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
December 19, 2025
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver
Parker Washington has seen his role in the Jaguars' offense reduced recently. Washington was playing a bigger part while
Brian Thomas Jr. was injured. Now with Thomas back in the picture, Washington has fallen to the third option in this passing attack behind Thomas and
Jakobi Meyers. Last week, Washington hauled in all three of his targets for 53 yards during the win over the New York Jets. His snap count has taken a hit over the last two weeks, and he has been playing less than 50 percent of the offensive snaps. Washington shouldn't be counted on as anything more than a deep league option for the Week 16 matchup against the Denver Broncos.
--Andy WebbSource: Pro Football Reference
December 19, 2025
Green Bay Packers wide receiver
Romeo Doubs has been an inconsistent fantasy option for over a month now. Doubs was offering decent fantasy value mid-season, but is becoming unusable in fantasy formats late in the season. The return of
Jayden Reed has undoubtedly contributed to Doubs' downfall. The Packers also have a ton of mouths to feed with Reed,
Christian Watson (chest),
Dontayvion Wicks (ankle), and
Matthew Golden all fighting for targets with Doubs. The 25-year-old has seen four or fewer targets in four straight games. It's unlikely that Doubs gets more involved unless Watson or Wicks sit out. At the moment, both players are questionable for the Week 16 matchup versus the Chicago Bears. If they play, Doubs will remain a low-floor option for Week 16.
--Andy WebbSource: Pro Football Reference
December 19, 2025
Miami Dolphins quarterback
Quinn Ewers will be making his first NFL start this week, when his team hosts the Bengals on Sunday afternoon. Ewers was a seventh-round pick for the Dolphins out of Texas last season, and the 22-year-old will now get a chance to make his first NFL start. He played a few series in Cleveland earlier this season, completing five of his eight passes for 53 yards and taking a pair of sacks. He will have a favorable matchup against the Bengals, who have allowed the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. Ewers is likely playing for an increased opportunity next season, since the team seems ready to move on from
Tua Tagovailoa, even though he signed a four-year, $212.4 million contract only last summer. Ewers has a favorable matchup, but he's so unproven that he's still only the No. 27 QB in this week's rankings, making him not a good option in all but the very deepest formats.
--Zach ThompsonSource: NFL.com
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