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Joe Nicely's DraftKings NFL DFS picks and lineup sleepers for the Week 16 (December 2024) Main Slate. His top daily fantasy football lineups to target for DraftKings DFS contests.
The NFL regular season continues to tick away, RotoBallers. With season-long leagues now in the pressure cooker of the fantasy playoffs, those of you who find yourself on the outside looking in but still jonesing for football can get your fix with some NFL DFS!
These DraftKings lineup recommendations are based on matchups, projected DK points and ownership, overall upside/talent levels, and opportunity, as well as factors such as Vegas odds, home-field advantage, and more. There are quite a few great plays available on DK for Week 16, and this article includes a couple of my favorite options for each position.
Also, be sure to check out our weekly FanDuel DFS lineup picks and lots of other great NFL DFS articles and NFL DFS tools to help you win MORE in 2024! Good luck with your DraftKings DFS lineups -- let's dominate this Week 16 slate together!
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DraftKings Quarterbacks - Week 16 DFS Picks
Joe Burrow - CLE at CIN ($7,500)
Despite Cincinnati's underwhelming 6-8 record, Joe Burrow has played MVP-caliber ball over the last two months of the season. Since Week 9, Burrow has averaged a staggering 28.85 DraftKings points per game while helming the Bengals juggernaut passing attack.
Allowing just over 25 points per game in 2024, the Cleveland defense is far from the dominant unit we saw last year. They enter Week 16 allowing 7.54 yards per attempt to opposing QBs. The Browns will also be playing without two of their top cornerbacks (Greg Newsome and Martin Emerson) in this matchup.
Michael Penix Jr. - NYG @ ATL ($4,500)
Priced like a backup QB on the Week 16 Main Slate thanks to the timing of Atlanta's decision to bench Kirk Cousins following their appearance on Monday Night Football, Penix has been named the starter for this week's matchup against the Giants. With a virtually non-existent sample size due to his limited action during the preseason or regular season, projecting Penix from a DFS standpoint is tricky business, though his rock-bottom price and elite matchup vault him into serious cash-game and small-field GPP consideration.
BREAKING: Falcons name Michael Penix Jr. starting quarterback. pic.twitter.com/PGSnZ4Nxvo
— NFL (@NFL) December 18, 2024
Already one of the NFL's most run-heavy teams, it's hard to envision Atlanta completely turning the rookie loose, although it would seem he's capable of a meaningful DraftKings score after posting 4,903 passing yards and 39 TDs while leading the Washington Huskies to a CFP Championship Game appearance last season.
He'll be aided by a soft Week 16 matchup against the Giants. New York has been susceptible to the deep ball - an area where Penix excelled in college - and is allowing the NFL's fourth-highest yards per attempt (7.73) to opposing QBs this season.
DraftKings Running Backs - Week 16 DFS Picks
Jahmyr Gibbs - DET at CHI ($7,500)
Gibbs should/can/will go ballistic during the fantasy football playoffs with David Montgomery now lost for the rest of the year to an MCL injury. Despite garnering just a 53.1% snap share in 2024, Gibbs ranks second in the NFL in total TDs (14), as well as fifth at the RB position in both rushing (1,047) and receiving (395) yards.
Jahmyr Gibbs is ready to go SUPER SONIC ⚡️#OnePride pic.twitter.com/ybHks8S3q4
— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰 (@the_det_times) December 20, 2024
We can expect his volume to spike to elite levels with Monty on the shelf. With his backfield mate ailing, Gibbs logged a season-high 75% snap share in Week 15 against the Bills, a workload that resulted in 28.4 DraftKings points. On the three occasions Montgomery was inactive last season, Gibbs averaged 18 carries per game on a 72% snap share.
As if the increased usage wasn't enough, he draws a slam-dunk matchup against a Bears defense that's been demolished on the ground the season. Chicago has relinquished the NFL's most rushing TDs and second-most rushing yards to the RB position in 2024.
