Josh Shepardson | Mon, Dec 23rd 2024, 7:10am EST

Fantasy Football Week 16 Takeaways: Surprises & Disappointments (2024)

The Monday Night Football game is all that’s left in Week 16. Many gamers have an idea of their fantasy football fates, and those reading this will likely be playing in championship week. Week 16 was the standard mix of positive and negative happenings, and the following five topics were among the week’s most eye-catching.

Fantasy Football Week 16 Surprises

Marquise Brown Was a Spark Plug for Kansas City’s Offense in His Season Debut

According to ESPN, Kansas City’s offense ran 70 plays for 375 yards and scored 27 points on Saturday. It was a sharp effort from Patrick Mahomes. He completed 28 of 41 passes for 260 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions with five rush attempts for 33 yards and a touchdown, despite the endless reporting about a high-ankle sprain.

The most notable change for the offense was the addition of Marquise Brown. He was activated from the Injured Reserve (IR) and wasted no time impacting the offense, albeit in a part-time role. According to the data suite at Fantasy Points, Brown was sixth on the Chiefs in route participation (33.3%) but second in air yards share (23.2%), second in target share (19.5%), first in targets per route run (0.53), second in first-read percentage (25.0%), tied for second in receptions (five) and third in receiving yards (45). Interestingly, Brown wasn’t pigeonholed as a field-stretching player. Instead, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Brown had two targets behind the line of scrimmage, three short (zero to nine yards downfield), two medium (10 to 19 yards downfield) and one deep (20-plus yards downfield). He had a 7.0-yard average depth of target (aDOT).

Andy Reid’s and Mahomes’ concerted effort to pepper Brown with targets helped assuage concerns about his part-time role. Additionally, the team was likely exercising caution with him since it was his first game of the year, and the team will have a quick turnaround when playing on Christmas. Brown could have a more substantial role this week, and his high targets per route run put him in the deep-league flex discussion. Gamers should also consider him on the DFS slate, and Brown should be a helium man in playoff best ball contests.

The Falcons Destroyed the Giants in Week 16

Atlanta’s defense stole the show in Week 16, scoring two touchdowns, recording three sacks, tallying two interceptions, recovering one fumble and allowing only seven points. Still, don’t let their outburst distract you from Michael Penix‘s excellent first professional start. He completed 18 of 27 pass attempts for 202 yards, took zero sacks and threw an interception that was entirely Kyle Pitts‘s fault.

The only gripe fantasy gamers and Falcons fans should have with Penix on the play was targeting Pitts in the first place. Pitts has been dreadful this year, and the above lowlight perfectly encapsulates his contributions to the Falcons.

Penix fed Atlanta’s top wideouts. According to PFF, Darnell Mooney ran 27 routes and Drake London ran 24. They had six targets, five receptions and 82 receiving yards and eight, five and 59, respectively. London was removed early for a hamstring issue, but the game’s vast spread seemingly influenced exercising caution.

Bijan Robinson was a stud in the backfield. He toted the rock 22 times for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Additionally, Robinson ran 23 routes versus seven for Tyler Allgeier. The second-year pro caught both of his targets for nine yards. Gamers should be excited to start Robinson, London and Mooney in a possible shootout against the Commanders in Week 17. Penix is also a desirable Superflex starter and a possible streamer for QB-needy gamers.

Fantasy Football Week 16 Disappointments

The Well Ran Dry for San Francisco’s Backfield’s Fantasy Usefulness in Week 16

The 49ers have plugged and played running backs during the Kyle Shanahan era, and non-descript running backs have emerged as fantasy assets. Sadly, Patrick Taylor is the cut line. He wasn’t lifted to fantasy relevance.

According to PFF, Taylor played 51 snaps, ran 30 routes, had five targets and carried the ball eight times. Despite playing a high percentage of snaps and running many routes, Taylor had only 25 scoreless yards and one reception. Brock Purdy was first on the team in rushing yards (26), and Deebo Samuel was second (25). Even if Isaac Guerendo is out in Week 17, gamers in 14-team leagues or shallower can do better than starting Taylor.

Marvin Harrison Jr.‘s Underwhelming Rookie Campaign Continued

The Panthers and Cardinals combined for 66 points in an overtime shootout. Nevertheless, Marvin Harrison Jr. had eight targets, four receptions and 39 scoreless yards on 38 routes. MHJ has had fewer than 60 receiving yards in 11 games, including three in a row and six of his last seven. The highly touted prospect had four receiving touchdowns in his first four games but has scored only three in 11 subsequent contests. The rookie wideout hasn’t scored a touchdown in three straight.

Gamers with MHJ are likely in the consolation bracket, but those who have overcome his underwhelming rookie season can confidently sit him next week against the Rams. The offseason fantasy football discussions around MHJ will likely be polarizing and heated.

Miscellaneous Note

The Texans Were Dealt Another Critical Blow

Houston ran only 58 plays for 311 yards and 19 points. C.J. Stroud had another subpar showing, completing 23 of 39 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns, but took two sacks and threw two interceptions. He hasn’t been a viable fantasy option. Still, Tank Dell‘s unfortunate injury could further derail the offense and have an unfortunate trickle-down effect on Nico Collins and Joe Mixon.

Collins will unquestionably be force-fed the ball, but defenses can exhaust their resources to slow him down. Mixon might also face defenses selling out to stop the run, and he hasn’t been a particularly efficient runner anyway. Collins is too good to sit, and Mixon’s volume might be too robust to bench as well. Yet, the risk of systemic failure for the offense is enough to consider alternatives to Mixon against Baltimore’s stout run defense.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.

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