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Mike Fanelli gives his fantasy football bold predictions for Week 16 of the NFL season, giving fantasy players something to think about when setting their lineups.
Week 16 is here, and I’m back with another edition of fantasy football bold predictions. This week’s list of bold predictions will include Justin Fields, Breece Hall, Stefon Diggs, Chris Godwin, and Hunter Henry.
Every week, I will provide some fun and bold fantasy football predictions. While these bold predictions aren’t the most likely outcomes, they are things I believe could happen this week.
Let’s look at my five bold predictions for Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season.
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Justin Fields…
Has four passing touchdowns and is the QB1
Fields has had an up-and-down 2023 season in what could be his final year with the Chicago Bears. The third-year quarterback has had some awful fantasy football performances, including last week. He completed only 47.5% of his pass attempts for 166 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and 9.6 fantasy points, setting season-lows in completion rate and fantasy points. Fields has had other awful fantasy performances, totaling fewer than 11 fantasy points in 40% of the games this year.
However, the former Ohio State star has also had multiple week-winner performances in 2023. He had four passing touchdowns and over 27.8 fantasy points in back-to-back games in Week 4 and Week 5. Fields faced two of the worst pass defenses in the NFL at that time - the Denver Broncos and Washington Commanders. Thankfully, he takes on another awful pass defense in Week 16.
The Arizona Cardinals have surrendered the eighth-most fantasy points (18.3) and the third-most passing touchdowns (1.9) per game to quarterbacks this season. However, their defense has been awful lately. Outside of the matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cardinals have surrendered four passing touchdowns and over 23.4 fantasy points to quarterbacks in back-to-back games. Don’t be surprised if Fields has his third four-passing touchdown performance of the year on Sunday.
Breece Hall…
Scores over 20 half-point PPR fantasy points
Last year, Hall was setting the league on fire before suffering a torn ACL. Many were concerned he wouldn’t be 100% this season coming off the injury. Instead, the former Iowa State star has been outstanding some weeks and awful in others. Last week, he had only seven touches for 18 scrimmage yards and 2.3 half-point PPR fantasy points in the blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins.
While his Week 15 performance was a backbreaker for fantasy players, Hall should rebound this week. The superstar has scored over 15 fantasy points in 42.9% of the games this year, including two of the past five contests. Furthermore, he has two games with over 22.5 fantasy points this week, including two weeks ago against the Houston Texans. While Hall has been up and down this year, the running back has taken advantage of appealing matchups.
The Washington Commanders have surrendered 21.7 fantasy points per game to running backs, the sixth-most in the NFL. Over their past two contests, the Commanders have surrendered 295 rushing yards, four touchdowns, and 60.3 fantasy points to running backs. More importantly, they’ve struggled in the passing game, giving up the second-most receiving touchdowns to running backs this season. Hall should have a massive performance against Washington, both on the ground and in the passing game.
Stefon Diggs…
Gets back on track and is the WR1
Diggs has been one of the top wide receivers in the NFL over the past several years. He is the WR9 for the season, averaging 14.1 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. Unfortunately, his 2023 average is nearly 2.5 points per game lower than his 2022 average. The superstar has been in a funk lately, totaling 6.8 or fewer fantasy points in four of the past five games, including two straight, despite averaging eight targets per contest over the past five matchups.
Yet, let’s not forget what Diggs has done during his time with the Buffalo Bills and earlier this year. He still leads the team in receiving touchdowns (eight), ranking sixth in the NFL in that category. More importantly, the veteran can have a massive fantasy performance any week. Diggs scored over 20 fantasy points in three games in 2023, including a three-touchdown and 33 fantasy points performance in Week 4.
The superstar has an outstanding matchup on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Chargers. The AFC West team has surrendered 33.5 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, the third-most in the NFL. Last week, they gave up nearly 200 receiving yards, four touchdowns, and 54 fantasy points to the Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver core with Aidan O'Connell under center. The Chargers’ secondary has no chance against Diggs.
Chris Godwin…
Has his second straight game with over 15 half-point PPR fantasy points
While Mike Evans has had an outstanding year without Tom Brady under center, Godwin has severely struggled. The former Penn State star is the WR33 for the season, averaging 9.5 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. He has scored fewer than 9.7 fantasy points in 71.4% of the games this year. Godwin had fewer than 9.7 fantasy points in only 46.7% of the contests last season.
The veteran has had a few explosive fantasy performances in 2023. He had over 15 fantasy points in Week 4 and Week 8. More importantly, the wide receiver is coming off his best performance this season, totaling 20.5 fantasy points in the win over the Green Bay Packers. Yet, fantasy players might have trouble trusting Godwin after his disappointing performance over the first 15 weeks.
However, he has an excellent matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Last week, the Baltimore Ravens wide receiver core had only 8.5 fantasy points against the Jaguars. Lamar Jackson had only 24 pass attempts in the game and targeted a wide receiver on only 50% of his pass attempts. Meanwhile, Jacksonville had given up 37.4 fantasy points per game to wide receivers over their previous three matchups.
Hunter Henry…
Has his third consecutive top-three tight end finish
Henry has been one of the most confusing tight ends in fantasy football. He was the TE2 over the first two weeks, averaging 5.5 receptions on 6.5 targets for 54 receiving yards, one touchdown, and 14.2 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. Unfortunately, the veteran averaged only 3.7 fantasy points per game over the next 11 weeks, scoring 7.1 or fewer in all but one contest. Yet, Henry has been on fire lately.
Over the past two weeks, the veteran has been the TE2, averaging five receptions on six targets for 53 receiving yards, 1.5 touchdowns, and 16.8 fantasy points per game. Henry ranks 10th in targets (12) but is first in receiving touchdowns (three) and fourth in target per route run rate (27%) among tight ends with at least 30 routes run over the past two weeks (per Fantasy Points Data). Meanwhile, he couldn’t have asked for a better matchup in Week 16.
The Denver Broncos have allowed the most fantasy points per game (13.6) and receiving touchdowns (nine) to tight ends this season, including 26.1 fantasy points and three touchdowns to Sam LaPorta last week. The Broncos have surrendered nine top-12 performances to tight ends in 2023, including three overall TE1 finishes. Meanwhile, Henry has been a top-three tight end in 28.6% of the games this year.
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