Week 16 Fantasy Football Rankings

 

Happy Holidays everyone and welcome to week 16 of the fantasy football season. I hope that you find yourselves in your fantasy championships fighting for a title this holiday season. What better gift could you get than a beautiful trophy that you can rub in the faces of your friends for the next year! I have crafted the projections below as a gift to you in your time of need and hope that these rankings help you with all of your start-sit decisions. Good luck!

Quarterbacks
  1. Tom Brady, NE QB vs. NYJ
  2. Matt Ryan, ATL QB at CAR
  3. Drew Brees, NO QB vs. TB
  4. Andrew Luck, IND QB at OAK
  5. Matthew Stafford, DET QB at DAL
  6. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT QB vs. BAL
  7. Philip Rivers, SD QB at CLE
  8. Derek Carr, OAK QB vs. IND
  9. Aaron Rodgers, GB QB vs. MIN
  10. Cam Newton, CAR QB vs. ATL
  11. Dak Prescott, DAL QB vs. DET
  12. Jameis Winston, TB QB at NO
  13. Blake Bortles, JAC QB vs. TEN
  14. Marcus Mariota, TEN QB at JAC
  15. Eli Manning, NYG QB at PHI

Matthew Stafford comes in at FantasyProjection’s number 5 QB this week and for good reason. I know Stafford had a very disappointing game in the fantasy playoffs last week, but he has been getting it done all year. He is consistently a threat to throw for over 300 yards and multiple touchdowns and is facing a Dallas secondary that is falling apart. The Cowboys are 28th in the league in passing yards allowed per game at 265 yards. They have also allowed 23 passing touchdowns over the season putting them in the bottom half of the league. Stafford will hopefully have Theo Roddick back who will help him establish a “run” game even if it is through short passes, which will allow Stafford to go deep throughout the game. I project Stafford will throw for 335 yards at 2 TDs this week.

Ben Roethlisberger has been up and down over this season and most recently he has been DOWN for his standards. To make matters worse he is facing the Baltimore Ravens, a constant rival for the Steelers, who always play their best in these rivalry games. Baltimore is 10th best against the pass based on passing yards allowed per game. This defense and matchup does frighten me slightly, but Big Ben is back home where he plays best and he is playing in a high pressure game where both teams are fighting for the Division. These big game situations are where Big Ben shines. I project Ben will get the job done and throw for 300 yards and 2 TDs this week against the rival Ravens.

Running Backs
  1. LeSean McCoy, BUF RB vs. MIA
  2. David Johnson, ARI RB at SEA
  3. Ezekiel Elliott, DAL RB vs. DET
  4. Le’Veon Bell, PIT RB vs. BAL
  5. Jordan Howard, CHI RB vs. WAS
  6. DeMarco Murray, TEN RB at JAC
  7. Latavius Murray, OAK RB vs. IND
  8. Carlos Hyde, SF RB at LA
  9. Ty Montgomery, GB RB/WR vs. MIN
  10. Frank Gore, IND RB at OAK
  11. Todd Gurley, LA RB vs. SF
  12. Devonta Freeman, ATL RB at CAR
  13. Spencer Ware, KC RB vs. DEN
  14. Lamar Miller, HOU RB at CIN
  15. Robert Kelley, WAS RB at CHI

Ty Montgomery most likely won all of his owners, who were brave enough to start him last week, their match-ups. Montgomery ended up with 162 yards rushing and 2 TDs against the Bears defense. Normally, I would be concerned about his match-up this week against the Vikings, but in week 15 we witnessed Frank Gore (also listed below) rush for over 100 yards against them. This defense no longer scares me and I can’t have Montgomery fall anywhere outside of the top 10 after last week. I think one of the things helping him is the bitter cold forcing the Packers to run which should continue this week. I project Montgomery will rush for 85 yards and 1 TD this week.

