A quick-hit recap of what really mattered from Thursday through Sunday. We skip the obvious studs and instead focus on usage trends, injuries, and key shifts that actually impact your lineup decisions.

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Daily Dose newsletter, our “Fantasy Fallout” day. In this article, you will get a quick rundown of the relevant things we learned from the week’s games from Thursday through Sunday. 

We won’t talk about every single player and we usually won’t spend time on studs who go nuts (no one needs to be told to start Jahmyr Gibbs right now!), but rather, the idea is to update you on usage trends, injuries, and other relevant things to help your decisions with your teams for the coming week and beyond.

FALCONS @ BUCS

• Kyle Pitts had the game of his life, and one of the best games from a TE in a while, catching 11 of 12 targets for a massive 166-3 receiving line in the Falcons comeback win over the Bucs. Pitts remains a strong weekly starting option, but these were just his second, third, and fourth TD grabs of the season.
• Both Mike Evans (8-132) and Jalen McMillan (2-38) returned to the Tampa Bay lineup after extended injury absences, rounding out one of the deepest and most talented WR rooms in the league.
• Bucky Irving was afforded 19 of the team’s 25 RB opportunities but had just 71 scoreless scrimmage yards. The usage was great, there should be better fantasy scores to come.

RAVENS @ BENGALS

• The frigid temperatures and a dominant defensive performance left the Ravens offense operating in a very conservative manner in their convincing victory and running only 41 offensive plays. The result was pedestrian outings for Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Zay Flowers – while everyone else didn’t put up any sort of usable fantasy production.
• Ja’Marr Chase had an outstanding game, but the rest of the Bengals pass catchers were a mess without Tee Higgins on the field.
• Chase Brown and Samaje Perine worked in a 60-40 timeshare yet again.

RAIDERS @ EAGLES

• The Raiders offense was atrocious, as expected, in a road game against an elite defense with a lot to play for. Things don’t get easier next week when they travel to play the Texans.
• The Eagles only threw the ball 18 times and scored touchdowns on three of those passes in an efficient outing that came at just the right time. Start all your Eagles next week in their matchup with the Commanders.

CARDINALS @ TEXANS

• Jacoby Brissett continues to thrive in trailing game scripts and had another big fantasy outing while Trey McBride went nuclear. Michael Wilson also had a strong game as the Cardinals reminded us all that volume trumps matchup for fantasy football.
• Cardinals running back Bam Knight suffered an injury on the first play of the game and did not return. This resulted in a full-time role for RB Michael Carter, who will be a strong option next week against the Falcons if Knight remains out.
• Texans RB Nick Chubb was inactive and rookie RB Woody Marks was on his way to a great day before a knee injury took him out for the last 2.5 quarters. This is a situation to monitor heading into a terrific matchup against the Raiders.

CHARGERS @ CHIEFS

Your weekly roadmap to the wire. Each Tuesday, Tony Kneepkens highlights the top adds across positions — complete with FAAB recommendations and context to help you prioritize based on your league size and format.

These are the top players to consider adding from waivers this week. Unless otherwise noted, all players below are available in greater than 50% of Yahoo leagues (as of Sunday evening). Priorities listed are meant to differentiate between some of the options available and are assuming 12-team, single-QB, fantasy formats.

The fantasy regular season is now over in most head-to-head fantasy leagues, with the majority playing their semi-final matchups this week. At this point in the year it’s likely a few teams have truly been eliminated from contention in either their championship or consolation brackets. While this might mean less waiver competition, those managers who do remain are likely to be aggressive in filling their perceived roster needs.

I will continue to identify potential streaming options and possible bench stashes at each position, but will no longer use FAAB recommendations as part of my analysis. If you have a roster need, there’s no time like the present: unload your FAAB, use your high waiver priority, etc. Every spot on your fantasy bench this far into the season should be very intentional, fill yours with handcuff RBs and other assets that you wouldn’t want to face in a matchup over the next two weeks if your opponent picked them up. Good luck the rest of the way in your leagues everyone!

