Using Predictive Adds To Identify Week 16 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups

In the fantasy football postseason, it is more critical than ever to optimize your roster with the most valuable players on the waiver wire as we gear up for a win-or-go-home matchup this week and beyond. Although COVID-19 and injuries have ravaged the league over the past few weeks, fortunately, there will be no byes in Week 16. Although the NFL postseason picture is still pretty blurry, the fantasy playoff picture is crystal clear. If your league allows waiver wire pickups in the postseason, you should absolutely take advantage of the opportunity. Claiming the right players off the waiver wire can sometimes be the difference between a fantasy football title and an early exit from the playoffs. Some of last week’s hottest pickups had great performances in Week 15 such as Amon-Ra St. Brown and Gabriel Davis. 

Week 16 will kick off with a Thursday Night Football matchup between the 8-6 San Francisco 49ers and the 9-5 Tennessee Titans. We will be treated to two games on Saturday with massive playoff implications – the Green Bay Packers host the Cleveland Browns and the Arizona Cardinals host the Indianapolis Colts. The rest of the games will be played on Sunday before the week ends Monday night with a matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins, two teams battling for a Wild Card spot in the AFC. 

It seems that every single season, this is the time when a few players emerge as league-winning contributors. As we gear up for the final two weeks of the fantasy football postseason, it is time to make those pivotal waiver wire claims and FAAB bids. Now that Week 15 is in the books, it’s time to prepare for Week 16 with FantasySP’s unique Predictive Analytics. Keep reading here to access our Predictive Analytics or log into your account, and utilize the Fantasy Assistant. From there, you can see the predictive adds, drops, trades, and FAAB. 

Predictive Analytics in a nutshell is a game-changer for fantasy players. No one else in the industry offers these types of insights. You will now be able to analyze the most important fantasy metrics of the current week BEFORE waivers are processed.

Find out the Expected Waiver Interest (EWI) of each player, as well as how much of your FAAB budget it would take to get “your guy” in the average league. You will now have unique insights into which players fantasy owners are giving up on and which players fantasy owners are fighting for in the current week.

With our eyes on the fantasy football championship, who are the players' fantasy owners are adding the most heading into Week 16? 

Looking At Week 16 Fantasy Football Predictive Adds:

[predict="add-2021-16"]

RB Ronald Jones, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Due to the injury to Leonard Fournette, Jones could prove to be a league-winning pickup heading into Week 16. Fournette was questionable heading into Tampa’s Week 15 matchup with the Saints and wound up exiting the game early in the second half due to a hamstring injury. If he misses the Bucs’ Week 16 matchup with the Carolina Panthers, Jones should see 15+ touches and serve as Tampa Bay’s goal-line back. After Fournette was sidelined, Jones accumulated 63 rushing yards on eight carries. He was held out of the end zone (as was every other member of the Buccaneers), but he was very effective when given the rock. Jones would slot in as a low-end RB2 if Fournette cannot suit up in Week 16. However, if Fournette returns, Jones should be relegated to your bench. This is a situation where the rewards outweigh the risk. Put in a waiver claim and if Fournette is healthy and suits up in Week 16, simply don’t start Jones. Plus, if you make it to the fantasy football championship, the Bucs play a New York Jets defense that allows the most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs in Week 17.

[projection="Ronald Jones"]

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

The rookie wideout who scored Detroit’s game-winning touchdown back in Week 13 against the Vikings has been one of the hottest players in the league ever since. In Detroit’s upset victory over the Cardinals, St. Brown continued his red-hot production with eight receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets. The rookie has now caught at least eight passes in three straight contests and has accumulated 269 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 35 targets over that span. The rookie has emerged as Jared Goff’s go-to target, especially with tight end T.J. Hockenson out of the lineup. St. Brown has been a beast in PPR formats, totaling 24.6, 15.3, and 23 PPR points over his last three contests. He’s a must-start down the stretch as the Lions face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. Atlanta allows the fifth-most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers this season. The rookie will continue to dominate in the fantasy football postseason.

[lastten="Amon-Ra St. Brown"]

WR Antonio Brown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Brown has not suited up since Week 6 after testing positive for COVID-19 and then serving a suspension for presenting a fake vaccination card to the league. However, Brown should be featured in Tampa’s passing game upon his return, especially after Chris Godwin suffered a season-ending injury. Mike Evans also went down in Week 15 with a hamstring injury and is highly questionable for Tampa Bay’s Week 16 matchup with the Carolina Panthers. AB could serve as Tom Brady’s WR1 this week. Brown shouldn’t be available in most leagues, but since he missed the last several weeks of action, his owner may have dropped him for an active player. If Brown is available on your league’s waiver wire, don’t hesitate to pick him up. He could provide immense value moving forward. 

[projection="Antonio Brown"]

Philadelphia Eagles DEF/ST

Philadelphia’s defense hasn’t been all that effective in their last three outings despite very favorable matchups. In the fantasy football semi-finals, the Eagles get a rematch with a struggling New York Giants offense that defeated them back in Week 13. New York’s starting signal-caller, Daniel Jones, has just been ruled out for the remainder of the season. That means that the Giants will roll with either Mike Glennon or Jake Fromm under center. The G-Men are only scoring 17 points per game and allow the eighth-most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses. In their last three games without Jones in the lineup, the Giants failed to score a touchdown in two of those contests. They did produce two touchdown drives in garbage time against the Chargers in Week 14. Still, this offense is dreadful right now and the Eagles should dominate in Week 16. If you are streaming defense this week, Philly is the team to target. 

