Week 16 Fantasy Football Rankings for Championship Week: Standard and PPR

 

Week 16 Fantasy Football Rankings

Congrats on making it this far in your playoffs! For most this is the fantasy football championships, the Super Bowl of fantasy football, the moment you've all been waiting for. For some leagues, next week is still in play so if you are reading then then most likely you are still in the hunt. What this all means is this week is the most important one yet for most of us, and lineup decisions are crucial!

As always, we are bringing you our Week 16 fantasy football rankings, for both PPR and standard leagues, by authors Zach Wilkens (@LopsidedTrades) and Ryan Rufe (@RyanRufe) along with plenty of Week 16 rankings analysis by Zach Wilkens.

The NFL season has two weeks remaining, and that means many fantasy seasons are over due to elimination, and many more will end this weekend. You should be familiar with the routine by now, but just in case you weren’t sure, every week fellow RotoBallers Ryan Rufe and Zach Wilkens post their fantasy football rankings based on team matchups and expected player performances for the week.

Good luck with your lineups, and your championship games. Hopefully we've been able to help you along the way... now let's win some leagues!

2014 Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros
 
 
 

Week 16 Quarterback Rankings

Staff Rankings Average	Player Name	Team Name	Ryan Rufe Rankings	Zach Wilkens Rankings
1	Aaron Rodgers	GB	1	1
2	Drew Brees	NO	2	2
3	Peyton Manning	DEN	3	4
4	Andrew Luck	IND	4	3
5	Tom Brady	NE	5	5
6	Matthew Stafford	DET	6	8
7	Tony Romo	DAL	7	7
8	Matt Ryan	ATL	9	6
9	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	8	11
10	Russell Wilson	SEA	11	10
11	Mark Sanchez	PHI	15	9
12	Joe Flacco	BAL	10	15
13	Robert Griffin III	WAS	14	13
14	Cam Newton	CAR	12	17
15	Eli Manning	NYG	13	19
16	Andy Dalton	CIN	16	16
17	Philip Rivers	SD	21	12
18	Alex Smith	KC	23	14
19	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	18	18
20	Josh McCown	TB	17	20
21	Johnny Manziel	CLE	19	24
22	Kyle Orton	BUF	20	21
23	Jimmy Clausen	CHI	22	31
24	Colin Kaepernick	SF	24	22
25	Teddy Bridgewater	MIN	26	23
26	Shaun Hill	STL	25	25
27	Blake Bortles	JAC	28	26
28	Charlie Whitehurst	TEN	29	27
29	Thad Lewis	HOU	27	29
30	Geno Smith	NYJ	31	28
31	Derek Carr	OAK	30	30
32	Ryan Lindley	ARI	32	32
33	Jay Cutler	CHI	33	33
34	Chad Henne	JAC	34	36
35	Derek Anderson	CAR	35	34
36	Brian Hoyer	CLE		35
37	Case Keenum	HOU	36	37

 

Week 16 Quarterback Rankings Anaysis

The biggest question of the week is can Peyton Manning bounce back? I guess most likely if you own Peyton he kept you from making the fantasy championships but if you are still in the running with Peyton then yes, I think he should be a top five QB this week. He is dealing with a slight thigh injury but it shouldn't be something that affects his play.

Matt Ryan has rebounded in a big way lately and has a great matchup this week. I'm not sure what's changed (especially given that Julio was out last week!) but he has a very high ceiling against the Saints. If Julio Jones is active, and I think he will be, even better!
Mark Sanchez is coming off two awful vintage Jets Sanchez games. Luckily the Redskins have an awful defense so he is a borderline top ten play and I'd feel more than okay starting him here. The Redskins allow the most points to opposing quarterbacks, including Nick Foles' 26 points in Week 3. Different quarterback, but the same Chip Kelly offense is a good sign.

Another surprisingly startable QB this week is Robert Griffin III. He looked good last week and most importantly, looked good running. I think he might run even more this week with pressures high to keep up with the Eagles offense. Even without much running, the Eagles give up the third most points to opposing quarterbacks so he should have a fairly easy time getting the ball to his receivers.
Cam Newton is on track to play this week. The injury and lack of practice is worrisome but if Joe Haden misses the game he would be a top-15 QB. There is a good chance you have a safer option here though.

There are three quarterbacks making their first starts of the year at the bottom of the list. The biggest surprise is Jimmy Clausen starting in place of the benched Jay Cutler. If Josh McCown can succeed there is a small chance Clausen can but really you should just avoid this. The other two are Thad Lewis or Case Keenum for the Texans and Ryan Lindley for the Cardinals. Avoid at all costs!
 
