FantasyPros publishes approximately 7.7 million pieces of weekly fantasy football content to help you win your league and eventually take home fantasy gold. It can be difficult to read such a vast amount of content, which is why we’ve rounded up a few of the most actionable, can’t-miss stat nuggets you absolutely need to know each week to aid with fantasy football start sit decisions.
We’ve broken down this weekly TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) article by each of the four main skill positions in fantasy football (quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end), with at least two stats per position. We’ve also added a streaming D/ST section for the fantasy playoffs. Click on each author’s byline to read the entire article. Good luck this week.
- Waiver Wire Advice
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
TL;DR Fantasy Football Week 16
Must-Know Quarterback Fantasy Football Stats
Tyler Shough (QB – NO)
Tyler Shough has played well lately, completing 70% of his pass attempts for 218.3 yards, one touchdown and 18.9 fantasy points per game over the past three weeks. Furthermore, the rookie has averaged 35 rushing yards and 7.5 fantasy points per game on the ground during that stretch.
More importantly, Shough is one of the better streaming options for the final two weeks of the fantasy playoffs. He faces the Jets on Sunday and the Tennessee Titans in Week 17. New York had no answer for Trevor Lawrence last week. They made the former Clemson star look like Josh Allen, surrendering 330 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, 51 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown and 44.3 fantasy points. While Shough won’t score six touchdowns against the Jets, expect him to record his fourth consecutive game with at least 17.4 fantasy points.
Kirk Cousins (QB – ATL)
While many have had low expectations for Kirk Cousins, the veteran has played well since taking over as the starter. He has averaged 242 passing yards, 1.5 touchdowns and 14.3 fantasy points per game over the past month.
Furthermore, Cousins is coming off his best performance, completing 68.2% of his pass attempts for 373 yards, three touchdowns and 26.9 fantasy points. Cousins has a fantasy-friendly matchup on Sunday against an Arizona Cardinals defense that surrendered 260 passing yards, three touchdowns and 23.4 fantasy points to C.J. Stroud last week.
Must-Know Running Back Fantasy Football Stats
Tyrone Tracy Jr. (RB – NYG)
In his last two full games played, Tyrone Tracy Jr. has been the Giants’ workhorse with a 73.6% snap rate, a 60.2% route share and a 9.5% target share while averaging 20.5 touches and 113.5 total yards. He finished as the RB12 and RB5 in weekly PPR scoring.
Tracy has a 10% missed tackle rate and 2.09 yards after contact per attempt this season. He’s a pure volume play as a strong RB2 who could easily be an RB1 again this week. Since Week 11, Minnesota has allowed the 13th-most rushing yards per game, the eighth-highest rushing success rate and the second-most yards after contact per attempt.
Aaron Jones (RB – MIN)
He’s not the bell-cow back he briefly was near the middle of the season, but Aaron Jones is the Vikings’ clear No. 1 RB. Over the last four weeks, he has averaged a 53% running back rush share and a 12% target share on a 45% route rate. Minnesota has had more than its fair share of garbage time over the last month, so those numbers would likely be slightly higher otherwise (I did filter out Zavier Scott‘s six rushes, which all came in the stinkiest of garbage time, for the rush share number).
However, despite this decent usage, Jones has averaged just 6.3 half-PPR points over the last four weeks. This week, I expect him to turn things around as the Vikings face the Giants. New York’s defense ranks third in points per game allowed to opposing backs. Even after a good performance against the Commanders on Sunday, they give up a whopping 5.9 yards per carry to running backs, over half a yard more than any other team. Even with his recent struggles, don’t be afraid to give Jones a shot as your RB2 this week.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt (RB – WSH)
It seems fitting to end the season with Jacory Croskey-Merritt being an attractive pickup after he was such a popular player in August. With Chris Rodriguez Jr. missing Week 15 with a groin injury, Croskey-Merritt was the Commanders’ primary ball-carrier. He finished with 18 carries for 96 yards and a score in the Commanders’ 29-21 win over the Giants, turning in his best game since Week 5. Without Rodriguez, Croskey-Merritt and Jeremy McNichols split carries 32-30, per Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Despite playing nearly identical snaps, McNichols had only 10 touches for 22 total yards. If Rodriguez misses additional time, Croskey-Merritt will be a solid Flex play against the Eagles in Week 16, with the Cowboys on deck in Week 17. The Eagles have given up an average of 107.8 rushing yards a game to opposing running backs over the last five weeks. Croskey-Merritt offers little as a pass-catcher, but his rushing volume should be ample if Rodriguez remains out.
