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Week 16 Championship Rankings & Matchups Analysis (Standard & PPR)

What's up RotoBallers. Week 15 is complete and we hope you managed to secure a win and make it into the championships. To celebrate, today we are bringing you our Week 16 fantasy football playoff championship rankings to help prepare you for your Week 16 playoff matchups.

Below you will find both PPR rankings and standard league rankings for Week 16, brought to you by Zach Wilkens (@LopsidedTrades) and Edward Gorelik (@EdwardGorelik). Lead fantasy football columnist Edward Gorelik also highlights some rankings analysis for the Week 16 playoffs, broken out by position, and draws some matchup conclusions. He tells you who he likes, who he doesn't, and most importantly who he thinks you should be starting in Week 16.

You can also check out our 2015 fantasy football ranking dashboard, for more in depth rankings analysis on all positions including rookies and dynasty leagues.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

Rankings are subject to change leading up to the games, but the analysis written might not.

 

Week 16 Fantasy Football Championship Rankings



powered by FantasyPros

 
 

Week 16 Quarterback (QB) Rankings Analysis

By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)

Blake Bortles is set to face everyone's favorite defense this week, the New Orleans Saints. Regardless of whether the Saints sit at home or on the road, their defense has been completely unreliable this year - it's given up at least eight top 12 performances. The worst of these all came at home (vs NYG, TEN, and CAR). Bortles and his receivers should be able to feast.

Kirk Cousins is heading on the road to face the Eagles, another one of the season's worst QB defenses. With the Redskins still sitting in the front seat of playoff contention, they'll be trying to put the Eagles down and keep the Eagles down in what's likely to be a very competitive divisional game.

Ryan Fitzpatrick didn't have a lot of success on the road against the Cowboys, but against the Patriots at home he should be able to pull out a much better fantasy day. Fighting for a playoff spot, expect the Jets to put up a big fight against the Patriots.

An Odell Beckham-less Eli Manning is going to fall heavily in the rankings. There's just no way around it. Despite facing what may end up being a depleted Vikings defense, it's nearly impossible for the Giants to expect the same kind of offensive production without Beckham in the lineup. If his appeal goes through, Eli will climb back up in the rankings.

 

Week 16 Running Back (RB) Playoff Rankings Analysis

By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)

Todd Gurley against the Seahawks is a tough buy. Although he's still expected to be startable just because of the volume, Gurley has yet to become matchup proof because the Rams are just not a very good team.

Gurley is likely to see another night like he did against Tampa Bay, racking up ~80 yards and hopefully a touchdown to go along with it. However with the way the Seahawks have been scoring, there's a chance he might have another low carry night if the Rams see the game fall through their hands early on.

The return of Spencer Ware is expected this week, meaning Charcandrick West will be seeing a huge downgrade. Ware operated as the goal line back when the two were active earlier this year, and likely will remain the goal line back this week removing much of West's upside. However, they're playing a horrible Cleveland defense which leaves room for both to still be startable.

Lamar Miller's ranking should fluctuate leading up to Sunday, as news of his potential injury and everything else related to Jay Ajayi comes out. With the way the Dolphins have been using Miller, it wouldn't be surprising if they decided to just play Ajayi over him at this point and look to the future. Miller is a risky, high upside play at home against the Colts.

Denard Robinson's ranking is also one that's subject to change as news comes out. Against the Saints, he should be an easy plug-and-play RB1 - but dealing with injury, and a potential the return of T.J. Yeldon, might change that.

Danny Woodhead might be able to carry his momentum from last week over to this week when he faces the Raiders on Sunday. With few other targets to throw to on this offense, and the Raiders giving up the 12th most receiving yards to running backs, Woodhead seems poised to be another strong RB2 in PPR and standard scoring leagues.

 

Week 16 Wide Receiver (WR) Playoff Rankings Analysis

By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)

Bill Belichick is generally very good at removing the opposing team's top receiving threats from games. We've seen it happen plenty of times this year, where the only thing that saves those top options are big plays or random touchdowns. Brandon Marshall was held to his worst game by Belichick earlier this year, and he'll be trying to replicate it this week.

Even though Odell Beckham proved that anybody can be beat last week, as he scored a touchdown over Josh Norman (and almost another, that he dropped), Julio Jones has already seen his stats take a huge fall when facing Norman earlier this year.

Julio will still be startable this weekend, since the Falcons have no one else to throw to. The Falcons also try their hardest to make sure Julio stays away from Norman by placing him in the slot, where Norman doesn't follow. Julio moves down to a low end WR1 like Marshall.

Whoever Brandin Cooks was in the early season is not who he is now. Cooks now averages 14 standard points per game when playing at home, and has seen great games even against some very tough matchups (against corners like Josh Norman and Darius Slay).

