Week 16 Fantasy Football Rankings: Positional Overview, Guide and Advice

Week 15 of the 2016 season reached its official end on Monday night, which means it's time to move on to the second-to-last week of the regular season.

If you're still alive in your fantasy league, congratulations. You've likely either reached your title game or are one step away. It's time to bring the thing home.

We're here to help you survive another week with our early Week 16 positional rankings. We'll be running down the top players at each position based on our performance projections. We'll also be examining some top plays and potential sleepers for each skill position.

All of our rankings are based on points-per-reception scoring and on factors like past performances, projected role, matchups and health.

Good luck!

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player
1	Tom Brady, NE
2	Matt Ryan, ATL
3	Drew Brees, NO
4	Cam Newton, CAR
5	Ben Roethlisberger, PIT
6	Philip Rivers, SD
7	Matthew Stafford, DET
8	Aaron Rodgers, GB
9	Andrew Luck, IND
10	Jameis Winston, TB
11	Derek Carr, OAK
12	Kirk Cousins, WAS

Watch: Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts have been an inconsistent team this season, to say the least. They've looked terrible at times at home, then turned around and dominated on the road. This past week, the Colts utterly embarrassed the Minnesota Vikings.

Quarterback Andrew Luck gashed the Vikings for 250 passing yards and two touchdowns in Week 15.

This week, Luck and the Colts visit the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders allow an average of 259 passing yards per game, 25th in the NFL. With the Colts clinging to slim playoff hopes, expect Luck to come out firing. With Oakland's high-powered offense on the field (26.9 points per game), expect Luck to continue firing in a shootout.

The end result should be a big fantasy outing for Luck owners.

Sleeper: Tom Savage, Houston Texans

Bob Levey/Getty Images

After 14-plus weeks of mediocre play, the Houston Texans finally decided to pull the plug on quarterback Brock Osweiler. Head coach Bill O'Brien turned to backup Tom Savage after two early interceptions against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Savage responded with a 23-of-36, 260-yard performance. It was good enough to earn him the starting job moving forward.

"Feel like Tom Savage gives us the best chance to win," O'Brien said Monday, per NFL.com's Kevin Patra. "There's a lot for him to improve on, but I thought he threw the ball well yesterday."

This week, Savage and the Texans will host the Cincinnati Bengals, who are rated just 25th in overall defense by Pro Football Focus.

Running Backs

Rank	Player
1	Le'Veon Bell, PIT
2	David Johnson, ARI
3	LeSean McCoy, BUF
4	DeMarco Murray, TEN
5	Ezekiel Elliott, DAL
6	Jay Ajayi, MIA
7	Todd Gurley, LA
8	Lamar Miller, HOU
9	Latavius Murray, OAK
10	Jordan Howard, CHI
11	Devonta Freeman, ATL
12	Spencer Ware, KC
13	Jeremy Hill, CIN
14	Robert Kelley, WAS
15	Ty Montgomery, GB
16	Frank Gore, IND
17	Carlos Hyde, SF
18	Doug Martin, TB
19	Theo Riddick, DET
20	LeGarrette Blount, NE
21	Jonathan Stewart, CAR
22	Thomas Rawls, SEA
23	Bilal Powell, NYJ
24	Adrian Peterson, MIN
25	Mark Ingram, NO

Watch: Latavius Murray, Oakland Raiders

If we're expecting an offensive battle in Oakland this week, then we definitely need to mention Raiders running back Latavius Murray.

Murray hasn't been an especially dominant back this season, but he's had some strong fantasy outings. Two weeks ago against the Kansas City Chiefs, for example, he rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown. With 30 receptions on the season, we should also recognize Murray's PPR value.

As long as the Raiders decide to rely on Murray in Week 16, he should have a strong day. The Colts are rated just 31st in run defense by Pro Football Focus.

Sleeper: Ronnie Hillman, San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers have admitted that there's at least a chance running back Melvin Gordon returns from his hip injury to face the Cleveland Browns this week.

"We're gonna see how it goes," Chargers head coach Mike McCoy said, per the San Diego Union-Tribune. "Not a lot's changed since the other day."

If Gordon can't go, then Kenneth Farrow and Ronnie Hillman should hold value against the Browns.