 

Week 16 Running Back Rankings

Staff Rankings Average	Player Name	Team Name	Ryan Rufe Rankings	Zach Wilkens Rankings
1	Le'Veon Bell	PIT	1	1
2	Matt Forte	CHI	2	3
3	Arian Foster	HOU	5	2
4	Eddie Lacy	GB	3	4
5	C.J. Anderson	DEN	4	9
6	Joique Bell	DET	7	7
7	Jamaal Charles	KC	10	5
8	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	8	8
9	Justin Forsett	BAL	9	11
10	Mark Ingram	NO	6	16
11	Fred Jackson	BUF	13	12
12	Jeremy Hill	CIN	11	15
13	LeSean McCoy	PHI	21	10
14	Lamar Miller	MIA	18	13
15	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	14	17
16	Tre Mason	STL	17	18
17	Alfred Morris	WAS	22	14
18	DeMarco Murray	DAL	35	6
19	Daniel Herron	IND	20	21
20	Isaiah Crowell	CLE	15	27
21	Latavius Murray	OAK	24	19
22	Matt Asiata	MIN	23	20
23	Pierre Thomas	NO	16	31
24	Toby Gerhart	JAC	25	22
25	Andre Williams	NYG	12	39
26	Giovani Bernard	CIN	29	23
27	Steven Jackson	ATL	26	30
28	Joseph Randle	DAL	19	63
29	Shane Vereen	NE	32	28
30	Doug Martin	TB	27	35
31	Christopher Ivory	NYJ	28	36
32	Frank Gore	SF	59	24
33	Ryan Mathews	SD	46	25
34	Kerwynn Williams	ARI	48	26
35	Terrance West	CLE	39	29
36	Darren Sproles	PHI	34	34
37	Branden Oliver	SD	30
38	Chris Johnson	NYJ	33	38
39	LeGarrette Blount	NE	31	44
40	Rashad Jennings	NYG		32
41	Trent Richardson	IND	42	33
42	Reggie Bush	DET	37	37
43	Knile Davis	KC	36	47
44	Donald Brown	SD	38	45
45	C.J. Spiller	BUF	67	40
46	Shonn Greene	TEN	40	54
47	Stepfan Taylor	ARI	57	41
48	Charles Sims	TB	41	50
49	Benny Cunningham	STL	62	42
50	Bishop Sankey	TEN	44	43
51	Carlos Hyde	SF	43
52	Lance Dunbar	DAL	45	49
53	Chris Thompson	WAS		46
54	James Starks	GB	47	59
55	Jonas Gray	NE	49	48
56	Travaris Cadet	NO	50
57	Jacquizz Rodgers	ATL		51
58	Theo Riddick	DET	51
59	Bernard Pierce	BAL	61	52
60	Devonta Freeman	ATL	52
61	Alfonso Smith	SF	64	53
62	Khiry Robinson	NO	53
63	Marion Grice	ARI	54
64	Roy Helu	WAS	55
65	Ronnie Hillman	DEN		55
66	Mike Tolbert	CAR	56
67	Robert Turbin	SEA		56
68	Ben Tate	MIN	60	57
69	Alfred Blue	HOU	65	58
70	Bryce Brown	BUF	58	64
71	Chris Polk	PHI	66	60
72	Daniel Thomas	MIA		61
73	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	71	62
74	Darren McFadden	OAK	63
75	Juwan Thompson	DEN	68	65
76	Ka'Deem Carey	CHI	69
77	Storm Johnson	JAC	70
78	Anthony Dixon	BUF	72
79	Fozzy Whittaker	CAR	73

 

Week 16 Running Back Rankings Analysis

The Ravens allow the fewest points to opposing running backs. So why do I have Arian Foster so high? I think the loss of Haloti Ngata is huge and they simply haven't been tested the past two weeks. Toby Gerhart was able to go over 4 yards a carry last week. That was the first time he's gone 4.0+ with at least 10 carries so that's a great sign for Foster. In addition with a well below average starter at QB I expect plenty of runs and screens for Foster. Start him with confidence.

DeMarco Murray is the biggest question mark for many championship teams. If he plays I think you have to start him. The worry is whether the Cowboys will only use him sparingly and it's a legitimate concern. I'm thinking he still gets 16-20 touches if he plays in which case he isn't elite but still a very good play. Unless you have two other really good options I'd take the slight risk with Murray because the upside is too great.