It feels like Frank Gore, since becoming an old man, has been completely ignored for fantasy purposes. No one talks him up. No one, not even defenses, give him the respect he deserves. Gore rushed 26 times for 101 yards and had 4 receptions for 14 yards against the Vikings once feared defense. This was an extremely impressive showing that should leave fantasy owners extremely hopeful for this week. Gore is taking on the Raiders porous defense that is allowing 117 yards rushing per game to opposing RB’s (25th in the league) and 16 TDs over the season tied for 24th in the league. Gore will exploit this defense and rush for 75 yards and 1 TD this week.

Wide Receivers
  1. Julio Jones, ATL WR at CAR
  2. Antonio Brown, PIT WR vs. BAL
  3. Odell Beckham Jr., NYG WR at PHI
  4. T.Y. Hilton, IND WR at OAK
  5. Mike Evans, TB WR at NO
  6. Jordy Nelson, GB WR vs. MIN
  7. Amari Cooper, OAK WR vs. IND
  8. Dez Bryant, DAL WR vs. DET
  9. Michael Thomas, NO WR vs. TB
  10. Julian Edelman, NE WR vs. NYJ
  11. Golden Tate, DET WR at DAL
  12. Demaryius Thomas, DEN WR at KC
  13. Tyrell Williams, SD WR at CLE
  14. Brandin Cooks, NO WR vs. TB
  15. Michael Crabtree, OAK WR vs. IND
  16. Jarvis Landry, MIA WR at BUF
  17. Rishard Matthews, TEN WR at JAC
  18. Larry Fitzgerald, ARI WR at SEA
  19. DeAndre Hopkins, HOU WR vs. CIN
  20. Doug Baldwin, SEA WR vs. ARI
  21. Emmanuel Sanders, DEN WR at KC
  22. Dontrell Inman, SD WR at CLE
  23. Alshon Jeffrey, CHI WR vs. WAS
  24. Davante Adams, GB WR vs. MIN
  25. Jamison Crowder, WAS WR at CHI

Brandin Cooks re-emerged last week against the vaunted Cardinals defense going for 186 yards and 2 TDs. This performance just proves to me that Cooks, although he can be a boom or bust play, must be respected and considered each and every week. This week Cooks takes on the Buccaneers pass D which is 21st against opposing receivers based on receiving yards allowed per game (265). Oh and did I mention Brees is at home where he play like the fantasy super star he is. This will only help Cooks final stat line. I project Cooks will go for 70 yards receiving and 1 TD this week.

Since we are talking about re-emerging WRs I need to bring up Jarvis Landry and the chemistry he appears to have with new QB Matt Moore. Landry hauled in 3 receptions for 108 yards last week and I expect with more practice time he will only build a better report with Matt Moore. Landry takes on the Bills defense which is 8th in the league against WRs, but I expect Landry will get enough work in this game to be a solid WR2 this week. I project Landry will have 5 receptions for 85 yards this week.

Tight Ends
  1. Travis Kelce, KC TE vs. DEN
  2. Greg Olsen, CAR TE vs. ATL
  3. Cameron Brate, TB TE at NO
  4. Delanie Walker, TEN TE at JAC
  5. Tyler Eifert, CIN TE at HOU
  6. Zach Ertz, PHI TE vs. NYG
  7. Martellus Bennett, NE TE vs. NYJ
  8. Jimmy Graham, SEA TE vs. ARI
  9. Kyle Rudolph, MIN TE at GB
  10. Antonio Gates, SD TE at CLE
  11. Eric Ebron, DET TE at DAL
  12. Jason Witten, DAL TE vs. DET

Travis Kelce has been a stud TE1 this season and has shown that he is one of the best at the position. I know Denver has the SCARY defense, but that did not stop Kelce before when he scorched the Broncos for 8 receptions for 101 yards just 4 weeks ago. I expect Kelce will perform just fine against the Broncos hauling in 6 passes for 85 yards and 1 TD.

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