Week 16 Saturday Fantasy Football Outlook for the Packers: Jordan Love, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and More

After looking over the Eagles and Commanders, it's time to turn our attention to the second NFL game happening on Saturday - an NFC North battle between the Bears and Packers.

We will cover the Packers first. Check back in a bit for the Bears' article.

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Jordan Love Fantasy Outlook

Love has been a pretty good asset of late, and my need to kick things up a notch as the defense is now without Micah Parsons.

He has an above-average fantasy test coming against the Bears, and Love produced 234 passing yards, three touchdowns and no picks in the game against Chicago two weeks ago, so I like the idea of starting Love in week 16.

I have Love ranked 10th for week 16. He's capable of finishing even higher than that too, so he's an option in all leagues. 

Running Back Fantasy Outlooks

Josh Jacobs is questionable, as is Chris Brooks, so the Packers' running back room is a bit battered right now. If I had to guess right now, I'd say that Jacobs plays again this week.

The Packers' backs will have a slightly below-average matchup coming against the Bears. 

Jacobs is a high-end fantasy back, even though he's been unspectacular most weeks. He's coming off one of his better fantasy showings in week 15, and also produced in the first game against Chicago. Jacobs had 86 rushing yards and a score on 20 carries, plus six receiving yards on two catches and targets.

Brooks is just a secondary option in the backfield, but had three touches last week. He only had a six-yard catch in the first game against the Bears. Brooks could take on more if he's active and Jacobs is not.

Emanuel Wilson is the No. 2 back in Green Bay, and had been getting a bit more work with Jacobs working through injuries of late. He only had two touches last week though, as he was going through some things himself.

Wilson would lead the charge if Jacobs is out for week 16. Wilson delivered big in week 12 when Jacobs was out, so keep an eye on things to see if he might serve as the team's lead back.

Jacobs is my No. 7 fantasy back for week 16. If he doesn't play, Wilson would rank in the teens, meaning he'd be worth playing in any leagues. He'd be a safer deep-league starting option, but could deliver enough to post standard league numbers too.

Brooks should be avoided if Jacobs is active. If Jacobs is out, Brooks has some starting upside in really deep leagues only. 

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks

If you thought the running back room was a mess, take a look at the wide receiver room.

Christian Watson, who has been WR1 in Green Bay, is questionable with a chest/shoulder injury. Dontayvion Wicks is also questionable with an ankle injury. Matthew Golden, Jayden Reed and Savion Williams were also on the injury report this week, but are all cleared for Saturday.

It looks like Watson is going to be able to go, which is a dilemma for the whole wideout room. There's a risk of re-injury of course, so determining whether or not to start Watson gets a bit trickier.

Reed had a chance to be WR1 with Watson out, and he's the one I ranked in my top-30 wideouts for week 16. Now, that decision gets trickier.

If all the wideouts end up playing, then I might just skip them all in standard leagues, as the production could be split between them all.

I'd still lean toward taking Reed, but understand if you want to take the big-play threat in Watson. After those two, I'd go with: Golden, Romeo Doubs, Bo Melton, Wicks and Williams.

The matchup against the Bears is above average, so it'd be tempting to try a few of them in standard leagues. But with no clear standout, and the Watson injury, I'd focus on all the Packer wideouts as deep-league assets only.

In the first game against the Bears, Watson erupted for 89 yards and two scores on four receptions and targets. Melton surprised with a 45-yard touchdown grab on two targets.

Reed had 31 receiving yards on four catches and targets, while rushing twice for 22 yards. Doubs was held without a catch across two targets, while Reed had no catches on one target. No other wideout was targeted.

Tight End Fantasy Outlooks

John FitzPatrick and Luke Musgrave split the tight end snaps for Green Bay last week. Josh Whyle only played two snaps before suffering a concussion, and that injury will keep him out this week.

The matchup is slightly above average for the Green Bay tight ends, but with no standout option, nobody is a good fantasy asset.

Musgrave is coming off a six-target game, so he's my favorite Packer fantasy TE. FitzPatrick had four targets in week 15. 

Neither Packer TE made my top-25 tight end rankings for week 16, but that shouldn't be all that surprising. Both guys are deep-league options in my eyes, with Musgrave being the better option.

Kicker Fantasy Outlook

Brandon McManus has settled back in as the team's kicker.

He is 19-for-26 on his field goals and 28-of-29 on his extra points. McManus hasn't missed a kick since week 10.

McManus made four extra points and didn't get a field goal try in the first game against the Bears. He's projected for seven fantasy points on Saturday.

McManus is starting in only 9% of leagues, so he's being treated as a deep-league option only. I also would only consider him in deeper leagues, even though he's capable of putting together a decent fantasy showing.

DST Fantasy Outlook

The Packers DST is projected just five fantasy points this week. I wonder how much the Parsons' injury is affecting things - the matchup against the Bears isn't all that good to start with.

Green Bay's defense is allowing 20.1 points per game this season, which is the eighth-best mark in the NFL. The defense has 13 takeaways and 33 sacks.

In the first game against the Bears, an interception in the final minute sealed the win for the Pack. They allowed 315 total yards and had just one sack.

The Packers DST is starting in 29% of fantasy leagues, so they appear to be a deep-league option for fantasy teams this week. I wouldn't mind starting them this week, but I'd agree with the deep-league assessment.

Trending Decisions

Love, Wilson, Reed and Watson are all part of trending decisions at the time of publication.

Love is up against Tampa Bay's Baker Mayfield. Fantasy owners like Mayfield over Love.

Mayfield ranks down at No. 18 heading into a tougher test against Carolina, so Love ranks eight spots ahead of him. I like Love over Mayfield this week, with the matchups playing a big role in my decision.

Wilson is up against New Orleans' Audric Estime, who could end up starting for the Saints. Fantasy owners like Estime right now, and I would too.

Neither are ranked in my top-30 running backs, but Estime has a better chance to contribute with Devin Neal out and Alvin Kamara trending toward not playing again. 

Reed and Watson are being compared against each other, with fantasy owners liking Reed, and starting both together 9% of the time.

It's a tough call between the two if Watson plays, but it's hard to argue against Watson's numbers of late. Reed might be a bit more safe starting option, but if all the Packers' wideouts are active, then the production might be distributed pretty evenly, so maybe they are all better deep-league options.