Thursday Night Football is here, but with some of the most intense stakes to date. Congratulations on getting to round two of the playoffs but the jobs not finished. In order to get to the championship, we’re going to be looking at the top 24 quarterbacks and tight ends to help with your start/sit decisions.
As always, these rankings are constructed through statistical analysis, matchup data, sportsbook data, and film. Let’s win the week!
Week 16 QB Rankings
Tier 1
1. Josh Allen vs NE
2. Lamar Jackson vs PIT
Tier 2
3. Jalen Hurts @ WAS
4. Jayden Daniels vs PHI
5. Joe Burrow vs CLE
Tier 3
6. Baker Mayfield @ DAL
7. Jared Goff @ CHI
8. Jordan Love vs NO
9. Kyler Murray @ CAR
Tier 4
10. Sam Darnold @ SEA
11. Brock Purdy @ MIA
12. Bo Nix @ LAC
13. Tua Tagovailoa vs SF
14. Drake Maye @ BUF
Tier 5
15. Matthew Stafford @ NYJ
16. Anthony Richardson vs TEN
17. Patrick Mahomes vs HOU
18. Aaron Rodgers vs LAR
Tier 6
19. Russell Wilson @ BAL
20. Michael Penix Jr vs NYG
21. Justin Herbert vs DEN
22. C.J. Stroud @ KC
23. Caleb Williams vs DET
24. Cooper Rush vs TB
Must Start: QB
Jordan Love vs NO
ESPN Projection - QB19
For the FTR start of the week, the players that will be eligible for this list are all close to being ranked as a back-end QB1/TE1 based on ESPN’s PPR projections. Over the past few weeks, Love hasn’t been anything special, but he’s scored a respectable 17.4 PPG since week 11. Now he gets to face the Saints defense which hasn’t been anything special this year.
This season, the Saints have allowed the 15th most points (248.3) to quarterbacks. Love isn’t going to finish as QB1 on the week, but he should finish significantly higher than his QB19 projection.
Week 16 TE Rankings
Tier 1
1. Trey McBride @ CAR
2. George Kittle @ MIA
3. Brock Bowers vs JAC
Tier 2
4. Jonnu Smith vs SF
5. Sam LaPorta @ CHI
6. T.J. Hockenson @ SEA
7. Travis Kelce vs HOU
8. Mark Andrews vs PIT
Tier 3
9. Pat Freiermuth @ BAL
10. Brenton Strange @ LV
11. Tucker Kraft vs NO
12. David Njoku @ CIN
13. Zach Ertz vs PHI
14. Dalton Kincaid vs NE
Tier 4
15. Kyle Pitts vs NYG
16. Hunter Henry @ BUF
17. Mike Gesicki vs CLE
Tier 5
18. Jake Ferguson vs TB
19. Cade Otton @ DAL
20. Juwan Johnson @ GB
21. Dalton Schultz @ KC
22. Chig Okonkwo @ IND
23. Noah Fant vs MIN
24. Isaiah Likely vs PIT
Must Start: TE
Tucker Kraft vs NO
ESPN Projection - TE22
For the FTR start of the week, we have two Green Bay Packers, which is a bit of a surprise. Neither have great matchups but for whatever reason, ESPN has them way too low. Kraft is one of the more interesting options in fantasy football because of his up-and-down season. Overall, Kraft is still a good player who’s currently the TE8 on the year.
Even though Kraft only had 5.4 points last week, he scored 10.6, 13.8 and 13.1 in weeks 12-14. While the Saints have allowed the 13th least fantasy points (153.6) to tight ends this year, it’s not a horrible matchup for Kraft. According to PFF’s TE Matchup Tool, Kraft has a matchup advantage of 11%. It’s always tough to rank the low-end TE1’s but Kraft is a solid play for week 16.