The gift giving season is coming to a close this weekend and the NFL is saving one of the best for last. No, we're not talking about the 49ers hosting the Ravens on Monday night, but rather some football on Festivus -- a holiday for everyone to rally around. We'll see the Bengals take on the Steelers and the Bills battle the Chargers for this week's Saturday slate. It's a fitting holiday for some action on the gridiron, considering the airing of grievances is a popular tradition associated with the day. And we have plenty of grievances to air out before this year comes to a close. So set up your aluminum pole in a good spot and settle in for a good day of football -- one we hope comes with a Festivus miracle before midnight.
Before we break down all of our picks, here are the most notable scoring rules for DraftKings contests: Full-point PPR, four-point passing TDs, three-point bonuses for 100 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, and 300 passing yards.
WEEK 16 FANTASY ADVICE:
Sleepers | Busts | Projections | Start-sit
NFL Saturday DraftKings Picks Week 16: NFL DFS lineup for GPP tournaments
Sunday main slate, $50,000 budget
QB Jake Browning, Bengals @ Steelers ($6,100). Saturday's slate will feature Browning, Josh Allen, Mason Rudolph, and Easton Stick at QB. Imagine reading that back in Week 1. Even crazier, Browning might end up having the best fantasy performance of that group, at least on a per-dollar basis. While Allen and the Bills are thriving under OC Joe Brady, Bengals HC Zac Taylor is quietly pulling off a miracle of his own. Browning checks in at a significantly lower salary than Allen and has totaled at least 23 fantasy points in each of the past three games -- something Allen has only done once. The Browning hype train is still full speed ahead until further notice.
RB James Cook, Bills @ Chargers ($6,900). Part of the reason we're avoiding Allen in this lineup is because of Cook. The RB has found a groove with Brady running the show, finally getting a chance to produce like an RB1. That was evidenced by his 25 carries on Sunday in what was his best game all season. Brady proved that he's willing to ride the hot hand, and Cook is on fire. With at least 16 fantasy points in five straight games, the Buffalo RB should put on a show in Hollywood.
WEEK 16 DFS:
DK lineup | FD lineup | Best values | Best stacks
RB Joe Mixon, Bengals @ Steelers ($6,800). After a slower start to the year, Mixon has reunited with the end zone and appears to have taken up residency there. The RB has eight touchdowns in his past eight games, including four in the past three. Cincinnati's RBs are getting more involved with Browning under center. In the process, Mixon has climbed the rankings at the position, routinely posting big fantasy days. In the four games he's played since Browning took over, Mixon has 15 points in three of those games and gone over 20 twice. His involvement will remain a key piece of the Bengals' success and won't be going away in the Steel City on Saturday afternoon.
WR Tee Higgins, Bengals @ Steelers ($6,500). With Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) out for this game, the burden falls on Higgins to carry the WRs. It's something he shouldn't have a problem doing considering he's built a nice chemistry with Browning in a short period. Higgins is coming off a two-TD game against the Vikings, and the Steelers defense struggles to contain the position. Pittsburgh was being carved up by Michael Pittman Jr. last week before he was forced out with a concussion. Higgins can pick up right where Pittman left off.
WEEK 16 PPR RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
WR Gabe Davis, Bills @ Chargers ($5,300). It's been a brutal season for Davis truthers, who routinely watch the receiver run cardio every week without making much of an impact otherwise. He has just three targets in his past three games, but he hasn't caught a pass since Week 12 against the Eagles. We're taking a shot on him in a good matchup against the nonexistent Chargers defense that just surrendered 63 points last week. Brandon Staley might've been fired, but the new coach bump isn't going to completely fix that mess.
WR Diontae Johnson, Steelers vs. Bengals ($5,100). There's no shortage of issues in Pittsburgh, but Johnson isn't one of the bigger ones. Lack of effort from receivers has been on full display this year, with Johnson openly quitting on running plays and George Pickens deciding to not block down the field. However, while Pickens flounders in terms of production, Johnson is thriving, totaling double-digit points in three straight with a touchdown in all of them. For someone who previously went a long time without scoring, it seems the floodgates have now opened for him. Rudolph will need at least one trustworthy receiver, and Johnson profiles as that guy.
WEEK 16 STANDARD RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
TE Pat Freiermuth, Steelers vs. Bengals ($3,800). The Bengals can't defend tight ends, and the Steelers have a good one. There aren't many good TE options on Saturday, so our pick is to take the one with the best matchup. Freiermtuh can be hit or miss in this offense that is far from explosive, but with a backup QB under center, Freiermuth can be the security blanket that Rudolph needs.
