December 19, 2025
Kansas City Chiefs running back
Isiah Pacheco played his highest snap count since returning from injury in Week 15. He led the Chiefs in carries last week but was inefficient, totaling just 21 yards on 11 carries. With quarterback
Patrick Mahomes done for the season with a torn ACL, the Chiefs' offense could struggle, making it even more difficult for Pacheco to be a consistent fantasy starter. The Chiefs rank 15th in scoring offense with the two-time MVP as their quarterback. Now, they switch to
Gardner Minshew, which is a clear downgrade from Mahomes. While an easy matchup against the Tennessee Titans could catapult Pacheco to FLEX territory, he's still tough to trust with
Kareem Hunt in the picture and the Chiefs' offense likely to regress.
--Nathan HarveySource: Pro Football Reference
December 19, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback
Justin Herbert enters Week 16, more than two weeks removed from successful hand surgery, and was a full participant in practice all week. While the Chargers' offense has recently shifted to a low-ADOT, run-heavy approach due to a decimated offensive line that has surrendered 27 sacks in six games, the matchup against the Dallas Cowboys is a significant get-right opportunity. Dallas ranks 30th in EPA/Pass and has allowed the most passing yards and touchdowns in the league this season. With Trey Pipkins (ankle) questionable but potentially returning to stabilize the league's worst PFF-graded unit, Herbert should have more time against a Dallas defense that is just 25th in sack percentage. Despite the team's recent conservative nature, Herbert remains a high-upside play against a defense allowing elite production to opposing signal-callers. He is a low-end QB1 this week.
--Don FanelliSource: RotoBaller
December 19, 2025
Kansas City Chiefs running back
Kareem Hunt had his worst game of the season in Week 15, where he totaled 20 yards on seven attempts against the Los Angeles Chargers. Hunt was on a hot streak before last week, where he had a touchdown in five of his previous six games. The veteran running back played 49% of the snaps in Week 15, while
Isiah Pacheco played 46%, which is his highest mark since injuring his knee in Week 8. While Hunt remains the lead back heading into Week 16, the injury to quarterback
Patrick Mahomes may deteriorate his fantasy value moving forward. With Mahomes out, the Chiefs will likely struggle to move the ball, which will limit Hunt's goal-line attempts that have propelled his fantasy stock this season. Despite the easy matchup against the Tennessee Titans, Hunt is a risky FLEX at best in Week 16.
--Nathan HarveySource: Pro Football Reference
December 19, 2025
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver
Alec Pierce caught his only target for 16 yards in the 18-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Last week marked the first game Pierce has played without
Daniel Jones, who tore his Achilles in Week 14. His connection with Jones was exceptional, as Pierce was having the best season of his career before the injury. Now, 44-year-old
Philip Rivers is the starting quarterback for the Colts, and his showing against the Seahawks didn't offer any relief for Pierce and his fantasy outlook. Rivers averaged 4.4 yards per attempt and only had two completions over 10 yards last week. Not ideal for Pierce, who currently leads the NFL in yards per completion this season. The fourth-year receiver is better left on the bench than in starting lineups this week, as he looks to overcome the lack of deep-passing ability that Rivers has.
