Week 16 Fantasy Football Rankings: All Derrick Henry Wants for Christmas is the Texans

We are onto the second week of the fantasy playoffs, well, at least some of us are. Congratulations on making it this far if you’re still reading this, because whew… last week was a doozy. Between the injuries and the stars having down weeks, it was not great fantasy-wise for me, dear reader. However, there are still leagues to be won and if you want the leg up on your league mates, check out John Daigle’s Waiver Wire Watch. As always, the rankings and projections are provided by 4for4’s half-point PPR rankings.

What Stands Out: Patrick Mahomes is ahead of Josh Allen.

Analysis: It isn’t that weird for Mahomes to be the top quarterback on a week, but the way Allen has been projecting all season it is a slight surprise when he isn’t on top. Justin Herbert had a disappointing week against the biggest pass funnel in the league, now he gets a beat-up Colts secondary that just let Kirk Cousins throw for like half a mile in 30 minutes of football. Tua Tagovailoa gets Green Bay, which isn’t a great matchup, but it’s better that it isn’t in Green Bay. Joe Burrow has been on fire lately as his weapons have gotten healthier and a tough matchup against New England isn’t enough to be scared off. Justin Fields is just a monster fantasy asset right now, even with a low passing ceiling. I’d feel better about Dak Prescott if Jalen Hurts was in, but the Cowboys have proven they’ll put up points regardless of the other side. Tom Brady back in the top 10 feels weird, but I guess when fantasy studs like Jalen Hurts and Mike White are questionable at best you get weird names in the top 10. Kidding, kind of. Outside of the top 10, I’m going to regret saying this and I can already feel it, but Zach Wilson gets the Jaguars. It’s a really good matchup and he looked better, not great, but better at the start last week against the Lions.

*Full QB Rankings

What Stands Out: Derrick Henry against the Texans.

Analysis: Henry in December is a match made in heaven. A matchup against the Texans is just the perfect Christmas gift for those still in the fantasy playoffs. Christian McCaffrey doesn’t have a great matchup against the Commanders, but Saquon Barkley was able to break some decent runs against them and McCaffrey is always a threat through the air. Speaking of Barkley, he gets a tough matchup against Minnesota, but as mentioned he looked better last week. Austin Ekeler had a rough matchup on the ground last week against the Titans, I could see him rebounding this week against the Colts. Dalvin Cook finally had the workload we were hoping for and now gets a solid matchup against the Giants. Brian Robinson was averaging over seven yards per carry, but the offense inexplicably went away from him. Rhamondre Stevenson was limited on Tuesday, but after last week it seems like that isn’t worth worrying about. Nick Chubb was also added to the injured list this week and is a bit more of a concern. Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott both seem to get there every week, but Pollard is ranked higher again as his upside is higher. James Conner would benefit from Colt McCoy being healthy - a sentence no one ever wants to hear - but with Trace McSorely he isn’t a bench candidate. He still has upside with dump-offs. Outside of the top 10, Jerrick McKinnon is the RB1 in Kansas City and also the WR2.

*Full RB Rankings

What Stands Out: Stefon Diggs is a distant fourth in the projections.

Analysis: That stands out mostly because the top trio is just so far ahead, but it all makes sense. Justin Jefferson has had a great month of December and his projection is massive this week against the Giants. Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams are in difficult matchups this week and while Adams has had a few dud weeks, Hill feels a bit safer. Diggs remains the top option in the Buffalo passing attack and could outperform his projection. CeeDee Lamb has a difficult matchup against the Eagles' secondary but remains the top option in the Dallas passing attack. A.J. Brown is dicey as a top-10 bet with Gardner Minshew under center, but Minshew is more than capable as a spot starter and while I’d lower his floor a bit, he still has a massive ceiling. Amon-Ra St. Brown and DK Metcalf both have favorable matchups on the back half of the top 10 and could outperform their projections. Outside of the top 10, it seems like if D.J. Moore can score a touchdown he can have a big week and a matchup against the Lions seems like a good bet!

*Full WR Rankings

What Stands Out: Nothing. Tight End is a wasteland.

Analysis: It is Travis Kelce and everyone else at tight end and that remains the case this week. Mark Andrews is a guy you just have to start based on name value at this point. There probably isn’t anyone with a higher ceiling on waivers, but he doesn’t have the ceiling you hoped for when you drafted him. While Washington has had bad linebacker play all year, it hasn’t translated into tight ends going off against them, but George Kittle always has a massive ceiling. Hockenson was a bit of a disappointment on Saturday night given how many passing yards Kirk Cousins threw for. Dallas Goedert is back and in the top 5, which makes sense, but I would be slightly worried about the matchup. On the other side of the matchup, Dalton Schultz has been a strong option lately, but it is a difficult matchup against the Eagles. Greg Dulcich disappointed against the best matchup for tight ends last week, but you can’t exactly go away from him. Darren Waller returned to a nice role. Take a bow, Dawson Knox. He proved more he’s more than just a touchdown threat on a weekly basis. Outside of the top 10, I’m going to keep going back to the Chig Okonkwo well, assuming Treylon Burks is still out.