RADIO
Joe Nicely's DraftKings NFL DFS picks and lineup sleepers for the Week 16 Saturday Slate. His top daily fantasy football recommendations to target for DraftKings DFS contests.
Hi RotoBallers and thanks for joining me for this special edition of Break The Slate! With the college football regular season over, the NFL will be taking advantage of the available air time Saturday, which provides us with a nice little three-game slate that's really similar to what we see on Thanksgiving Day.
These DraftKings lineup recommendations are based on matchups, projected ownership, overall upside/talent levels, opportunity, and other factors such as Vegas odds, home-field advantage, and more. There are quite a few great plays available, so read on to find out which players are the best for the Week 16 Saturday Slate.
Good luck with your DraftKings DFS lineups, let's Break The Slate together!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- NFL rookie fantasy football rankings
- Best ball fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
DraftKings DFS Quarterbacks - Week 16 (Saturday Slate) Picks
Jameis Winston - HOU @ TB ($6,900)
The verdict is still out on whether or not Jameis Winston is actually a good quarterback, but there is no doubt as to his DFS value. Though he's mistake prone, Winston has the ability to put up monster statistical games as evidenced by 400-plus yard, four TD performances in each of the last two weeks. He gets a matchup against a Texans Defense that has been ripped to shreds by opposing QBs. Houston has relinquished almost 4,000 passing yards and 30 TDs this season, in addition to ranking 31st in the NFL in DK points allowed to the QB position.
Josh Allen - BUF @ NE ($5,300)
I don't know that I really want to venture out of the HOU vs TB matchup at the QB position with Jameis Winston and Deshaun Watson being the preferred options on this slate, but if you want to get a bit contrarian on this three-game slate, you can look at Buffalo's Josh Allen. Allen has drastically improved his actual on-the-field play and decision making this season. While I'm sure that makes the Bills coaching staff happy, his new conservative approach hasn't really done us any favors from a DFS perspective. That said, the Bills QB does bring a nice built-in floor to the table with his great rushing ability. He's third among QBs with 497 rushing yards this season and leads the position with nine TDs on the ground. There's no doubt that Allen's matchup against the Patriots is less than ideal, but this is just a three-game slate and we do want to grab some leverage in GPPs.
DraftKings DFS Running Backs - Week 16 (Saturday Slate) Picks
James White - BUF @ NE ($5,800)
The Patriots offense has sputtered a bit in recent weeks, though they did post 34 points against the Bengals last week. New England has suffered through a revolving cast of characters in the receiving corps this year, but the one constant in this offense, outside of Julian Edelman, has been James White. While we haven't seen many monster outings from the veteran this year, White has been extremely consistent, topping double-digit DK points in 11 of New England's 13 games. He received a bit of positive TD regression last week against Cincy when he snagged just his third TD of the year, despite being the most targeted running back in the red zone this season. We can expect another solid outcome for White in this matchup.
DraftKings DFS Wide Receivers - Week 16 (Saturday Slate) Picks
DeAndre Hopkins - HOU @ TB ($8,500)
While it doesn't hurt to be contrarian on short slates, there are some popular plays that are just too good to ignore. Houston's stud wideout DeAndre Hopkins is a prime example of chalk we shouldn't be afraid to swallow. This is a true smash-spot opportunity for the talented Hopkins against a Bucs defense that is dead last in the NFL in both DK points and receiving yards allowed to the WR position. Hopkins is second in the league with 141 targets this season and should push for double-digit looks against this extreme Bucs funnel defense that routinely forces opponents to the air.
Justin Watson - HOU @ TB ($4,600)
The Tampa Bay receiver corps has been a two-man show for most of the year, but with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both on the shelf this week, there will be lots of opportunity that opens up in this offense. We saw Breshad Perriman have a big day against the Lions last week (and he's certainly very viable in this spot), but Justin Watson presents us with pretty great salary savings here against Houston. Watson should step into a concrete role in this offense due to the injuries in the Tampa Bay receiving corps. He only received a disappointing two targets last week against the Lions in a game in which Tampa took their foot off the gas in the second half, but it wouldn't be at all surprising to see Watson pressed into more work this week in a game that is expected to be both high scoring and competitive.
DraftKings DFS Tight Ends - Week 16 (Saturday Slate) Picks
Tyler Higbee - LAR @ SF ($5,000)
We've been lucky enough to ride the hot hand with Tyler Higbee in this article multiple times over the last few weeks, and despite a tough matchup against the Niners, I'm willing to stay on board the "Higbee Express" again on this slate. This Rams offense has been a shell of its former self this season, but since starting TE Gerald Everett went down with a hyper-extended knee in a Week 12 loss to Baltimore, LA has finally realized what they have in Higbee. He's been a volume monster, logging a MASSIVE 33 combined targets over LA's last three games. These aren't just token looks, as Higbee has converted that volume into a hard-to-fathom 334 receiving yards over the last three weeks. San Francisco has been very effective at slowing down opposing tight ends, so there is some risk involved here, but Higbee's expected usage is hard to ignore on this three-game slate.
DraftKings DFS Defenses - Week 16 (Saturday Slate) Picks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense - HOU @ TB ($2,300)
Listen, there are better defenses with better matchups on this slate. However, this Bucs defensive unit has been sneaky-good at posting DK points as of late. The Tampa D/ST has went over double-digit points on DraftKings in three of their last four. They draw a home matchup against a Houston offense that is explosive, but also still dysfunctional in many ways, as they rely heavily on Deshaun Watson to make plays for them. This often results in Watson holding the ball way too long and taking lots of sacks. We can count on the Bucs to slow down Houston's ground attack, which should result in tons of obvious passing situations for Watson and his offensive line.
