Fantasy Football Week 16: Waiver-Wire Pickups, Rankings and Stat Projections

The panic meter is running high in fantasy football with Week 16 of the NFL season rapidly approaching. This is the championship round for many leagues, leading to a lot of scrambling for those final roster additions in order to secure that long-awaiting title. 

Keep in mind there will be less time than usual to finalize your rosters for this week's games because most of the games will be played on Saturday for Christmas Eve, though there will be two Christmas Day games and the usual Monday night game to tide you over. 

Looking ahead to this week's crucial fantasy week, here are rankings and points projections for each skill position and a closer look at waiver-wire pickups to boost your roster.

Note: Waiver-wire players were based on being owned in less than 60 percent of ESPN.com fantasy leagues. Players who missed Week 15 (e.g. Julio Jones, Melvin Gordon) were kept off projections until their status for next week is confirmed.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Opponent	Projected Fantasy Points
1	Tom Brady, New England Patriots	vs. New York Jets	25
2	Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers	vs. Minnesota Vikings	21
3	Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints	vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers	20
4	Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons	at Carolina Panthers	20
5	Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders	vs. Indianapolis Colts	18
6	Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts	at Oakland Raiders	17
7	Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans	at Jacksonville Jaguars	15
8	Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	at New Orleans Saints	14
9	Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions	at Dallas Cowboys (Monday)	14
10	Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers	vs. Baltimore Ravens	14

Waiver Pickup of the Week: Matt Barkley, Chicago Bears

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

While the Chicago Bears will enter the offseason with a lot of questions about their future quarterback, Matt Barkley has at least given the franchise something to ponder with a strong late-season performance. 

Fantasy owners have yet to take notice of what Barkley has done since Week 12, as he entered Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers owned in 1.8 percent of all ESPN leagues. 

In this four-game stretch since taking over as Chicago's starting quarterback, Barkley has recorded double-digit point totals three times with six touchdown passes while surpassing 300 yards twice.

Prior to Week 15, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus noted Barkley was keeping some pretty good company among NFL quarterbacks:

Barkley was far from perfect against the Packers, showing his inexperience at times with three interceptions and a lost fumble, but there were still plenty of positive signs to take away from the game. 

Per Elias (via ESPN Stats & Info), Barkley's effort against the Packers was one for the Bears' record books:

Next week, Barkley will be taking on a Washington defense that ranks in the bottom 10 in pass yards allowed and opponent completion percentage. It's a favorable matchup for the young quarterback as he looks to strengthen his resume for a starting job in 2017. 

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Opponent	Projected Fantasy Points
1	LeVeon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers	vs. Baltimore Ravens	18
2	Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys	vs. Detroit Lions	16
3	LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills	vs. Miami Dolphins	15
4	DeMarco Murray, Tennessee Titans	at Jacksonville Jaguars	14
5	David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals	at Seattle Seahawks	14
6	LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots	vs. New York Jets	13
7	Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears	vs. Washington	12
8	Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers	at Los Angeles Rams	11
9	Frank Gore, Indianapolis Colts	at Oakland Raiders	10
10	Devonta Freeman, Atlanta Falcons	at Carolina Panthers	10

Waiver Pickup of the Week: Ty Montgomery, Green Bay Packers

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Odds are good if you didn't act fast during the Packers' game against the Bears on Sunday, Montgomery is long gone.

At the time of this writing, Montgomery was only owned in 54.9 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues. He's turned into one of the best flex options late in the season, recording a total of 42 points in standard scoring leagues over the previous two games.

The Packers have had to get creative with their running-back situation being in dire straits.

Montgomery has taken the reins as the primary runner, despite being a wide receiver by trade, and had 40 yards on six carries against the Seattle Seahawks before exploding with 162 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries against the Bears.

More than just being able to run the ball, Montgomery showed against the Bears he has the power to simply outmuscle defenders when they try to wrap him up. 

The Packers needed someone to step up to save their running game when Eddie Lacy went down after five games. Head coach Mike McCarthy tried James Starks, but it wasn't until Montgomery stepped up over the last two weeks that the offense really caught fire. 

