The 2021-22 NFL season has only three weeks left. Bye weeks are over which means the fantasy playoffs have begun in most standard leagues. This time of year COVID-19 is running rampant which makes it important to have backup options on your fantasy roster. On top of that injuries are continuing to mount up. It is always a great idea to evaluate backup options so that way fantasy managers are prepared if star players miss time. Here are the Fantasy Football Week 16 wide receiver rankings.
*Ratings are subject to change due to injury reports or possible move to reserve/COVID-19 list*
(Check out the section below for details on players already rumored to possibly miss this week and how their replacement options rank for the week)
Category | Name | Opponent | Ranking |
Must Start | Cooper Kupp | vs Minnesota Vikings | WR1 |
Must Start | Davante Adams | vs Cleveland Browns | WR2 |
Must Start | Justin Jefferson | vs Los Angeles Rams | WR3 |
Must Start | Deebo Samuel | vs Tennessee Titans | WR4 |
Starting WR1 | Keenan Allen | vs Houston Texans | WR5 |
Starting WR1 | Tyreek Hill* | vs Pittsburgh Steelers | WR6 |
Starting WR1 | Diontae Johnson | vs Kansas City Chiefs | WR7 |
Starting WR1 | CeeDee Lamb | vs Washington Football Team | WR8 |
Starting WR1 | Ja’Marr Chase | vs Baltimore Ravens | WR9 |
High WR2 | Jaylen Waddle | vs New Orleans Saints | WR10 |
High WR2 | D.J. Moore* | vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers | WR11 |
High WR2 | Stefon Diggs | vs New England Patriots | WR12 |
High WR2 | Mike Evans* | vs Carolina Panthers | WR13 |
Starting WR2 | Marquise “Hollywood” Brown | vs Cincinnati Bengals | WR14 |
Starting WR2 | A.J. Brown* | vs San Francisco 49ers | WR15 |
Starting WR2 | Adam Thielen* | vs Los Angeles Rams | WR16 |
Starting WR2 | Antonio Brown* | vs Carolina Panthers | WR17 |
Starting WR2 | Tyler Lockett* | vs Chicago Bears | WR18 |
Low WR2 | Michael Pittman Jr. | vs Arizona Cardinals | WR19 |
Low WR2 | Brandin Cooks* | vs Los Angeles Chargers | WR20 |
Low WR2 | Tee Higgins | vs Baltimore Ravens | WR21 |
Low WR2 | Odell Beckham Jr. | vs Minnesota Vikings | WR22 |
Low WR2 | Christian Kirk | vs Indianapolis Colts | WR23 |
Low WR2 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | vs Atlanta Falcons | WR24 |
Low WR2 | Hunter Renfrow | vs Denver Broncos | WR25 |
Low WR2 | Russell Gage | vs Detroit Lions | WR26 |
Flex | Mike Williams | vs Houston Texans | WR27 |
Flex | Brandon Aiyuk | vs Tennessee Titans | WR28 |
Flex | Darnell Mooney | vs Seattle Seahawks | WR29 |
Flex | Michael Gallup | vs Washington Football Team | WR30 |
Flex | Van Jefferson | vs Minnesota Vikings | WR31 |
Flex | D.K. Metcalf | vs Chicago Bears | WR32 |
Flex | Amari Cooper | vs Washington Football Team | WR33 |
Flex | A.J. Green | vs Indianapolis Colts | WR34 |
Flex | DeVante Parker | vs New Orleans Saints | WR35 |
Flex | Gabriel Davis | vs New England Patriots | WR36 |
Flex | Jarvis Landry* | vs Green Bay Packers | WR37 |
Flex | Terry McLaurin | vs Dallas Cowboys | WR38 |
Deep Leauge Flex | Jakobi Meyers | vs Buffalo Bills | WR39 |
Deep Leauge Flex | Tyler Boyd | vs Baltimore Ravens | WR40 |
Deep League Flex | Kadarius Toney* | vs Philadelphia Eagles | WR41 |