QB Streamer of the Week

C.J. Stroud, HOU, Week 16 vs LV

• Stroud had his best game in a three-game stretch since returning from his mid-season concussion, passing for an efficient 260-3 line in a blowout victory over the Cardinals. The Texans have opened as 14.5 point favorites at home against the Raiders this week, they sport a solid 26.25 implied team total. 
• Last week Vegas let a struggling Philly passing game get back on track with their two QBs combining to throw for over 11 yards per pass attempt. Jalen Hurts tossed the same number of TDs, three, as incompletions.
• Low-priority add. Stroud is my favorite widely available passer to stream this week in what looks to be another exploitable matchup.

RB Pickups

Michael Carter, AZ, Week 16 vs ATL

• Carter operated as the Cards’ top RB last week after Bam Knight was carted off early with an ankle injury. The veteran RB turned his 18 touches into 94 scoreless yards in their lopsided loss.
• MC seems like the favorite to lead the Cardinals in touches as they host the Falcons this week as 2.5-point home underdogs in a game with a solid 47.5 implied point total.
• High-priority add. Carter has a solid matchup and the clearest path to touches of my top RB recommendations this week. Added bonus that AZ has a Week 17 matchup at the Bengals, where he could be usable again.

Jawhar Jordan, HOU, Week 16 vs LV

• With veteran Nick Chubb inactive, Jordan made the most of his NFL debut last week, racking up 118 scrimmage yards on his 17 touches. When starter Woody Marks got banged up himself, it was Jordan handling the majority of the RB work, with veteran passing game specialist Dare Ogunbawale mixing in.
• According to HC DeMeco Ryans, Marks “could have gone back into the game” last week if it had been more competitive. We’ve heard that before (from several coaches and about several players, not Ryans specifically), to varying results.
• High-priority add. While there are a lot of variables here, mainly the fact that both Marks and Chubb could be active this week, Jawhar’s 100-yard NFL debut ahead of hosting the Raiders as two-TD home favorites has my attention. JJ is a must-add at the initial waiver run, and even if he’s not a need, blocking a potential RB starter from a competitor can be a worthy endeavor, too.

Blake Corum, LAR, Week 16 at SEA

• Corum had another productive 11-71-1 rushing performance against the Lions on Sunday, but it was actually his worst fantasy performance over a three-week stretch that has seen him rack up an impressive 280-4 rushing line.
• The Rams game at Seattle is a quick turnaround on Thursday Night Football. Rams’ star WR Davante Adams, the teams’ TD leader with 14, seems unlikely to play after leaving last week’s win with a hamstring injury.
• High-priority add. Corum has already been one of my favorite widely available RB options for several weeks. He has his own rushing role alongside lead-back Kyren Williams, and there could be more goal-line totes available than usual if Adams misses a week or two to finish the fantasy season.

Some additional lower-priority RB options to stash on fantasy benches ::

• Jacory Croskey-Merritt (WAS) – The rookie runner had a career-high 18 carries for 96 yards and a score against a generous NYG defense. It was his first game scoring a TD or topping 50 rushing yards since early October.
• Bhayshul Tuten (JAX) – My hopes for a reliable standalone role are fading after a season-low two touches in consecutive weeks, but he’s still a strong asset as an explosive injury-away RB on a solid offense and did find the end zone last week.
• Brian Robinson Jr. (SF) – Capable veteran backup to CMC, B-Rob would be another no-brainer RB starter if CMC happened to miss a game down the stretch.
• Tyler Allgeier (ATL) – A similar asset to B-Rob who actually has a stronger standalone role, but I prefer Robinson on the superior SF offense.

WR Pickups

Each week, Juan Carlos Blanco spotlights 4–5 under-the-radar plays who combine DFS tournament upside with season-long streaming value. These matchup-driven picks are usually available in most leagues.

Colby Parkinson, LAR at SEA – 3% start rate

Parkinson should be a popular option this week in playoff games for those scrambling at tight end, or even for managers who’ve been dissatisfied with their current options and are willing to roll the dice a bit. Parkinson is in the midst of an impressive multi-week stretch of play, having posted a 22-230-6 line on 28 targets over his last six games. 

Tyler Higbee (ankle) will remain out for Thursday’s divisional showdown, while Davante Adams appears like a long shot to play through the hamstring injury he aggravated in the Week 15 win over the Lions. Both developments should naturally only brighten Parkinson’s fantasy outlook, and even more so against a Seahawks defense that’s tied for second-most receptions (91) and fourth-most receiving yards (952) allowed to tight ends. 

Darren Waller, MIA vs. CIN – 19% start rate

The tight-end position has a prominent spot in this week’s space, with Waller certainly in play due both to recent performance and matchup. The veteran has shown quite the knack for the end zone when he’s been healthy this season, recording six touchdowns in seven games. Waller has 20 receptions and 243 yards overall, and he recorded a pair of scoring grabs as part of his seven catches for 66 yards on eight targets against the Steelers in Week 15. 

One major storyline to keep tabs on as the week unfolds is the potential benching of Tua Tagovailoa for this Week 16 matchup. Nevertheless, whether it’s the much-maligned Tua, Zach Wilson or even Quinn Ewers under center (Update: Tua has been benched for Ewers), Waller figures to be a frequent target considering his reliability when he’s on the field. Additionally, it certainly doesn’t hurt that Cincinnati has been the best matchup for tight ends this season, as the Bengals have given up massive 99-1,276-15 line to the position.

Michael Carter, ARI vs. ATL – 1% start rate 

Xandamere breaks down the Thursday Night Football matchup with leverage angles and roster construction tips — the perfect way for fantasy players to start learning DFS through Showdown.

XANDAMERE’S SHOWDOWN SLANT

Week 16 begins with a critical NFC game as the Rams visit the Seahawks for a 43.5 total game with Los Angeles favored by 1.5. These are the NFC’s two best teams (or at least the teams with the two best records) as they’re both 11-3 and tied atop the division. Obviously, this is a big deal, and there are interesting developments with each team. The Seahawks offense has been struggling lately, while the Rams are without Davante Adams, who appears to be doubtful for this week’s game. 

SEATTLE

On the Seattle side, the backfield’s a 2-way split between Ken Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Walker looked like he was pulling away a few weeks back, but then he has opportunity counts of 15, 17, 13, and 10 in the past four weeks, while Charbonnet has 6, 14, 10, and 9 in those games. Those are four straight wins with a favorable game script for running (they were playing from behind against the Colts last week, but it was close throughout), but Seattle has just had a tough time generating useful fantasy scores from its backfield due to the split and their overall low play volume (58.5 plays per game, roughly 3 below average). Walker has (much) more big-play ability, as Charbonnet only has 2 carries over 20 yards all season, while Walker has 6, but Charbonnet has much more touchdown equity with 20 carries inside the 10-yard line against 10 for Walker. Against the Rams, one of the league’s better defenses, this is just a really tough spot. I don’t really want to play either of these guys, but in Showdown, it’s tough to ignore the touchdown equity they bring to the table, and their prices are very reasonable at $7,200 for Walker and $6,200 for Charbs. I’ll lean slightly to Charbonnet based on the red zone role and the price discount. 

Showdown Ownership Projections!

Ownership updates automatically

In the passing game, it’s basically Jaxon Smith-Njigba or bust. While this is a low passing volume offense, JSN has a massive 35% target share and 46.4% air yards share, good for 1st and 4th in the NFL, respectively. He’s averaging 9.3 targets per game and leads the league in receiving yards. He’s an absolute stud. When these teams met in Week 11 and played to a modest 40-point total game, JSN put up 23.6 points with a 9/105/0 line. That’s closer to his floor than his ceiling (keep in mind JSN only has TWO games all season under 20 DK points!), but would still almost certainly be enough to put him in winning tournament lineups. After JSN, we have Cooper Kupp, who is largely running cardio out on the field (just four games all season of 10+ DK points and only one of 15+, which is most likely about what you need at his price). We also have trade acquisition Rashid Shaheed, who just played the most snaps he’s played with Seattle last week at 68%. Shaheed has 12 targets in the last two weeks and looks to be fully integrated with the offense at this point. Giving Seattle another deep threat, Shaheed has a much higher ceiling than Kupp, and at only $800 more, is a much stronger option to me. Some combination of Cody White and Jake Bobo will pick up a handful of WR4 snaps and can be viewed as tourney dart throws – White has a slight lead here.

