Week 16 of the fantasy football season featured plenty of notable performances. What should we make of them? Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft are here with analysis on the biggest performers -- and duds -- of the week.
Saquon Barkley sets personal fantasy record, comes up huge against Redskins
Barkley's injury-marred sophomore campaign let down a majority of his fantasy managers -- he resided on a finalist's roster in only 15.9% of ESPN leagues -- but those who were able to remain afloat and advance to their league's championship game finally reaped the benefit of making him the No. 1 pick on average in the preseason. His 43.9 PPR fantasy points set a new personal best -- and while the overtime game did help pad his stats, be aware that he scored 41.1 of those points in regulation, meaning he had already set his career high before then.
The matchups have certainly contributed -- he faced the Dolphins in Week 15 and Redskins on Sunday -- but Barkley's 30-plus points in both weeks served a reminder of his dynamic, dual-threat talent, the kind that again should make him a locked-in first round pick entering 2020. In fact, it's the kind of encouraging, dominating finish that has me thinking he still belongs in my top two picks overall, behind only Christian McCaffrey. --
A.J. Brown is a star in the making
With another score on Sunday -- off a wing counter run -- Brown posted his fifth touchdown in his past five games, in addition to the three 100-plus-yard receiving days he registered during that stretch. And I think this is just the start for the rookie. Brown is a playmaker. Route running and size in the slot. The fit is there with quarterback Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee, too. Lot of play-action throws that get the ball to Brown in space. If Tannehill is back with the Titans next year (which should be the play for Tennessee management), Brown will enter the 2020 season with a very high-ceiling as a WR2. He has star potential. -- Bowen
Lamar Jackson nears best fantasy season of all time for a QB
He started Sunday's game quietly, but Jackson roared back in the final two minutes of the first quarter and kept it up the rest of the day, finishing with a quarterback-best (among the 1 p.m. ET games) 29.8 fantasy points. He became the first quarterback to cross the 400-point fantasy threshold in before his team's 16th game of the season, and pushed his season total to 415.7 points. He is now 1.4 points shy of Patrick Mahomes' one-year-old record for fantasy points by a quarterback in a season (417.1), but as his Ravens clinched the AFC's No. 1 seed in the process, how much will Jackson play in Week 17? (My guess: Maybe a series or two, which might be enough to get Jackson that record.) -- Cockcroft
Jameis Winston has a miserable game at the worst time
The quest for 30/30 -- 30 passing touchdowns and 30 interceptions in a season, which has never been done -- continued for Winston on Saturday in an unfortunate nightmare of a performance for his fantasy managers. His four interceptions led to a mere 11.0 fantasy points, his third-worst single game score of 2019 and a huge disappointment in a favorable matchup against the Texans, as he had the eighth-most starts among quarterbacks in ESPN leagues (54.4%).
Winston now has 4,908 yards, 31 touchdowns and 28 interceptions passing for the season, the only quarterback in NFL history to have had as many of all three in a single year, and he's only 9.2 fantasy points away from 300. His is one of the most unusual campaigns in the game's history, a useful one for fantasy in that he's sixth-best at the position (entering Sunday's play, that is) but also one that has been especially maddening and unpredictable, as he has four games of 25-plus fantasy points but also six with fewer than 15. -- Cockcroft
Mark Andrews the perfect tight end in Baltimore
With two more touchdown grabs on Sunday -- giving Andrews 10 scores on the fantasy season -- we were reminded of why the tight end has been such a prime fit for quarterback Lamar Jackson and this Ravens offense all year. The catch radius jumps here with Andrews. And the touchdown production meshes with the Baltimore offensive scheme. That's the inside seam routes, the play-action concepts and the one-on-one throws. The Ravens simply out-schemed opposing defense all year with the ball in scoring position. If Andrews is healthy entering the 2020 season, you can lock him in as a midtier TE1. -- Bowen
You'd think Andrews' limited snap count would hamper his fantasy prospects, but that has certainly not been the case in 2019, supporting Matt's claim that he's a locked-in TE1 -- and arguably top-five at the position -- for 2020. Andrews now has 207.2 PPR fantasy points for the season, third-most among tight ends (through Sunday's 1 p.m. ET games), despite his having been on the field for only 44% of the Ravens' offensive snaps. He is the only tight end to have 100-plus points on fewer than 50% of his team's offensive snaps played in any of the past three seasons, and he has done it twice during that time, also doing so in 2018 (107.2 points, 35%). -- Cockcroft
