Fantasy Football Week 16: Rankings Audit & Podcast Highlights
Championship week is here! Whether you’re playing for that grandiose trophy, a nice payday, or simply bragging rights, there is no more strenuous weekend for Start-Sit decisions than Week 16. That’s where the Fantasy Footballers come to the rescue with the Start/Sit Tool found both on the player ranking pages and the dedicated page with recent searches to view.
You don’t have to take my word for how good this free tool is; over the past few seasons, Andy, Mike, and Jason have consistently been recognized by FantasyPros as some of the most accurate rankers in the business. The 2019 season is no different, as all three Ballers are inside the top 21 (84th percentile) of 130 qualified rankers. Jason leads the way with an overall ranking of 5th on the season ( Andy 11th, Mike 21st). While all three are performing well across the board, Andy is currently 5th most accurate at WR and 7th at TE. Let’s take one last dive into those rankings to see where there are some discrepancies amongst the team.
Quarterback Rankings
There was not a single fantasy owner who would have thought that Ryan Tannehill would be the consensus QB7 in Week 16 and a must-start for Championship week. Since getting his first start in Week 7, Tannehill is QB3 in fantasy with multiple TDs in every game. (Tannehill had just one passing TD in Week 9, but scored one of his three rushing TDs that week).
Dak Prescott has a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. All signs point to him suiting up in this critical NFC East matchup with the Eagles, but two of the Ballers have a 6-spot variance between their rankings of Dak.
Running Back Rankings
As of the writing of this article, Chris Carson sits above Christian McCaffery as the RB1 for the week in a home game against the Cardinals.
While the Bengals are in the midst of (another) lost a season, Joe Mixon has quietly been a top-5 RB since returning from the Week 9 bye. He’s crested 75 rushing yards in 5-of-6 games and topped 100 yards in three. All three of his rushing TDs have also come since Week 11 and this week’s matchup with the Dolphins presents a great opportunity to have another solid fantasy day.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison are both dealing with injuries, which has pushed Mike Boone into the top 20 RB rankings. The Monday Night matchup with the division-rival Packers makes him both an interesting and scary play in championship week.
In August, no one would have expected Le’Veon Bell to be ranked behind Mike Boone, Raheem Mostert and just ahead of Deandre Washington, but here we are. Bell checks in at consensus RB24 in a revenge game against this former team, the Steelers.
Wide Receiver Rankings
As noted above with Le’Veon Bell, it’s that time of the year, when you need to detach yourself from players’ names and focus on opportunity. There is no better example of that than this week’s WR16, Breshad Perriman. With both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin on the shelf for Week 16, Perriman is coming off his career-best game and in line for a massive opportunity in the league’s top-ranked passing offense.
Odell Beckham Jr. is simply not performing in 2019 and it’s time to recognize that, while the talent is there and a boom game is always a possibility, there are plenty of players that are more likely to out-perform him, as represented by his WR28 ranking in Week 16.
Another big name player who’s been a major letdown for fantasy owners is T.Y. Hilton. This week’s WR31 is another player whose name should not overshadow the reality of this 2019 season.
Tight End Rankings
Jacob Hollister checks in at TE8 this week, with a friendly matchup with the “we don’t cover TEs” Arizona Cardinals.
O.J. Howard has been a major let down in 2019, but Week 16 puts him in a primo spot to produce as one of the few remaining pass catchers on the league’s top passing offense.
Tyler Higbee as been an absolute fantasy stud the past few weeks, but a difficult matchup with the 49ers and the possible return of Gerald Everett should make fantasy owners stop and consider their options before pressing the submit button on Week 16 lineups.
Biggest Takeaways from the Week 16 Podcasts
Monday – Week 15 Studs & Stinkers + Weekly Rewind, AJ Crown & #FootClanTitles
This week’s Monday Punday opens up with some names of the players who either carried you in or kept you out of the Championship Game. Did A.J. Crown lead your team to glory? With Jay Griz filling in for the Hitman, Andy and Jason take you into the Weekly Rewind starts at 9:29 and opens with the news about two of the key players for fantasy owners, Chris Godwin and Dalvin Cook. Fantasy Studmuffins can be found at 14:29 and the Stinkers of the Week segment starts at 39:07.
Tuesday – Week 16 Waivers + Full Stream Ahead, Championship Prep
Mike is out again, which means Jay Griz got his second start in a row this week. The show opens with a discussion about the Monday Night Football Game and Drew Brees’ record-breaking performance. The News and Notes segment at 10:49 opens with news about DeVante Parker’s new contract and the Panthers making a change at QB. This week’s Waivers segment opens at 20:57 with some strategy talk around gamesmanship in the championship week. The Full Stream Ahead segment closed out the show starting at the 47:34.
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Wednesday – Week 16 Buy or Sell + Championship Week Mailbag, Idiot Savant Accuracy
Fantasy Buy or Sell at 5:03 focuses on some players that may be found on championship rosters, but with debatable starting prospects. The News and Notes segment opens at 12:40 with the news about some players that are unlikely to play for the rest of the season or officially heading to IR. With Mike still out, Jason warms up the pipes for the MAAAAAIIIIILBAG! Yeah! drop at 18:59. There are a ton of great questions for championship week.
Thursday – Starts of the Week + Week 16 Breakdown, Tannysee Titans!
Week 16 of the NFL brings us a reprieve from the Thursday Night Football games but drops three Saturday games on us in Championship Week. Plan accordingly! The show opens with the News and Notes segment at 4:23 before diving into the Fantasy Forecasts at the 13:26 mark, discussing the following matchups:
Texans @ Buccaneers (Saturday 1PM EST)
Bills @ Patriots (Saturday 4:30PM EST)
Rams @ 49ers (Saturday 8:15PM EST)
Giants @ Redskins
Bengals @ Dolphins
Saints @ Titans
The Ballers’ Starts of the Week can be found at 59:15. If you are still playing in a league with Kickers, Jason’s Ironclad, Locked & Loaded, 100% Guaranteed, Boom Boom Kicker of the Week can be found at 1:10:32.
Friday – Week 16 Matchups + Injury Concerns, Big Play Big Day
The Ballers open the show discussing the News and Notes at 4:20, focused on tentative players for Week 16. If your match up was not on the Thursday show, you can listen to the second half of the Fantasy Forecasts at 10:56. The 1:08:43 mark closes out the show with the Ballers on a Budget segment.
Fantasy Previews:
Steelers @ Jets
Ravens @ Browns
Panthers @ Colts
Jaguars @ Falcons
Raiders @ Chargers
Lions @ Broncos
Cardinals @ Seahawks
Cowboys @ Eagles
Chiefs @ Bears
Packers @ Vikings
As we head into the fall, the weather will start to play a role in some of the games. Make sure you check back every Sunday for Eric Ludwig’s Weekly Weather Conditions article.
Weekly Articles:
Rob Wilson’s Ten Things We Learned from the weekend.
Jeff Greenwood’s Trade Targets and Ammo
Matthew Betz’s Injury Recap
Aaron Larson’s Target Report
Ryan Weisse’s Snap Count Observations
Lauren Carpenter’s Waiver Wire
Ryan Weisse’s Defense/Special Teams Strategy
Much of the DFS content begins to drop on Thursday’s. There are a lot of DFS focused articles, so check them all out here
Kyle Yates’ Dynasty Report
Kyle Borgognoni’s Predicting the Top-12 QBs
Sunday – Eric Ludwig’s Weekly Weather Conditions
Have a great weekend and best of luck in Week 16!