At tight end, Elijah Arroyo was put on IR, so AJ Barner will be on the field a ton with Eric Saubert backing him up. Barner is one of the league’s least exciting tight end options for fantasy purposes (he’s almost always unowned on main slates), but he does have 4 touchdowns on the season as well as three games of 50+ receiving yards. At $4,400, if he finds his way to one of those outcomes, there’s a very good chance he’s in winning lineups. He’s a solid, cheap play, while Saubert is a risky punt.

LOS ANGELES

Each Friday, Mike Johnson tackles lineup and trade dilemmas pulled from the OWS X and our Fantasy Football Discord channel. Real questions, real context, and actionable advice to guide you through the toughest calls of the week.

Some things in fantasy football are easy. We know we should start Puka Nacua and Bijan Robinson. We know we should bench the backup running back who is only on our roster in case of injury and the guy who was ruled out early in the week. A lot of the decisions are made for us. However, there are a lot of things that are not so simple. All of the “in between” situations are what can make the difference between a few wins and losses, and therefore it can be the difference between a successful season or a failed season. Every Friday, we are here to help!!

I’ll take questions each week in our #fantasy-football channel in our Discord from people looking for Start/Sit advice and give my thoughts. This article will feature a few of those questions and responses each Friday, so join our Discord to be a part of the conversation or ask questions of your own!!

Question 1 ::Semifinals week and I’m projected to lose (0.5 PPR). My biggest question is Bucky Irving or Quinshon Judkins for RB2? I also have a stable of WRs to choose from: George Pickens, MHJ, Michael Wilson, Jauan Jennings, and Drake London? (wordrew)

Answer :: At running back you have to roll with Irving in a massive matchup for the Bucs and non-prohibitive matchup. The Bills defense looks like a strong matchup for Judkins and Tampa is involving some other backs, which might lead some to lean towards Judkins in this spot. However, Irving is still the main guy and should be heavily involved in a game where his team could score a lot of points. Meanwhile, the Browns offensive line is destroyed and the Bills are a team on a mission with the AFC East title still in view. Play the guy with the stronger offensive outlook in Irving. At wide receiver, it depends how many of those options you need to play and what injury situations end up telling us. Drake London still needs to be cleared and Wilson’s outlook depends on MHJ’s status. If all of those options are healthy and active, I would rank Pickens and London at the top, then the Cardinals guys, then Jennings. You’ll have to watch injury reports and check Saturday/Sunday rankings, however.

Question 2 :: Quinshon Judkins, Josh Jacobs, and Aaron Jones – have to pick two? (Chiefsboom40)

Every Saturday, MJohnson86 posts full positional rankings (QB, RB, WR, TE, DEF) to get you ready for Sunday’s slate. Built for 12-team, full-PPR formats — with insights that translate across most league settings.

The weekend is here and it’s time to get our lineups set before Sunday’s full slate of games. Each week, the Saturday edition of the Daily Dose will feature my rankings for all players who have yet to play a game this week. Obviously this will not include the Thursday games, but always feel free to hit me up in Discord or on X/Twitter if you have some tough decisions around guys who play on Thursday. 

Most of the leagues I play in are full-PPR, 12-team leagues and these rankings are designed for those settings – you may need to make some slight adjustments based on your own league settings.