Kenyan Drake primed for a big 2020 with the Cardinals
Drake's fantasy playoff run has to be discussed. The volume was there. The production, too. And the touchdown count was ridiculous. With two more scores Sunday, and another 160 yards on the ground, Drake posted six touchdowns and 297 yards rushing in Weeks 15 and 16. Plus, we can all see the fit here with Drake in Kliff Kingsbury's offense. It's the short-area speed in the run game. Hit the hole and play with vision to slash through the second level of the defense. Put Drake on your RB2 radar for the 2020 season in Arizona. -- Bowen
It's rare to see a player traded midseason put forth a string of production like this, but as Matt mentioned, Drake has been a perfect fit for the Cardinals. With his 33.4 PPR fantasy points Sunday, he now has 141.9 points in his seven games since his trade from the Dolphins. During that eight-week span, it ranks fourth best among running backs, behind only Christian McCaffrey (239.6), Ezekiel Elliott (148.5) and Derrick Henry (142.6). -- Cockroft
Quick-hitters
Christian McCaffrey: Another week, another 30-plus PPR fantasy points for McCaffrey. His 32.3 points represent his eighth 30-point performance of 2019, second-most in a single season by any player in history behind only the nine by Marshall Faulk (2000), Priest Holmes (2003) and LaDainian Tomlinson (2006). They also gave him 448.4 points for the season, second-most in history through a team's first 15 games of any season, behind only the 471.1 scored by Tomlinson in that 2006 season. -- Cockcroft
Michael Thomas: Thomas set a new single-season record for receptions on Sunday, his 12 catches giving him 145 for the year, breaking Marvin Harrison's 17-year-old record of 143. But we care more about Thomas' fantasy production, no? His 31.6 PPR fantasy points, best among wide receivers from the 1 p.m. ET games, gave him 366.9 for the season, third-most at his position in history through his team's 15 games, behind only Harrison's 375.2 points in that record-setting 2002 campaign and Jerry Rice's 375.1 in 1995. -- Cockcroft
Alvin Kamara: Without a touchdown since Week 3, Kamara found the end zone twice on Sunday in the win over the Titans. And the first score was classic Kamara. Zone run there. Just hit the hole and go. Smooth. Sure, I couldn't have predicted this major drop in touchdown production for Kamara -- after he scored 31 touchdowns over his first two pro seasons. However, the running style, receiving traits and the overall system in New Orleans has me buying-in on a bounce back season for Kamara in 2020. Bet on the player -- and the fit. He'll be a to-five running back in my summer ranks. -- Bowen
George Kittle: This is not an outrageous statement: Kittle is a viable contender for the 2020 honor of top tight end in fantasy football. With his 18.9 PPR fantasy points on Saturday, he now has a position-best 172.7 points since Week 5. And while his nearest competitors, Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz, play later on Sunday, bear in mind that all three entered Sunday's action with exactly 10 games played during that time span (Kittle missed two games with knee and ankle injuries). Kittle is a beast in terms of yards after the catch, his 7.2 per reception this season second-best amongst tight ends to only Noah Fant's 8.4 after Kittle led it with 9.7 in 2018. -- Cockcroft
Tyler Higbee: Higbee cashed in again for fantasy managers on Saturday night, catching 9 of 11 targets for 104 yards. That gave the Rams tight end four straight games of at least 100 yards receiving, while catching 35 of 44 targets during that stretch. You want to talk about a sudden jump in production? Before Week 13, Higbee had failed to post over 50 yards receiving in a single game. However, with the Rams getting the play-action pass game rolling, and Sean McVay using Higbee on more crossing routes, the tight end quickly became a viable target for quarterback Jared Goff. -- Bowen
Terry McLaurin: With seven more grabs on Sunday, the Redskins rookie wide receiver finished the fantasy season with 58 catches and seven touchdowns. Sure, Washington will have a new coaching staff, and a new offensive system in place next year. I get that. However, clean route running travels. And that's what I see with McLaurin. He's advanced with his footwork and the ability to separate out of breaks. Now, mesh that with the clear signs of development we have started to see from rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins. I think McLaurin will have a pretty high ceiling heading into 2020 as a WR2 to start the year. -- Bowen
Hunter Renfrow: He set personal bests with his nine targets, seven receptions, 107 receiving yards and 23.7 PPR fantasy points, while playing 29 of 62 offensive snaps (47%) for the Raiders. It was a solid effort for Renfrow, who was returning from a broken rib and punctured lung, especially since it came against a Chargers defense that had been one of the toughest against the position in the past five weeks. He'll be one of the more interesting late-rounders entering his second season.