In the words of the immortal Jim Morrison, “This is the end; My only friend, the end.” With Week 16 upon us, I pray to the fantasy gods that you don’t need a quarterback this week. I pray to the old gods and the new that you’ve been blessed with the fruits of Lamar Jackson or even the forbidden fruits of Jameis Winston. If you’ve been less fortunate and need to take the road less traveled – streaming – well, I’ll be your guide.
Hopefully, you’ve been riding the Ryan Tannehill train, as he kept rolling in the fantasy goodness by throwing for 279 yards and scoring three touchdowns against the Texans. Tannehill finished the week with 24.2 fantasy points to finish as the QB4. If you’re keeping track that’s back-to-back weeks of finishing as the QB6 or better and averaging over 25 fantasy points per week. This week the Titans face the Saints, who have allowed quarterbacks to throw for 257 passing per game over their last three games. If Tannehill has gotten you this far, I say you ride him to the promised land.
The other streaming recommendations, Gardner Minshew (18.7), Derek Carr (15.9), and Mitch Trubisky (16.3), certainly didn’t ruin your semifinals if you were desperate. In fact, Minshew outscored Dak Prescott and Deshaun Watson, while all three quarterbacks outscored Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Let’s take a look at the rest of the leader board and then we’ll get into this week’s picks to help you win your fantasy championship.
| Quarterback | Week 15 Opponent | Fantasy Points | Percentage Owned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar Jackson | vs. Jets | 37.1 | 99% |
| Jameis Winston | at Lions | 32.7 | 92% |
| Drew Brees | vs. Colts | 28.3 | 98% |
| Ryan Tannehill | vs. Texans | 24.2 | 68% |
| Patrick Mahomes | vs. Broncos | 22.7 | 100% |
| Carson Wentz | at Redskins | 21.5 | 89% |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | at Giants | 20.5 | 25% |
| Russell Wilson | at Panthers | 19.3 | 100% |
| Matt Ryan | at 49ers | 19.1 | 90% |
| Dwayne Haskins | vs. Eagles | 19 | 3% |
| Gardner Minshew | at Raiders | 18.7 | 15% |
| Dak Prescott | vs. Rams | 17.7 | 97% |
Here are your options for Week 16:
Ryan Fitzpatrick (25% Owned – Stream of the Week)
If Ryan Tannehill is already owned in your league, you can look to Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Harvard grad got his favorite target back this week, DeVante Parker, and found him in the end zone twice en route to a 20.5 fantasy point game against the Giants. This week, Fitzpatrick gets a matchup with the Bengals, in a matchup of two garbage teams. At this point in the year, I can’t imagine the Bengals defense having much motivation for this game, making Fitzpatrick a surprisingly safe play for a player that is only 25% owned. I’d say he’s a lock to finish in the top half of quarterbacks this week. So if you’re desperate in your fantasy championship, Fitzpatrick should do enough to not lose it for you.
Gardner Minshew (15% Owned)
If you need to look deeper, let’s go back to the well with Gardner Minshew. Last week, Minshew put up 18.7 fantasy points in an ugly game against the Raiders. That performance was good enough for him to land as the QB11 and this week he gets a matchup in Atlanta with the Falcons. Any time we can stream a quarterback in a dome in December, I’m always going to give them a slight lean since we don’t have to worry about the weather, but add to that a Falcons defense that has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this year. If you need to go even deeper, I like Drew Lock against the Lions, but you’ll have to check out the weather in Denver before firing that one up. If you’re looking for a relatively safe floor, Jacoby Brissett gets a matchup against the Panthers.
That’s all I got for you guys. I hope you all had an incredible fantasy season, have Happy Holidays, and I’ll catch you over at Pitcher List come baseball season! Good luck!!
(Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire)