Our Week 16 fantasy football start and sit recommendations are now live. After having you start Brock Purdy each of the past three weeks, we’re going in another direction with the star taking on a tough Baltimore Ravens team.
On the other end of the spectrum, look for Baker Mayfield to continue his recent stellar play as the veteran leads his Tampa Bay Buccaneers against a struggling Jacksonville Jaguars squad.
At running back, a lesser-known rookie could very well be in play while a stud first-round pick would be better suited on your bench. Without further ado, here are our Week 16 fantasy football start and sit recommendations.
Related: Week 16 fantasy football rankings
Week 16 fantasy football start and sit: Quarterbacks
Start
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mayfield is coming off a career-best 381-yard, four-touchdown perfromance in a surprising win over the Green Bay Packers. This has the former No. 1 pick is a top-end QB2 heading into Week 16’s matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Surprisingly, Jacksonville has given up the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season. They are also yielding nearly 33 points per game in their past three outings.
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Conditions and game flow led to Allen completing just 7-of-15 passes for 94 yards in a win over the Dallas Cowboys this past week. James Cook went bananas on the ground. Meanwhile, Buffalo opened up such a huge lead that Allen didn’t need to pass. While the Bills should handle a terrible Los Angeles Chargers squad on Saturday, we’re expecting Allen to be given more of an opportunity through the air. The Chargers have given up the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks and are coming off a Week 15 outing in which they yielded 63 points to the Las Vegas Raiders. The math is not hard here.
Sit
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Stafford has been absolutely brilliant for the Los Angeles Rams over the past four games, throwing 12 touchdown against one interception. It’s been a return to 2021 form for the Super Bowl-winning quarterback. We’re just not buying it heading into Thursday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints. Dennis Allen’s defense has yielded just 16 passing touchdowns against 14 interceptions on the season. Expect Los Angeles to rely a bit more on stud young running back Kyren Williams in this one.
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
We’ve recommended starting Purdy in each of the past three games. The results were wonderful with the NFL MVP favorite accounting for 10 touchdowns and just one interception during this span. However, it gets much more difficult going up against the Baltimore Ravens Christmas night. Baltimore has given up the fourth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks and leads the league with 50 sacks. Expect a major dose of fellow MVP candidate Christian McCaffrey in this one.
Related: NFL Week 16 offense rankings
Week 16 fantasy football start and sit: Running backs
Start
Roschon Johnson, Chicago Bears
This rookie fourth-round pick from Texas has seen inconsistent playing time throughout the season. However, he did lead Bears running backs with 60 total yards on nine touches against a stout Cleveland Browns defense in Week 15. We’re expecting Matt Eberflus to go with the hot hand once the ball is kicked off against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Arizona has given up the most fantasy points to running backs and just saw Christian McCaffrey go off for 187 total yards and three touchdowns last week.
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
Taking on a Baltimore Ravens defense that has given up just 82.4 rushing yards to running backs per game and the sixth-fewest fantasy points, most would look to avoid any player at this position. But CMC is not your typical player. He heads into NFL Week 16 leading the league in rush attempts (244), rushing yards (1,292), touches (301), total yards (1,801) and total touchdowns (20). Regardless of the matchup, San Francisco will rely on McCaffrey Christmas night. Look for him to do his thing.
Sit
Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
This stud rookie running back and his Lions have a difficult matchup Christmas Eve against the Minnesota Vikings‘ defense. That unit has yielded the second-fewest fantasy points against running backs on the season. With Minnesota also struggling stopping the pass (70% completion allowed), we’re expecting the Lions to rely more on Jared Goff after his five-touchdown outing against the Denver Broncos last week.
Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns
It has been a major mixed bag for Cleveland’s rushing attack since Nick Chubb went down with a season-ending injury back in Week 2. Splitting duties with Kareem Hunt last week against the Chicago Bears, Ford gained just 20 yards on eight attempts. This came after a six-game span in which the young running back tallied an average of 75 total yards. With Cleveland taking on a Texans defense that has yielded an average of 3.4 yards per rush on the season, Ford is a must sit.
Week 16 fantasy football start and sit: Wide receivers
Start
Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
It’s hard to do too much when your quarterback completed a mere seven passes in a game. That was the case last week with Diggs catching four of those passes in a blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys. All said, DIggs has caught eight passes for a mere 72 yards over the past two games. Expect this to change Saturday with the Pro Bowler taking on a Chargers defense that is allowing the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season.
Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens
Surprisingly, the San Francisco 49ers have given up the third-most receptions to wide receiver this season. It has not accounted for a ton of fantasy points. But a PPR stud like Flowers should at least be able to take advantage in that regard. The rookie has caught 65 passes in 14 games this season. After hauling in just one reception against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, we’re expecting a rebound performance here.
Sit
Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
Led by Marshon Lattimore, the Saints’ defense is yielding a mere 51% completion to wide receivers on the season. This has New Orleans as the second-best fantasy defense when it comes to stopping this position heading into Thursday night’s Week 16 outing. For his part, this stud rookie tallied just 50 yards last week with Matthew Stafford targeting Cooper Kupp more. Expect that to remain the case come Thursday night.
Related: Los Angeles Rams playoff chances up to 56%
Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
Adams did catch eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown last week. However, that came against a disaster class of a Los Angeles Chargers defense in a 63-21 Raiders win. It will be tougher sledding come Christmas Day in Kansas City. The Chiefs’ defense has given up an average of just 11.4 receptions per game this season. That’s good enough to rank this unit among the top 10 in the NFL.
Related: NFL Week 16 defense rankings
Week 16 fantasy football start and sit: Tight ends
Start
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
The Patriots dressed just three wide receivers in last week’s loss to Kansas City. This led to Bailey Zappe targeting Hunter Henry a ton more. The veteran tight end caught 7-of-9 targets for 66 yards and a touchdown. This won’t change in Week 16 with New England taking on a Broncos defense that has given up the most fantasy points to tight ends on the season and just yielded three touchdowns to Lions rookie Sam LaPorta.
Sit
Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens
Some will look to cash in on Likely as a replacement for injured tight end Mark Andrews after he tallied 70 yards and a touchdown last week. We’re not buying it. The 49ers have yielded the sixth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends this season. Look elsewhere for production at this position in Week 16.