James Conner - ARI at CAR ($7,100)
Another week, another opportunity to pick on the Panthers run defense. Such are the joys of NFL DFS! Though Carolina has been largely competitive over the past month, this Panthers squad is far from being a "good" football team.
The Panthers' defense has been sieve-like against the run, relinquishing an NFL-worst 173.0 rushing yards per game. James Conner - fresh off a monster 110-rushing yard, two TD performance against New England - should dominate this juicy matchup. Arizona's veteran back has experienced his healthiest season in recent memory and is averaging 5.2 yards per touch while serving a workhorse role for the Cardinals.
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DraftKings Wide Receivers - Week 16 DFS Picks
Puka Nacua - LAR at NYJ ($8,000)
After appearing in just one game across the first seven weeks of the season, Nacua has been elite since returning to the Rams lineup in Week 8. If we remove a Week 9 outing against the Seahawks in which he was ejected, Nacua has recorded at least 17.3 DraftKings points and at least eight targets in every game since re-entering the L.A. lineup.
One of the league's most consistent producers, Nacua is set to square off against a Jets defense that was torched by the combination of Mac Jones and Brian Thomas Jr. last week. New York's already underwhelming secondary has really crumbled over the past month. Gang Green has allowed the NFL's fourth-most passing yards per game since Week 12.
Malik Nabers - NYG at ATL ($6,100)
Just as life will find a way in Jurassic Park, talent will find a way in the NFL. Despite being stuck in one of the worst offenses in the league and being forced to catch passes from a laughably bad rotating cast of QBs that's included Daniel Jones, Tommy DeVito, Drew Lock, and Tim Boyle, rookie stud Malik Nabers' talent has somehow managed to shine through.
STUD: #Giants Malik Nabers is 99 yards away from having a 1000-yard receiving season as a rookie.
🤯
This season, Nabers has had Daniel Jones, Tommy DeVito, Drew Lock, and Tim Boyle throw him passes.
NABERS + A REAL QB = SCARY pic.twitter.com/h79Sr0urm5
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 16, 2024
The only real weapon on this Giants offense, Nabers has been a target magnet. He leads the NFL in target share (35%) while ranking inside the top three in both total targets (140) and Air Yards (1,377). While New York's question mark at the QB position makes it tough for Nabers to post ceiling games, his Week 16 matchup against Atlanta's abysmal secondary makes taking a shot on him at $6,100 a plus-value bet.
DraftKings Tight Ends - Week 16 DFS Picks
Trey McBride - ARI at CAR ($6,200)
McBride has been a near-permanent fixture in this article in 2024. It's with good reason, as the budding superstar has been a volume monster for the Cardinals this year. McBride has earned double-digit targets in four straight games and ranks first among all NFL tight ends with a 29.4% target share. He stands as the season's second-highest DraftKings scorer at the TE position - a stat made all the more impressive by the flukey fact that he's scored zero TDs this year.
.@K1 wants to get Trey McBride his touchdown 😅 pic.twitter.com/jUj6dyXF4l
— ESPN Fantasy Sports (@ESPNFantasy) December 18, 2024
The Panthers defense is one to target weekly as a whole and that's especially true at the TE position. Carolina comes into this one ranked 30th in the NFL in DVOA against tight ends. There's a strong chance that McBride's touchdown drought ends this week, as the Panthers have allowed the league's most TDs (10) to the TE position.
Brenton Strange - JAX at LV ($3,500)
Though he's received a whopping $1k salary increase since last week, Strange still checks in as the slate's best tight-end value at just $3,500. With incumbent starter Evan Engram on the shelf for the remainder of the season, Strange clocked in with season-high numbers across the board last week. Jacksonville's 2023 second-round draft pick reeled in 11 of 12 targets for 73 yards while logging an 82% snap share against the Jets in Week 15.
Showing a nice rapport with Jags quarterback Mac Jones, Strange should find more success in a beautiful Week 16 draw against the Raiders. Las Vegas has struggled to contain enemy tight ends all season, ranking bottom-five in the NFL in receptions (83), yards (908), and TDs (seven) allowed to the position.
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