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Opponent	Projected Fantasy Points
1	Odell Beckham, New York Giants	at Philadelphia Eagles (Thursday)	12
2	Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	at New Orleans Saints	12
3	Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers	vs. Baltimore Ravens (Sunday)	11
4	T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts	at Oakland Raiders	10
5	Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders	vs. Indianapolis Colts	10
6	Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints	vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers	9
7	Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers	vs. Minnesota Vikings	9
8	Tyrell Williams, San Diego Chargers	at Cleveland Browns	8
9	Jamison Crowder, Washington	at Chicago Bears	7
10	Taylor Gabriel, Atlanta Falcons	at Carolina Panthers	6

Waiver Pickup of the Week: Robby Anderson, New York Jets

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Betting on any New York Jets skill player this season has been a dangerous proposition, especially considering how poorly things have gone for their quarterbacks in 2016. 

Yet through the ashes has arisen Robby Anderson late in the season. The rookie out of Temple ranks third among Jets receivers in targets (68), fourth in receptions (38), third in receiving yards (544) and tied for third in touchdown catches (two). 

Those numbers on their own are hardly inspiring, which helps explain why Anderson is owned in less than 6 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues. 

Where the story takes a turn is how Anderson has fared in the season's home stretch. The 23-year-old has recorded 14 receptions, 240 yards and two touchdowns over the last three games.

Per Pro Football Focus Fantasy, Anderson has been a one-man fantasy wrecking crew for the Jets:

The Jets' competition over the last three weeks has hardly been elite, with games against the Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins, but everyone has to start somewhere. 

Anderson is certainly getting opportunities from the Jets to make an impact, with Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus offering this nugget from Saturday's game against the Dolphins:

The Jets have a tough game against the New England Patriots on Saturday, though their first game this season was hardly a blowout. The Patriots squeaked out a 22-17 victory on November 28. 

New England doesn't have a shutdown secondary, ranking 15th in pass yards allowed. Ryan Fitzpatrick's best game of the year was against the Patriots when he had 269 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in defeat. 

The stage has been set for Anderson to prove his late-season surge has not been a fluke. It's on him to take advantage of this moment, making fantasy owners look like geniuses in the process. 

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Opponent	Projected Fantasy Points
1	Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs	vs. Denver Broncos (Sunday)	9
2	Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers	vs. Atlanta Falcons	9
3	Martellus Bennett, New England Patriots	vs. New York Jets	8
4	Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	at New Orleans Saints	7
5	Coby Fleener, New Orleans Saints	vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6
6	Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans	at Jacksonville Jaguars	6
7	Hunter Henry, San Diego Chargers	vs. Chicago Bears	5
8	Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings	at Green Bay Packers	5
9	Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys	vs. Detroit Lions (Monday)	4
10	Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts	at Oakland Raiders	4

Waiver Pickup of the Week: Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills

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It's dangerous to bet on a player because they had a big game against the Cleveland Browns, but there is more to Charles Clay than simply beating up on the NFL's worst team. 

So even though Clay set season highs in receptions (seven), yards (72) and fantasy points (13) against the Browns, let's take a step back and examine him over a two-week stretch for a safer sample size. 

Going back to Week 14 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Clay has been targeted a total of 13 times with 10 receptions, 124 yards and two touchdowns. 

There are certainly many arguments to be made against Clay at this point in the season, with Sarah Lewis of Athlon Sports put forth a few of them prior to Week 15:

"

Sure, he found the end zone in Week 14 and sure, he faces the Browns, but relying on Clay with so much on the line is a hard pill to swallow. He's failed to have more than five receptions in a game this year. He only has one touchdown, and he is just as likely to have fewer than 20 yards then he is to have more than 50. 

"

All of those are valid criticisms for Clay, as is the fact he had a total of 27 fantasy points all year before Week 14. 

Tight end is a difficult position to find a true sleeper at this time of year, because injuries to Rob Gronkowski and Zach Miller have already forced owners to do deep research on available options. 

Clay is the definition of a deep sleeper with the potential to bust at any moment. Keep that in mind while looking at the waiver wire, but there have been positive signs lately to believe he is going to keep his upward momentum going.