Ten Things We Learned In Week 16 (Fantasy Football)
Merry Christmas! Hopefully, your Christmas was blessed with everything you could ever ask for, including getting a win and advancing to the championship game next week! The season flew by, and we are now entering our final week. It’s time to bring home those Foot Clan Titles, so let’s lock in and see what the major storylines from Week 16 were and what we learned from them.
1. T.J. Hockenson Is Leading Teams To Championship Games
T.J. Hockenson might have given you the edge you needed to make it to the championship game. Hockenson had a huge game, catching 13-of-16 targets for 109 yards and two touchdowns, and he is currently the TE1 on the week. Since he joined the Vikings, he has been regularly targeted in the passing game and is a safe option at tight end for championship week. Week 17 will have the Vikings traveling to Green Bay to take on the Packers in a pivotal game that could turn into a shootout, which would be best case scenario for Hockenson to have another big game.
2. Players Who Carry You All Season Can Fizzle Out
Sometimes the ones who get you there don’t help you finish the job. Stefon Diggs had a great season but has fizzled out over the last three weeks, catching only 2-of-2 targets for 26 yards in the fantasy semi-finals. He has three straight weeks of being the WR42 or lower and has likely cost many fantasy managers a shot at the title. Similarly, Davante Adams has been disappointing over the last three weeks after carrying fantasy managers all season. Adams only caught 2-of-9 targets for 15 yards in Week 16 and may be in for another tough matchup in Week 17 against a tough 49ers’ defense.
3. Cam Akers Might Be Back
After a devastating Achilles injury, nobody was sure if Cam Akers would ever return to form. Akers had a rough season, but he has recently been one of the only good things going on for the Rams’ offense. Akers rushed 23 times for 118 yards and three touchdowns in Week 16 and is currently the RB1 on the week. He may lead fantasy managers who still believed, or had no other option, to a title with this performance and a Week 17 matchup against the Chargers’ bad rush defense. Akers has six touchdowns in his last four games and should be a great start next week.
4. Brock Purdy May Push For Starting Quarterback Job
The 49ers may have a quarterback controversy brewing. Brock Purdy has been playing well in his first four career starts and has thrown for two touchdowns in every game. The 49ers paid a hefty price to move up in the draft to take Trey Lance, so they might give him the job once he is healthy; however, Purdy is playing well and leading the team to wins. If Purdy leads this team to a deep playoff run, who knows what might happen in the 2023 season.
5. Tyler Higbee Is Dominating Target Share For The Rams
The Rams’ have had several injuries on offense, but Baker Mayfield has stepped in and played well enough to at least support Tyler Higbee who had a monster game this week. Higbee caught 9-of-11 targets for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Most of that production came in the first half of the game. Higbee had six more targets than the next leading receiver and had a target share of 39.3%. Higbee gets a matchup against the Chargers in Week 17 and is an excellent start for fantasy managers looking for upside at the tight end position.
6. Don’t Fall For DJ Moore Unless There Is A Significant QB Upgrade
Some fantasy managers may have already given up on DJ Moore, but there always seems to be talk about each season finally being “the season” for the star receiver. We have to accept that unless Moore gets a significant quarterback upgrade, he will forever be a low-end WR2 option. The good news is that we have seen Moore break his record of three consecutive seasons of catching four touchdowns. He caught his sixth touchdown of the season this week, but the problem is he is still just producing low-end WR2 numbers. Let’s just remember that it’s probably better to let someone else draft DJ Moore in 2023.
7. Aaron Jones Suffered An Ankle Injury
Fantasy managers relying on Aaron Jones this week were left with minimal fantasy points thanks to an injury on the first carry of the game for Jones. He did play in the game but only logged six carries for 25 yards and caught two passes for nine yards. If fantasy managers with Jones advance to the title game, he should be good to go, but it’s worth noting that AJ Dillon has been getting more work over the last several weeks, so it might be a good idea to temper expectations for Jones.
8. George Kittle‘s Playoff Dominance Continues
George Kittle is breaking out at the best possible time for fantasy managers who made it to the playoffs with him as their tight end. Kittle followed up his TE1 overall performance in Week 15 with a TE2 overall performance in Week 16, catching 6-of-8 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. He has back-to-back two touchdown games and gets a great matchup against the Raiders’ defense for championship week. Kittle seems to be a preferred target for Brock Purdy, and Deebo Samuel is still out, so Kittle may have another big game and bring fantasy managers to a title.
9. Gabe Davis Was Not Worth His Draft Cost
There was plenty of hype surrounding Gabe Davis this season after his monster performance against the Chiefs in the playoffs last season. Davis was the definition of a boom-or-bust player, posting four games as the WR13 or better and ten games as the WR30 or lower. He was hurting teams way more than helping them and was not worth his draft cost.
10. Zach Wilson Is Done In New York
The New York Jets ended up benching Zach Wilson for the second time this season, this time for Chris Streveler. Wilson completed 9-of-18 pass attempts for 92 yards and an interception. The Jets’ offense looked much better with Mike White as the starter, and Wilson’s career in New York is now likely over after getting benched for a second time.