It’s Week 16 of the NFL season! If you are reading this, you have likely advanced past round 1 of the fantasy football playoffs – godspeed to you. You may have drafted players like Justin Jefferson, Travis Kelce, or Josh Jacobs, but most likely you made some great waiver wire decisions to grab sneaky league-winners such as Christian Watson, Garret Wilson, or Jerick McKinnon – all of whom have been mentioned on past editions of this blog.
Moving on to week 16, it is adamant that you are paying attention to matchups. Kirk Cousins has been a mediocre fantasy QB all year, and just put up two mind-boggling performances in back-to-back weeks. He is the only reason I stand a chance in my first-round matchup.
Anyways, last week, we told you to pick up Trevor Lawrence, Evan Engram, and Donovan Peoples-Jones. All of these players are looking like potential starts next week as well after a strong performance in week 15.
Moving on to Week 16…
- Jerick McKinnon, RB | KC
McKinnon is quickly becoming Patrick Mahomes’ go-to receiving back and is earning a lot of trust in the KC offense. He now has two back-to-back weeks with 2 TDs, and is carving out more carries and targets than ever before. The TDs won’t be consistent, but the increase in production will be. Expect 30 rushing yards, 5 receptions, and 40 receiving yards as a base statline moving forward for McKinnon.
- Jared Goff, QB | DET
Goff and the Lions are on fire, winning 6 of their last 7 and now sitting with a 39% chance to make the playoffs before Green Bay faces off against the Rams on MNF. The lions also have some great matchups coming up against CAR and CHI, two bottom-tier defenses.
- Evan Engram, TE | JAX
Engram had a monster game against the Titans, putting up an 11/162/2 statline on 15 targets. He continued to show his dominance against the Cowboys and looks to be a top-5 TE for the rest of the season, regardless of his matchup.
- Jahan Dotson, WR | WAS
Dotson is a future all-pro. I said this one the Nothing But Locks Podcast before the season, but the dude just has a knack for getting open. He showed us last night on SNF that it is his route running that makes him so good. Dotson is in a weird spot with two other solid WRs on the Commanders, but is an OK flex play moving forward.
- Joshua Palmer, WR| LAC
Joshua Palmer is insanely talented. He also sits behind Keenan Allen and Mike Williams on the Chargers depth chart at WR, so he does not see as many targets as one would like most weeks. If there is an injury to Allen, Williams, Everett or Carter, you can likely slide Palmer into your lineup.
