Favorable Wide Receiver Matchups for Week 16 (2021)
Each week Fantasy In Frames is highlighting key wide receiver matchups to take advantage of. Here are four favorable wide receiver matchups for Week 16
It’s playoff semi-final time for us lucky enough to still be in contention for a FF championship. Here are our FOUR WRs based on matchups that we’ll strongly consider starting in the penultimate game week of the season.
Russell Gage – Atlanta Falcons
"Russell Gage, keep ballin" @ochocinco increased his Madden rating 📈 pic.twitter.com/zjf3RF8WQF
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) December 23, 2021
The Falcons pass-catcher has had to do some more heavy lifting in the absence of Calvin Ridley, and the former LSU man has stepped up in recent weeks. Gage has three double-digit fantasy point hauls (per FanDuel scoring) in his last four games and will now be up against a Detroit Lions secondary that ranks 25th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game. He also has the benefit of likely avoiding the only Cornerback in Detroit, whose ‘NFL passer rating against’ is less than 80.0. Amani Oruwariye is the Lions’ #1 CB, and he typically lines up on the right-hand side, which is somewhere Gage tends to spend less than a third of his snaps.
Allen Robinson – Chicago Bears
The former Jacksonville Jaguar has let a lot of his Fantasy Football managers down this season with sub-par performances and injuries but the veteran pass-catcher could be about to make it up to us at the most important time of the season. Robinson has more snaps on the right-hand side of the offense than he does on the leftover his last two outings, and if that continues, he could be seeing a lot of Sidney Jones, and that’s necessarily a bad thing. Jones is Seattle’s starting Cornerback on the left-hand side of the defense, and he’s been far from impressive, allowing the most TDs in coverage (3) and the highest passer rating (113.9) when targeted out of all Seattle Cornerbacks. His Passer Rating Against is 7th worst in the NFL for Cornerbacks who’ve played at least 50% of 974 snaps. Robinson may have let you down this season, but if you’ve managed to make the playoffs despite his underwhelming campaign, then maybe this is the week to let him redeem himself and lead you to a FF playoff win.
DeVante Parker – Miami Dolphins
Tua goes deep to Devante Parker to the 2 yard line to set up a touchdown. pic.twitter.com/rdNrNRCNAg
— Main Team (@MainTeamSports2) December 19, 2021
The big-bodied former Louisville Cardinal rounds out our selections for a second straight week, and it’s deserved, after his 4/68/1 stat line in Week 15. Now, whilst New Orleans shut out the previously free-scoring Buccaneers last week, it’s important to remember a few things. Firstly, Tampa suffered some injuries to playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, with both starting receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans having to leave the game and with Antonio Brown also unavailable, it became a lot easier for the Saints to keep third and fourth choice pass-catchers at bay. Secondly, New Orleans always plays Tampa hard. In the four regular-season games since Tom Brady took over as the Buccaneers QB, New Orleans have beaten them all four times, twice keeping them to 3 points or less. On the season though, New Orleans are bottom-10 in Fantasy Points allowed to WRs, and with Jaylen Waddle coming back into the line-up, Parker should see favorable matchups.
Laquon Treadwell – Jacksonville Jaguars
The first of two back-to-back appearance makers on our list is Jaguars WR Laquon Treadwell, who has established himself as an important part of the Jaguars offense and a favorite of rookie QB Trevor Lawrence. The former first-rounder has four or more receptions and 50+ receiving yards in four straight games and will likely find himself across from Jets Cornerback Bryce Hall in this matchup. Hall predominantly lines up as the left outside corner for Robert Saleh’s defense, but the second-year man has been far from impressive. On the season Hall has allowed a Passer Rating when targeted of 111.3, which is third-worst at the position for a player playing at least 80% of snaps. Hall has also allowed 5 TDs when in coverage, so we could see Treadwell find the endzone for the first time this season, and we all know that Touchdowns = Fantasy points!