Deep League Flex | Marquez Valdes-Scantling* | vs Cleveland Browns | WR42 |
Deep League Flex | Laquon Treadwell | vs New York Jets | WR43 |
Deep League Flex | Jerry Jeudy | vs Las Vegas Raiders | WR44 |
Deep League Flex | Chase Claypool | vs Kansas City Chiefs | WR45 |
Upside Play | Devonta Smith | vs Washington Football Team | WR46 |
Upside Play | Josh Reynolds* | vs Atlanta Falcons | WR47 |
Upside Play | Braxton Berrios | vs Jacksonville Jaguars | WR48 |
Upside Play | Robby Anderson | vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers | WR49 |
Upside Play | Donovan Peoples-Jones | vs Green Bay Packers | WR50 |
Upside Play | Jamison Crowder* | vs Jacksonville Jaguars | WR51 |
Upside Play | Marvin Jones Jr. | vs New York Jets | WR52 |
Upside Play | Marquez Callaway | vs Miami Dolphins | WR53 |
Upside Play | Rashod Bateman | vs Cincinnati Bengals | WR54 |
Upside Play | Julio Jones | vs San Francisco 49ers | WR55 |
Upside Play | Cole Beasley* | vs New England Patriots | WR56 |
Upside Play | Allen Robinson* | Seattle Seahawks | WR57 |
Upside Play | Rondale Moore* | vs Indianapolis Colts | WR58 |
Upside Play | Keelan Cole | vs Jacksonville Jaguars | WR59 |
Upside Play | Emmanuel Sanders | vs New England Patriots | WR60 |
Upside Play | Tim Patrick | vs Las Vegas Raiders | WR61 |
Upside Play | Laviska Shenault Jr.* | vs New York Jets | WR62 |
Upside Play | Kendrick Bourne | vs Buffalo Bills | WR63 |
Upside Play | Zay Jones* | vs Denver Broncos | WR64 |
Upside Play | T.Y. Hilton | vs Arizona Cardinals | WR65 |
Leave on the Bench | Kenny Golladay | vs Philadelphia Eagles | WR66 |
Leave on the Bench | Tre’Quan Smith | vs Miami Dolphins | WR67 |
Leave on the Bench | Courtland Sutton* | vs Las Vegas Raiders | WR68 |
Leave on the Bench | Tyler Johnson | vs Carolina Panthers | WR69 |
Leave on the Bench | Jalen Guyton* | vs Houston Texans | WR70 |
Leave on the Bench | Nick Westbrook-Ihkine | vs San Francisco 49ers | WR71 |
Leave on the Bench | Scotty Miller | vs Carolina Panthers | WR72 |
Leave on the Bench | Allen Lazard | vs Cleveland Browns | WR73 |
Leave on the Bench | K.J. Osborn | vs Los Angeles Rams | WR74 |
Leave on the Bench | DeAndre Carter | vs Dallas Cowboys | WR75 |
Leave on the Bench | Kalif Raymond* | vs Atlanta Falcons | WR76 |
Leave on the Bench | Nico Collins | vs Los Angeles Chargers | WR77 |
Leave on the Bench | Curtis Samuel | vs Dallas Cowboys | WR78 |
Leave on the Bench | Bryan Edwards | vs Denver Broncos | WR79 |
Leave on the Bench | Nelson Agholor* | vs Buffalo Bills | WR80 |
Tyreek Hill was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. If Hill does not play this weekend against the Pittsburgh Steelers then Mecole Hardman will join the list at WR26 between Russell Gage and Mike Williams. Byron Pringle becomes the WR41 between Tyler Boyd and Kadarius Toney.
D.J. Moore has missed the past two days of practice with a hamstring injury. If he was to miss this week’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers then Robby Anderson would move up to WR32 between D.K. Metcalf and Amari Cooper. Terrace Marshall Jr. would become a bold DFS play this week if Moore was to miss this game.
