 36 yards. Bolden had seven touches but was a bigger threat in the passing game.
The betting spread is down to a pick'em in some places. The Patriots are holding on as a 1-point favorite in others (real-time odds here). The total is 43.5, all of which points toward a game plan that could favor New England running backs.
Is Harris worth starting this week coming off that injury? How deep do we look before Bolden becomes worthy of a spot in a lineup? For all of that, we turn to our experts Sean Koerner and Chris Raybon for their rankings.
Damien Harris & Brandon Bolden Fantasy Football Rankings and Advice
Harris is the top option in the backfield after being confirmed active for the week. He's RB19 in standard scoring leagues in Week 16. That has him ahead of Saquon Barkley and Sony Michel, among plenty others.
Bolden is worth consideration in deep leagues coming in as RB46. His value is clearly higher in PPR and half-PPR leagues, where we rank him RB41.