One guy I am lower than most on is C.J. Anderson. He has failed to go over 3.0 yards per carry the past two weeks, a clear result of being overworked if you ask me. Especially if Ronnie Hillman is active, there is a real chance you see Anderson's total touches drop by 5 or more. That would still put him at around 20 which is plenty enough to be effective but not a top five play to me.

Jeremy Hill was fantastic taking over as lead back last week. Unfortunately he gets a brutal matchup against the Broncos who have allowed just one rushing touchdown in their past ten games and just one 100 yard rusher. Jeremy Hill could definitely hit either or both of these marks but the odds are stacked against him. That said he is still a solid RB2.

It looks like Frank Gore will play following a concussion last week. Of course, he hasn't come close to 100 yards in a game for awhile now so it's hard to be too optimistic here. With Carlos Hyde unlikely to play he might see extra carries. He will be a low-end RB2 and pretty risky despite that.

I've seen a lot of talk about Dan Herron being a good start this week (and last) but I just don't see it. The Colts absolutely refuse to do anything more than a 60/40 timeshare with Trent Richardson which has kept Herron at 12 and 13 carries the past two weeks for just 71 and 72 yards. If possible I'd look for a feature back that might just get 20 touches.

Rashad Jennings was active last week but quickly retweaked his ankle and left the game. Even if he plays I'm avoiding him. You can't expect a heavy workload and the Rams are a very tough matchup. If he's out Andre Williams will be okay. Probably around RB20 but given the matchup and Williams' 3.2 YPC on the season expectations should be low.
 
 

Week 16 Wide Receiver Rankings

Staff Rankings Average	Player Name	Team Name	Ryan Rufe Rankings	Zach Wilkens Rankings
1	Antonio Brown	PIT	1	1
2	A.J. Green	CIN	5	2
3	Odell Beckham Jr.	NYG	2	5
4	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	3	4
5	Calvin Johnson	DET	6	3
6	Alshon Jeffery	CHI	4	10
7	Jordy Nelson	GB	7	7
8	Randall Cobb	GB	9	6
9	Dez Bryant	DAL	8	9
10	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	13	8
11	Ty Hilton	IND	10	11
12	Julio Jones	ATL	11	12
13	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	12	13
14	Vincent Jackson	TB	19	14
15	Golden Tate	DET	18	15
16	Mike Evans	TB	16	17
17	Julian Edelman	NE	17	19
18	Josh Gordon	CLE	21	16
19	Roddy White	ATL	15	27
20	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	22	20
21	Sammy Watkins	BUF	14	29
22	Kelvin Benjamin	CAR	20	24
23	Jordan Matthews	PHI	27	18
24	Brandon LaFell	NE	24	21
25	DeSean Jackson	WAS	23	23
26	Jarvis Landry	MIA	28	22
27	Andre Johnson	HOU	25	25
28	Mike Wallace	MIA	33	26
29	Anquan Boldin	SF	31	28
30	Kenny Stills	NO	29	30
31	Marques Colston	NO	26	37
32	Malcom Floyd	SD	37	31
33	Torrey Smith	BAL	30	39
34	Charles Johnson	MIN	36	35
35	Steve Smith	BAL	35	38
36	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	45	32
37	Stedman Bailey	STL	44	33
38	Eric Decker	NYJ	34	43
39	Marquess Wilson	CHI	42	36
40	Cecil Shorts	JAC	32	48
41	Nate Washington	TEN	47	34
42	Pierre Garcon	WAS	40	42
43	Michael Crabtree	SF	41	41
44	Donte Moncrief	IND	38	45
45	Robert Woods	BUF	43	44
46	Percy Harvin	NYJ	48	40
47	Martavis Bryant	PIT	39	55
48	Allen Hurns	JAC	46	67
49	Kendall Wright	TEN	52	46
50	Michael Floyd	ARI	71	47
51	Eddie Royal	SD	49	60
52	Greg Jennings	MIN	51	49
53	Marqise Lee	JAC	50	50
54	Rueben Randle	NYG	53	51
55	James Jones	OAK	62	52
56	Davante Adams	GB	61	53
57	Mohamed Sanu	CIN	54	54
58	Reggie Wayne	IND	55	56
59	Doug Baldwin	SEA	56	65
60	Harry Douglas	ATL	57	61
61	Dwayne Bowe	KC	60	57
62	Terrance Williams	DAL	58	79
63	Kenny Britt	STL	74	58
64	Andre Holmes	OAK	66	59
65	Markus Wheaton	PIT	59	63
66	Andrew Hawkins	CLE	68	62
67	Chris Hogan	BUF	63	70
68	Jarius Wright	MIN	64	76
69	Wes Welker	DEN	72	64
70	Tavon Austin	STL	65	75
71	Nick Toon	NO	77	66
72	Jermaine Kearse	SEA	67	68
73	Cole Beasley	DAL	69	69
74	Riley Cooper	PHI	70
75	Albert Wilson	KC	80	71
76	John Brown	ARI	75	72
77	Jerricho Cotchery	CAR	73	80
78	Preston Parker	NYG	79	73
79	Marlon Brown	BAL		74
80	Devin Hester	ATL	76
81	Jaron Brown	ARI		77
82	Brian Hartline	MIA		78
83	Hakeem Nicks	IND	78
84	Seyi Ajirotutu	SD		81
85	Paul Richardson	SEA		82
86	Philly Brown	CAR		83

