Fantasy Football Start 'Em Sit 'Em Week 16: 5 Must-Start TD Machines

While targets, touches and yards are the meat and potatoes of a fantasy football meal, touchdowns have to represent the kind of dessert that turns just an average meal into a three-course masterpiece.

Naturally, and without another terrible food analogy, the players that score the most touchdowns in a given fantasy year will be among the top point scorers.

As the 2011 fantasy football season is coming to a close—most leagues are in their championship week—it's worth taking a look at the top touchdown scorers of the season.

As always, the following five guys are must-starts in Week 16.  

LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles

No non-quarterback has contributed more touchdowns this season than McCoy, who has scored 20 total times (17 rushing, three receiving) in 2011.

Believe it or not, McCoy has scored in every game this season save one, and he still rushed for over 100 yards in that one shutout game against the New York Giants.

He also might be the top fantasy running back for Week 16, as he gets a second crack at a Cowboys defense that allowed 200 total yards and two scores to him in Week 8. Expect McCoy to find the end zone a couple of more times on Saturday. 

Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots

Gronkowski has caught 15 touchdowns and ran for another in 2011, and the 16 total touchdowns are an NFL record for scores in a season by a tight end. What more do you really need to know?

Before getting shutout by the Broncos last week, Gronkowski was on a run of 11 touchdowns in six games. He had another stretch to start the season with five scores in three games. No player in the NFL—save the quarterback position—has been as dominant as Gronkowski this season.  

With a matchup against the Miami Dolphins coming up this weekend (he caught a score in Miami in Week 1), Gronk should continue to add to his record number of scores.

Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions

Through four games, Calvin Johnson was setting a 32-touchdown pace for his 2011 season. That was obviously unattainable over 16 games, but it does give you idea of how hot he was to start the season.

Johnson hasn't cooled off much since then, as his six scores in the next 10 games put him at 14 this season—first among receivers in the NFL.

He's also coming off a 214-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Oakland Raiders in Week 15, so there's plenty of reason to think he'll put up big numbers again when the San Diego Chargers visit Detroit on Saturday. Megatron still has a reasonable shot at getting to 16-18 touchdowns in 2011. 

Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

In just his first season, Cam Newton has taken everything he did at Auburn and translated it into similar numbers in the NFL. 

Newton was responsible for 50 total touchdowns (30 passing, 20 rushing) at Auburn during his Heisman trophy season. While that's not a number he can reach this season, Newton does have 30 (17 passing, 13 rushing) in his rookie season. That shatters even the most optimistic expectations people had for him coming into the season.

In fact, if Newton rushes for two touchdowns in each of his last two games, he'll tie Eric Dickerson's rookie record for rushing touchdowns in a season. And keep in mind, Newton is a quarterback. 

Not bad for a guy that was criticized so heavily for wanting to be an entertainer, huh? 

Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks

I debated putting Aaron Rodgers and his 43 total touchdowns on this list, but let's give a shout out to Marshawn Lynch, Rodgers' college teammate at Cal.

Lynch has arguably been the NFL's best running back over the last two months. With five 100-yard games in his past seven, Lynch has almost single-handedly carried the Seahawks back into the playoff hunt. Five rushing touchdowns in December proves that he's more than just a yard-gobbling back, too.

Overall, Lynch has 11 rushing touchdowns (12 total), which ranks him second (tied with Adrian Peterson) in the NFL among running backs behind McCoy. With the Seahawks fighting for their playoff lives, he'll be leaned upon heavily over the final two games.