No position in fantasy football is more frustrating than wide receiver. And no time is more critical than the playoffs. Consider San Diego Charger wide out Danario Alexander. In his last five games he's given owners 5 touchdowns and an average of 9+ targets/game. And, what does he gives you in Week 15, when you really need him? Zero yards on three targets. Ugh. Who can you trust? Let's try to not "chase stats" and instead consider the match-up information, along with target data, below. Both are becoming more and more important as we evaluate which wide receivers are the favorites for their respective quarterbacks. And of course, a general notes section will highlight some important points for the week. Let's start right there:
Fantasy Football Rankings, Week 16: Wide Receivers in standard and PPR leagues
It’s Crunch Time for WR Rankings
Ezra Shaw
NOTES:
- Welcome back, James Jones. He was the belle of the ball in Weeks 4, 5 and 6....having two touchdowns each of those weeks. Then he came back to Earth. In Week 15 (probably on some benches) he puts up three TD's.
- Michael Crabtree was a guy that you drafted late this Summer, but has paid healthy dividends as your WR3. In his last three games, he has 301 yards, 34 targets and two touchdowns.
- These guys had a disappointing Week 15 and we have to wonder what the future brings: Danario Alexander 0 yards, Anquan Boldin 0 yards, Kenny Britt 7 yards, Demaryius Thomas 13 yards, Torrey Smith 14 yards, Reggie Wayne 14 yards, Victor Cruz 15 yards, Roddy White 16 yards and Larry Fitzgerald 22 yards. Thanks for killing us in the playoffs!
- The bye weeks are over, so feel free to start everyone.
TARGETS:
Just as I mentioned, fantasy wide receiver scoring can be fluky. But, one thing that you can’t argue with is targets. See the chart below showing the Year-To-Date and Week 15 target leaders:
Year-To-Date | Week 15 |
Calvin Johnson (174) | Calvin Johnson (17) |
Reggie Wayne (170) | Brandon Lloyd (16) |
Brandon Marshall (165) | Andre Johnson (13) |
Wes Welker (150) | Michael Crabtree (12) |
A J Green (144) | Pierre Garcon (12) |
Andre Johnson (137) | Vincent Jackson (12) |
Larry Fitzgerald (136) | Danny Amendola (12) |
Victor Cruz (128) | Antonio Brown (12) |
Steve Johnson (128) | Steve Johnson (12) |
Vincent Jackson (125) | Cecil Shorts (11) |
FANTASY POINTS ALLOWED (FPA):
FPA is a great judge of the strength of a future match-up. The number next to the teams’ name represents how many fantasy points that team is giving up to the entire receiving corps on an average weekly basis. Obviously, you want your guy to play against a team that is allowing a LOT of points to WR’s:
Best Defense Against Opposing WR's | Worst Defense Against Opposing WR's |
SF 49ers (17.3 pts allowed) | TB Bucs (29.1 pts allowed) |
NY Jets (17.3 pts allowed) | WAS Redskins (27.1 pts allowed) |
SEA Seahawks (17.5 pts allowed) | NO Saints (26.9 pts allowed) |
STL Rams (17.6 pts allowed) | NY Giants (26.0 pts allowed) |
ATL Falcons (18.0 pts allowed) | IND Colts (25.6 pts allowed) |
WEEK 16 RANKINGS:
Player (TEAM) | Standard Scoring | PPR Scoring |
Calvin Johnson (DET) | 1 | 1 |
Brandon Marshall (CHI) | 2 | 2 |
Julio Jones (ATL) | 3 | 4 |
Andre Johnson (HOU) | 4 | 3 |
A J Green (CIN) | 5 | 5 |
Vincent Jackson (TB) | 6 | 6 |
Steve Smith (CAR) | 7 | 7 |
Dez Bryant (DAL) | 8 | 8 |
Demaryius Thomas (DEN) | 9 | 10 |
Victor Cruz (NYG) | 10 | 9 |
Pierre Garcon (WAS) | 11 | 12 |
Randall Cobb (GB) | 12 | 11 |
Wes Welker (NE) | 13 | 13 |
Cecil Shorts (JAC) | 14 | 14 |
Roddy White (ATL) | 15 | 15 |
Eric Decker (DEN) | 16 | 16 |
Reggie Wayne (IND) | 17 | 17 |
Marques Colston (NO) | 18 | 18 |
Danny Amendola (STL) | 19 | 19 |
Steve Johnson (BUF) | 20 | 20 |
Brandon Lloyd (NE) | 21 | 22 |
Michael Crabtree (SF) | 22 | 21 |
Mike Wallace (PIT) | 23 | 23 |
Hakeem Nicks (NYG) | 24 | 25 |
Miles Austin (DAL) | 25 | 24 |
Mike Williams (TB) | 26 | 26 |
James Jones (GB) | 27 | 28 |
Kenny Britt (TEN) | 28 | 29 |
Antonio Brown (PIT) | 29 | 27 |
Anquan Boldin (BAL) | 30 | 30 |
Lance Moore (NO) | 31 | 31 |
Jeremy Maclin (PHI) | 32 | 32 |
T Y Hilton (IND) | 33 | 33 |
Justin Blackmon (JAC) | 34 | 35 |
Sidney Rice (SEA) | 35 | 34 |
Greg Jennings (GB) | 36 | 36 |
Denarius Moore (OAK) | 37 | 37 |
Golden Tate (SEA) | 38 | 39 |
Brian Hartline (MIA) | 39 | 38 |
Brandon Gibson (STL) | 40 | 41 |
Nate Washington (TEN) | 41 | 40 |
Riley Cooper (PHI) | 42 | 43 |
Danario Alexander (SD) | 43 | 42 |
Josh Gordon (CLE) | 44 | 45 |
Larry Fitzgerald (ARI) | 45 | 44 |
Chris Givens (STL) | 46 | 46 |
Alshon Jeffery (CHI) | 47 | 49 |
Rod Streater (OAK) | 48 | 50 |
Darrius Heyward-Bey (OAK) | 49 | 47 |
Santana Moss (WAS) | 50 | 48 |
