RADIO
Welcome to Week 16 RotoBallers! With a holiday weekend ahead, all fantasy GMs want for Christmas is a win in their league's playoffs.
Heading into this week of action, this is what we have waited all year for, as fantasy managers will look to keep their dreams of winning a championship alive for one more week.
Here are some players I think will be in for a challenging game in Week 16 and could disappoint their fantasy managers. However, there could be some managers out there who aren't in any position to bench these players given that we must deal with injuries to notable players. Here are some players that fantasy managers need to temper their expectations for.
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Brian Robinson - RB, WAS
While Robinson has been a solid, if unspectacular, fantasy producer for his managers this season, he faces some serious obstacles in a Week 16 date with the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners have allowed the NFL's fewest fantasy points to the RB position, as well as the league's fewest rushing yards. San Fran grades out second in Rush Defense DVOA.
In addition to fighting a rugged Niners defensive front, Robinson will likely be dealing with a negative game script for a Commanders squad that is currently listed as seven-point underdogs.
Should Washington be forced to play catch-up in this one, Robinson would cede a significant amount of work to backfield mate Antonio Gibson. Gibson has been the preferred pass-catching back in this offense and he ran 24 routes in Week 15 compared to Robinson's five.
Joe Mixon - RB, CIN
Fantasy managers probably can't actually bench Joe Mixon in their league playoffs, but man, it doesn't look good for those that are forced to count on him this week.
Mixon has struggled to regain his form after missing two games with a concussion. Since his return to the Bengals lineup in Week 14, he has failed to record a TD and averaged just 1.90 yards per carry in last week's game against Tampa Bay.
The sledding only gets tougher for Mixon in Week 16, as he'll likely find little room to maneuver against a New England Patriots defense that has smothered opposing RBs in 2022. The Patriots have relinquished the NFL's fewest rushing TDs (three) while allowing the league's second-fewest fantasy points to the RB position.
Dak Prescott - QB, DAL
The Dallas QB salvaged his fantasy day in Week 15 by tossing three TDs against the Jaguars. His 20.2 fantasy outing against Jacksonville marked the first time he'd scored more than 20 fantasy points in a month and Prescott has thrown for more than 300 yards in exactly zero games this year.
Put simply, the Cowboys want to run the football, which means Dak must be extremely efficient to post big fantasy numbers. Dallas will have every incentive to deploy their rush-heavy scheme this week against a true run funnel Eagles defense.
Philly ranks second in the NFL in Pass Defense DVOA, having allowed the league's second-fewest passing yards. However, the Eagles stand just 20th in Rush Defense DVOA and I fully expect the Cowboys to attack this perceived weakness.
D'Onta Foreman - RB, CAR
I don't want to take anything away from Foreman, a player that's run hard in his first year in Carolina and has likely helped his fantasy managers win some matchups this season. He's had some nice moments since Christian McCaffrey was shipped to San Francisco at the trade deadline and has rushed for over 100 yards in four games this season.
However, Foreman has also looked very one-dimensional and has been a non-factor in the passing game for the Panthers. This leads to his disappearance when Carolina is stuck in a negative game script, such as last week when Foreman gained just nine rushing yards on 10 carries in a game that the Panthers trailed throughout. That scenario is once again a realistic possibility in Week 16 against a surging Detroit Lions squad.
Detroit's run defense has shown drastic improvement as the season's progressed. Since Week 8, the Lions have allowed the fewest RB fantasy points in the league. Foreman will continue to get the early down work as long as this game stays close, though he'll likely need to find the end zone to make much of a fantasy impact in this tough matchup.
Amari Cooper - WR, CLE
The veteran star has put forth rock-solid production for the Browns in 2022 - perhaps better than anyone expected while playing the majority of the season with Jacoby Brissett at the helm for Cleveland. However, Cooper has yet to find a similar rapport with Deshaun Watson. Since Watson replaced Brissett three weeks ago, Cooper has failed to catch more than four passes, top 60 receiving yards, or score a TD in any game.
In fairness, Cooper is attempting to play through a hip injury suffered weeks ago. Unfortunately, there are no fantasy points awarded for toughness. As a result, he's failed to reach double-digit fantasy points in five of Cleveland's last six games in standard-scoring leagues.
Pat Freiermuth - TE, PIT
Be it due to a lingering foot injury or Pittsburgh's inconsistencies at the QB position, the ever-reliable Pat Freiermuth has been a ghost over the past month. The Steelers TE received zero targets in last week's win over Carolina, while Pittsburgh mixed in a combination of Zach Gentry and Connor Heyward at the TE position in an attempt to lighten 'Muth's workload.
He last logged more than three catches in a game in Week 11 and has now garnered six or fewer targets in four straight. While his Week 16 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders isn't one to fear, the health of Freiermuth's foot and his steadily diminishing role in Pittsburgh's passing attack is certainly cause for concern.
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