With NFL schedule release taking place last Thursday, calendars around the country have been marked up with the weekend where your favorite team won’t be playing. More importantly though, you now know the sixteen weeks that you will be watching football and what opponents are in the way of your team’s playoff chances.
Fantasy football shows no bias towards one specific team, however, so what can you take away from the schedule? Consider the importance of weeks 14-16 when fantasy playoffs occur. You’re not going to draft your team soley on that factor, but you can’t ignore it either. For example, you probably don’t want Titans players carrying your fantasy roster (ever… or at least not in 2016) and that holds true even moreso in week 14 as they face the Broncos. Then there’s week 15 where the Redskins play the Panthers. The point is, the schedule has an undeniable impact and we’ve asked our featured experts three questions on this very topic.
Start you draft prep with our Mock Draft Simulator
Q1. Which notable player has favorable matchups in 2016 and should see a boost in value?
Amari Cooper (WR – OAK)
“Cooper has some terrific matchups, particularly to begin the season. The Saints, Falcons, Titans, Ravens, Jaguars and Buccaneers – six of the Raiders’ initial seven opponents – all have issues with their defensive backfield. I’ll be shocked if Cooper sustains a sophomore slump as a result.”
– Walter Cherepinsky (Walter Football)
Russell Wilson (QB – SEA)/Thomas Rawls (RB – SEA)
“Outside of the divisional games with Arizona and to an extent LA, you have to love the way Russell Wilson’s and Thomas Rawls’ schedule looks on paper. Matthew Stafford’s schedule is a good one as well, especially early on… but how will he adjust to life without Calvin?”
– Ken Zalis (Pressbox)
Dorial Green-Beckham (WR – TEN)
“Green-Beckham has breakout written all over him in 2016. Schedules should be taken with a grain of salt when it comes to fantasy purposes, but DGB and the Titans face a last-place slate this season. He’ll see a sophomore bump instead of a sophomore slump if he stays healthy.”
– Zach Greubel (Gridiron Experts)
Q2. Who is a player facing a difficult schedule that fantasy owners should be aware of?
Jeremy Hill (RB – CIN)
“The Bengals start with road games versus the Jets and Steelers, then host Denver… they end the season with Pittsburgh, Houston and Baltimore. Based off the last 8 games of last year this is a tough start and finish, Jeremy Hill owners hoping for a comeback season should temper their expectation.”
– Ken Zalis (Pressbox)
Jeremy Langford (RB – CHI)
“The easy route would be to name any Browns player here, but I’ll avoid that. I haven’t bought my ticket to board the Jeremy Langford hype train yet, and I don’t know that I will. Langford has seven matchups versus the top 15 fantasy defenses against running backs from last season, including the Vikings and Packers, whom the Bears play twice.”
– Zach Greubel (Gridiron Experts)
Brandon Marshall (WR – NYJ)
“Marshall is a great receiver coming off an outstanding year, but he has his work cut out for him to begin 2016. The Jets will battle the Bengals, Bills, Chiefs, Seahawks and Cardinals in five of their initial six games, and all of those teams have outstanding secondaries. It gets easier after that though, so you might be able to acquire Marshall cheaply from a disgruntled owner.”
– Walter Cherepinsky (Walter Football)
Q3. For the fantasy playoffs (weeks 14-16), is there a notable player that jumps out as having a particularly easy schedule?
Blake Bortles (QB – JAC)/Allen Robinson (WR – JAC)
“For weeks 15 and 16, you have to love the Jags playing Tennessee and Indy! So Bortles to Robinson should be fantastic. Also, Cam Newton and company have a nice path with Washington, Atlanta and Tampa on tap. I kind of like Eli Manning’s playoff path as well. Andrew Luck is at Oakland and home for Jacksonville to end the season.”
– Ken Zalis (Pressbox)
Cam Newton (QB – CAR)
“Newton and his receivers will all receive a boost at the end of the season. The Panthers will battle the Redskins, Falcons and Buccaneers in the fantasy playoffs, and they all had issues against the pass in 2015. I don’t expect that to change.”
– Walter Cherepinsky (Walter Football)
Odell Beckham (WR – NYG)
“Beckham’s playoff matchups are about as juicy as a smashed watermelon. He draws the Lions, Eagles and Redskins in his last three games. The Eagles and Redskins, in particular, were horrid against wide receivers last season.”
– Zach Greubel (Gridiron Experts)
—
Thank you to the experts for taking the time and answering some questions, for more great info from the experts, you can follow them on Twitter. Be sure to also check out our updated Strength of Schedule calendar which will be updated shortly.