QB :: 

1. Jalen Hurts
2. Josh Allen
3. Lamar Jackson
4. Brock Purdy
5. Drake Maye
6. Bo Nix
7. Joe Burrow
8. Dak Prescott
9. Justin Herbert
10. Jared Goff
11. Jacoby Brissett
12. Trevor Lawrence
13. Baker Mayfield
14. Jaxson Dart
15. C.J. Stroud
16. Caleb Williams
17. Tyler Shough
18. Jordan Love
19. Aaron Rodgers
20. J.J. McCarthy
21. Kirk Cousins
22. Gardner Minshew
23. Marcus Mariota
24. Cam Ward

RB ::

1. Bijan Robinson
2. Christian McCaffrey
3. Jahmyr Gibbs
4. De’Von Achane
5. Saquon Barkley
6. James Cook
7. Jonathan Taylor
8. Bucky Irving
9. Travis Etienne Jr.
10. Josh Jacobs
11. Javonte Williams
12. Chase Brown
13. Breece Hall
14. RJ Harvey
15. TreVeyon Henderson
16. Derrick Henry
17. Rico Dowdle
18. D’Andre Swift
19. Omarion Hampton
20. Quinshon Judkins
21. Tyrone Tracy Jr.
22. Michael Carter
23. Aaron Jones Sr.
24. Woody Marks
25. Kenneth Gainwell
26. Ashton Jeanty
27. Tony Pollard
28. Jaylen Warren
29. Kyle Monangai
30. Kimani Vidal
31. Chuba Hubbard
32. Audric Estime
33. Rhamondre Stevenson
34. David Montgomery
35. Chris Rodriguez Jr.
36. Jordan Mason
37. Kareem Hunt
38. Tyler Allgeier
39. Devin Singletary
40. Samaje Perine

WR :: 

Mike Johnson (MJohnson86) has racked up over $500,000 in DFS profit as an NFL tournament player with success in all styles of contests.

Welcome back to my (Mjohnson86) Player Grid. The format will vary slightly from JM’s Player Grid, as we each see things slightly differently and play in slightly different contests, but should complement his thoughts and content very well for those looking to build their lineups for the week. The format of this article will vary slightly from my Fanduel Player Grid, which will be more direct in terms of which players I like. Enjoy!!

The Core ::

This is a list of players that stand out to me at each position from using my “Checking the Boxes” criteria outlined in my course you can find in our Marketplace. This list is a starting point, from which I build out lineups using game theory and roster construction concepts (which we will also touch on) with the mindset being to find the best plays with big ceilings. Low ownership is a bonus, but not a must. This section will focus primarily on three positions – running back, tight end, and defense – as the other two positions (quarterback and wide receiver) tend to have more dependent tendencies which I try to attack from other angles (which we will get into in the other sections). I like all of these plays on all sites unless otherwise noted:

Running Back ::

• Bijan Robinson – The best play on the slate. Atlanta’s offense should have a ton of success in this one and Bijan is their engine in an elite matchup.
• Jahmyr Gibbs – AVERAGING 32 DK points per game in Lions wins, compared to only 12 in losses. Detroit is a 7-point favorite this week and has a 29.5 implied team total.
• De’Von Achane – Achane has a more questionable situation than Gibbs and Bijan, but the matchup is terrific and he will undoubtedly be a huge part of the offense.
• Omarion Hampton – Hampton has played two games since returning from injury and has 15 touches on 23 snaps in one game and 16 touches on 24 snaps in the other. He is a centerpiece of this offense and his role should continue to grow. Dallas should pump more play volume into the game than the Chiefs and Eagles the last two weeks, while the Chargers are likely to lean on Hampton as they chase the AFC West title.
• Javonte Williams – In the same game as Hampton, Javonte has a terrific matchup against a bad Chargers run defense (29th in run defense DVOA, 28th in PFF run defense grade). There is slight concern about workload as Malik Davis has been used more recently, but Williams could easily go over 100 yards and always has multi-touchdown potential in this offense.
• Michael Carter – Should have a huge role in a potential shootout. Very capable pass catcher and provides some solid salary cap relief.