Fantasy Football Week 16 Rankings: Projections and Matchups to Love

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Jason Behnken/Associated Press

If you have a fantasy football lineup to set this week, you’ve most likely made it to your league’s playoffs! Congratulations! And yet, what a treacherous road ahead this week. 

The new Omicron-fueled COVID-19 surge has hit the NFL hard, with multiple big names on multiple teams projected to be out this week due to health and safety protocols, not to mention due to other injuries. 

Just some of the players who may be riding your bench include Kansas City’s top weapons Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, though there is a chance they could come off the COVID-19 list before their game Sunday; the Los Angeles Chargers’ Austin Ekeler; Houston Texans wideout Brandin Cooks; Seattle Seahawks wideout Tyler Lockett, who is on the COVID-19 list but could return this week; Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is still recovering from an ankle injury; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette, with a hamstring, and fellow Bucs weapon Chris Godwin, whose season is over after suffering a torn ACL, and many more not listed here. 

Needless to say, you have some decisions to make. We’ll go over some projections for healthy players for Week 16 that you could either start off your bench or, depending on your league depth, potentially even pick up on waivers. 

Note that all projections are for PPR leagues and numbers are from FantasyPros.com, where you can also see this week’s full position rankings. We’ve highlighted just a few must-starts below.

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If Leonard Fournette’s hamstring injury keeps him out of the Buccaneers’ Sunday action against the Carolina Panthers, the team will be all-in on Ronald Jones II…and you should be, too. 

When Fournette was out injured for four games last year, Jones came in to the tune of 78 carries for 410 yards and three rushing touchdowns.

Also last season, in Week 10, even with Fournette healthy, Jones put together a spectacular 23-carry, 192-yard, one-touchdown game against the Panthers.

Now, Jones faces the Panthers again, and it’s a terrific matchup; Carolina’s run defense ranks 23 in DVOA. 

Jones won’t net you much in the passing game, but if he’s on your bench, he deserves a spot in your lineup on Sunday. 

Projection: 16.4 att, 71 yds, 0.6 rush TD, 15.2 pts

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Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

With both Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill on the COVID-19 list, with their status for Sunday uncertain, expect the Chiefs to lean on the ground game and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the game plan. He’s No. 14 on Fantasy Pros’ Week 16 rankings, expected to bring in 13.8 points. 

Edwards-Helaire has been up-and-down this season, but it’s hard not to love his matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Two weeks ago, the Steelers let the Vikings’ Dalvin Cook run all over them to the tune of 205 (!) rushing yards and two touchdowns. Last week, Pittsburgh gave up another 108 ground yards to Tennessee’s D’Onta Foreman.

If you’re lucky enough to have Edwards-Helaire on your bench, he’s a must-start this week. 

Projection: 12.5 att, 54 yds, 0.3 rush TD, 17.6 rec yds, 0.1 rec TD, 9.4 pts

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Kyusung Gong/Associated Press

Another running back lands on the list…but given the state of the world in fantasy football right now, with so many running backs either on their team’s COVID-19 list or suffering from other injuries, in all likelihood, this is the position on your roster in need of the most help. 

Austin Ekeler was injured last week in the Chargers’ bout against the Chiefs, and now he’s on the COVID-19 list. Justin Jackson came to the rescue last week, with 13 carries for 86 yards on 43 total snaps. 

Now that he’ll be an integrated part of the game plan, expect the Chargers to lean on Jackson even more and get him involved in red-zone situations. 

What’s more, Jackson has a juicy matchup against the Houston Texans’ porous run defense. On the season, the Texans have given up the most rushing yards per game to opponents, with 145 on average, according to TeamRankings.com. In their last three matchups, they’ve given up 179.3! 

Jackson may actually be available on waivers in your league, so be sure to put in a claim so that you’ll have him available on Sunday. 

Projection: 10.5 att, 49.3 rush yds, 0.4 rush TD, 8.8 pts