Season-long leagues are winding down — some may even have crowned their champion — but fantasy owners who need their fix can turn to daily fantasy football moving forward.ย Weโre headed into Week 16, which means there are three more main slates remaining in 2021. Our Week 16 Yahoo DFS tournament picks include several low-price, high upside values, and we think we have the right configuration to take a shot at the top spot inย GPP tournaments.ย
We’re also calling on a few chalky DFS plays, but we’ll have enough differentiation to make some noise in this type of format.
WEEK 16 STANDARD RANKINGS: Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Before we break down our picks, just a reminder of some key rules for Yahoo DFS. It’s essentially the same as FanDuel, withย four-point passing TDsย andย half-point PPR.
WEEK 16 PPR RANKINGS: Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Sunday main slate, $200 budget, no more than six players from the same team.
WEEK 16 DFS LINEUPS:DraftKings | FanDuel
#1
โQB Kirk Cousins, Vikings vs. Rams ($29)
Cousins hasnโt been running as hot as he was earlier in the season, and his price tag reflects this fact. Weโre going to roll with him nonetheless. What we lack in perceived upside with Cousins in this spot, we gain in salary relief. He has four performances of 25-plus fantasy points, so there is a decent ceiling to his game.
#2
โRB James Robinson, Jaguars @ Jets ($26)
With Urban Meyer recently unemployed, the Jaguars were free to provide Robinson, one of their top remaining employees, with the workload he deserves — 24 opportunities against the Texans. Heโs likely to see another full plate of volume. The Jets have one of the worst — if not the worst — defenses in the league. We like the odds of Robinson enjoying a big performance on Sunday. matt.lutovsky 10:22
Sanders is coming off of a two-game stretch of handling 47 touches. It was particularly encouraging that he did so with Jalen Hurts under center, as well as Gardner Minshew. It would be nice for him to address his allergy to the end zone, but the larger workloads are a good start. The Giants have one of the worst run defenses in the league, so this has the look of a spot where we want to bet on the Eagles ground game.
#4
โWR Antonio Brown, Buccaneers @ Panthers ($23)
Calling on a player who is returning after a lengthy layoff isnโt usually a recommended decision. However, weโre strictly betting on the connection between Brown and Tom Brady here. With Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, and Leonard Fournette — and their collective 51.8-percent target share — on the shelf, Brown will need to reacclimate himself quickly, but we expect him to see a lot of passes thrown his direction.
MORE WEEK 16 DFS: Best values| Lineup Builder
#5
WR Tee Higgins, Bengals vs. Ravens ($22)
The Ravensโ secondary is in bad shape, but their run defense remains solid and Bengals’ lead back Joe Mixon is nursing an ankle sprain he suffered in Week 15. This is a long way of suggesting that Higgins, who has been on a decent run, is a solid play. Heโs only one week removed from a three-game streak of 100-plus receiving yards.
#6
โWR Brandin Cooks, Texans vs. Chargers ($16)
Cooks appears to be back on the upswing and developing the necessary rapport with Davis Mills. He has 21 targets over the past two weeks and hauled in two touchdowns last Sunday. Another pair of scores is unlikely, but he should be set for another worthwhile target share.
#7
โTE Mark Andrews, Ravens @ Bengals ($26)
One of the best things about Andrews is heโs been dominant with both Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley under center. Heโs on a monster two-game run, turning 24 targets into a 21-251-3 line and 53.6 fantasy points since Week 14. With Travis Kelce (reserve/COVID) in question for Sunday and George Kittle playing on Thursday, Andrews is an obvious option against a Bengals defense thatโs been friendly to tight ends.
#8
FLEX (RB) Cordarrelle Patterson, Falcons vs. Lions ($27)
Patterson has been operating more as a traditional running back in recent weeks, but thatโs okay against the porous rush defense of the Lions. He only has 15 targets over his past four games, but we certainly know he can do damage as a receiver. The Falcons are six-point favorites at some sportsbooks, so the expectation is Atlanta should enjoy some offensive success on Sunday.
#9
DEF Falcons vs. Lions ($11)
The Lions delivered their Super Bowl performance of 2021 with their dismantling of the Cardinals, but we donโt expect this type of success to carry over. While the potential loss of Jared Goff (COVID), itโs worth remembering that backup Tim Boyle managed just 1.08 fantasy points in his replacement start against the Browns in Week 11.
