Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Week 16 and we’ve crossed the fantasy playoff rubicon where it’s win or go home (or log off of your fantasy apps) time for your fantasy squads.
We set off to find the best waiver wire options of the week so you don’t have to because we know how important having a ton of information will be now that we’re in the fantasy playoffs. We’ll set you up for success heading into Week 16’s action.
Note: All rostership percentages use Sleeper for this Fantasy Football Week 16 Waiver Wire (2024) article.
Quarterback:
Aaron Rodgers – Sleeper Roster – 37%
- Whether it was fate, Aaron Rodgers’ thirst for the limelight, or his Netflix special imminently coming out, Rodgers put forth his best effort of the season in Week 15. Rodgers tossed three touchdowns and racked up 289 yards passing plus 45 yards on the ground.
- That makes two top-12 weeks in a row for our elder statesman quarterback, and he’ll get a shot at a third-straight quality week with the Los Angeles Rams coming into MetLife to take on the Jets. With Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson, Rodgers should have two horses to, at the very least, make things interesting. Still, with the state of some quarterbacks around the league, Rodgers is a solid fallback option if you’re unsure about the situation with your fantasy quarterback.
Drake Maye – Sleeper Roster – 24%
- The Drake Maye bulls have been gathering en masse for a late-season surge. It’s me; I’m one of them. The matchup with the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo looks daunting on paper. Still, Maye has quietly put together two top-12 weeks together at quarterback, and he added a rushing touchdown to a 202-yard, one-touchdown effort in Arizona against the Cardinals last week.
- Sure, nobody can fault you for not wanting to take the plunge on Maye, but I look at a team like the Bills that went blow for blow and score for score with the Rams not too long ago and think that Patriots would love nothing more than to hand their rival a loss at an inopportune time. At the very least, putting Maye at the end of your bench in case something happens to your starting quarterback is a good way to protect yourself from having to truly scrape the bottom of the barrel at quarterback.
Jameis Winston – Sleeper Roster – 41%
- Note:Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been named starter for the Cleveland Browns in their Week 16 game against the Cincinnati Bengals per Brad Stainbrook
- This one will require some monitoring, but I cannot imagine the Browns benching Jameis Winston for the rest of the season. Especially given that the Browns have moved the ball and been fairly competent in doing so despite the well-known and obvious shortcomings that come with Winston at quarterback.
- On tap for the Browns are the Bengals, who have allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, so Browns vs. Bengals could be a shootout between Winston and Joe Burrow. That’s if Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski lets it happen. We know Dorian Thompson-Robinson is no good and provides very little upside to any pass-catching option in Cleveland. Winston, however, provides that in spades. Keep your ears to the ground with Winston to see if he’s named the Week 16 starter. This one comes with risk, for sure.
Running Back:
Jerome Ford – Sleeper Roster – 42%
- With the unfortunate injury to Nick Chubb and broken foot that will end his 2024 season, the next man up is Jerome Ford, who has already been running more routes and snaps than Chubb over the last six weeks. There’s still a bit of a wrinkle here with Cleveland, as the workload is not exactly cut and dry.
- The Browns could opt to give Pierre Strong or D’Onta Foreman some of the work Chubb was seeing while keeping Ford in his role for the rest of the season. That’s the rub here with Ford, as while he could be ticketed with more work, Cleveland has a stable of backs that could work their way into the rotation to close out 2024. Still, Ford should be universally rostered and is a solid flex play moving forward.
Kendre Miller – Sleeper Roster – 16%
- With Alvin Kamara leaving Week 15 with a groin injury and not returning, that left the door open for Kendre Miller to seize some opportunity with the Saints. After Kamara left, Miller earned 7-of-9 carries and saw a touchdown on just 3.2 yards per carry.
- The Kamara groin injury is a very fluid situation and compounding matters is the fact that the Saints play on Monday Night Football in Green Bay against the Packers. If Kamara is inactive, he’s a volume-based low-end RB2 or flex play. If Kamara is active, Miller probably shouldn’t be in any fantasy lineups, but he’s worth the stash to give yourself another running back out for your lineup if you’re in need.
Tyjae Spears – Sleeper Roster – 46%
- Another running back, another injury. This time, it’s Tony Pollard nursing an ankle injury suffered in their Week 15 at home against the Bengals. What are the Titans playing for at 3-11? Well, nothing. That could lead to the team shutting down Pollard and giving the reins to Spears, who looked electric in his receiving work in Week 15.
- Spears also caught all six of his targets for 87 yards and a touchdown while running in a second touchdown. With Spears and the Titans set for a matchup with the Colts in Week 16, a team that has given up huge chunks of rushing yards to opposing backs this season, Spears as the starter would be an instant RB2. At the very least, stash him, and even if Pollard plays, Spears should be a solid flex option for Week 16.
Wide Receiver:
Jalen McMillan – Sleeper Roster – 12%
- It’s the second week in a row for the Buccaneers’ rookie wide receiver, and with plenty of good reasons to be at the top of this wide receiver section. In the last two weeks, Jalen McMillan has been a top-20 fantasy receiver with a 4-59 line and two touchdowns in Week 14, and then this past week against the Chargers on the road, McMillan put up a 5-75 line with a touchdown. He’s benefiting from Mike Evans on the other side of him, and this late-season surge puts him in flex territory with an awesome matchup on tap.
- The Bucs head to AT&T Stadium to take on the Dallas Cowboys, who are below-average in terms of fantasy points per game (19th) allowed to wide receivers but even worse against boundary wide receivers (10th) entering Week 16. McMillan has a 23%+ target share in his last two games, so McMillan is a fine flex against Dallas this week.
