Fantasy Football Week 16 Wide Receiver Preview: Waiver adds, Starts, Sits, DFS plays, and more
Everything you need to know about wide receiver for Fantasy Football in Week 16
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The wide receiver position has been arguably the most difficult to deal with firing the 2025 season. So it is fitting that in Week 16, with Championship bids on the line, that would continue. One of the biggest pain points in the second half has been the Chargers wide receivers. Going into last week I had pretty much decided to sit them all. But now they are facing the Cowboys and it's not quite that simple.
Dallas has given up 38.22 PPR FPPG to opposing WRs this season, the most in the league. Last week, they gave up 19.7 to Jalen Nailor. The week before the Lions had three receivers score in the double digits. In Week 13 Rashee Rice nearly scored 30 against them. In Week 12 A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith combined for 39.9. You get the picture. You want to start wide receivers against the Cowboys. Almost as much as you don't want to start a Chargers wide receiver.
Since Week 9 every pass catcher on this team has averaged single digits in PPR FPPG. Ladd McConkey is the highest ranked over that stretch at WR46. It has been awful. Contributing to this is Justin Herbert's 6.7 Y/A without Joe Alt, and the Chargers run tendency increase in the last month. Since Week 11 they have the fourth highest run rate in the league, at 51.4%. Making it worse, even when they call a pass it turns into runs. Over the same stretch, Justin Herbert's 25% scramble rate is tied with Lamar Jackson, right behind Josh Allen.
So the Chargers have an elite matchup in good conditions, with absolutely nothing in their recent play to suggest you should start them. That is probably why we have little consensus about how we rank these guys. I have Keenan Allen at WR25 and Ladd McConkey at WR26. Dave and Jamey have McConkey inside their top 24 and Allen outside their top 40. You're probably best to view them as WR3s, and remember the Cowboys have given up a lot of big days to WR3s this season. If Quentin Johnston comes back this situation will only get messier.
Here is the rest of the Week 16 WR Preview:
Week 16 WR Preview
WR Preview
Numbers to Know
- 190.4 -- Wan'Dale Robinson has scored 190.4 PPR Fantasy points this season. That ranks ninth amongst receivers.
- 18.8% -- Troy Franklin's target share rebounded to 18.8% last week. If Pat Bryant is out again, Franklin is a WR3.
- 14.3 -- Jauan Jennings is averaging 14.3 PPR FPPG since Brock Purdy came back.
- 25 -- Justin Jefferson has three straight games below 25 yards receiving, the longest stretch of his career.
- 40.7% -- Only 40.7% of Philip Rivers' passes went to a wide receiver. Only Aaron Rodgers and Shedeur Sanders have a lower rate this year.
- 37.5% -- Mike Evans had a 37.5% target share in his first game back. He's back in must-start territory.
WR Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 16 Adds (WR Preview)
This one deserves an asterisk because as of Tuesday afternoon we are unsure if Burden can play in Week 16 after he left Week 15 with an ankle injury. In two games without Rome Odunze, Burden leads the Bears with a 23.6% target share. He has double-digits in Fantasy points in both games and he didn't score a touchdown in either. If Burden is healthy he has WR2 upside.
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Coker has a 25% target share over the past two weeks and no other Panther is above 15%. He's turned that opportunity into 17.4 and 14.0 PPR Fantasy points in those games. This is a winnable matchup against Tampa Bay and Coker is a low-end WR3 with Wr2 upside.
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Mitchell has topped 17 PPR Fantasy points in two of his last three games. The problem is that the other game he gave us a goose egg. You'll be hard pressed to find a more boom or bust flex this week than Mitchell, but if you need to swing big on the waiver wire, he has the upside. He has 50 targets in five games with Jets this season.
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WR Preview
DFS Plays
Top DFS Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
I am sure you guys would like for me to get more creative. But Wilson remains a screaming value. He is my WR3 on the main slate this week and he is priced as WR13, more than $2,000 cheaper than Ja'Marr Chase. As long as Marvin Harrison Jr. doesn't come back, Wilson should remain a fixture in your DFS lineup.
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Contrarian DFS Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
I would assume the Chargers will be popular contrarian plays, if not outright popular plays. But Harris may fly under the radar. The rookie saw five targets last week with Quentin Johnston out and this profiles as a pass heavy game for the Chargers. Last week it was Jalen Nailor against this defense, why not Tre Harris in Week 16?
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WR Preview
Heath's Projections
My full set of Week 16 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. You'll find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 16. Projected stats for all starting wide receivers are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.
