2011 NFL Fantasy Football Week 16: Flex-Play (RB, WR) Playoff Rankings

Adrian Peterson @ Redskins

It’s tempting to look past Adrian Peterson's mire 10 carries against the Saints and rank him as the usual RB-1 stud he is when healthy, but with Toby Gerhart playing well, I have my concerns. I’m sure those fantasy owners who actually made it to the Super Bowl with Peterson in the lineup last week are feeling the same way, but if healthy, he’s likely a must play on your team.

Peterson had one big run against New Orleans, but he clearly didn’t have the ability to make quick cut-backs in the open field, which is a sign that his ankle is likely to give him problems again this week. That shouldn’t surprise anyone as high ankle sprains (in Peterson's case he’s lucky he didn’t break his ankle on the play) can be troublesome and take a good four to six weeks to recover from, and even then it’s no guarantee you’ll be at full strength.

While Gerhart only ran the football two times last week, he did have four receptions and two touchdown scores. It’s likely that the Vikings will look to limit Peterson’s workload by allowing Gerhart to play more in 3rd-and-long situations and predictable passing downs. This will likely limit Peterson’s production some, so view him as more of a must-play RB-2, and if he happens to score a couple touchdowns and post 80 yards, consider that his high-end production this week.

Peyton Hillis @ Ravens

Let’s cross our fingers and knock on wood, but it appears that Peyton Hillis is finally at a point where he can help us out in the flex position. Last week Hillis carried the football 26 times for 99 yards and a score as the Browns played the Cardinals tough without Colt McCoy at quarterback.

This week Hillis will have a tougher matchup on paper, but then again, this is the same Ravens defense that gave up three rushing touchdowns to the Chargers last week. That said, it’s not like Baltimore will have to worry about an explosive passing game coming from the Browns, like they did against San Diego, but Hillis could be good for more production in the short passing game.

Consider Hillis a border line flex play start for standard leagues, as the Ravens are a different team at home, and are unlikely to lose with so much at stake in the division.

More Week 16 rankings: QB | RB | WR | Waivers | Start/Sit

1	LeSean McCoy	@ Cowboys
2	Arian Foster	@ Colts
3	Calvin Johnson	Chargers
4	Reggie Bush	@ Patriots
5	Ray Rice	Browns
6	Ryan Mathews	@ Lions
7	Maurice Jones-Drew (I)	@ Titans
8	Felix Jones	Eagles
9	Vincent Jackson	@ Lions
10	Roddy White	@ Saints
11	Rashard Mendenhall	Rams
12	Shonn Greene	Giants
13	C.J. Spiller	Broncos
14	Brandon Marshall	@ Patriots
15	Mike Wallace	Rams
16	Steve Smith	Buccaneers
17	A.J. Green(I)	Cardinals
18	Jordy Nelson	Bears
19	Larry Fitzgerald	@ Bengals
20	Julio Jones	@ Saints
21	Beanie Wells	@ Bengals
22	Wes Welker	Dolphins
23	Antonio Brown	Rams
24	Torrey Smith	Browns
25	Marshawn Lynch	49ers
26	DeAngelo Williams	Buccaneers
27	Chris Johnson	Jaguars
28	Laurent Robinson	Eagles
29	Dez Bryant	Eagles
30	Miles Austin	Eagles
31	Michael Bush	@ Chiefs
32	Roy Helu	Vikings
33	Adrian Peterson (I)	@ Redskins
34	Michael Turner	@ Saints
35	Marques Colston	Falcons
36	Demaryius Thomas	@ Bills
37	Percy Harvin	@ Redskins
38	Santana Moss	Vikings
39	Cedric Benson	Cardinals
40	Frank Gore (I)	@ Seahawks
41	Lance Ball	@ Bills
42	Victor Cruz	@ Jets
43	Michael Crabtree	@ Seahawks
44	Hakeem Nicks	@ Jets
45	Jeremy Maclin (I)	@ Cowboys
46	Donald Brown	Texans
47	Ahmad Bradshaw	@ Jets
48	Ben Tate	@ Colts
49	Jabar Gaffney	Vikings
50	Anquan Boldin	Browns
51	Darrius Heyward-Bey	@ Chiefs
52	Santonio Holmes	Giants
53	Brandon Jacobs	@ Jets
54	Peyton Hillis (I)	@ Ravens
55	Lance Moore	Falcons
56	Dwayne Bowe	Raiders
57	Nate Burleson	Chargers
58	Malcom Floyd	@ Lions
59	Steven Jackson	@ Steelers
60	LeGarrette Blount	@ Panthers
61	Willis McGahee (I)	@ Bills
62	Jackie Battle	Raiders
63	Ryan Grant	Bears
64	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	Dolphins
65	Mike Tolbert	@ Lions
66	Toby Gerhart	@ Redskins
67	Donald Driver	Bears
68	Plaxico Burress	Giants
69	DeSean Jackson (I)	@ Cowboys
70	Nate Washington (I)	Jaguars
71	Steve Johnson (I)	Broncos
72	Jonathan Stewart	Buccaneers
73	Kevin Smith (I)	Chargers
74	Darren Sproles	Falcons
75	Kalil Bell	@Packers