Who Should I Start for Fantasy Football Week 16? Marcus Mariota, Kirk Cousins, Trevor Lawrence, Drake Maye, Gardner Minshew, Baker Mayfield, Aaron Rodgers, Shedeur Sanders, Bryce Young, Cam Ward

Marcus Mariota, QB, Washington Commanders

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota has a tough matchup in Week 16 against his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles. Mariota will remain Washington's starter for the remainder of the regular season after the team shut down Jayden Daniels (elbow) after aggravating his elbow injury in Week 14. The 32-year-old signal-caller has been solid all season while filling in for Daniels, completing 62% of his passes for 1,600 yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while adding 49 carries for 298 yards and a touchdown as a runner in 10 games (seven starts).

Mariota is averaging 18.4 fantasy points per game in his seven starts, which would be tied for QB11 on the season among quarterbacks with at least six games. Mariota profiles as a QB2 on Saturday against an Eagles defense that has allowed the 10th-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is one of the hottest QBs in the league when it matters most for fantasy football managers. Lawrence took advantage of a great matchup against a bad New York Jets defense in Week 15 to go 20-for-32 passing for a season-high 330 yards and five passing touchdowns on Sunday. He added five carries for 51 yards on the ground and a sixth touchdown on the day. Since Week 12, Lawrence has thrown for 1,059 yards, 12 touchdowns, and three interceptions on 119 pass attempts while running for 121 yards and another TD on 17 attempts.

In the last five weeks, he's been the QB6 in overall fantasy points as he finally starts to click in head coach Liam Coen's offense. The addition of receiver Jakobi Meyers at the trade deadline has also helped Lawrence. The 26-year-old has become a popular waiver-wire pickup over this stretch. However, he could quickly come back down to Earth with a poor Week 16 matchup on the road in Denver against a strong Broncos defense.

Gardner Minshew, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Gardner Minshew is in line to start the rest of the season after Patrick Mahomes (knee) suffered a torn ACL in the Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Minshew completed three of five passes for 22 yards and a game-ending interception in relief of Mahomes in the fourth quarter. The 29-year-old has been serviceable in the past as a starter, with his best season coming in 2023 with the Indianapolis Colts. He completed 62.3% of his passes for 3,305 yards, 15 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 13 starts.

Minshew most recently started for the Las Vegas Raiders last season, where he wasn't quite as effective in a worse offensive environment, throwing more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (nine) over nine starts. Minshew doesn't profile as a fantasy option in standard formats, but he has appeal in superflex leagues for a favorable Week 16 matchup against the Tennessee Titans.

Kirk Cousins, QB, Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 30 of his 44 pass attempts for 373 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions during Thursday's Week 15 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also took one sack and recovered his own fumble. Cousins led five scoring drives on Thursday, including the game-winner with less than two minutes left to play. The veteran quarterback shook off the old narrative that he's incapable of thriving in the primetime slot, and in doing so, he kicked off his candidacy for the top-scoring fantasy quarterback in Week 15.

It's unlikely that many managers started Cousins in the first week of the fantasy playoffs, but his big game could be enough to justify deploying him as a fringe top-12 fantasy option heading into a favorable matchup against the Arizona Cardinals next week.