--Nathan HarveySource: Pro Football Reference
December 19, 2025
Across 14 games this season, Detroit Lions quarterback
Jared Goff has completed 69.3% of his passes for 3,672 yards, 29 touchdowns, and five interceptions. The 31-year-old has thrown for at least 255 yards in seven straight games and has topped 300 passing yards in each of his last two contests. With the Lions' defense struggling, Goff has been forced into more pass-heavy game scripts in the second half of the season. After attempting more than 29 passes in just one of Detroit's first seven games, he's thrown fewer than 33 passes in the team's last seven games. Goff and the Lions have a favorable matchup on paper in Week 16 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Entering Sunday, Pittsburgh ranks 29th in the NFL in passing yards allowed (3,649). The Steelers' pass rush also looks a little less fearsome this week, as star edge rusher T.J. Watt (lung) will miss a second straight game while recovering from surgery to repair a collapsed lung. Given his recent pass volume trends and the opponent, Goff profiles as a low-end fantasy QB1 in Week 16.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
December 19, 2025
Despite a strong showing in Week 15, Washington Commanders rookie running back
Jacory Croskey-Merritt appears to be heading back to his reserve role in Week 16. Chris Rodirguez Jr. was sidelined last week against the New York Giants, and Croskey-Merritt took advantage, totaling 96 yards on 18 carries. Unfortunately for the 2025 seven-round pick, Rodriguez is off the injury report and good to go for Week 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Since Week 11, Rodriguez has played 44% of the snaps, while Croskey-Merritt has played 20%. While a strong showing in Week 15 could close the gap between the two, both backs are extremely risky against the Eagles.
--Nathan HarveySource: Pro Football Reference
December 19, 2025
Miami Dolphins running back
Jaylen Wright followed up his explosive campaign with a dud in Week 15, totaling only two rushing yards on one carry against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Wright totaled 107 yards on 24 carries against the New York Jets in Week 14, but was phased back to his reserve role with De'Von Achane playing through his rib injury. Wright dropped from a 52% snap share to an 8% snap share last week. Wright appears to be the direct handcuff to Achane, and with two weeks left in the fantasy season, it's hard to fathom that Wright will be fantasy relevant for the remainder of the 2025 season. While he faces the worst run defense in the NFL in the Cincinnati Bengals, he doesn't carry enough volume to be worth rostering.
--Nathan HarveySource: Pro Football Reference
December 19, 2025
Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end
Cade Otton was inactive last week, but has been a full participant this week in practice and is ready to go in Week 16. Otton has yet to find the endzone this season despite being 14th among tight ends in targets, but now, targets will be hard to come by. For the first time in the 2025 season, both
Mike Evans and Chris Godwin were active, and that makes it nearly impossible for Otton to be a consistent piece moving forward. Evans, Godwin, rookie receiver
Emeka Egbuka, and
Jalen McMillan handled 93% of the passing production in Week 15, and with one of the best receiving rooms in the NFL getting healthier, Otton will be a low-end option moving forward.
--Nathan HarveySource: Pro Football Reference
December 19, 2025
Baltimore Ravens tight end
Mark Andrews has regressed heavily in the 2025 season and has completely fallen apart in recent weeks. Since Week 12, Andrews has caught eight of 17 targets for 83 yards and no touchdowns, which ranks 41st among tight ends during that span. Andrews signed a three-year $39.3 million contract extension on December 3rd, but only played 43% of the snaps in Week 15, behind both
Isaiah Likely (54%) and
Charlie Kolar (57%). A limited snap share is not the only reason why the veteran has struggled, but also due to the struggling Ravens' passing attack. The Ravens rank 27th in the NFL in passing this season, a significant drop from their 2024 ranking, where they finished seventh in passing. With his limited snap share and the Ravens' struggles on offense, Andrews is a risky TE2 in Week 16.
--Nathan HarveySource: Pro Football Reference
December 19, 2025
Miami Dolphins running back
Jaylen Wright had a monster game against the Jets in Week 14, running for 107 rushing yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. In Week 15, though, he only had one carry for two yards and one reception for nine yards. Wright didn't get more work, even with
Ollie Gordon II (ankle) out of the game, so it's hard to see him getting much work in Week 16 with Gordon healthy. Gordon and Wright will back up
De'Von Achane, and Achane will be in a smash spot against the Bengals as an elite start. Even after his big game, it looks like Wright is back to his part-time backup role, and even in this good matchup against the Bengals, he's only the RB No. 66 in RotoBaller's rankings, making him best left on the waiver wire in all but the deepest leagues
--Zach ThompsonSource: NFL.com
December 19, 2025
Indianapolis Colts tight end
Tyler Warren has struggled mightily in recent weeks and may not be trustworthy moving forward. In the last two weeks, Warren has caught only five passes for 34 yards, and this is likely due to the unfortunate injury to quarterback
Daniel Jones. With Jones in the lineup, Warren averaged 13.1 fantasy points per game, which ranks as the TE4 during that span. While Warren has been a monster at the tight end position this season, fantasy managers need to pivot with fantasy championships on the line. 44-year-old quarterback
Philip Rivers is now the starting quarterback, and running backs were heavily utilized in the passing game, with
Jonathan Taylor and
Ameer Abdullah taking eight of the 18 total completions last week against the Seahawks. With a run-heavy system and a crowded receiving corps in Indianapolis, Warren is a risky TE2 in Week 16 against the San Francisco 49ers.