WR Gabriel Davis, Buffalo Bills

Davis has emerged as one of Josh Allen’s favorite red-zone targets in recent weeks. Davis has scored touchdowns in three consecutive contests now. After Emmanuel Sanders suffered a knee injury in Week 14, Davis saw a massive increase in playing time in Buffalo’s Week 15 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Despite the tough matchup, Davis corralled five receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns. He was even more productive than Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley.

The Bills have a tough matchup on the horizon against the New England Patriots, however, Davis did manage to catch two-of-four targets for 30 yards and a touchdown in Buffalo’s Week 13 loss to the Pats. With Sanders injured, Davis should continue to provide value in the Bills’ pass-happy offense, especially with Cole Beasley sidelined due to COVID-19. Although the matchup is tough this week, the Bills face Atlanta’s weak secondary in Week 17, championship week. Davis could prove to be a league-winning pickup. He has Josh Allen’s trust and is scoring more touchdowns than anyone on the Bills recently. Davis should be owned in all leagues at this point. 

https://twitter.com/Matt_Bove/status/1472688262137405450  

RB Sony Michel, Los Angeles Rams

Despite Darrell Henderson’s return to the lineup, Michel still served as the featured back in the Rams’ Tuesday night victory over the Seattle Seahawks. The former New England Patriot turned 20 touches into 92 rushing yards and 23 additional yards through the air. He was held out of the end zone, but he has now accumulated 100+ yards in two of his last three outings and has gotten 20+ touches in three consecutive contests. Michel out-touched Henderson 18-8 and produced several big plays for a Rams offense that struggled to get it going. The young running back ripped off a 39-yard run that gave Los Angeles some momentum in the first half and produced a nice 24-yard reception in the second half. 

Although Henderson could eat into Michel’s opportunities in Week 16 against the Minnesota Vikings, Michel appears to be the preferred option in the Rams’ backfield right now. Michel gets a decent matchup against a Vikings defense that allows the 14th-most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs. 

[lastten="Sony Michel"]

WR Byron Pringle, Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs have been hit hard by the COVID-19 virus in recent days. Superstar tight end Travis Kelce tested positive, as did All-Pro wideout Tyreek Hill. Both players are highly questionable for Kansas City’s Week 16 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. If either one of them is unable to give it a go, Pringle should see an increased workload. Considering Hill and Kelce each see about 10 targets per game, there could be plenty of opportunities for Pringle to produce in Week 16. He may be difficult to trust in a win-or-go-home matchup, but Mahomes will have to move the chains one way or another and Pringle might be his most trusted pass catcher after Hill and Kelce. 

RB Craig Reynolds, Detroit Lions

Nobody had heard of Reynolds before he started for the Lions in the absence of D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams two weeks ago. In his first NFL action of the season, Reynolds totaled 99 yards against a stout Denver Broncos defense. Then in Detroit’s Week 15 upset of the Arizona Cardinals, Reynolds turned 27 touches into 117 total yards. Considering the Lions are already out of the playoffs, the organization may opt to leave Swift, their starting running back, on the bench. However, Williams should return to the lineup in Week 16. Regardless, Reynolds has done enough to earn more playing time no matter who is healthy in Detroit’s backfield. His final two matchups of the fantasy football postseason are against the Atlanta Falcons (seventh-most fantasy points per game to running backs) and the Seattle Seahawks (second-most fantasy points per game to running backs). Reynolds could be a solid flex option if Swift remains out of the lineup. This is a situation worth monitoring.  

https://twitter.com/kmeinke/status/1473011888594300930 

RB Duke Johnson, Miami Dolphins

Johnson is surprisingly one of the most sought-after pickups on the waiver wire heading into Week 16. Johnson has had zero value before this past week. He was incredible in Miami’s Week 15 victory over the New York Jets. He even saw more touches than Myles Gaskin. Johnson turned 22 carries into 107 rushing yards and two touchdowns. That said, Johnson may be relegated to a backup role in Week 16 since Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed missed the entire week of practice while they were on the reserve/COVID list. Still, Johnson may have earned more playing time after his inspiring performance. This week, the Dolphins get a New Orleans Saints defense that just shut out Tom Brady and the reigning Super Bowl champs on Sunday night. The Saints allow the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing running backs this season. Although Johnson had a phenomenal game against the Jets, New York allows the most fantasy points per game to running backs. Something tells me that we will be looking at a running-back-by-committee in Miami this week against a stout Saints defense. I would still put in a waiver claim for Johnson, but don’t expect a repeat performance out of Johnson. Duke is at best a flex option.

https://twitter.com/schadjoe/status/1472956857027334147 

K Jake Elliott, Philadelphia Eagles

If you need to stream a kicker because Elliott is the guy to target on the waiver wire. Elliott hasn’t missed a kick since October and has converted 13 field goals in his last five games. Although he only produced a single fantasy point in his last matchup against the Giants, New York allows the 10th-most fantasy points per game to opposing kickers. 

And that’s a wrap. Head back next week to see which players fantasy owners are flocking towards on the waiver wire ahead of Week 17!

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