FLEX WR Joshua Palmer, Chargers vs. Bills ($5,000). Palmer worked his way back from a knee injury and returned to action against the Raiders last week. He was back to his efficient ways, collecting all four targets for 113 yards and a touchdown. It's unclear whether L.A. will bring back Keenan Allen (heel) this season since the playoffs are no longer a possibility, meaning it might be Palmer's time to shine as WR1 once again. Palmer's ceiling rises a bit with Allen out, but it's still fairly high even with him considering the Chargers will almost certainly be playing from behind again. Palmer's knack for getting open will help alleviate some of the pressure on Stick. Since DraftKings is offering a nice discount on the solid WR, we'll be more than happy to accept him into our lineup.
DEF Bengals @ Steelers ($3,700). Rounding out our lineup is the Bengals' D/ST, a group that draws a nice matchup against Rudolph and the Steelers. Pittsburgh's QB carousel continues to spin, but can't churn out one solid option. Rudolph's body of work comes nowhere close to his reindeer counterpart. Funny enough, Rudolph will be looking more like a deer in the headlights when the Cincinnati defense starts coming after him. Expect a few turnovers and sacks in what looks like a classic AFC North battle at times.
NFL Saturday FanDuel Picks Week 16: NFL DFS lineup for GPP tournaments
Scoring based on FanDuel's half-point PPR format
- QB: Josh Allen, Bills ($9,500)
- RB: Jaylen Warren, Steelers ($6,000)
- RB: Chase Brown, Bengals ($5,200)
- WR: Stefon Diggs, Bills ($8,900)
- WR: Tee Higgins, Bengals ($7,800)
- WR: George Pickens, Steelers ($6,200)
- TE: Tanner Hudson, Bengals ($5,300)
- FLEX: WR Khalil Shakir, Bills ($5,000)
- DEF: Buffalo Bills ($5,000)
After neglecting Allen in our DraftKings lineup, we had to get some exposure to him with the FanDuel version. The Bills should steamroll the Chargers on Saturday night, and there's no excuse for a poor performance from Allen or Diggs. The WR especially has been a major disappointment from a fantasy standpoint, meaning it's time for him to rise to the occasion in this matchup. The Buffalo pass-catchers and defense are certainly worthy starts.
Elsewhere, we're looking at some pass-catchers and RBs in the earlier game. The Steelers have trouble defending the pass, opening the door for Brown, Higgins, and especially Hudson since Pittsburgh has found trouble containing the TEs in recent weeks. Pittsburgh needs to find some offense somewhere, and since they still have something to play for, we like Warren and Pickens to also be involved.
Best SuperDraft NFL DFS Picks for NFL Saturday Week 16
This season, we're also listing our favorite Saturday Week 16 DFS lineup on SuperDraft, with some of our picks and analysis overlapping.
For those unfamiliar, SuperDraft's DFS scoring involves point multipliers as opposed to traditional salary-capped or tiered contests. A winning lineup will likely feature a strong mix of stud fantasy contributors with 1x-1.6x boosts, as well as a few matchup-based sleepers with larger multipliers. Each player is assigned a scoring multiplier based on their value as determined by SuperDraft. Users can roster any player in their lineup with no restrictions.
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Here are the most notable scoring rules for SuperDraft NFL contests: Half-point PPR, four-point passing TDs, two-point bonuses for 100 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, and 300 passing yards.
MORE SUPERDRAFT DFS: How to play SuperDraft
- QB: Josh Allen, Bills (Multiplier 1x)
- RB: James Cook, Bills (Multiplier 1.05x)
- RB: Joe Mixon, Bengals (Multiplier 1.05x)
- WR: Tee Higgins, Bengals (Multiplier 1.25x)
- WR: Joshua Palmer, Chargers (Multiplier 1.45x)
- WR: Diontae Johnson, Steelers (Multiplier 1.45x)
- TE: Tanner Hudson, Bengals (Multiplier 1.45x)
- FLEX: RB Jaylen Warren, Steelers (Multiplier 1.25x)
Our SuperDraft lineups continue to take advantage of the salary-free games, allowing us to pad our numbers with stars all over the place. However, we can't completely rely on the stars, meaning we also need to hit on some depth players to have a chance at winning some cash. While Allen, Cook, and Mixon figure to carry the load, others, like Hudson and Warren, are what puts it over the top.