--Nathan HarveySource: Pro Football Reference
December 19, 2025
Houston Texans rookie wide receiver
Jayden Higgins ended his streak of solid production in Week 15, hauling in his only target for four yards. Last week marked the first time since Week 9 that Higgins had less than five targets, but he played his highest snap count of the season, playing 72% of the snaps. The 2025 second-round pick has supplanted
Xavier Hutchinson as the WR2 in this Texans offense, but that may not be enough for Higgins to be a fantasy-relevant piece moving forward. Star receiver
Nico Collins will continue to dominate the targets in Houston, which minimizes the upside and consistency that Higgins will have in fantasy moving forward. In Week 16, Higgins is a desperate start against the struggling Las Vegas Raiders secondary.
--Nathan HarveySource: Pro Football Reference
December 19, 2025
Miami Dolphins running back
Ollie Gordon II had to leave with an ankle injury midway through the second quarter of Monday's loss to the Steelers, but he was able to participate fully in practice this week and avoid an injury tag for Sunday's game against the Bengals. Gordon was injured on his second carry of the game and finished with zero yards. On the season, the rookie has 60 carries for 191 rushing yards, and he has scored four touchdowns, with his most recent score in Week 14 against the Jets. He and
Jaylen Wright will split work behind
De'Von Achane, who is healthy and should go off against the Bengals. Gordon will likely get a few carries, but he's only the RB No. 65 in RotoBaller's Week 16 rankings, meaning he can be left on the bench or waiver wire in most formats.
--Zach ThompsonSource: NFL.com
December 19, 2025
Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver
Tre Tucker gave fantasy managers a goose egg as he failed to haul in any of his three targets during last week's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Tucker wasn't offering much fantasy value before Week 15. Over his last four games, Tucker has been held to under 30 receiving yards in all of those contests. The Raiders' offense has been unwatchable throughout most of the season, so it's not all Tucker's fault. At the moment,
Brock Bowers seems to be the only playable pass-catcher on this offense. It's unlikely Tucker will get things going against the Houston Texans' elite secondary. A unit that has allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points to wideouts this season. Tucker hasn't given fantasy managers any reason to trust him at the moment and is an option in deep leagues at best.
--Andy WebbSource: Pro Football Reference
December 19, 2025
Miami Dolphins running back
De'Von Achane is in an excellent matchup against the Bengals this week. Cincinnati has allowed the most fantasy points to running backs this season, allowing 18 RB touchdowns in 14 games, along with an average of 129.1 rushing yards and 45.6 receiving yards. Achane should be ready for a monster performance, although there is a little uncertainty in how the Dolphins' offense will look with
Quinn Ewers in place of
Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. Achane has been pretty matchup-proof, scoring 11 touchdowns and averaging 84.7 rushing yards and 32.1 receiving yards per game. He had six catches for 67 yards and 60 rushing yards for a big game against the Steelers last week, even though he didn't get into the end zone. This week, he's in such a great matchup against the Bengals that he's the No. 4 RB in RotoBaller's rankings, despite the QB switch. Achane should be started with confidence in all formats this week against the Bengals.
--Zach ThompsonSource: NFL.com
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