Week 16 Fantasy Football Studs
The fantasy Todd Gurley Todd Gurley, through all of its Todd Gurleys and Todd Gurleys, Todd Gurleys and Todd Gurleys, has come down to this. How did your Todd Gurley fare? Did you bring Todd Gurley a #FootClanTitle? If not, you will have, at the very least, learned Todd Gurley and are already on the Todd Gurley to your 2018 Todd Gurley. Let’s take a Todd Gurley at the Todd Gurleys from Championship Week.
Quarterbacks
Jared Goff @ TEN
301 passing yards, 4 TDs, fumble
Jared Goff was perhaps the primary beneficiary of the man of the hour: Todd Gurley. Afterall, Gurley had 185 yards after the catch in Week 16. That will do wonders for a QBs stats. Playing against the Titans doesn’t hurt either.
Kirk Cousins vs DEN
299 passing yards, 3 TDs, INT
It certainly wasn’t pretty for the Redskins and Kirk Cousins, though games against the Denver defense rarely are, as evidenced by his 51% completion percentage. Though something tells me that not too many people who reluctantly slotted Cousins into their lineups are disappointed with 3 scores and nearly 300 passing yards.
Blake Bortles @ SF
382 passing yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs, 31 rushing yards
If Bortles was an actor he would certainly have a flair for the dramatic. The sheer range of his talent is remarkable. One moment he can have the audience in complete and utter despair, and the next have them standing on their feet cheering with joy. Such is the life of a Bortles owner.
Jimmy Garoppolo vs JAX
242 passing yards, 2 TDs, INT, 1 rushing TD
If you read the reactions on Twitter you might think that Jimmy GQ absolutely shredded the Jaguars but the fact of the matter is, 242 yards isn’t spectacular. But this is the Jaguars we are talking about. They don’t give up solid fantasy days to just anyone. Garoppolo, however, managed a very handsome day indeed.
Running Backs
Todd Gurley @ TEN
22 carries, 118 rushing yards, 10 receptions, 158 receiving yards, 2 TDs
All hail the king of fantasy football [playoffs]. I don’t know that I can say anything about this performance that hasn’t already been said over the last 72 hours. This is simply the stuff of legend.
Dion Lewis vs BUF
24 carries, 129 rushing yards, TD, 5 receptions, 24 receiving yards, TD
With Rex Burkhead out of commission and James White‘s relative inactivity in recent weeks, the stage was set for Lewis to have a good game in fantasy. And boy did he? On his way to 150+ total yards and 2 scores, Lewis set a new career high in carries by a wide margin. His previous high was 18. If not for Gurley, Lewis would be the story of the week.
Giovani Bernard vs DET
23 carries, 116 rushing yards, TD, 7 receptions, 52 receiving yards
If you have been playing fantasy football for at least a few seasons, you will know that Bernard is a special talent. Though perhaps a little undersized for an NFL RB, he has looked more than capable as a playmaker. He filled in admirably for Joe Mixon and the Bengals, not that this helped too many owners.
Joe Robbins/Getty Images Sport
C.J. Anderson @ WAS
16 carries, 88 rushing yards, TD, 7 receptions, 45 receiving yards, 2 pt conv
Sometimes I wonder if the Broncos know how good C.J. Anderson is. They don’t seem to believe in the talent.
Wide Receivers
Larry Fitzgerald vs NYG
9 receptions, 119 receiving yards, TD, 15 targets, 21 passing yards
If this has been the farewell tour for Fitzgerald, he has certainly been putting on a show for the home fans. He all-time great has averaged 8 receptions for 88 yards per game in the Cardinals 8 home games.
Julio Jones @ NO
7 receptions, 149 receiving yards, 11 targets
Julio doing Julio things. Putting up a ton of yards against a division opponent and somehow managing to not find his way into the end zone.
Ted Ginn Jr. vs ATL
4 receptions, 76 receiving yards, TD, 5 targets
Never one of high volume, Ginn has made a career out of making his opportunities count, when he doesn’t drop them that is. He didn’t drop the ball on Sunday, and fantasy owners rejoiced.
Juju Smith-Schuster @ HOU
6 receptions, 75 receiving yards, TD, 7 targets
Juju had big shoes to fill with Antonio Brown on the bench. The superstar in the making stepped up. With Antonio Brown expected to miss at least Week 17, Juju should be a solid start for fantasy owners as the Steelers are still fighting for the #1 seed.
Icon Sportswire / Contributor
Stefon Diggs @ GB
5 receptions, 60 receiving yards, TD, 8 targets
This one hurts more for the Adam Thielen owners than it felt good for the Diggs owners. While Thielen was the trusted WR for the Vikings going into the week, Diggs was the one who came through.
DeAndre Hopkins vs PIT
4 receptions, 65 receiving yards, TD, 6 targets
Speaking of coming through, Hopkins did just that. This is exactly what stud WRs are supposed to do, post solid stat lines even with a backup to the backup playing at QB in a tough matchup against a far superior team.
Cooper Kupp @ TEN
4 receptions, 65 receiving yards, TD, 6 targets
Nothing too exciting here, just a solid double-digit performance for the rookie.
Tight Ends
Eric Ebron @ CIN
5 receptions, 83 receiving yards, TD, 8 targets
It’s a good thing the Lions exercised the 5th year option on Ebron’s rookie contract before the season because this 24-yard old TE is playing like he wants to get paid.
Rob Gronkowski vs BUF
5 receptions, 67 receiving yards, TD, 7 targets
He didn’t necessarily “smash” anything, but he was good.
Antonio Gates @ NYJ
6 receptions, 81 receiving yards, TD, 8 targets
There was a time, long, long ago when Antonio Gates dominated the TE studs section. And then they invented the internet.
Ed Mulholland/Getty Images Sport
Travis Kelce vs MIA
4 receptions, 47 receiving yards, TD, 8 targets
With Kelce, Hill, and Hunt all clicking again, the Chiefs might be getting their groove back just in time for a playoff run.
Zach Ertz vs OAK
9 receptions, 81 receiving yards, 14 targets
Any TE worth his weight in salt, should be able to make something happen with 14 targets. Ertz is worth much more than that.
Honorable Mentions
Joe Flacco vs IND
237 passing yards, 2 TDs
Ben Roethlisberger @ HOU
226 passing yards, 2 TDs
Bilal Powell vs LAC
19 carries, 145 rushing yards, TD
Melvin Gordon @ NYJ
19 carries, 81 rushing yards, TD, 3 receptions, 47 receiving yards
Kareem Hunt vs MIA
29 carries, 91 rushing yards, TD, 4 receptions, 15 receiving yards
Le’Veon Bell @ HOU
14 carries, 69 rushing yards, TD, 5 receptions, 28 receiving yards
LeSean McCoy @ NE
17 carries, 71 rushing yards, 5 receptions, 76 receiving yards
T.J. Yeldon @ SF
5 carries, 13 rushing yards, TD, 7 receptions, 64 receiving yards
Leonard Fournette @ SF
18 carries, 48 rushing yards, TD, 3 receptions, 22 receiving yards, 3 targets
Jordan Howard vs CLE
22 carries, 44 rushing yards, 2 TDs
Amari Cooper @ NYJ
3 receptions, 66 receiving yards, TD, 4 targets
Tyreek Hill vs MIA
6 receptions, 109 receiving yards, 7 targets
Keelan Cole @ SF
6 receptions, 108 receiving yards, 13 targets
Mike Evans @ CAR
6 receptions, 107 receiving yards, 8 targets