 

Week 16 Wide Receiver Rankings Analysis

No big surprises among the top five. Demaryius Thomas was able to put up strong numbers last week with a struggling Peyton so expect that to continue regardless of how well Peyton plays.

I'm lower on Dez Bryant than most. That is in large part due to Vontae Davis who had a great game last week despite coming off injury. With Davis looking healthy I am going to be nervous about any WR he defends. Despite a couple injuries this season Davis ranks third among all corners on Pro Football Focus. DeAndre Hopkins was held without catch when Davis was on him last week. (All five of Hopkins' receptions were while Greg Toler was on him) Davis won't shut out Dez but he can definitely keep him from being a top five play.

If Julio Jones starts, you play him. I talked up Matt Ryan in the QB section and there is little doubt this will be a high scoring game. It's a great matchup for Julio if he is healthy enough to be active.

Much like Dez Bryant, Kelvin Benjamin's ranking hinges on Joe Haden. There is a good chance Haden misses this game in which case Benjamin moves up to the WR16 range and is a very solid play. If Haden is active I'd be pretty worried especially with Cam Newton possibly below 100%.

While Roddy White is having a fine season he lacks the huge upside of most of the receivers ahead of him. If Julio is out he would move up some but otherwise he's a solid WR2 but nothing more. He has hit the 100 yard mark just once this season and it was only at exactly 100 yards. He definitely has a good chance to get a touchdown but expecting more than 70-75 yards would be asking a lot from a guy that has done that just twice this season.

Moving down the list to some high upside plays - reports indicate that Reggie Wayne's role in the offense will be scaled back this week in favor of Donte Moncrief. Moncrief has a lot of potential and has had a few good games when given the chance. Without knowing just how much Moncrief will be used/targeted over Wayne it's hard to be too optimistic but there is a lot of upside here.

I'm also intrigued by Percy Harvin who has been hit or miss with the Jets and we've seen a lot more of the miss side. I'm expecting Eric Decker to see a lot of Darrelle Revis and someone is going to have to catch passes in this game! I think there is a good chance this is one of the bigger games for Harvin.
 
 

Week 16 Tight End Rankings

Staff Rankings Average	Player Name	Team Name	Ryan Rufe Rankings	Zach Wilkens Rankings
1	Rob Gronkowski	NE	1	1
2	Jimmy Graham	NO	2	2
3	Martellus Bennett	CHI	3	4
4	Greg Olsen	CAR	5	3
5	Travis Kelce	KC	8	5
6	Julius Thomas	DEN	6	9
7	Antonio Gates	SD	7	8
8	Delanie Walker	TEN	11	6
9	Jordan Reed	WAS	10	7
10	Owen Daniels	BAL	4	19
11	Dwayne Allen	IND	13	10
12	Jason Witten	DAL	12	12
13	Larry Donnell	NYG	9	16
14	Mychal Rivera	OAK	15	11
15	Coby Fleener	IND	14	14
16	Charles Clay	MIA	18	13
17	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	19	15
18	Heath Miller	PIT	16	23
19	Jared Cook	STL	17	22
20	Jordan Cameron	CLE	20	17
21	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	21	18
22	Eric Ebron	DET	24	20
23	Zach Ertz	PHI	26	21
24	Vernon Davis	SF	22	26
25	Andrew Quarless	GB	23	31
26	Timothy Wright	NE	27	24
27	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	25	28
28	Scott Chandler	BUF	28	25
29	Jace Amaro	NYJ	30	27
30	Brent Celek	PHI	29	30
31	Josh Hill	NO		29
32	Ladarius Green	SD	31
33	Anthony Fasano	KC	32
34	Tony Moeaki	SEA		32
35	Ryan Griffin	HOU		33
36	Brandon Myers	TB		34
37	Richard Rodgers	GB		35