Hillman was the better runner against the Raiders last week (seven carries, 34 yards), and Farrow fumbled twice, losing one. While Farrow did catch a pair of passes, we'd expect the Chargers to rely on Hillman more moving forward.

The Browns are rated just 28th in run defense by Pro Football Focus.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player
1	Antonio Brown, PIT
2	Mike Evans, TB
3	Julio Jones, ATL
4	Julian Edelman, NE
5	T.Y. Hilton, IND
6	Jordy Nelson, GB
7	Larry Fitzgerald, ARI
8	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN
9	Odell Beckham Jr., NYG
10	A.J. Green, CIN
11	Demaryius Thomas, DEN
12	Dez Bryant, DAL
13	Golden Tate, DET
14	Jordan Matthews, PHI
15	Alshon Jeffery, CHI
16	Michael Crabtree, OAK
17	DeAndre Hopkins, HOU
18	Brandin Cooks, NO
19	Michael Thomas, NO
20	Amari Cooper, OAK
21	Stefon Diggs, MIN
22	Steve Smith, BAL
23	Kenny Britt, LA
24	Terrelle Pryor, CLE
25	Doug Baldwin, SEA

Watch: Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery has been a major source of frustration for fantasy owners this season. Though he had a few big games early in the season, he also had a few underwhelming ones before being handed a four-game suspension for violation of the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.

Jeffery returned last week to face the Green Bay Packers, though, and looked exactly like the wideout fantasy owners want to see. Quarterback Matt Barkley found him six times for 89 yards and a touchdown.

This week, Jeffery and the Bears will host the Washington Redskins, who are rated 23rd in pass coverage by Pro Football Focus. Don't be surprised if Barkley and Jeffery hook up to produce another solid outing.

Sleeper: Phillip Dorsett, Indianapolis Colts

Colts wideout Phillip Dorsett is another guy who can frustrate fantasy owners—assuming any have stuck by him. The speedy Miami product has a role in the Colts offense that is essentially limited to deep-shot specialist.

Dorsett has just 28 receptions this season, but they have gone for 464 yards and two touchdowns. This past week, he caught a single pass that went for 50 yards and a score.

Expect the Colts to take at least a couple of shots with Dorsett against Oakland's average secondary. His value should be even higher if starting receiver Donte Moncrief is unable to return from the hamstring injury that kept him out against the Vikings.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player
1	Greg Olsen, CAR
2	Jordan Reed, WAS
3	Kyle Rudolph, MIN
4	Antonio Gates, SD
5	Travis Kelce, KC
6	Zach Ertz, PHI
7	Delanie Walker, TEN
8	Cameron Brate, TB
9	Eric Ebron, DET
10	Ladarius Green, PIT
11	Dennis Pitta, BAL
12	Jason Witten, DAL

Watch: Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings

The Packers will be battling for a shot at the postseason when the Vikings come to town. The Vikings will be looking to play spoiler. 

One guy who can potentially spoil Green Bay's day is Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph. He has been one of the biggest pieces of Minnesota's passing attack this season and has 66 receptions, 670 yards and six touchdowns. Last week, he torched the Colts for eight receptions and 97 yards.

The Packers are rated just 29th in pass coverage by Pro Football Focus. Expect Rudolph to have another strong outing.

Sleeper: Clive Walford, Oakland Raiders

We mentioned that Rudolph had a big day against the Colts last week. Don't be shocked if Raiders tight end Clive Walford is able to do the same against Indianapolis' 27th-ranked pass defense (261.4 yards per game allowed).

Walford hasn't been a big part of Oakland's aerial game this season—just 30 receptions for 322 yards and two touchdowns—but he should get plenty of opportunities to change that trend in Week 16.

Kickers

Rank	Player
1	Sebastian Janikowski, OAK
2	Matt Bryant, ATL
3	Dustin Hopkins, WAS
4	Stephen Gostkowski, NE
5	Matt Prater, ET
6	Caleb Sturgis, PHI
7	Dan Bailey, DAL
8	Ryan Succop, TEN
9	Justin Tucker, BAL
10	Dan Carpenter, BUF

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Team
1	Los Angeles Rams
2	Washington Redskins
3	San Diego Chargers
4	Denver Broncos
5	New York Giants
6	Seattle Seahawks
7	Houston Texans
8	Kansas City Chiefs
9	New England Patriots
10	Buffalo Bills