Must-Know Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Stats
Mike Evans (WR – TB)
In his first game back from injury since Week 3 (he briefly tried to come back in Week 7, but was re-injured), Mike Evans was the co-leader in NFL air yards for Week 15. In terms of involvement and usage in the game, Evans jumped right back into elite status. His 12 targets were the third-most among all wide receivers this week, and he finished with 132 receiving yards to go along with his 181 air yards. But the scary thing is, this could have been so, so much better if Evans were a full-go in this game.
Evans only played 55% of snaps last Thursday night. So all of those targets and production came with Evans playing just over half the game. Imagine a scenario where Evans is out there for 80% of snaps and is in a tight game, such as their contest this week against Carolina for the division lead. With a 37.5% target share and a 49.2% air yards share, there is no hesitation in playing Evans anymore, as it’s clear he jumped right back into being Baker Mayfield‘s favorite downfield weapon.
Brian Thomas Jr. (WR – JAX)
Brian Thomas Jr. has been arguably the biggest bust in fantasy football this year. He was drafted as a top-10 wide receiver but ranks as the WR44 for the season, averaging 10.8 PPR fantasy points per game. However, the former LSU star has had solid back-to-back performances, scoring 11.7 fantasy points in Week 14 and 17.1 last week, totaling four receptions on seven targets for 66 receiving yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, Thomas’ second-best performance this year came on a day where Trevor Lawrence had five passing touchdowns and 44.3 fantasy points.
Sadly, the Jaguars don’t face the New York Jets again in Week 16. Instead, they take on the Broncos’ elite defense in Denver. The Broncos have held wide receivers to 27.8 fantasy points per game, the ninth-fewest in the NFL this season. More importantly, they’ve shut down opposing No. 1 wide receivers, surrendering 9.6 fantasy points per game over the past six weeks. Furthermore, Nico Collins (14.5) and Terry McLaurin (22.6) are the only No. 1 wide receivers to score more than 9.8 fantasy points against Denver since Week 9.
Must-Know Tight End Fantasy Football Stats
Harold Fannin Jr. (TE – CLE)
Since Week 12, with Shedeur Sanders under center, Harold Fannin Jr. has been the TE5 in fantasy points per game with a 28.5% target share, 61.3 receiving yards per game, 2.08 yards per route run and a 31.8% first-read share. In those four games, Fannin has three red-zone targets and two deep targets (two touchdowns).
Fannin could see enough volume to carry him across the TE1 line for this week, but I’m worried. I don’t like starting tight ends against the Bills. This pass defense has been elite against tight ends for the last few seasons. Buffalo has allowed the second-fewest receiving yards and the fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends this season.
Dalton Schultz (TE – HOU)
In Weeks 3-14, Dalton Schultz was the TE13 in fantasy points per game with an 18.2% target share, 47 receiving yards per game, 1.53 yards per route run and a 19.2% first-read share, per Fantasy Points Data. In those 11 games, he had seven red-zone targets, five deep targets and only one touchdown.
On Sunday, Schultz had another stellar game with a 31% target share, eight receptions, 76 receiving yards and a score in Houston’s win over Arizona. Schultz should continue to provide strong TE1 production for the rest of the season.
Must-Know Streaming D/ST Fantasy Football Stats
Tennessee Titans D/ST vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Not only were the Chiefs eliminated from the playoffs last week, but Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL late in the game, ending his season. Gardner Minshew II took over and needed only five pass attempts to throw an interception. Minshew has bounced around the league as a borderline starter, most recently starting 10 games for the Raiders last season.
In that span, Minshew posted a healthy 2.9 sacks per game and a 9:10 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Supporting casts don’t get much worse than last year’s Raiders, but I would be shocked to see him perform dramatically better on a totally demoralized Chiefs team.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn