If you've made it this far in your fantasy football league and still have FAAB money left, then you know there's no point in holding back on your bids. Whatever it takes to get the players you need, that's what you have to do. Week 16's waiver wire is stocked with worthwhile adds at every position, as Jalen Hurts, Tony Pollard, Sony Michel, Russell Gage, Rashard Higgins, Austin Hooper, and the Browns D/ST are just a few who stand out. In shallower leagues, some of those players might be relegated to free agent status as guys like Le'Veon Bell and Giovani Bernard are prioritized ahead of them. Either way, you can bet the race for pickups will be competitive.
As we do every week, let's break down the top pickups and project how much of your FAAB budget you should bid on them. The percentages at the end of each player's blurb don't really mean much this week, but we still included them as a rough guide to the general value of a player. As we stated above, don't hold back your bids, and prioritize the positions at which you need the most help.
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Week 16 Fantasy Football FAAB targets: Waiver wire QB pickups
Jalen Hurts (PHI). The proof is in the pudding at this point. Hurts is an easy top-12 play at the quarterback position this week. He is coming off a game against the Cardinals where he threw for over 300 yards, three touchdowns, and found a touchdown on the ground, as well. It’s unlikely you’re in need of a quarterback heading into your championship matchup, but Hurts flashed top-five upside and has looked like a great fit in this offense. The Eagles have a very friendly matchup against the Cowboys lined up for Week 16. It wouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to anyone if Hurts pulled out another huge performance. Proj. FAAB Bid: 12-14%
Baker Mayfield (CLE). Mayfield didn’t smash against the Giants, but he didn’t really need to. The game was comfortably in hand from the outset, as the Giants couldn’t do very much on offense and Mayfield had a good enough game with 297 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns. He should easily improve those numbers this week against the Jets. Jared Goff couldn’t take advantage of the matchup, but the Jets have still allowed quarterbacks to throw for multiple touchdowns in five straight games. They also allow the third-most passing yards per game, so while the offense didn’t blow the Giants out of the water last week, I think they’ll lay it on the Jets in Week 16. Proj. FAAB Bid: 10-12%
If neither Hurts nor Mayfield are available in your league and you don’t have a quarterback you feel great about, you can consider Tua Tagovailoa or Mitchell Trubisky. I haven’t trusted the output of either on a consistent basis, but the matchups are great for both. For Tua, the Raiders have allowed two passing touchdowns to quarterbacks in five straight games, and there’s an easy road to about 18-20 fantasy points for the rookie. For Trubisky, the Jaguars have allowed multiple touchdowns to quarterbacks in eight straight games and in 11 of 14 games this year. Chicago could easily just turn David Montgomery loose (as has been the case lately), but we’ve started Trubisky in worse spots, so against the Jags he’s very much in play as a streamer.
WEEK 16 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Week 16 Fantasy Football FAAB targets: Waiver wire RB pickups
Note: Le'Veon Bell and Giovani Bernard aren't listed here because they're owned in over 50 percent of leagues, but if they're available in your league, make them priority pickups.
Tony Pollard (DAL). This is easily the most obvious waiver grab of the week. With Ezekiel Elliott (calf) being a last-minute inactive heading into Week 15, Pollard was a hot commodity as a last-minute add off waivers. He turned out a very impressive game with two touchdowns and six receptions. Over 30 points in PPR is nothing to scoff at, so if Elliott misses Sunday’s game against Philadelphia, then Pollard is looking at another opportunity to have a big game. Mike McCarthy did note on Monday that it’s possible Elliott suits up for Sunday’s contest. We have no idea as of right now as teams haven’t even started practicing yet for next week. Pollard’s still very much worth paying for off waivers. Proj. FAAB Bid: 25-30%
Salvon Ahmed (MIA). You get a sense that running back will be a tremendous need in April’s draft for Miami, as it’s been a revolving door at the position. Everyone in this backfield seems to be getting hurt or being placed on the COVID list, but Ahmed returned after missing three straight games. He looked good with 122 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. If he’s the top option in the running game in Week 16, then he’s in line for a fantastic matchup against the Raiders, who have allowed eight rushing touchdowns to running backs in their past five games. Proj. FAAB Bid: 14-16%
Sony Michel (NE). There will be touches available to MIchel if Damien Harris (ankle) misses next Monday’s game against the Bills. Hopefully you aren’t in position where you need to play Michel, as the game is on Monday night and you'd be in trouble if Harris can suit up. As always, monitor the practice reports to see how Harris is trending. The Bills are a middle-of-the-road team against running backs, but they did allow Melvin Gordon to score twice last weekend. Proj. FAAB Bid: 10-12%
