DFS Fantasy Football: Favorite Pro Plays – Week 16

Quarterbacks

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

$7,200 DRAFTKINGS
$8,400 FANDUEL

Herbert has put the offense on his back and is showcasing elite quarterback skills at such a young age in the league. Averaging 25.2 points per game and 24-plus points in six of his last seven games, Herbert has become one of the best and most consistent quarterbacks in the league. He will most likely be without one of his weapons in Austin Ekeler, but that shouldn’t stop the passing attack too much in a juicy matchup versus the Houston Texans. The Texans are giving up the fifth-most points in the league, and Vegas has the Chargers scoring 28 points on Sunday, which is the highest total on the slate currently. Look for another 25-plus-point game from Herbert in Week 16.

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

$6,700 DRAFTKINGS
$7,900 FANDUEL

Stafford has thrown for three touchdowns in three of the last four games and has averaged 22.9 points on the season. With all the value on this slate, I find myself paying up at quarterback and locking up points this weekend. The game versus the Minnesota Vikings should be a fireworks show with two potent offenses squaring off in Minnesota. Vegas has the total set for 49 with the Rams favored by three. The Vikings are involved in shootouts almost every week, thus leading to them ranking 31st against opposing quarterbacks and 29th in passing yards allowed. Stafford to Kupp should be a popular play in cash and tournaments, but there are other spots to get different in Week 16.

Running Backs

Ronald Jones, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

$5,100 DRAFTKINGS
$5,400 FANDUEL

Running back is the spot to lock in value plays this week. With almost all the skilled players for the Buccaneers out due to injuries, this team will be a strong source of value at each position. Leonard Fournette and Chris Godwin are out, and Mike Evans is trending that way, so I will be focusing my attention to Jones, Antonio Brown (if he plays), Rob Gronkowski, and the value plays like Tyler Johnson and Scotty Miller as well. At only $5,100 and $5,400 you won’t find a better game script than Jones and the Buccaneers favored by 10 going up against the Carolina Panthers. I’m not too worried about the signing of Le’Veon Bell, and I will be locking Jones in almost all my lines along with combinations of Brown and Gronkowski.

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Justin Jackson, Los Angeles Chargers

$4,200 DRAFTKINGS
$5,400 FANDUEL

Another value spot to lock in is Jackson with Austin Ekeler landing on the COVID-19 list this week. There will be a lot of moving and shaking this week due to the spread of the virus, and there will be so much value here that we need to pick the right spots. Jackson does pose some risk with Joshua Kelly still in the mix for the Chargers. Once again, we do have the game script in his favor with the Chargers favored by 10 in a juicy matchup versus Houston. The Texans rank 27th against opposing running backs and are allowing a league-worst 145 yards per game. Most of my lineup builds will start with both Jones and Jackson at near minimum salaries at both sites.

Wide receivers

Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams

$9,800 DRAFTKINGS
$9,000 FANDUEL

With all the value on the slate, why not lock in the best wide receiver in the game in a plus-matchup? A lot of people will, but week in and week out people continue to fade Kupp for various reasons. I won’t be fading him versus the league’s worst defense at defending wide receivers. The Vikings are one of the worst defenses on the board, and it’s the reason why the Rams are projected to score 26 points in this game. Coming off back to back 30-plus-point games, I will be locking in Kupp in cash games and playing him a ton in tournaments as well.

Antonio Brown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

$4,900 DRAFTKINGS
$7,000 FANDUEL

Like I stated above with Jones and what I will repeat below with Gronkowski, Brown is in a marvelous spot this week at his price tag. To get a likely No. 1 receiver at $4,900 on DraftKings is just too much to pass up on. Brown is going to slide right back in and prove his worth this week with Tom Brady by his side. Expect all the targets he can handle, and at his DraftKings price tag and a full point PPR, he is going to be a tough fade for me. On FanDuel, I can see a way to fade and lock in Gronk and Jones instead. For most of my lineup builds, I will have two of the three Buccaneers listed in this article as cornerstones.

Tight ends

Rob Gronkowski, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

$6,200 DRAFTKINGS
$6,700 FANDUEL

With Travis Kelce possibly out with COVID-19 and Kittle off the main slate, Gronkowski is lined up for a big day without possibly Evans and definitely Godwin on the field. Gronkowski had his first down game last week alongside Brady, so look for them both to bounce back after being shut out by the New Orleans Saints. For all the reasons listed above with Brown and Jones, lock in Gronkowski as your cash game tight end and make sure you get some shares in tournaments as well.

James O’Shaughnessy, Jacksonville Jaguars

$3,200 DRAFTKINGS
$5,300 FANDUEL

With all the value on this slate, I don’t think you need to creep down to value tight ends, but if you do, O’Shauhnessy is in a good spot. He is averaging five targets per game over the last four games, and his price is right. The matchup versus the New York Jets is one the Jaguars should take advantage of, but don’t expect more than 10 points in this one. Again, there is so much value with COVID that you don’t need to go cheap on tight end, but the Jets defense rank 25th against tight ends and giving up a league-worst 391 yards per game.