Fantasy Football 2016: Best Week 16 Lineups, Rankings For FanDuel, DraftKings And More

With the NFL’s playoff race tightening and so many teams vying for spots, DraftKings and FanDuel players have several intriguing matchups in Week 16 that could result in major points with the right combinations.

In particular, after scouring Week 16’s matchups, daily fantasy football players have several positions and games to exploit to win the week. Many wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks have highly advantageous showdowns with some of the worst defenses in all of fantasy.

Week 16 starts on Thursday when the Philadelphia Eagles host the New York Giants, and all signs point to Odell Beckham Jr. having a big, big game. The game’s importance is obvious: the Giants need to keep winning to put pressure on Dallas in the division while the Eagles want nothing more than to deny their rival a better postseason position.

It's a situation many playoff contenders face this week. The Miami Dolphins can firm up their grip on one of the AFC’s wild cards but the Buffalo Bills can shut down those hopes even if head coach Rex Ryan is on his last legs.

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers can eliminate the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings from the postseason with a victory at Lambeau Field while continuing the late surge many predicted but few actually believed was possible.

Then the Oakland Raiders and Derek Carr host Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, - a young, franchise quarterback matchup that favors only one of the passers - followed up by the Pittsburgh Steelers aiming to sew up the AFC North by denying the Baltimore Ravens, and the Kansas City Chiefs looking to dash the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos slim playoff hopes.

With all those games in mind, let’s dive in. Here are Week 16’s full rankings for every position for DraftKings, FanDuel or any other daily fantasy platform.

QB

1.Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

2.Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo Bills

3.Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders

4.Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

5.Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

While it’s not fair to keep picking on the winless Browns, Rivers and the Chargers do have an outside shot at the postseason and he can take down a Cleveland secondary that’s second-worst in fantasy against QBs. Taylor will host the Dolphins who allow quarterbacks to scramble for 20.1 yards per week on average, the third-highest mark in the league. Even though he’s struggled of ate, Carr can and should light up an Indy D letting up 273.7 passing yards and 1.8 passing touchdowns per week. MVP candidate Ryan gets the Panthers woeful secondary, which is seventh-worst in fantasy.

RB

1.Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams

2.Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears

3.Terrance West, Baltimore Ravens

4.Latavius Murray, Oakland Raiders

5.Jay Ajayi, Miami Dolphins

It’s fair to say the Rams wasted Gurley’s sophomore season but he can destroy the 49ers last ranked D against running backs, and could also be a weapon out of the backfield. Gurley will also be a cheaper option this week than most top flight RBs. Washington has the No. 30 ranked fantasy D versus RBs and Howard’s a multi-talented back that should excel, even if the Redskins may still be in the playoff hunt. West can exploit the Steelers, especially if Baltimore passes to him out of the backfield. West is averaging more than two catches a game while Pittsburgh allows more than five receptions per game to backs.

WR

1.Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants

2.Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers

3.Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons (If healthy)

4.T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts

5.Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints

Receivers will be very expensive this week, and for good reason. The majority of the league’s best pass-catchers have incredible matchups. Beckham will face Philly (No. 31 vs. WRs), Brown gets Baltimore (No. 27) and if Jones is healthy he’ll meet Carolina (No. 26). Hilton will square off against an Oakland defense that’s on the upswing, but as Luck’s favorite target he’s worth a risk. Cook’s coming off one of the best games of his career, it’s possible his Bucs opponents may not be focused after such a poor showing vs. Dallas.

TE

1.Hunter Henry, San Diego Chargers

2.Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys

3.Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers

4.Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills

5.Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings

Henry because Cleveland. Witten was a perfect 10-for-10 in Week 15, a trend that won’t continue but he’ll be very effective vs. Detroit’s No. 30 tight end defense. Olsen has the Falcons’ fifth-worst unit and will be worth the extra cost, especially in PPR leagues. Clay’s a very cheap option at one of the thinner positions of the week and he’s caught touchdowns in consecutive weeks.

FLEX

1.Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giants

2.Frank Gore, RB, Indianapolis Colts

3.Tyrell Williams, WR, San Diego Chargers

4.Kenneth Farrow, RB, San Diego Chargers

5.Doug Martin, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Philly surrenders 12.2 catches for 190.9 yards and 1.1 touchdowns per week to receivers. Split that into half or even two-thirds for Beckham and the other third for Shepard and you have a breakout combo. Gore’s coming off his first 100-yard game as a Colt, but he’ll still be cheap because of Indy’s line, allowing DFS players to take advantage. He gets Oakland’s sixth-worst work vs. RBs. Probably best to have Rivers’ top receiver this week, and even Melvin Gordon’s sub if the second-year rusher is out again. Injuries have plagued Martin all season, but he likely knows the Bucs postseason hopes rest on him. Also, New Orleans is seventh-worst against RBs.

Defenses

1.New England

2.Houston

3.Seattle

4.San Diego

5.Denver

The Jets have been phoning it in for a few weeks now, so New England’s a no brainer but likely pricey. Houston’s routinely spoiled Cincinnati, but that could be a trap game as the Texans angle for better playoff position. So maybe go with a surefire pick of Seattle at home against Arizona, who really has no one else except for running back David Johnson. Denver travels to face Kansas City in a game that figures to be pretty low scoring so maybe flip a coin, either pick will probably gain you more than the league average.