Week 16 2021/2022 Fantasy Season

This normally would be the last week for most fantasy leagues as the final week is typically omitted from fantasy leagues due to teams benching their starters under certain circumstances.

This week again features every team with no one on a bye although some teams may fall into a postponement that could move the day of their game. For this week let’s look at the best waiver wire pickups, players to sit and start, and compare some players one on one for your rosters in what could be the semi finals or championship of your league.

RB’s for Week 16

There are huge opportunities at running back this week due to a few injuries for you to pick up lead backs going into week 16 off of the waiver wire.

Ronald Jones

The first is Ronald Jones from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to the injury to Leonard Fournette. Fournette looks like he will be sidelined for week 16 against the Carolina Panthers as he was questionable heading into week 15 and then ending up leaving the game early.

Jones should be in line for the normal amount of carries that Fournette gets which is around 15 with goal line carries. It’s enough to make him a top 20 running back play in week 16.

Semaje Perine

Next is Semaje Perine who should be the lead back for the Cincinnati Bengals with Joe Mixon leaving the game early similarly to Fournette. With Mixon likely out, Perine should see at least 15 carries as well if not more as Mixon hasn’t seen less than 17 carries since week nine as the Bengal’s lead back.

In two games where Perine has had his most carries with 11, he ran for over 50 yards and scored a touchdown in each.

Jeff Wilson Jr.

A third pick up could be Jeff Wilson Jr. if he is available from the San Francisco 49ers as he is still the lead back there and ran for 110 yards and scored a touchdown last week.

WR’s for Week 16

Wide receiver pickups aren’t as intriguing this week as running back but there are still some quality options out there.

Gabriel Davis

The first is Gabriel Davis who had a breakout game for the Buffalo Bills. It is no secret the Bills are pass heavy and Davis might be the fourth best wide receiver on the team but with Emmanuel Sanders out last week he went off for two touchdowns and 85 yards.

Davis should continue to see a heavy workload with Sanders either out again or limited with a knee injury. It could be a really good spot for Davis in a close game against the Patriots.

Amon-Ra St.

Next is Amon-Ra St. Brown from the Detroit Lions because someone has to step up for the Lions and he looks like he is at the end of the year. He is just under 50% owned on most sites as he has had three solid fantasy weeks in a row.

In the last three weeks he has a combined 26 catches for 249 yards and two touchdowns. Now he gets to face the Atlanta Falcons who have given up a lot of fantasy points all year. He should be a good play and is even inside the top 20 in some wide receiver rankings this week.

Josh Reynolds

Another Lion to possibly pick up if you can’t get St. Brown is Josh Reynolds who has also come on recently and had 68 yards with a touchdown himself last week. Both of them look like good pickups and have the Seahawks after this week so could be good plays two weeks in a row.

QB’s for Week 16

Tyler Huntley

The best quarterback pick up this week on the waiver wire is Tyler Huntley for the Baltimore Ravens. He looked like Lamar Jackson out there last week but without the interceptions. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for 73 yards with another two touchdowns rushing.

This was in a game that the Ravens were expected to be shutout in but Huntley accounted for four touchdowns and they put up 30 points total on the Green Bay Packers. Huntley and the Ravens now play the Cincinnati Bengals which is another tough matchup on paper but that didn’t matter last time for him.

Due to his rushing upside, he could be a top 10 quarterback again in week 16.

TE’s for Week 16

James O’Shaughnessy is the top tight end pickup this week

The top tight end pickup comes from the Jacksonville Jaguars is James O’Shaughnessy. Apparently Trevor Lawrence loves throwing to his tight end no matter who is out there and O’Shaughnessy has benefited from it. He has four catches in each of his last two games and managed 60 yards with them in week 15.

The Jaguars get another good matchup in week 16 against the New York Jets and he should be able to have good production again this week.

David Njoku

Another tight end pickup could be David Njoku who is now the go to tight end in Cleveland for the Browns. Njoku was fairly quiet last week with Nick Mullens at quarterback but he should get Baker Mayfield back this week and he was a couple inches away from a touchdown catch that was ruled out of bounds in week 15.

Running Backs to Start in Week 16

Looking at players to sit and start in your lineups starting with running backs we will look at some somewhat uncommon fantasy names for week 16.

