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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.

Editor's Note: Access RotoBaller’s trusted fantasy football rankings for PPR, Standard, Dynasty, Super Flex, and Best Ball formats. Get tiered cheat sheets, expert analysis, and player outlooks to dominate your draft from every angle.

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

Chicago White Sox

Billy Carlson Goes 10th Overall to White Sox
Cincinnati Reds

Steele Hall Selected Ninth by Cincinnati
Toronto Blue Jays

Blue Jays Select JoJo Parker with Eighth Overall Pick
Boston Celtics

Damian Lillard Drawing Interest from the Celtics
Miami Marlins

Miami Marlins Select Aiva Arquette with Seventh Overall Pick
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Pirates Select Seth Hernandez with Sixth Overall Pick
Kyle Stowers

Punishes Former Team with Three-Homer Game
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Cardinals Select Liam Doyle with Fifth Overall Pick
Daniel Gafford

Agrees to Contract Extension with Dallas
Colorado Rockies

Rockies Select Ethan Holliday Fourth Overall
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Kade Anderson Selected Third Overall by Seattle
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Tyler Bremner Selected Second Overall by Angels in 2025 MLB Draft
Washington Nationals

Nationals Select Eli Willits First Overall
Cooper Flagg

Shut Down for Rest of Summer League
LeBron James

Hasn't Requested a Trade
Quinshon Judkins

Following Quinshon Judkins Arrest, NFL Declines Comment
Travis Hunter

Earning Praise in Jaguars Camp for Work Ethic
Memphis Grizzlies

Cole Anthony, Grizzlies Agree to Contract Buyout
Edward Cabrera

Hopeful to Avoid Injured List
Oneil Cruz

Absent on Sunday
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Placed on 10-Day Injured List
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Scratched on Sunday
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Ivan Herrera Back in Action on Sunday
Sean Manaea

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NASCAR

Christopher Bell Has Never Finished Better Than Ninth at Sonoma
Ryan Blaney

Has Top-10 Upside at Sonoma
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Might Not Get Many Chances to Prove Himself
Tre Harris

Officially a Holdout
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Sunday at Sonoma Will Likely Be a Long Race for Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson

Is A Likely Top-Five Contender for Sonoma
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Points Position Could Affect Race at Sonoma
Todd Gilliland

Struggling to Find Speed at Sonoma
Ty Gibbs

May be an Underrated Favorite to Compete for the Win at Sonoma
Ricky Stenhouse Jr

. Should Move Up on Sunday
Ross Chastain

is a Likely Top-Five Contender for Sonoma
Josh Berry

Should Be Avoided in Fantasy at Sonoma
Chris Buescher

is A Great DFS Option to Consider for Sonoma Lineups
Riley Herbst

a Deep Sleeper at Sonoma
Joey Logano

May be A Sneaky DFS Option Who Can Pay Off for Sonoma Lineups
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Could Austin Cindric Work for DFS Lineups at Sonoma?
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John Hunter Nemechek

Is John Hunter Nemechek A Sneaky DFS Play for Sonoma?
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Unlikely to Play on Sunday
Travis Etienne Jr.

Needs to Bounce Back in 2025
Wan'Dale Robinson

Wants More Downfield Opportunities this Season
Brady House

Homers Twice on Saturday
Quinshon Judkins

Arrested on Saturday for Battery and Domestic Violence
Terry McLaurin

Could be a Holdout at Training Camp
Roger McCreary

a Candidate for a Contract Extension?
Mike Evans

Buccaneers Could Have Difficult Time Retaining Mike Evans
Charles Cross

Could Sign Extension Before Training Camp
Xavier Restrepo

One to Watch Going into Training Camp
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Appears Re-Energized
Mark Andrews

Still a Key Piece in Ravens Offense
Ndamukong Suh

Officially Announces his Retirement
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Motivated After Disappointing Season
Tre Harris

Still Unsigned
Alexandre Sarr

Plays Well in Summer League Loss to Phoenix
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Looks Good on Friday Night
Erik Karlsson

Open to Move Away From Pittsburgh
Zach Hyman

Hopes to be Ready for Start of Next Season
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Jeff Skinner Joins Sharks on One-Year Contract
Kon Knueppel

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Plays Well on Friday Night
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Scores 21 Points in Summer League Loss
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Leads the Way on Friday Night
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Wants to be Highest-Paid Cornerback
Isaiah Jackson

Signs Three-Year Extension
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Joining the Wizards
Herbert Jones

Signing Extension with Pelicans
Jacob Toppin

Returning to Hawks
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Avoids Serious Injury
Javon Small

Signs Two-Way Deal
Ryan Reaves

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Matt Dumba

Lands in Pittsburgh
Mackie Samoskevich

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Josh Manson

Inks Two-Year Extension with Avalanche
EDM

Isaac Howard Signs Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract With Oilers
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Derrick Lewis

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Anfernee Simons

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Maverick McNealy

a Solid Value Play at Scottish Open
Aldrich Potgieter

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Brian Harman

a Safe Option at Scottish Open
Luke Clanton

a Sneaky Value Play at Scottish Open
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Looking to Stay Hot at Scottish Open
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May Feel More at Home in Europe
Harry Hall

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Ryan Fox

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Max Greyserman

has Solid History at the Genesis Scottish Open
Harris English

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Daniel Brown

Attempts the Scottish Swing Again
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Headlines Field at Genesis Scottish Open
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