Week 16 Fantasy Football Rankings: Position-by-Position Breakdown

It is Week 16 of the 2014 NFL regular season, and if fantasy owners still care about their team, they are likely playing in their league’s championship round.

It is imperative that owners start the optimal lineup in this crucial matchup. There is nothing worse in fantasy football than making the championship round and going on to lose.

Here is a position-by-position fantasy breakdown heading into Week 16. When in doubt, start the higher-ranked player on each list.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projections
1	Drew Brees, NO	25 Points
2	Aaron Rodgers, GB	24 Points
3	Peyton Manning, DEN	23 Points
4	Andrew Luck, IND	22 Points
5	Matthew Stafford, DET	21 Points
6	Tom Brady, NE	19 Points
7	Matt Ryan, ATL	18 Points
8	Jay Cutler, CHI	17 Points
9	Philip Rivers, SD	16 Points
10	Tony Romo, DAL	15 Points
11	Ben Roethlisberger, PIT	14 Points
12	Cam Newton, CAR	14 Points
13	Ryan Tannehill, MIA	13 Points
14	Mark Sanchez, PHI	12 Points
15	Johnny Manziel, CLE	12 Points

Fantasy owners are looking for the best possible matchup in the final week of the season, and one of the best options at quarterback is Atlanta Falcons starter Matt Ryan in a favorable battle against the New Orleans Saints.

Ryan may have struggled in Week 15 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he told Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com about what went wrong and what the team needs to do in order to bounce back:

"

Not talking about last week, talking about this week, we didn't really get started the way we wanted to. We had an opportunity early on and just missed on a couple. We continued to battle back.

I think offensively it comes down to a couple things: you can't turn the football over and when you have opportunities in the red zone, you've got to put it in the end zone. We didn't do a good enough job of that today.

"

Ryan has thrown over 300 yards in each of the last three games and has eight touchdowns over the same stretch. With New Orleans ranked 26th in the NFL giving up 257.1 passing yards per game, this is the ideal matchup for fantasy owners.

If you own Ryan and made it to the championship round, ride with him one more week.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projection
1	Jamaal Charles, KC	22 Points
2	Le'Veon Bell, PIT	22 Points
3	LeSean McCoy, PHI	20 Points
4	Eddie Lacy, GB	18 Points
5	Arian Foster, HOU	18 Points
6	Marshawn Lynch, SEA	17 Points
7	C.J. Anderson, DEN	16 Points
8	Matt Forte, CHI	16 Points
9	Fred Jackson, BUF	15 Points
10	Justin Forsett, BAL	15 Points
11	Lamar Miller, MIA	15 Points
12	Tre Mason, StL	14 Points
13	Mark Ingram, NO	13 Points
14	Alfred Morris, WAS	13 Points
15	Jeremy Hill, CIN	12 Points
16	Joique Bell, DET	11 Points
17	Jonathan Stewart, CAR	11 Points
18	Giovani Bernard, CIN	11 Points
19	Steven Jackson, ATL	10 Points
20	Daniel Herron, IND	10 Points
21	Latavius Murray, OAK	9 Points
22	Terrance West, CLE	9 Points
23	Ryan Mathews, SD	8 Points
24	Doug Martin, TB	8 Points
25	Reggie Bush, DET	7 Points

The key to winning your league’s title is finding the right player at each position, and running backs are a crucial part of setting your lineup. Two possible options include C.J. Anderson of the Denver Broncos and Jeremy Hill of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Anderson has been Denver’s workhorse over the last month, carrying the ball 109 times for 478 yards and four touchdowns. The Broncos play the Bengals on Monday Night Football, and Anderson should be able to capitalize on Cincinnati’s 24th-ranked run defense.

In the same matchup, Hill will be running against the stout run defense of Denver. The Broncos are second in the league against the rush (71.6 yards per game), but much of that success is due to teams abandoning the run in an attempt to make a comeback.

Hill is coming off one of his best days of the season and should be able to replicate that success Monday night. While Giovani Bernard is always a threat to steal touches, Hill racking up 25 carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns should ease fantasy owners’ concerns.

Start both Anderson and Hill as RB2s in all standard-scoring leagues.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projection
1	Calvin Johnson, DET	22 Points
2	Antonio Brown, PIT	22 Points
3	Dez Bryant, DAL	20 Points
4	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	20 Points
5	Jordy Nelson, GB	19 Points
6	Odell Beckham, NYG	18 Points
7	Mike Evans, TB	18 Points
8	T.Y. Hilton, IND	17 Points
9	A.J. Green, CIN	17 Points
10	Julio Jones, ATL	16 Points
11	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN	16 Points
12	Alshon Jeffery, CHI	15 Points
13	Randall Cobb, GB	15 Points
14	Jeremy Maclin, PHI	14 Points
15	Kelvin Benjamin, CAR	14 Points
16	DeAndre Hopkins, HOU	14 Points
17	Brandon LaFell, NE	13 Points
18	Sammy Watkins, BUF	12 Points
19	Julian Edelman, NE	12 Points
20	DeSean Jackson, WAS	11 Points
21	Mike Wallace, MIA	10 Points
22	Roddy White, ATL	10 Points
23	Josh Gordon, CLE	9 Points
24	Keenan Allen, SD	8 Points
25	Steve Smith, BAL	8 Points
26	Golden Tate, DET	8 Points
27	Kenny Stills, NO	7 Points
28	Andre Johnson, HOU	6 Points
29	Vincent Jackson, TB	6 Points
30	Michael Crabtree, SF	5 Points
31	Reggie Wayne, IND	5 Points
32	Larry Fitzgerald, ARI	5 Points
33	Charles Johnson, MIN	5 Points
34	Marques Colston, NO	5 Points
35	Doug Baldwin, SEA	5 Points