Sony Michel

The first is Sony Michel who has been great filling in for Darrell Henderson in Los Angeles for the Rams. Starting in week 13, Michel took over for an injured Henderson and hasn’t looked back. Michel ran for 121, 79, and then in Henderson’s return to the lineup, he still had 92 yards rushing.

Henderson only received six carries in week 15 to Michel’s 18. Michel also gets a nice matchup against the Minnesota Vikings for week 16 so he looks like a good player to start.

Jeff Wilson Jr.

Another running back to start in week 16 is Jeff Wilson Jr. for the San Francisco 49ers. In week 15 he improved in his second week as the 49ers starter for 110 yards and a touchdown rushing.

The 49ers are in a tougher matchup  but Wilson should be an intriguing play here as well.The 49ers gave him 21 carries so he should see another big workload this week.

Running Backs to Sit in Week 16

A running back to sit in week 16 should be Chuba Hubbard for the Carolina Panthers. His value is very touchdown dependent at this point and the Panthers back up running back stole one from him last week.

Since filling in as the lead back he hasn’t gotten more than 40 rushing yards or one catch in a game and now has a tough matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Wide Receivers to Start in Week 16

Russell Gage

At wide receiver this week Russell Gage looks like a player who you are going to want to start for week 16. Gage has been a nice player for the Atlanta Falcons and Matt Ryan with four straight games with at least 62 yards receiving.

In those four games he also has two touchdowns and a game with 91 and another with 130 receiving yards. This week the Falcons get the Detroit Lions in what should be a higher scoring game as both teams feature two offenses that have recently been able to pass the ball efficiently but not stop opposing passing attacks.

Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown is back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and looks like he will be the No. 1 wide receiver if he is out there. The Bucs have brought him back to the team after injuries to both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.

Brown has still been a beast this year when in the lineup so look for him to be a great player to start in week 16 as the go to target in Tampa. In just five games played this season Brown has five touchdowns and two 120+ yard games under his belt.

Wide Receivers to Sit in Week 16

Unfortunately a player to sit this week is Jerry Jeudy of the Denver Broncos. Jeudy has not seen the kind of targets and production unexpected out of a No. 1 wide receiver. Some of that is his fault but it is also very much so on the Broncos.

They are a run first team and don’t have a great quarterback but also have two other good wide receivers who all take away from each other in any given week.

Quarter Backs to Start in Week 16

Jalen Hurts

Jalen Hurts is a quarterback who should be started in week 16 for the Philadelphia Eagles. Hurts has so much upside for his running ability. To start the year he had seven straight weeks with 22+ fantasy points and just had two rushing touchdowns with nearly 300 yards passing as well in week 15.

Hurts also has a nice matchup this week against the New York Giants which he and that offense should be able to expose.

Quarter Backs to Sit in Week 16

Tua Tagovailoa is a quarterback who can be sat for week 16 in a tougher matchup with the New Orleans Saints. He was good but not great last week in a good matchup and with this matchup he should struggle to put up big numbers for fantasy.

He isn’t a terrible play but with all teams playing in week 16 he is outside of the top 15 in a lot of rankings for the week.

Tight Ends to Start in Week 16

Dallas Goedert is becoming the No. 1 option for the Philadelphia Eagles

Dallas Goedert looks like a great play at tight end. He is quickly becoming the No. 1 option in the passing game for the Philadelphia Eagles. Pairing him with Jalen Hurts as two good plays this week could be a good stack option.

Goedert was coming off of a two touchdown and 105 yard performance in week 14 which he followed up with 135 yards in week 15. Expect more big days for him going forward.

Tight Ends to Sit in Week 16

Evan Engram just officially can be a sit every week. His only upside is for touchdowns at this point which he only has two of all year and hasn’t hit above 61 receiving yards all year.

Comparison of the players for Week 16

In this last section we will look at some players that potentially could be on your rosters and compare them to other players of the same position to see who is a better play for week 16.

RB’s Comparison for Week 16

Saquon Barkley better than Rhamondre Stevenson?

Starting at running back again, Saquon Barkley has been fairly solid in his return to the lineup for the New York Giants. He has had at least 74 total combined yards in the last three weeks and can find the end zone fairly frequently.

He looks as if he won’t have many huge games this season but is pretty consistent as a fantasy running back for 10 to 20 points each week. This week he faces the Philadelphia Eagles in a decent matchup for him. He looks like a better running back to start than Rhamondre Stevenson for the New England Patriots.

