Well, fellow fantasy managers, we have finally made it to semi-finals week. In another 10 days or so, we will either be celebrating fantasy titles or wallowing in pity, cursing a start/sit decision or injury that cost us our shot at glory.
This is one of the most exciting weeks of the season, with football played on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, Christmas Day.
To maximize the chances of victory this week, I have looked deeply at the six fantasy football WR/CB matchups to know in Week 16. So, without further ado, here are those key matchups to look at this week.
- Waiver Wire Advice
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
WR/CB Matchups: Week 16
Advantageous Wide Receiver Matchups
Dontayvion Wicks (GB) vs. Jaycee Horn (CAR)
Dontayvion Wicks is coming into Week 16 off his best game of the season. Wicks put up 97 receiving yards with a 17.9% target share. He is getting a larger share of the workload while Christian Watson is out of the lineup. Watson did not practice on Wednesday and remains questionable for the Green Bay Packers game on Christmas Eve against the Carolina Panthers.
If Watson does not go, Wicks will likely go up against Jaycee Horn. According to FantasyPoints data, Horn is allowing the second most fantasy points per route run of any cornerback in the NFL this season. Horn is allowing 0.51 fantasy points per route run against him. He is also being targeted on a league-high 29.2% of routes run against him so far this season.
Wicks will be a potential 11-13-point flex option if injuries force you to find someone to put in your lineup.
Mike Evans (TB) vs. Montaric Brown (JAX)
Mike Evans is coming into the week as the WR5 on the season. He continues to produce at a high level, either by finding the end zone or having a significant number of targets and yards. This week, Evans returns to playing at home after a few weeks on the road.
He is up against Montaric Brown and the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend. Brown is currently allowing 0.43 fantasy points per route run against him, the third-most in the league. The Jaguars are allowing 29.6 fantasy points per game to wide receivers per game, which is the ninth-most coming into Week 16.
This makes Evans a WR1 consideration this week and a must-start in all formats.
Cooper Kupp (LAR) vs. Alontae Taylor (NO)
Cooper Kupp appears to be fully healthy and has returned to fantasy football lineups in the last couple of weeks after some strong performances. Kupp has returned 21+ point fantasy games in back-to-back weeks for the first time this season and is starting to look like the league-winner fantasy managers were hoping he would be when drafting him this summer amid his injury concerns.
This week, Kupp is up against Alontae Taylor and the New Orleans Saints. Taylor allows 0.40 fantasy points per route run against him, which is tied for the fourth-most in the NFL amongst all cornerbacks.
Expect Kupp to be in the mid-WR1 conversation at the conclusion of Week 16. Fantasy managers should start him with confidence.
Challenging Wide Receiver Matchups
Deebo Samuel (SF) vs. Marlon Humphrey (BAL)
Many fantasy managers have been riding Deebo Samuel to their playoff semi-finals this weekend. However, this weekend, they will need to find an exceptional performance from another player on their roster.
Deebo is up against Marlon Humphrey and the Baltimore Ravens this weekend. Humphrey is only allowing 0.13 fantasy points per route run against him, which is tied for the fourth-lowest amongst all cornerbacks coming into Week 16. The Ravens are only allowing 25.9 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, the eighth-lowest in the NFL.
Deebo will still be in WR2 consideration due to his rushing volume and elite playmaking ability. However, do not be surprised to see this be more of a Brandon Aiyuk game this week. Fantasy managers might want to temper their expectations of Deebo.
Curtis Samuel (WAS) vs. Michael Carter (NYJ)
Curtis Samuel is coming off his season-high fantasy points total after two touchdowns last week. However, with uncertainty at the quarterback position and a difficult opponent, fantasy managers might want to err on the side of caution this week.
Curtis Samuel is up against Michael Carter and the New York Jets. Carter is only allowing 0.16 fantasy points per route run against him. This ranks him tied for sixth among all cornerbacks coming into Week 16. The New York Jets are also the stingiest defense to wide receivers in the NFL as a whole.
The Jets are only allowing an average of 17.9 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, four points per game less than the next best in the league, the Cleveland Browns.
Curtis Samuel should be a sit candidate for fantasy managers this week and only be started in desperation.
Davante Adams (LVR) vs. L’Jarius Sneed (KC)
Davante Adams has had an up-and-down fantasy season so far. He currently sits as the WR14 but has had four single-digit PPR performances. However, last week was not one of those performances, as the Las Vegas Raiders trounced the Los Angeles Chargers.
Adams and the Raiders take on L’Jarius Sneed and the Kansas City Chiefs this week. Sneed is only allowing 0.17 fantasy points per route run against him. This is tied for the 10th-least allowed by a cornerback this season. The Chiefs also only allow 23.9 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, which is the seventh-fewest allowed so far this season.
Adams is still a must-start option. However, this week, he will be a low-end WR2/high-end WR3 play. Fantasy managers must exercise caution regarding Adam’s ceiling and expectations. I expect him to perform under his fantasy projections this week.
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Thanks for reading this week’s column. Happy holidays! I’ll be back with my final installment next week for fantasy championships. For more from me, check out my archive and follow me @Murf_NFL.
