Are you heading to the finals of your fantasy football league? If so, there’s a good chance you did it the old-fashioned way – through the backfield.
When the preliminary sports schedule closed on Sunday, Top of the running back leaderboard It was full of signature performances. Jonathan Taylor makes up for last week’s tragic mistake.Roaming for 218 yards and three touchdowns for 39.8 fantasy points against the Titans. Chubba Hubbard (30.5 fantasy points) was right behind Taylor on the score sheet, with 152 rushing yards and two scores. Walk-off touchdown to beat Arizona in overtime. Saquon Barkley (27 points), James Conner (24.6 points before injury), Jahmir Gibbs (23.4 points) and Bajon Robinson (23.3 points), the stars that stood out all day.
Hit rate Top of the running back board Week 16 is ridiculously excessive. By the time that early window ended, nine of the top 11 running backs in the game had exceeded their projected fantasy scores (we’ll squeeze James Cook, who was the highest in his projection before half of his late game). was above). Only Chase Brown (12.4 points) and Joe Mixon (7.6 points) came in below expectations.
Mind you, there is always room for some hesitation. Derrick Henry (19.9 points) hasn’t scored a touchdown in a month. Conner suffered a knee injury, which ruined what could have been a monster game. Gibbs managers like 27 touches and 154 total yards, but maybe they’re a little greedy – they want more than one touchdown. The Lions were kind enough to let all four of their perceived skill position starters score touchdowns.
Even some sleeper and semi-sleeper plays hit home. On Thursday, Gus Edwards punched in two scores, Jerome Ford (21.6 points) made splash plays in Cincinnati, Tyjay Spears scored two touchdowns. Tyrone Tracy Jr. didn’t do much as a runner, but the pass-catching work and one touchdown grab made for effective deodorant. It also beat its own projection.
As we often talk about in fantasy circles, keeping track of the workload is quite a worthy project from week to week. Wide receivers and tight ends have to play different games. Most NFL teams have either a bell cow or a head of committee runner, and a back defined for goal line and third down work. We pretty much know where the ball is going. Meanwhile, it’s never surprising when the No. 2 or No. 3 receiver outscores the team’s No. 1 in a given week. These are the principles of disagreement and we try to reconcile them.
Gibbs, Robinson and Barkley all took on additional responsibilities in Week 16. Gibbs was operating without David Montgomery (indefinitely) and Barkley’s importance immediately increased when Jalen Hurts got hurt On the 11th snap of the game. The Falcons didn’t want to overload Michael Panics in his first start, allowing Robinson 22 carries for the third straight week. Gibbs set a new season high for touchdowns, and Barkley’s 29 carries were also a new high.
It helps that many of these backs are on teams still fighting for playoff spots and positioning — we don’t have to guess at team motivation. Conversely, Conner is a concern for managers now that Arizona has been eliminated from playoff contention — perhaps the Cardinals could rest Conner for a future game that doesn’t matter to them. Most of the other players we mentioned are free of these concerns.
QB Roundup
Versatility was a watchword in Week 16 with quarterback heroes. Leading scorer Jayden Daniels was impressive with five touchdown passes en route to 36.42 points. Impressive comeback win over Philadelphiabut he also ran for 81 yards. Of all people, Bryce Young averaged 27.12 points, thanks in part to 68 scrambling yards and a touchdown. Patrick Mahomes’ second-best fantasy game of the season was overshadowed by 33 rushing yards and a touchdown on Saturday. It’s a shame that Mahomes missed some wide open receivers for potential touchdowns. It could have been a pinball score.
And then there are the Lions, who are set up to please fantasy managers. Jared Goff did what he wanted. In a 34-17 win at Chicago (336 passing yards, three touchdowns), but there’s a leak in the bottom of the bucket — Caleb Williams threw for 334 yards and two scores against the Detroit defense. It was not a surprise to see Keenan Allen batting for the Lions again (9-141-1); He went from a start set seven calls. WR2 for Week 16 in terms of hours.
Finding small wins in TE
No one is going to break the Week 16 slate on the tight end page. Chig Okonkwo clicked with new starter Mason Rudolph, using a 9-81-1 line (and a 2-point conversion). Top 5 TE as a route to completion. Still, he scored just 14.6 points. I doubt many fantasy managers trusted Dalton Schultz (5-45-1) or Isaiah Lickly (3-29-1, which made him a TE8). Maybe Jack Ferguson or Tucker Croft will shine later in the game. Travis Kelce is just another guy these days.
Streaming success
At least the defensive streaming model came up with two obvious plays. The Falcons scored two defensive touchdowns against Drew Lock and outmatched the Giants’ offense. Running to the top of the D/ST board. The Bengals had no touchdown luck but did collect five sacks and three turnovers against Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a sluggish Cleveland offense. DTR’s minor play destroyed the bottom line for Jerry Geody. After a dynamic five-week run, Geody crashed to 2-20-0 on three targets. Hopefully you had a decent ax and were able to actively bench Judy.
The Colts and Dolphins don’t have great defenses, but given that they look up to the Giants and Browns, maybe they’ll be in the streamer conversation for Week 17.
Note: I will continue to add Week 16 analysis as Sunday unfolds.