When talking about wide receivers this week, fantasy owners have their eyes focused on the Atlanta Falcons and the dangerous combination of Julio Jones and Roddy White.

Jones missed Week 15 with a hip injury, but Atlanta head coach Mike Smith told Jay Adams of AtlantaFalcons.com that the receiver should be ready to play Sunday against the division-rival Atlanta Falcons:

In Jones’ absence, White managed to catch seven of the 10 passes that came his way for 58 yards and one touchdown. With New Orleans ranked 26th in the league against the pass, owners with both Jones and White should plug them into the lineup.

Atlanta played the Saints in the opening game of the season, and both receivers managed to put up big numbers against the lackluster New Orleans secondary, with White scoring a touchdown and Jones racking up 116 receiving yards.

For fantasy owners depending on production this week in order to win a title, ride with Julio Jones as a borderline WR1 despite the injury and White as a WR2 with a favorable matchup.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projection
1	Rob Gronkowski, NE	18 Points
2	Jimmy Graham, NO	18 Points
3	Julius Thomas, DEN	14 Points
4	Greg Olsen, CAR	14 Points
5	Martellus Bennett, CHI	13 Points
6	Antonio Gates, SD	12 Points
7	Travis Kelce, KC	12 Points
8	Dwayne Allen, IND	11 Points
9	Jason Witten, DAL	10 Points
10	Delanie Walker, TEN	10 Points
11	Mychal Rivera, OAK	9 Points
12	Eric Ebron, DET	8 Points

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has always been a fan of utilizing the tight end position, and he is putting the talent of second-year starter Travis Kelce on full display for the league to see.

After racking up his first 100-yard performance of the year in Week 14, Kelce bounced back in Week 15 with five receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown. Owners will be looking for Kelce to reach the end zone again this weekend.

With Kelce’s recent success and the lackluster pass defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers (25th in the NFL allowing 252.9 yards per game), fantasy owners should expect another big day from the talented tight end.

Team Defenses

Rank	Team	Opponent	Projection
1	Seattle Seahawks	Arizona	16 Points
2	Arizona Cardinals	Seattle	16 Points
3	Baltimore Ravens	Houston	14 Points
4	Buffalo Bills	Oakland	14 Points
5	St. Louis Rams	New York Giants	14 Points
6	Detroit Lions	Chicago	12 Points
7	Green Bay Packers	Tampa Bay	12 Points
8	New England Patriots	New York Jets	12 Points
9	New York Giants	St. Louis	10 Points
10	Tennessee Titans	Jacksonville	10 Points
11	Jacksonville Jaguars	Tennessee	10 Points
12	Carolina Panthers	Cleveland	8 Point

Streaming defenses means you pick up and drop a team defense each week depending on matchups. If you subscribe to this theory, owners must pick up the Buffalo Bills heading into Week 16 if the defense is available.

Not only is the Bills’ defensive unit ranked in the top 10 against the pass and the run this year (fifth and ninth respectively), but the team is also squaring off against the lowly Oakland Raiders in a crucial final-round matchup.

Start Buffalo’s defense with confidence after the team shut down Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Projection
1	Stephen Gostkowski, NE	14 Points
2	Justin Tucker, BAL	14 Points
3	Steven Hauschka, SEA	13 Points
4	Dan Carpenter, BUF	12 Points
5	Shaun Suisham, PIT	12 Points
6	Connor Barth, DEN	8 Points
7	Dan Bailey, DAL	8 Points
8	Adam Vinatieri, IND	8 Points
9	Josh Scobee, JAX	8 Points
10	Phil Dawson, SF	7 Points
11	Shayne Graham, NO	6 Points
12	Mason Crosby, GB	6 Points

Being a kicker for the Jacksonville Jaguars has to be tough. The offensive unit has struggled mightily all year, and Josh Scobee has been underused and underappreciated. Not after last week, though.

Scobee hit four of his five attempts in Week 15, including two 50-plus yard attempts, and he accounted for all 12 points the Jaguars scored. Against a lackluster Tennessee Titans team, Scobee should once again find himself with a few field-goal opportunities.

*Stats via NFL.com.