All the hype that Cooks had going into the season has finally started to materialize just when it matters most. He should be expected to keep up his fantasy relevance against the Jaguars, who allow an average of 80 yards per game to opposing WR1s and have allowed a 100 yard game to opposing WR1s in each of the last three weeks.

DeSean Jackson will be returning to play the Eagles this week in his second revenge game against them in their stadium. With Kirk Cousins playing his best ball right now, and the Eagles defense playing it's worst, a WR1 week is not out of the question for DeSean.

Amari Cooper had a great game against the backup corner for the Packers, but now he'll be facing Jason Verett this week who is amongst the leagues top corners (believe it or not). Verett has held opposing WR1s to below-league-average yardage all season, with only 67 yards allowed on average per game. Cooper, playing Thursday night, is looking like a risky FLEX play.

 

Week 16 Tight End (TE) Playoff Rankings Analysis

By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)

New Orleans has allowed the most points to tight ends on the season. Julius Thomas, who's really come on in the last five weeks, should be seeing a high-end TE1 type of week against one of the league's worst defenses.

Antonio Gates should also continue to bounce back as he ends the championship week facing the Raiders, a team that's been shredded all year by tight ends. Gates, one of Rivers' only healthy targets, should be in line for at least eight targets.

Both Zach Miller and Will Tye enter this week as potential TE1s due to offensive necessity. With Alshon Jeffery and OBJ both potentially sitting out for their games, each of them will have to take on a bigger role - both are likely to see many more throws in their direction than normal, against what should be some light coverage.

 

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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.




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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Johnny Furphy

Listed as Probable Against Bucks
Tucker Kraft

Done for the Year With Torn ACL
Tidjane Salaün

Tidjane Salaun Assigned to G-League Affiliate
Denny Hamlin

Overtime Four-Tire Call Costs Denny Hamlin the Championship
Chase Briscoe

Championship Bid Never Really Started After Two Tire Failures
Brad Keselowski

Nearly Steals Phoenix Race
Blake Wesley

Diagnosed with Broken Foot
David Onama

Suffers First-Round TKO Loss
Anthony Edwards

Cleared for Contact in Practice
Steve Garcia

Scores First-Round TKO Win
Dylan Harper

Exits Arena Sunday in Walking Boot
Ante Delija

Suffers His First UFC Loss
CFB

Dylan Raiola Suffers Season-Ending Injury
Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Gets Knockout Win
Themba Gorimbo

Drops Decision At UFC Vegas 110
Jayden Daniels

Suffers Dislocated Elbow on Sunday Night
Jeremiah Wells

Gets Back In The Win Column
Yadier del Valle

Remains Undefeated
Jayden Daniels

X-Rays Come Back Negative on Jayden Daniels' Left Arm, MRI to Come
Jaelan Phillips

Gets Dealt to Eagles for a Third-Round Pick
Isaac Dulgarian

Cut By UFC Following Submission Loss
Daniel Frunza

Still Winless In The UFC
Charles Radtke

Dominates Daniel Frunza
Allan Nascimento

Gets Submission Win
Philipp Kurashev

Stays Hot on Sunday
Cody Durden

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Lucas Raymond

Extends Point Streak With a Goal
Jake Guentzel

Notches Two Points as Lightning Continue Winning Streak
Leo Carlsson

Establishes New Career High With Six-Game Point Streak
Jonathan Huberdeau

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Matthew Schaefer

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Jaylen Warren

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Michael Pittman Jr.

Leads Colts With Nine Catches in Week 9 Loss at Pittsburgh
Jaxon Smith-Njigba

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Tory Horton

Catches Two Touchdowns in Week 9 Win at Washington
Sam Darnold

Nearly Flawless in Dominant Sunday Night Win at Washington
Jayden Daniels

Suffers Gruesome Left-Arm Injury on Sunday Night
Kyren Williams

Goes Over 100 Rushing Yards, Scores in Dominant Win Over Saints
Davante Adams

Continues Red-Zone Dominance in Week 9 Win
Dalton Kincaid

Leads Bills in Receiving Yards in Week 9 Win
Geno Smith

Throws Four Touchdown Passes in Week 9
DJ Moore

Scores Two Touchdowns, Involved in Several Ways Sunday
Kyle Monangai

Capitalizes on Expanded Role in Week 9
Matthew Stafford

Adds Four More Touchdowns in Sunday's Win
Brock Bowers

Snags Three Touchdown Passes in Grand Return
Brian Thomas Jr.

Injures Ankle in Victory Against Las Vegas
Puka Nacua

Injures Ribs Sunday, Could Have Returned
Rico Dowdle

Delivers Another Huge Showing in Lead-Back Role
Kevin Porter Jr.

