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2020 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks for Week 16

Ranking the top 32 QBs for Week 16.

By NHB
NFL: Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

With NFL Week 16 — Championship Week — is upon us, here are my quarterback fantasy football rankings.

Jalen Hurts is a high-end QB1 this week, just one spot out of the position’s top five.

Pete Carroll’s play-calling has kneecapped Russell Wilson’s fantasy upside.

Marcus Mariota’s rushing floor is available for those in desperate need of a fill-in QB this week. UPDATE: Derek Carr looks ready to play but should not be anywhere near a starting lineup in season-long leagues.

Cam Newton cannot be trusted.

Week 16’s Tiered Quarterback Rankings

Rank High-Floor/High-Ceiling QB1s Team Opponent Breakdown
Rank High-Floor/High-Ceiling QB1s Team Opponent Breakdown
1 Patrick Mahomes KC ATL Atlanta is the most fantasy-friendly defense for opposing signal caller to face*.
2 Aaron Rodgers GB TEN Great match-up and the Pack is trying to keep their one-game lead on the rest of the NFC.
3 Kyler Murray ARI SF SF is Top 5 in rushing yards allowed per game to opposing quarterbacks*.
4 Justin Herbert LAC DEN A win over Denver elevates them out of the AFC West's last place spot.
5 Josh Allen BUF NE New England does a good job of slowing the Bills' offense but this team is on fire and John Brown may be returning. Pats' CB Stephon Gilmore is out for the year.
6 Jalen Hurts PHI at DAL Even at 4-9-1, Philly still has a chance to win the NFC East. This is a must-win game and it's a great match-up.
7 Lamar Jackson BAL NYG Tough match-up but his rushing floor has returned.
8 Deshaun Watson HOU CIN Outstanding match-up. Watson should be able to get the job done. The Texans, at 4-10, don't have anything to play for though. Watson could be pulled late in the game.
9 Ryan Tannehill TEN at GB This game will either be competitive or the Titans will be playing catch-up. Both outcomes bode well for Tannehill's prospects.
10 Baker Mayfield CLE at NYJ The Browns can steal the No. 2 playoff seed from the Steelers if they crush the lowly Jets this week and beat the Steelers next week and Cleveland's offense has been on fire as of late.
11 Tom Brady TB at DET Assuming Stafford plays, there's a small shot at a shootout. Great match-up, defensively, for Brady.
12 Drew Brees NO MIN Great bounce-back spot here.
Rank High-Floor/High-Ceiling QB2s Team Opponent Breakdown
13 Teddy Bridgewater CAR at WAS Tough match-up but this offense can hang with anyone.
14 Kirk Cousins MIN at NO Cousins will be forced to throw in this one.
15 Russell Wilson SEA LAR Toggling through the appropriate drop-down menus on SharpFootball.com's Situational Run:Pass Ratios page, one can see that Seattle's 1st-half, early-down passing rate plummeted to just 46% last week. It's no accident that Pete Carroll received his contract extension in early November before the team suddenly turned to it's atrocious run-first ways. Russell Wilson cannot be trusted in the fantasy football championship game. Brutal match-up.
16 Andy Dalton DAL PHI Low-key shootout potential here. If Ezekiel Elliot sits, Dalton's passing game volume should increase.
Rank High-Floor/Capped-Ceiling QB2s Team Opponent Breakdown
17 Philip Rivers IND at PIT Injuries have compromised Pittsburgh's top notch defense. Rivers can be trusted to retain his high-floor fantasy value.
18 Matthew Stafford DET TB Tough match-up but Detroit will have to throw here.
19 Mitchell Trubisky CHI at JAX True to form, Trubisky has been up-and-down in recent weeks, despite a slew of stellar match-ups. The erratic passer cannot be trusted in Championship Week, even in a great match-up. He's a good contrarian DFS option though.
20 Ben Roethlisberger PIT IND Roethlisberger's arm is shot and this is a very tough match-up.
21 Derek Carr LV MIA Nursing a groin injury, Carr will be largely immobile and Miami has one of the most dominant secondaries in the league.
22 Matt Ryan ATL at KC Tough match-up and Julio Jones' status is entirely up in the air.
23 Tua Tagovailoa MIA at LV Very high floor -- could produce a 20-point fantasy game here in a good match-up.
24 Jared Goff LAR at SEA Decent match-up but there's a good chance that this game devolves into a defense-oriented, ground'n'pound game.
Rank Low-Floor/Capped-Ceiling QB3s Team Opponent Breakdown
25 C.J. Beathard SF at ARI The potential return of George Kittle could make things interesting.
26 Cam Newton NE BUF Too up and down to trust.
27 Daniel Jones NYG at BAL Far too boom/bust for Week 16.
28 Mike Glennon JAX CHI Brutal match-up.
29 Ryan Finley CIN at HOU DFS only.
30 Dwayne Haskins WAS CAR Good match-up, bad decision-maker.
31 Drew Lock DEN at LAC Lock will be forced to throw here but he's impossible to trust.
32 Sam Darnold NYJ CLE Do not trust a Jet in Week 16.
Source links: QB points allowed by the Atlanta Falcons, QB rushing allowed by the San Francisco 49ers, and the Seattle Seahawks’ 1st-half, early-down passing trends.

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