5 must starts in fantasy football for Week 16

I don’t have much of a preamble this week as I’m dead inside and have no more feeling. I’ve become just an empty shell with my bone structure holding me together but no life pumping through my veins. Remind me why we play this dumb game we call fantasy football?

(At least I can take some solace in knowing that if you listened to me last week and started either Dalvin Cook or Jaylen Samuels you were happily rewarded—we’ll ignore the other guys I told you to start for now.)

But I’m a professional, and so that means setting my priorities aside—which currently are sitting on the couch listening to Christmas music on repeat as I pull a Peter Parker and slowly fade into oblivion—and bring you the five players that, if they’re on your team, they need to be in your starting lineup. I made an effort to pick players that you might be debating on since a “must start” article is kinda dumb if it’s filled with RB1s and WR1s. To make things fun, I’ve including a point total that I think they’ll reach in PPR scoring.

Week 15 picks: DID YOU SMELL WHAT I WAS COOKING????

Season’s picks: I don’t want to talk about the Patriots game

Let’s begin.

QB Baker Mayfield vs Hue Jackson

Week 16 points: 22

I don’t normally put quarterbacks on this list because I figure if you’ve made it this far, you’ve got a guy that you’ve been riding and you’re happy with his performance. However, this is a matchup that I just can’t let pass without saying something.

Yes the Bengals have a terrible defense and have given up the second most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season, but this is bigger than just good quarterback playing bad defense. This is Baker Mayfield, the man who never forgets, playing Hue Jackson, the man who was fired and then found a job with another team STILL IN THE STATE OF OHIO, at home, the place that would LOVE to see Hue embarassed yet again. The story is there for Mayfield to just put the team on his back and throw for 400 yards and five touchdowns while rushing another 100 yards and two touchdowns (I was going to say three rushing touchdowns but then I was like, Pete come on, get serious). This might be the game I’m most excited to watch this week for no reason other than the amount of shade the Browns and Browns fans are sure to through Hue’s way.

Never forget:

RB Tevin Coleman vs Carolina Panthers

Week 16 points: 15.5

Tevin Coleman is RB16 right now in PPR leagues. Running back sixteen. I understand that’s not insanely high but to be honest, I completely forgot about him and to a lesser extent, the Falcons. (I have a bad tendency to stop caring about teams that don’t make headlines starting around Week 10 and the Falcons are certainly one of those teams.) It also doesn’t help that the past few weeks, Coleman had been losing consistent work to Ito Smith.

Welp, Smith went down with a season ending injury against the Cardinals last week and Coleman took full advantage, exploding for 145 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. With the backfield back fully under his control, I expect Coleman to remain hot against a Panthers’ defense that’s allowed a running back touchdown in each of their past six games.

WR Robby Anderson vs Green Bay Packers

Week 16 points: 15

Anderson is currently doing what I like to call the receivers hybernation as now that it’s gotten colder and we’re deep into the winter months, he’s decieded single point games are for the weak and it’s time to go a get that paper. In the last two weeks, Anderson has recorded 11 catches on 18 targets for 172 yards and two touchdowns. He’s firmly intrengeched himself as Sam Darnold’s go-to guy and I don’t see that changing against a Packers’ defense that’s given up the fifth most fantasy points to wide receivers this year. Sign me up!

WR Alshon Jeffery vs Houston Texans

Week 16 points: 14

It’s becoming pretty clear that Jeffery and Nick Foles have what we in the buisness call “chemistry.” Including games last year with Foles under center, Jeffery has four games with a touchdown or at least 100 yards receiving out of a possibly seven. That’s a pretty clear connection people.

While ESPN and Yahoo will tell you that the Texans are stout against wide receivers this season, Houston hasn’t been nearly as dominate at limiting opposing receivers recently. In their last four games, the Texans are giving up 28.78 points to opposing receivers, good for third most in that time. They’ve also given up the second most yards and fourth most touchdowns. A 60 yard, one touchdown game from Jeffery wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

RB Mike Davis vs Kansas City Chiefs

Week 16 points: 12

Let the record show that I also am a huge fan of Chris Carson this week as the Chiefs run defense is terrible and Carson will get the bulk of the work. I just didn’t include him here because I think if you got him, you know you’re riding with him vs a Chiefs’ defense that’s given up the third most points to backs.

Even with Carson’s expected workload, I think Davis 100% belongs in your flex this week. We’ve already seen in the past Davis’ ability to put up fantasy numbers even while splitting time in the backfield. I also think, as most games are with the Chiefs, this will be a shootout and the Seahawks will have to pass a lot in order to keep up with Kansas City’s offense. That means a lot of Davis as he is instrumental in the Hawks’ passing game. It also helps that the Chiefs have given up the second most receiving yards and most receiving touchdowns to running backs this year.