Benny Snell (PIT). There is an argument to possibly spend more on Snell than Sony Michel, especially since there’s a real possibility James Conner (quad) could suit up in Week 16 against the Colts. We’ve seen Snell step in for Conner on a couple occasions this season, and he’s fallen on both ends of the spectrum of being very useful in fantasy or being a waste of a roster space. He was the former on Monday night against the Bengals, as he put up 19.7 PPR points. Proj. FAAB Bid: 10%
WEEK 16 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Week 16 Fantasy Football FAAB targets: Waiver wire WR pickups
Russell Gage (ATL). He’s going to be everybody’s favorite wide receiver to add this week. Of course, his stock only increases if Julio Jones (hamstring) is once again declared inactive. He has 42 targets over his past four games, and he’s accounted for a touchdown in each of his past three games. Proj. FAAB Bid: 14-17%
Rashard Higgins (CLE). Wash. Rinse. Repeat. He didn’t find the end zone and the targets were down a bit, but Higgins made the most of the opportunity that was presented to him. Against the Giants he caught four-of-five targets for 76 yards. It was a bit of a slow and sloppy game that left many people wishing the Cowboys weren’t flexed out of Sunday Night Football. But all in all, Higgins' involvement is tried and true with the Browns desperate for pass-catchers. He has a great chance at finding the end zone on Sunday against the Jets who have allowed 11 touchdowns to wide receivers over their past seven games. Proj. FAAB Bid: 12-13%
Jakobi Meyers (NE) Here’s a player I would not want to rely on for my fantasy football championship, but he is coming off a seven-catch, 111-yard performance against the Dolphins last week. Assuming New England falls behind against Buffalo, it’s likely they’ll have to throw more. Cam Newton hasn’t looked great airing it out this year, but Meyers has had some really nice games. But he’s far from consistent. And what’s stopping Damiere Byrd from being Newton’s favorite target this week? I like the potential script for Meyers, but he’s not a player you start with a ton of confidence. Proj. FAAB Bid: 6-7%
There are plenty more worthwhile WRs who are available in over 50 percent of leagues, including Keke Coutee (vs. Bengals), Lynn Bowden Jr. (@ Raiders), Jalen Reagor (@ Cowboys), Darnell Mooney (@ Jaguars), and John Brown (@ Patriots). All have similar value to the players listed above, so bid accordingly.
WEEK 16 FANTASY: Top pickups
Week 16 Fantasy Football FAAB targets: Waiver wire TE pickups
Austin Hooper (CLE). Hooper lacks consistency, but he’s scored in two of his past three games and had six targets last Sunday. Even better is that he has a matchup against the Jets, who are the worst team in the league at defending the tight end position. Over their past five games, they’ve allowed seven touchdowns to tight ends. Proj. FAAB Bid: 7-8%
Jordan Reed (SF). The Cardinals are no longer the laughing stock of the league in terms of defenses facing tight ends. They’ve only allowed three tight ends to score on them all season long, so this isn’t necessarily an easy spot to stream Reed. However, he’s averaging five targets per game over his past five outings, and he’s scored in two of his past three games. It’s not a lock by any means, but he’s involved in the offense as long as he’s healthy. If Thomas or Hooper are available, they’re much easier players to stream this week, but with Reed you’re hoping he somehow finds the end zone. Proj. FAAB Bid: 5-6%
Dalton Schultz (DAL). This is probably more of a longshot recommendation, but I have a good feeling Schultz finds the end zone on Sunday. We’ve seen Jalen Hurts breathe new life into Philly’s offense, so there’s a chance the Cowboys could be chasing points in this game. The Eagles defense has allowed tight ends to catch five passes for at least 50 receiving yards in three straight games. If Michael Gallup misses this game due to a hip injury he sustained last week, then Schultz get a little more involved. Proj. FAAB Bid: 4-5%
Week 16 Fantasy Football FAAB targets: Waiver wire D/ST pickups
There aren’t many great D/ST streaming options available this week. Hopefully you stashed the Cleveland Browns to stream the past two weeks of the season, but keep an eye out and see if they’re available in your league. Along with the Los Angeles Chargers, who face the Broncos, the Browns have the best streaming matchup.
Washington Football Team. They were held without a sack last week against Seattle and only forced one turnover. It was a down performance against a good team, but they will host the Panthers Sunday afternoon and I’m expecting the sacks to be abundant. If Christian McCaffrey (thigh) somehow suits up this week, then I may be off this recommendation a bit. But we thought CMC would play the past two weeks, and that hasn’t been the case.
Arizona Cardinals. This is a defense that has quietly been playing much better. They have 21 sacks over their past five games, including 14 of those over their past two. They haven’t bled a ton of points, but in ESPN standard scoring formats, they’ve returned seven or more points in three of their past four games. This will be a home game for Arizona, but keep in mind this has also been the home for San Francisco this month, as well. I’m sensing they’ll be able to get three or four sacks on Saturday and can return seven-to-eight points for fantasy teams looking to stream a defense.
Proj. FAAB Bids: <1%