Suffers a Knee Injury, Out at Least Four Weeks
Quinn Hughes

Returns to Practice Sunday
Roman Josi

Moved to Injured Reserve
Max Scherzer

Doesn't Plan on Retiring
Michael King

Becomes Free Agent After Declining Mutual Option
Ayo Dosunmu

Sidelined for Rematch Versus the Knicks
Cole Smith

to Miss 3-6 Weeks
Walker Kessler

to Undergo Further Testing on Injured Shoulder
Ryan Reaves

Placed on Injured Reserve
NYI

Max Shabanov Not Close to Returning
Jusuf Nurkić

Jusuf Nurkic Getting the Start on Sunday Night
Ryan Kalkbrenner

Available Versus Utah
Tyson Foerster

Won't Play Sunday
LaMelo Ball

Won't Play on Sunday Night
Sean Couturier

Returns to Flyers Lineup Sunday
LaMelo Ball

Not Expected to Play on Sunday
Austin Cindric

is A Driver to Avoid for Phoenix DFS Lineups
Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Named World Series MVP
Alex Bowman

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Noah Gragson

Should DFS Players Roster Noah Gragson At Phoenix?
Erik Jones

Is Erik Jones Worth Rostering for DFS at Phoenix?
Connor McDavid

Records Three Assists in Saturday's Win
Michael McDowell

an Easy Recommendation for DFS at Phoenix
Vladimir Tarasenko

Ends Dry Spell With Three-Point Effort
Nick Suzuki

Collects Two More Apples
Timothy Liljegren

Sustains Upper-Body Injury
Nick Cousins

Injured on Saturday
Christopher Tanev

Leaves on Stretcher Saturday
Kevon Looney

Questionable Versus OKC
Chase Briscoe

Probably Won't Win the Title
Joey Logano

Could Play Spoiler in Championship Battle at Phoenix
Tyler Reddick

Seeking to End Winless Drought, but Probably Won't Have the Speed
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Looks to Protect Top-10 Points Finish at Phoenix
Brad Keselowski

Hasn't Been Fast at Phoenix With RFK Racing
Daniel Suarez

With Nothing at Stake, Expect Little From Daniel Suarez
Kyle Busch

Qualifies Well, but Will Probably Finish Worse Than he Starts
Chris Buescher

Ryan Preece has a Shot to Overtake Chris Buescher as RFK Racing's Lead Driver
Austin Dillon

Looks to Avoid Finishing Last in NASCAR Playoffs
AJ Allmendinger

A.J. Allmendinger Might be a Worthy DFS Option
Jakob Poeltl

to Remain Sidelined Sunday
Walker Kessler

Out on Sunday
Mitchell Robinson

Listed as Questionable for Sunday
Dillon Brooks

to Miss Fourth Straight Game Sunday
Jalen Green

Unavailable Against Spurs
Norman Powell

Questionable to Suit Up Against Lakers
Jeremy Sochan

Remains Absent Sunday
De'Aaron Fox

Still Out Sunday
Connor Brown

Won't Play on Saturday
Dylan Strome

Ready to Return Saturday
Shohei Ohtani

to Start Game 7 of World Series
Alejandro Kirk

X-Rays Come Back Negative on Alejandro Kirk's Hand
Alejandro Kirk

Goes for X-Rays After Being Hit on the Hand
Gleyber Torres

Undergoes Sports-Hernia Surgery
Bo Bichette

Not Expecting to Need Offseason Knee Surgery
George Springer

Back in Leadoff Spot for Game 6 of World Series
David Onama

Set For UFC Vegas 110 Main Event
Steve Garcia

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Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Set For Co-Main Event
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In Search For His Second UFC Win
Themba Gorimbo

A Favorite At UFC Vegas 110
Jeremiah Wells

Looks To Return To The Win Column
Yadier del Valle

Looks To Remain Undefeated
CFB

Arizona State Quarterback Sam Leavitt Out for the Season
Isaac Dulgarian

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Daniel Frunza

Looks For His First UFC Win
George Springer

"Strong Possibility" That George Springer Returns in Game 6 of World Series
Bryce Miller

Not Expected to Need Elbow Surgery
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Nationals Finalizing a Deal to Hire Blake Butera as Next Manager
CFB

Arch Manning Listed as Questionable for Vanderbilt Matchup
CFB

Arion Carter Listed as Questionable Ahead of Oklahoma Matchup
Minnesota Twins

Twins Name Derek Shelton as Their New Manager
CFB

Jordyn Tyson Questionable for Iowa State Matchup with Hamstring Injury
George Springer

Not in the Lineup for Game 4 of World Series

RANKINGS

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