Fantasy Football Week 16: Early FanDuel, DraftKings Optimal Lineup Picks

Every week is championship week in one-week fantasy leagues, so while all of the redraft and dynasty leagues are heading for their final contest, one-week players are just trying to earn a bit more coin for the 16th time this season.

We all need some help from time to time, of course, which is why each week I post the FanDuel and DraftKings lineups I'll be rolling with. This week, I'm taking an earlier look than usual to give you a preview of the players I'm targeting this week.

Two things to keep in mind: First, the following is for the games on Sunday and Monday only, since the Thursday and Saturday games this week are given their own games. Second, because we're still so early in the week, I'm not going to consider players who seem likely to be questionable throughout the week. So I didn't even consider DeMarco Murray or Julio Jones, for instance. 

OK, to the lineups!

FanDuel

Position	Player	Salary
QB	Matt Stafford	$8.2k
RB	Mark Ingram	$7.4k
RB	Fred Jackson	$6.7k
WR	Randall Cobb	$8.3k
WR	Mike Evans	$7.9k
WR	Torrey Smith	$6.4k
TE	Dwayne Allen	$5.4k
D/ST	Buffalo Bills	$5.1k
K	Garrett Hartley	$4.5k
		Total = $59.9k

Matt Stafford has had a shaky season, but another matchup against the Chicago Bears makes him an enticing option in Week 16. Remember, he torched the Chicago Bears for 390 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in Week 14. The Bears haven't gotten any better, folks.

The Atlanta Falcons have given up a whopping 19 rushing touchdowns this season, worst in the NFL, and are giving up 117.4 rushing yards per game, 20th in the league. It shouldn't be too hard to surmise why I'm high on Mark Ingram this week. 

The Oakland Raiders are pretty vulnerable against the run themselves, giving up 14 rushing touchdowns (tied for 25th) and 125.4 rushing yards per game (25th), so veteran Fred Jackson has a great matchup to exploit this week. Jackson may not have the upside of some of the other available running backs this week, but for the price you are getting him for at FanDuel, he's a great option. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just allowed Kelvin Benjamin to catch eight passes for 104 yards against them, while Jerricho Cotchery had five receptions for 47 yards and a score. That duo is demonstrably less talented than Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb—and you know the Green Bay Packers are going to come out humming after being stymied by Buffalo—so you'd be wise to get either Nelson or Cobb in your lineup this week.

My budget allowed me to slide Cobb into the mix. 

USA TODAY Sports

As for Mike Evans, well, all he seems to do is consistently catch touchdown passes, with nine touchdown receptions in his last seven games. Green Bay has given up two or more touchdown passes to opposing wideouts in seven of their last 10 games, meanwhile. Evans has a great chance at reaching paydirt this week. 

The Houston Texans have given up a passing touchdown to an opposing wideout in 13 straight games, meanwhile, and rank 26th in passing yards allowed per game. Torrey Smith didn't appear to suffer any setbacks this week on the injury front and should be healthy going into Sunday, making him an appealing option against Houston's suspect secondary. 

Dwayne Allen has been a red-zone beast this year, folks, with eight touchdowns in the 12 games he's played. At his price, he's well worth your roster spot. 

The Bills, as previously mentioned, just slowed down the NFL's most dangerous offense and play the Raiders this week. The Raiders are not a good offensive team. The Bills are an excellent defense to roll with this week. 

At kicker, go with one of the cheapest options. I'm a firm believer in spending my budget elsewhere. 

DraftKings

Position	Player	Salary
QB	Matt Stafford	$7.0k
RB	C.J. Anderson	$6.9k
RB	Mark Ingram	$6.1k
WR	Randall Cobb	$7.1k
WR	Julian Edelman	$6.5k
WR	Charles Johnson	$4.9k
TE	Dwayne Allen	$3.8k
FLEX	Torrey Smith	$4.6k
D/ST	Detroit Lions	$3.1k
		Total = $50k

There aren't a ton of differences in this lineup, but a few noticeable ones. For starters, I went with Julian Edelman over Mike Evans. I like Edelman in DraftKings' one-point PPR setup, and saving a bit of coin allowed me to add C.J. Anderson to this lineup. More on that in a moment.

Besides, New York's secondary is not good. Edelman has played well of late—15 receptions for 229 yards and two scores in his past two games—so he should have a nice game against the Jets.

And then there is Mr. Anderson, who has scored double-digit points in DraftKings leagues in six straight games and has gone for 19 or more in five of them. Sometimes, you just want to ride the hot hand. It helps when that hot hand is facing a Cincinnati Bengals giving up 124.8 rushing yards per game (24th in the NFL), and one that has given up 15 rushing scores (tied 28th).

Or you can grab Charles Johnson, who comes on the cheap and has 22.6 total DraftKings points in the past two weeks. It would appear that he's become Teddy Bridgewater's favorite target, and for the price you are getting him at, he's a sleeper play that will allow you the room to add some more proven commodities at other positions.

At defense, the Bills are priced high at DraftKings, so I looked elsewhere. The Lions have been solid for fantasy owners all year, and the Jay Cutler fella they are facing has been known to take a few sacks and throw a few picks, so they should be a solid option for one-week players.

All statistics via FanDuel, DraftKings or ESPN leagues.