Fantasy Football Week 16 Rankings: Projections and Matchups to Love

With fantasy championships or slots in them at stake, Week 16 started in notable fashion during the Thursday Night Football showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants.

Long story short, most of the Eagles didn’t show up as expected, while Odell Beckham Jr. and Robbie Gould led all scorers. Gould wasn’t exactly expected, but those who wanted to get the kicker position out of the way early apparently hit the jackpot.

Anyway, the rest of the slate isn’t so easy to figure out. Most teams are on a short week for Saturday holiday games, but there are also a pair of Sunday games and the usual Monday affair. Let’s cut through the confusion with a look at full projections.

      

Week 16 Schedule

     

Quarterbacks

It’s a big week for quarterbacks, with two of the more notable ones representing different generations.

Philip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers continues to represent the old guard. He’s hit 14 or more points in five of his last six outings with two or more passing scores in 10 outings this year.

Rivers is a top-tier play just in time for title games thanks to an encounter with the Cleveland Browns, owners of the defense allowing the second-most points to quarterbacks on average.

Though on the road, owners can trust the Browns to cough up plenty of points as usual.

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Marcus Mariota of the Tennessee Titans, of course, represents the future. A top-seven scorer entering the week, he has six outings at 21 or more points this year.

Owners might have beef with Mariota because he hasn’t cracked 10 points in each of his last two outings, but so it goes against the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs. He next gets the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team he hit up for 19 points and two passing scores back in Week 8.

Expect a repeat performance as Mariota’s Titans make a playoff push.

      

Running Backs

It’s a similar story at running back.

Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams heads up the new class, even if he’s had a trying fantasy season. The rough waters should subside in Week 16 against the San Francisco 49ers, the team allowing the most points to backs on average.

Gurley has hit double digits only four times, but he is generally reliable in good matchups, hence his 14 points in Week 14 against the Atlanta Falcons.

At home while …

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