2018 Fantasy Football Week 16 Rankings

Going into Monday Night Football, I needed about 6 fantasy points from Michael Thomas to advance to the championship in my money league.  He ended up with just 49 receiving yards and apparently 45 more yards that were called back due to penalties.  Yeah, thanks for pointing that out, Yahoo!  I was watching the game!!

That was frustrating to say the least, but that's how it goes in fantasy football.  Sometimes you win by 20 and sometimes you lose by less than a point.  You just have to put the best possible lineup out there and hope for the fantasy points to get you in the win column.  I'm still playing for third place in both of my leagues (one of which is for money), so I'm still trying to optimize that lineup. 

Let's take a look at the rankings and see if you can do the same!

2018 Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ - Expert Consensus Rankings

QUARTERBACKS
Last week, I was really high on Derek Carr (+9) because he'd been a top-10 fantasy QB over the last month and was facing a Cincinnati defense giving up the second-most fantasy points to opposing QBs this season.  He hadn't thrown an interception since October 7th, and he didn't throw one against the Bengals.  He didn't have a great game, but there were actually a lot of mediocre QB performances in Week 15.  Carr finished in the top-20, and he was just 4 fantasy points from being inside the top-12.

I was way down on Lamar Jackson (-6) because I thought Flacco could get a little playing time against the Bucs.  That didn't happen, and Lamar finished as a top-12 fantasy QB.  I was also down on Philip Rivers (-7) because he hadn't been great at Arrowhead recently, and I just didn't trust Rivers as a top-5 play on Thursday night.  While he didn't finish in the top-5, he was pretty close and you would've been happy with starting Rivers in Week 15.

This week, I'm fairly high on Mitch Trubisky (+6) against the 49ers.  Trubisky struggle with turnovers at times, but his legs keep his floor super high.  I could see him having a couple of touchdowns and 50-70 rushing yards, which should get him into the top-10.  I'm kind of down on Dak Prescott (-4), but I could easily see him having a good game against Tampa's poor defense.  Still, I have other guys I trust ahead of him in my top-10 for championship week.

RUNNING BACKS

With Shady & Ivory ruled out last week, I was high on Marcus Murphy (+15) and Keith Ford (+27).  I thought they'd split carries against what has been a leaky Lions defense of late.  I was kind of right here, as Murphy got the early work and had 35 rushing yards before exiting with an injury in the second quarter.  Keith Ford came in and tallied 53 total yards and finished well into the top-40 (where I ranked him).  I was lowest on Theo Riddick (-17), who I barely ranked in my top-60 RBs.  The ECR had him in the top-40, and the ECR was right.  Riddick got his usual 5-6 fantasy points and finished in the top-40. This week, I'm really high on Tevin Coleman (+9).  I have him as a top-12 RB after that big performance last week, and now he won't be splitting carries with Ito Smith (who is on the IR).  With Cam Newton out, I expect the Panther offense to struggle.  This could mean the Falcons get out to a lead, and I expect Coleman to get a ton of touches.  Volume is king with RBs, and if he finds the endzone too, Tevin should end up in the top-12.  I'm down on Kalen Ballage (-10), who also had a big Week 15.  But I'm sorry if I don't trust him after one good week, especially since he faces a much better Jags defense in Week 16.

WIDE RECEIVERS
Last week I wasn't too confident about anyone outside of my top-25 or so, but a couple of my good calls were Jordy Nelson (+12) and Calvin Ridley (-14).  Two of my bad calls were Randall Cobb (+23) and Kenny Golladay (-11).  I'm still really high on Cobb this week (+27), so maybe I didn't learn my lesson.  If he plays, I think he'll be heavily involved though.  If doesn't, I'll remove him from my rankings.  Simple as that. I'm also really high on DaeSean Hamilton (+20), who got a ton of targets last week.  Everyone is talking about Courtland Sutton since Demaryius Thomas got shipped off to Houston, but it's Hamilton who has actually looked better lately.  I think he could be a difference maker and a top-30 WR in Week 16.  I'm way down on D.J. Moore (-9) who I just don't trust without Cam.  He'll still be involved in the offense, but I just don't know what that'll mean as far as his fantasy production.  A little further down my rankings, you'll notice I don't trust Chris Conley as much as the experts do (-9).  I don't even have him as a top-50 WR this week, as I expect Mahomes to do his damage with Tyreek and Kelce. TIGHT ENDS Last week I had Chris Herndon in my top-12 (+5 vs ECR).  I didn't have a ton of reasoning behind that pick other than "Why not, right?".  He only ended up with 53 receiving yards, but that got him in the top-12!  I was down on Kyle Rudolph (-5) who still hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 3, and he finished outside of the top-25 TEs in Week 15.  I was also way down on Evan Engram though (-12), but he somehow found himself in the top-5 against the Titans.  I guess he has way more value when OBJ sits (which he did).  If Beckham is out again, fire up Engram.  If not, Engram is likely a "sit". I'm done talking about tight ends for the year though.  Can we just move on?  Thanks... DEFENSES

I was highest on the Browns last week (+5) and lowest on the Titans (-5).  Cleveland still hasn't given up more than 23 points to an offense since Week 9, and they were a top-12 fantasy defense against the Broncos.  I guessed this game would end 17-13, and I was off by a field goal!  I'd fire them up again this week against the Bengals if you still have em.  As for the Titans, I just didn't think they'd be able to slow down the Giants the way they did the Jags and Jets the last couple of weeks.  The Giants had been scoring a ton of points lately, but Tennessee shut them DOWN.  This was a bad call, as the Titans were a top-5 defense and likely will be again this week.

This week I'm high on the Falcons (+10).  Did I mention they're playing the Panthers without Cam Newton?  Yeah, I think I did.  I always like starting defenses against young quarterbacks from ODU who have 5 career pass attempts.  It almost seems too easy.  I'm not down on a ton of defenses this week, but that might change come Sunday.  I'll try to get an update out on Sunday, and I hope to work on my FLEX rankings a bit between now and then. 

Good luck to everyone in Week 16!  

(Except you, Misciagna...)

Cheers,

Bart