 

Week 16 Tight End Rankings Analysis

Travis Kelce is frustrating because you just never know what to expect from the Chiefs offense. Are things finally looking up for good? It's possible as his 12 catches over the past two games is his best stretch yet. I think we're finally at the point where unless you have one of the top-tier tight ends and perhaps Bennett (and Delanie Walker this week) it's an easy choice to go with Kelce.

Dwayne Allen didn't have a ton of yards last week but played more snaps than Fleener and got the touchdown. The Cowboys are a great matchup for tight ends so I'd feel very good about starting Allen. Fleener is an alright play as well but I think Allen is definitely the preferred option for the offense.

I like Kyle Rudolph coming off a seven catch game but he has yet to practice this week so monitor his situation. Normally he is a red zone specialist so if he is getting extra targets that is a great sign. He has definite upside despite the tough matchup.

Other potentially available plays with upside include Zach Ertz, Jordan Cameron and Tim Wright. All three have the downside of putting up potential zeroes but have decent chances for touchdowns. On the other end of the spectrum you have guys that can probably get you 4-5 points and not much more or less in Jared Cook, Owen Daniels and Heath Miller.
 
 

Week 16 Defense Rankings

Staff Rankings Average	Player Name	Team Name	Ryan Rufe Rankings	Zach Wilkens Rankings
1	Seattle Seahawks	SEA	1	1
2	Buffalo Bills	BUF	2	2
3	Baltimore Ravens	BAL	4	3
4	New England Patriots	NE	3	5
5	Detroit Lions	DET	6	4
6	Jacksonville Jaguars	JAC	5	10
7	Minnesota Vikings	MIN	7	8
8	St. Louis Rams	STL	10	6
9	Arizona Cardinals	ARI	14	7
10	Carolina Panthers	CAR	8	13
11	Houston Texans	HOU	12	9
12	Green Bay Packers	GB	11	11
13	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI	9	14
14	Miami Dolphins	MIA	13	16
15	Denver Broncos	DEN	18	12
16	Cleveland Browns	CLE	15	18
17	New York Giants	NYG	17	17
18	San Diego Chargers	SD	16	19
19	Tennessee Titans	TEN	21	15
20	San Francisco 49ers	SF	19	20
21	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT	20	21
22	Kansas City Chiefs	KC	22	22
23	Indianapolis Colts	IND	23	23
24	Oakland Raiders	OAK	24	26
25	Dallas Cowboys	DAL	27	24
26	New York Jets	NYJ	25	28
27	Chicago Bears	CHI	30	25
28	Washington Redskins	WAS	28	29
29	Atlanta Falcons	ATL	26	32
30	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN	31	27
31	New Orleans Saints	NO	29	31
32	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB	32	30

 
 

Week 16 Kicker Rankings

Staff Rankings Average	Player Name	Team Name	Ryan Rufe Rankings
1	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	1
2	Mason Crosby	GB	2
3	Cody Parkey	PHI	3
4	Adam Vinatieri	IND	4
5	Matt Bryant	ATL	5
6	Connor Barth	DEN	6
7	Dan Bailey	DAL	7
8	Justin Tucker	BAL	8
9	Dan Carpenter	BUF	9
10	Graham Gano	CAR	10
11	Shaun Suisham	PIT	11
12	Greg Zuerlein	STL	12
13	Shayne Graham	NO	13
14	Nick Novak	SD	14
15	Phil Dawson	SF	15
16	Nick Folk	NYJ	16
17	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	17
18	Kai Forbath	WAS	18
19	Cairo Santos	KC	19
20	Steven Hauschka	SEA	20
21	Matt Prater	DET	21
22	Blair Walsh	MIN	22
23	Caleb Sturgis	MIA	23
24	Mike Nugent	CIN	24
25	Randy Bullock	HOU	25
26	Josh Scobee	JAC	26
27	Chandler Catanzaro	ARI	27
28	Patrick Murray	TB	28
29	Ryan Succop	TEN	29
30	Josh Brown	NYG	30
31	Garrett Hartley	CLE	31
32	Jay Feely	CHI	32
33	Robbie Gould	CHI	33

 
 

Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.