Stevenson has been really good for the Patriots and should be the lead back again this week. They play the Bills in a tough matchup however, and he managed just 37 yards in a tough matchup as the lead back last week.

Austin Ekeler better than Barkley

Austin Ekeler does look better than Barkley at this point though. Ekeler hasn’t topped 67 rushing yards since week three but makes up for it receiving and with touchdowns. He has had a touchdown in every game since week nine and now the Chargers and Ekeler face the Houston Texans where he should eat early and often.

Rashad Penny

Another running back to look at in week 16 in Rashad Penny. He should still be a decent play but got stuffed by the Rams in week 15. Now he faces the Chicago Bears who could force a defensive matchup but he still seems more viable than a lot of other backs.

That should include D’Onta Foreman who faces the 49ers and could be bust in week 16.

Penny vs Michael Carter

A running back who does look better than Penny is Michael Carter who has been disappointing in his return for the Jets but has a nice matchup against the Jaguars to get it back going this week.

WR’s Comparison for Week 16

DeVante Parker or Christian Kirk?

DeVante Parker is an interesting wide receiver to look at this week for the Miami Dolphins. He has been great all year when in the lineup and even produced last week for fantasy owners in a game where the Dolphins had less than 200 passing yards.

This week he has a tough matchup against the New Orleans Saints but should be trusted to an extent due to his quality track record and consistency this year. Parker looks like a better wide receiver to start than Chase Claypool for the Steelers as Claypool can completely disappear in games and also has not been a good touchdown threat this season.

A receiver that does look better than Parker is Christian Kirk for the Arizona Cardinals as he has been a big factor with Deandre Hokins out of the lineup. Even in a terrible game for the Cardinals last week he managed nine catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.

Terry McLaurin is better than DJ Moore

Another wide receiver to look at for week 16 is Terry McLaurin who has had some very bad games recently. It could be worth another look at him in week 16 against the Dallas Cowboys where he could receive a lot of targets. He has nine games this season with four catches or less but also four 100+ yard games.

He looks better than DJ Moore for the Panthers with Cam Newton as he can’t be trusted to throw the ball down field and complete a lot of passes.

Brandin Cooks

Brandin Cooks does look better than McLaurin though as he is boom or bust but seems to boom more than McLaurin has this year and has a lower floor as the Texans like to force the ball to him every week.

QB’s Comparison for Week 16

Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson was finally back and playing well this season but then ran into the Los Angeles Rams in week 15. The Seahawks were without his favorite target in Tyler Lockett but are expected to get him back in week 16.

Wilson also will get an easier matchup against the Bears who are not as good against the pass as they are against the run. Look for Wilson to get back on track but still be a borderline top 10 fantasy quarterback in week 16.

Is Joe Burrow better option than Wilson?

A quarterback who looks like a better play than Wilson in week 16 is Joe Burrow who has great weapons and will face a Baltimore Ravens team with or without Lamar Jackson but who can put up points regardless apparently. Burrow should have to throw a lot to keep up with them and could have a huge day.

Wilson does look better than the opposing quarterback in his matchup with the Bears in Justin Fields. Fields has fantasy value dependent on his running ability but doesn’t give that upside that a Hurts or Taysom Hill give you or the consistency in the running game they have. It may prove tough for Fields to keep up with Wilson in this one and thus Wilson looks better.

TE’s Comparison for Week 16

Dalton Schultz

Dalton Schultz for the Dallas Cowboys is an interesting player to look at because when he seems like you should count him out he always comes back. He was wildly average when the Cowboys needed him to step up without Amari Cooper and Ceedee Lamb but now that they are back he has his best game in week 15 since week three.

The Cowboys have a good matchup in week 16 against the Washington Football Team and he should be a borderline top 10 fantasy tight end.

Dalton Schultz or Mike Gesicki?

He looks better than Mike Gesicki who can disappear in games and also has a tough matchup with the Saints who can shutdown offenses. Gesicki also hasn’t topped 55 yards since week seven but still has big game upside but likely not here.

Kyle Pitts

The rookie Kyle Pitts has been depended on a lot more in Atlanta for Matt Ryan without Calvin ridley. He looks to be a better play than Schultz as he has bigger upside. Pitts plays the Detroit Lions in a great matchup and has been steadily increasing his receiving yardage game after game.