5 Fantasy Football Takeaways for Week 16

It’s the last week of the fantasy football season next, aka Championship Week. Good luck to all who have made it to this glorified point of the fantasy football season! Without further ado, let’s get into the Week 16 recap.

1. REGARDLESS OF NO JALEN HURTS, THE EAGLES WRS REMAIN ELITE

Even with Jalen Hurts out and Gardner Minshew starting, the Eagles offense continued to roll. Not only did Minshew finish as the QB7, but Devonta Smith finished as the WR3 and AJ Brown finished as the WR19. The Eagles WRs are must starts every single week, and a must win game against a weak New Orleans secondary means that both Brown and Smith should see plenty of target volume and fantasy success.

2. JARED GOFF CONTINUES TO IMPRESS, BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LIONS RUSHING ATTACK?

Jared Goff continues to be excellent for fantasy football, as he’s scored three games of 20+ points in his last four outings. He finished as the QB2 this past week, and against a porous Chicago defense, in another must win game to keep the Lions playoff hopes alive, he should be a must start option. However, we need to discuss this Lions rushing attack, which was pretty much nonexistent the entire game. They had a fantastic matchup ahead of them against Carolina, but both Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swift couldn’t even score more than 4 fantasy points. I wouldn’t panic though. With Williams leaving the game with a leg injury, Swift should be a must start RB2 this week in a matchup where the Lions should be leading the majority of the way.

3. WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WITH THE DOLPHINS SKILL PLAYERS?

With Tua Tagovailoa looking more and more unlikely to suit up this week against the Patriots in a must win divisional game to keep the Dolphins playoff hopes alive, there’s some concern with the Dolphins skill players. Raheem Mostert should not be started against an extremely tough Patriots defense. Tyreek Hill needs to be downgraded to a mid tier WR1 with the Patriots secondary known for shutting down a team’s #1 recieving option. Jaylen Waddle should be downgraded to a mid tier WR2.

4. WAIVER WIRE DARLINGS TO START IN WEEK 17

Since it’s championship week, it is imperative that you start the right players. The QB streamer I love this week is Daniel Jones, who is playing against a horrible Colts defense in a must win game for the Giants to clinch a playoff berth. He gives you massive upside with his rushing ability as well. The RB streamer I love this week is Tyler Allgeier, who is somehow still rostered in less than 50% of ESPN leagues. He gets an incredibly good matchip against the Cardinals, which should be a very competitive game, and should slot in as a solid RB2 this week. The WR streamers I love this week are Jahan Dotson, who has now three straight games of double digit pts and a TD, and should see lots of target volume in a competitive game against the Browns, and Isaiah Hodgins, who has now scored double digit pts in three out of the last four games and is playing in a must win matchup against a horrible Colts secondary. Two other names to consider depending on injury status are Greg Dortch and Romeo Doubs. Dortch should be a quality FLEX if Trace McSorley ends up starting again, as he saw 11 targets with him under center. Doubs should be a nice WR3 play if Christian Watson is held out this week against the dead last Vikings secondary.

5. PLAYERS TO PANIC ON FOR WEEK 17

The QB I need to highlight here is Justin Herbert, who has one of the easiest playoff schedules but instead has been highly disappointing. He has now two straight games of single digit points, and if you’ve made it to the championship round with him as your QB somehow, I strongly advise you to look at your waiver wire and see if Daniel Jones is avaliable. The RB I will highlight is Josh Jacobs. Jacobs had his first single digit point game since Week 8, and even though he’s been an elite option all season long, next week’s matchup against the best run defense in the NFL, the 49ers, is very concerning for him. I’m ranking Jacobs as a top 10 RB still, but expectations need to be tempered. The WRs I will highlight are Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins, two names that you are certainly surprised to see on here. Adams has now been horrible two weeks in a row, and Hopkins put up less than 2 fantasy points against a beatable Bucaneers secondary. At this point, I’m ranking Adams as a low end WR1, and a tough matchup against the 49ers really makes me worried starting him, especially with target competition there. I’m going to panic on Hopkins if McSorley is the QB again next week, as even though he gets a great matchup against the Falcons, he’ll likely be shadowed by AJ Terrell, meaning I’ll have to rank him as a WR2 for this week.