Week 16 Thursday DFS Lineup: Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Colby Parkinson and More
Morgan puts together a DFS lineup for the week 16 Thursday game between the Seahawks and Rams.
Week 16 of the NFL regular season kicks off with a fun NFC West clash between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks. Let's put together a DFS lineup for that contest.
This six-player DraftKings lineup has five flex spots and a captain, which costs 1.5 times as much, but also scores 1.5 times more.
Check back in a bit for stories on each team which will highlight the best fantasy football players and some start/sit decisions.
Check out player prop bets, prop bet rankings and public betting splits on FantasySP all season!
Captain - Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($17,400)
I decided to spend big here and take JSN.
He is averaging 23.8 fantasy points per contest and has 21.3 and 28.1 over the past two weeks.
Smith-Njigba has a pretty favorable fantasy test tonight, and scored 23.6 fantasy points the first time these teams met. He might be pricey, but he's going to be worth it.
Flex - Puka Nacua ($12,000)
I actually have Nacua as the top-ranked wideout for week 16, but he was a bit pricier, so I passed on him for JSN.
Nacua is averaging 23.3 fantasy points per game so far this season. He's scored 30.9 and 38.7 fantasy points over the past two weeks.
His matchup tonight is a tougher one, but this is Nacua we are talking about. He scored 15.3 fantasy points the last time the teams met, and should be in line for a monster game with Davante Adams trending toward not playing.
Flex - Jason Myers ($5,200)
I needed to start saving a bit, so I chose the Seattle kicker next.
Myers is averaging 13 fantasy points per game. He has scored 13 or more in six straight contests.
The matchup isn't the best, but Myers scored 15 fantasy points in the last matchup, so I'm hoping for another similar performance tonight.
Flex - Rashid Shaheed ($6,600)
I decided on another Seahawk wide receiver here in Shaheed.
He's averaging 9.9 fantasy points per contest so far, and has scored 12.1 and 16.7 over the past two weeks. I like the matchup, and am hoping he can score in double figures again.
Shaheed will be playing his third game against the Rams this season. With New Orleans, he scored 11.8 fantasy points back in week 9. With Seattle, Shaheed managed just 4.9 points in week 11.
Flex - Colby Parkinson ($5,400)
With Adams out, or at the very least very limited, I see Parkinson going off.
He is averaging just eight fantasy points per game on the season, but tallied a season-best 24.5 points in week 15. Parkinson has six touchdown grabs over the past six games, and one of those games was against Seattle.
The Seahawks are a very favorable matchup for a fantasy tight end, so Parkinson's fantasy outlook was already pretty solid. Down Adams too, Parkinson could deliver big as the No. 2 pass catcher in Los Angeles.
Flex - Tutu Atwell ($3,400)
I only had $3,400 to spend on my final lineup spot, and I used it all to take Atwell.
He is averaging just four fantasy points per game this season. Atwell got back on the field in week 15, after missing weeks 9-14 - he had a nine-yard catch across two targets.
Down Adams, Atwell should be in line for a bigger role, and he could potentially end up as the team's No. 2 pass catcher as well. He had the highest upside of anyone available at that price or less, so let's hope he rewards me with a decent showing.
Final Thoughts
This is a different looking DFS lineup for me, but I feel very confident in it.
Smith-Njigba and Nacua are the two-best fantasy assets in this game, so I'm expecting big things out of those two. Ideally, I'm getting 65 or more points from them, adding in the 1.5 times multiplier for JSN.
Myers has been a steady fantasy asset of late, and I'm really just hoping for double-digit points from him. Obviously, I want Seattle to be throwing touchdowns to Smith-Njigba or Shaheed, but if drives break down in enemy territory, Myers could deliver a big mark too.
With Adams likely out tonight, I really like putting Parkinson and Atwell in my lineup. They should handle most of the other pass-catching numbers after Nacua.
I left some good DFS assets unpicked, including Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Sam Darnold, Kenneth Walker and Blake Corum, so there's various lineups to be made that could be successful tonight.
Best of luck as you put together your DFS lineups!