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Week 16 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Rankings

Q1. Who is your top waiver wire option of the week, and why?

Ronald Jones. Fournette should miss at least one week, if not two, and that means that Jones is without question the top priority. He gained 63 yards on eight carries in relief against the Saints and added two catches for eight yards. With Gio Bernard injured, in Week 16 against the Panthers, Jones will be stepping into a massive workload and take on immediate RB1 status without Fournette. There are a lot of good receivers available, but Jones is the top option easily for me.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

Ronald Jones. Early reports are that Leonard Fournette will miss one, and potentially two weeks, after sustaining a hamstring injury Sunday night against the Saints. Giovani Bernard is out for the season, so that leaves Jones and Ke’Shawn Vaughn as the last men standing in the Bucs’ backfield. Vaughn will get some Week 16 snaps, but Jones figures to get a clear majority of RB touches in a decent matchup against the Panthers. RoJo is worth pursuing if you have any sort of lineup hole at running back, and he’s obviously a must-get for Fournette stakeholders.
– Pat Fitzmaurice (@Fitz_FF)

Sunday night was a disaster for the Buccaneers, but a potential opening for Ronald Jones. Jones carried the ball 8 times for 63 yards after Leonard Fournette left the game with a hamstring injury. Jones can also work in the passing game and despite the tough matchup against the Panthers coming up, the Bucs will certainly be looking to bounce back from their dreadful goose egg performance.
– Joe Pisapia (@JoePisapia17)

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been pounding the table for fantasy managers to go pick up Ronald Jones in their leagues. As a high-level insurance RB, he should’ve been rostered in well over 50% of leagues as the fantasy playoffs commenced. Instead, he’s now the top WW option for the week and managers are going to have to burn significant FAB on him in their leagues. With Leonard Fournette leaving Sunday night’s game and quickly being ruled out with a hamstring injury, it’s likely that Jones is going to be the lead option for the Bucs next week against Carolina, if not for the next two weeks of the fantasy football playoffs given early reports. We’ve seen that he can put up fantasy production in the past when he’s been given the full workload due to his talent, which means that he’s the clear No. 1 add for Week 16.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

Q2. Which high-end waiver wire option for Week 16 was the most difficult to rank?

Craig Reynolds. There’s an argument to be made that Reynolds should rival only Ronald Jones as the top pickup after an outstanding game against the Cardinals where he rushed for over 100 yards. But there’s no way to tell yet whether either D’Andre Swift or Jamaal Williams will be ready to return next week against the Falcons and, if either is, what that means for Reynolds’ role. He could be a strong RB2 or entirely without value next week.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

Craig Reynolds. Will D’Andre Swift come back from a shoulder injury, or will he be shut down? If Jamaal Williams comes off the COVID-19 list in the coming days, will he be Detroit’s clear lead back in week 16, or will the Lions continue to audition Reynolds (a former UDFA who’s playing on a one-year deal) for a second contract? It’s not clear what sort of role Reynolds will have when the Lions face Atlanta on Sunday, but he’s accumulated 216 yards from scrimmage over the last two weeks, and the matchup with the Falcons is favorable.
– Pat Fitzmaurice (@Fitz_FF)

Ah Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the definition of boom or bust. MVS is a weekly dice roll, and if you can’t afford a 4 point performance in your lineup, then he’s not your man. However, that big-play ability makes him an intriguing upside flex play in a desperate situation. The choice is yours.
– Joe Pisapia (@JoePisapia17)

Craig Reynolds has been a dynamic fantasy asset over the past couple of games and he’s literally come out of nowhere to help lead some fantasy rosters to the next round of their playoffs. However, we still don’t know if he’s done enough to work his way into a significant role if everyone in this backfield is healthy. With Jamaal Williams most likely returning in Week 16, Reynolds might not see enough volume to be a reliable option. However, if we knew that D’Andre Swift and Williams were going to miss this next week again, Reynolds would be a top-3 pickup on the week.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

Q3. For managers renting a D/ST in Week 16, what readily available option (under 40%) should they target?

The Seattle Seahawks D/ST will be on an even shorter week than their Week 16 opponent, the Bears, but it’s still a D/ST to attack. Justin Fields has been prone to both sacks and turnovers, and the Seahawks’ defensive unit has been holding its own of late. In Seattle, with an always raucous crowd, the Seahawks should be able to put up double-digit points against a team allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing D/STs.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

Fantasy managers looking to stream a defense for the remainder of the playoffs can ride with the Seattle Seahawks D/ST the next two weeks in attractive matchups against the Bears and Lions.
– Pat Fitzmaurice (@Fitz_FF)

I’m just going to play the trend here with the Philadelphia Eagles D/ST. They play the Giants in Week 16 and their sputtering offense. The Eagles aren’t a great fantasy unit, but the matchup is enough to put them at #1 for me this week.
– Joe Pisapia (@JoePisapia17)

The Philadelphia Eagles D/ST have yet to play this week, so things could change if we see a critical injury to their defense, etc. but they will get to take on the injury-riddled New York Giants in Week 16. Mike Glennon might have just played his way out of the NFL and Jake Fromm should get the starting nod in that matchup, which should mean plenty of points for the Eagles DST.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

Notable Week 16 Waiver Wire FAB Recommendations (in %)

Q4. Which Week 16 waiver wire option carries the biggest risk of being a waste of FAB dollars?

Probably Craig Reynolds. The majority of the top options this week seem pretty likely to at least have some value, even if it's just as a usable fantasy option. But Reynolds' value depends on both the health of other running backs and Dan Campbell's plan. It has the potential to be a worthless pickup.
- Dan Harris (@danharris80)

Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He's always a weekly wild card. A splash-play specialist with a career average of 17.6 yards per catch, MVS could go bonkers in any given week or leave you high and dry with a goose egg. He makes a lot of sense for teams that are big underdogs in their Week 16 matchups and will need to land a couple of haymakers to pull off an upset.
- Pat Fitzmaurice (@Fitz_FF)

Duke Johnson!? Really!? Well, after a top 5 RB performance in Week 15, we're all left wondering is this the greatest outlier performance of the season or a trend worth pouncing on that could be a league winner. My guess is this was merely a fluke, and the New Orleans Saints rush defense looming this week is enough to reinforce that instinct.
- Joe Pisapia (@JoePisapia17)

As mentioned earlier, Craig Reynolds has the potential to be a top-3 pickup on the week and a smash start in Week 16 due to his recent play. However, we don't know what his role is in this offense when everyone's healthy and we don't have clarity on that aspect at the time of writing. He's worth picking up, but you might not be able to play him confidently this next week.
- Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

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