Jalen Coker – Sleeper Roster – 4%
- Thanks to an 83-yard touchdown, Jalen Coker put up his best performance of the season off the heels of a three-game absence with a quad injury. Coker’s four catches and 110 yards paced the Panthers as played a few more snaps out wide than in the slot. With Xavier Legette leaving the game thanks to a quad injury, the offense may get a bit more condensed with Coker and Adam Thielen demanding the most targets amongst the pass-catchers in Carolina.
- Coker has been one of the finds of the fantasy season and could set himself up to be firmly in the conversation for next season’s fantasy sleeper. With exploitable matchups against the Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the next two weeks, Coker should be on fantasy benches and even, in a pinch, used as a flex option if Legette misses Week 16.
Rashod Bateman – Sleeper Roster – 28%
- While Rashod Bateman is a risky play each week, there’s no denying his single-week upside. Bateman added two touchdowns to the ledger against the Giants in Week 15 and his three receptions for 80 yards on five targets.
- Bateman was a huge part of the Ravens’ passing touchdown barrage as Lamar Jackson threw five touchdown passes in their win over the Giants. They’ll get their division rivals in Week 16, the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the Steelers have allowed boundary wide receivers to do some damage so that Bateman could be in for a decent game. We know how potent the Ravens are; at the very least, this game is at home. Bateman is in the flex conversation for Week 16.
Tight End:
Brenton Strange – Sleeper Roster – 7%
- With Evan Engram out for the season with a shoulder injury, the Jaguars were further decimated as they continued to spiral into the offseason. At the very least, as Engram’s door closes, a door opens for an increased opportunity for Brenton Strange. He took advantage of this opportunity to finish as TE2 in full-PPR formats in Week 15.
- Strange compiled targets and catches that would make Engram cry happy tears, as he hauled in 11-of-12 targets for 73 yards in Week 15 against the New York Jets. The Jaguars head to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders in Week 16, and while nobody will watch that game and Scott Hanson will begrudgingly take us to that game on NFL RedZone, points will be scored, fun will be had, and Strange should reel in a bunch of cheap PPR goodness from quarterback Mac Jones. If you’re hurting at tight end, he’s a solid option for this upcoming week.
Stone Smartt – Sleeper Roster – 6%
- Lost in Brenton Strange’s excellent day was a solid game from Los Angeles Chargers tight end Stone Smartt, who took over the starting tight end duties from Will Dissly. Smartt has always been a solid contributor on the receiving end of things and had a little bit of run last season when Donald Parham was hurt for the Chargers. But he’s getting a real opportunity now late in the season.
- Smartt ran routes on 65% of Justin Herbert’s dropbacks and earned 17% of Herbert’s first-read targets, so he was prioritized as a weapon alongside Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston as Smartt earned the third-most targets on the team in Week 15. While Smartt did lose a fumble, that shouldn’t deter you from grabbing some volume off the waiver wire as the Chargers play Denver in Week 16.
Chig Okonkwo – Sleeper Roster – 7%
- Lost in some of the tight end madness was Chig Okonkwo, earning 10 targets in Week 15, catching eight of them for 59 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals. Don’t look now, but Okonkwo has earned 20 targets over the past three weeks, and with the possibility of an adult at quarterback (Mason Rudolph), consistent, on-target looks for Okonkwo may be on the menu for the fantasy playoffs.
- Finishing as TE8, Okonkwo gets the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16, a bottom-five team in the NFL in giving up fantasy points to the tight end position. Regarding volume-earning Titans pass-catchers, Okonkwo may just be the second target outside of Calvin Ridley. While Okonkwo isn’t the preferred start of the tight ends listed here, he’s a solid “break glass” option at the end of your bench for playoff teams.
D/ST:
Green Bay Packers – Sleeper Roster – 47%
- The Packers were a top-five fantasy defense in Week 15 after laying waste to what remained of the Seattle Seahawks. The Packers sacked the combination of Geno Smith and Sam Howell seven times, forced two interceptions, and were a constant nightmare for their offensive line all night.
- Against the New Orleans Saints in Week 16, the Packers D/ST might be the best fantasy defense play this week, considering the mess that the Saints are right now, and they must travel up to Lambeau Field. Whether the Saints quarterback is Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler, the fact that they must throw to a pass-catching group missing most of their Week 1 starters is problematic enough. Add the fact that New Orleans may also be without Alvin Kamara too? If the Packers D/ST is sitting out there, they’re THE play this week in my eyes.
Atlanta Falcons – Sleeper Roster – 32%
- The Falcons D/ST hasn’t done much this season aside from games where they wouldn’t be on the fantasy radar. Still, against Desmond Ridder and the Raiders on Monday Night Football, Atlanta was the dominant force and was the second-best D/ST in fantasy football in Week 15.
- With four sacks, two interceptions, two blocked kicks, a fumble recovery, and a safety against the overmatched Raiders, the Falcons filled the stat sheet and only allowed nine points. Atlanta gets the benefit of another bad team with quarterback woes as the Falcons host the New York Giants in Week 16, so if you have them, lock them in for this upcoming week. If the Packers aren’t available or you miss out, grab the Falcons with a superb matchup at home.
Tennessee Titans – Sleeper Roster – 27%
- The Titans have been a tough matchup for most opposing teams despite being 3-11. The only thing that has worked for the team this season is their defense, and they’re a solid play in pretty obvious spots. Tennessee has been a top-seven D/ST in two of the last four weeks and now will get the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
- While Anthony Richardson is a great talent, he’s been incredibly inefficient in the passing game and has thrown multiple interceptions in his last two games. That’s something we can take advantage of here with the Titans D/ST. If you can’t get the Packers or Falcons, grab the Titans and play them this week and next, where they’ll face the Jaguars in Week 17.