Mike Evans is considered week to week with a hamstring injury. Antonio Brown is expected to return from his injury and suspension this week. However, Brown was limited in practice Wednesday. If both don’t play this weekend against the Carolina Panthers then Scotty Miller moves up to WR37 between Terry McLaurin and Jakobi Meyers. Tyler Johnson would become the WR52 between Marvin Jones Jr. and Marquez Callaway.
If Evans plays and Brown does not then Scotty Miller becomes the WR48 between Braxton Berrios and Robby Anderson. Tyler Johnson stays at WR69.
If Evans does not play and Brown does then Antonio Brown would move up to WR14 between Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and A.J. Brown. Scotty Miller becomes the WR48 between Braxton Berrios and Robby Anderson. Tyler Johnson stays at WR69.
A.J. Brown is expected to be activated from Injured Reserve this week and play in the Tennessee Titans’ game against the San Francisco 49ers. However, if Brown is cannot return from his chest injury then Julio Jones moves up to WR50 between Robby Anderson and Donovan Peoples-Jones. Nick Westbrook-Ihkine would then move up to WR66 between T.Y. Hilton and Kenny Golladay.
Adam Thielen missed the past two games with a high-ankle sprain. He could come back this week against the Los Angeles Rams. If Thielen was to miss this week’s game then K.J. Osborn would move up to WR46 between Devonta Smith and Josh Reynolds.
Tyler Lockett was added to the Reserve/COVID-19 list last Thursday. If Lockett was to miss this game then Metcalf would retain his WR32 slot. Dwayne Eskridge and Freddie Swaim would become interesting DFS plays this week against the Chicago Bears.
Brandin Cooks was added to the Reserve/COVID-19 list. If he misses this week against the Houston Texans Nico Collins would move up to WR60 between Keelan Cole and Emmanuel Sanders. After Collins, Chris Conley and Phillip Dorsett would be the next receivers on the depth charts to receive more targets.
Jarvis Landry is one of the eleven starters for the Cleveland Browns to land on the Reserve/COVID-19 list last week. If Landry is to miss his second straight game against the Green Bay Packers then Donovan Peoples-Jones would move up to WR46 between Devonta Smith and Josh Reynolds. After Peoples-Jones Rashad Higgins and Anthony Schwartz would be Cleveland’s next receivers on the depth chart.
Kadarius Toney was activated off the Reserve/COVID-19 list but is still dealing with a quad injury. If he cannot play this week against the Philadelphia Eagles Kenny Golladay would stay at WR66 and Darius Slayton would join the list at WR69 between Courtland Sutton and Tyler Johnson.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. If he misses this week’s game against the Cleveland Browns then Allen Lazard moves up to WR52 between Jamison Crowder and Marvin Jones Jr.
Josh Reynolds was limited in practice Wednesday with a thigh injury. Kalif Raymond was also limited in practice with a shoulder injury. If neither play this week then either Tom Kennedy or Khadarel Hodge would get the start this week opposite Amon-Ra St. Brown.
If Reynolds play and Raymond doesn’t then that doesn’t change much in the fantasy landscape. While if Raymond plays and Reynolds does not then Raymond would move up to WR48 between Braxton Berrios and Robby Anderson.
Jamison Crowder missed practice Wednesday with a calf injury. If Crowder was to miss this week’s game against Jacksonville it would solidify Braxton Berrios’ status at WR48. Keelan Cole would move up to Crowders’ WR51.
Cole Beasley was added the Reserve/COVID-19 list. If he does not play this week against the New England Patriots then Emmanuel Sanders could lineup as the team’s slot receiver and jump into Beasley’s WR56 slot.
It is unclear whether Allen Robinson will be activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list before this week’s game before the Seattle Seahawks. If Robinson does not return this week then Damiere Byrd would become the WR55 between Rashod Bateman and Julio Jones.
Rondale Moore is considered a game time decision with an ankle injury. If Moore does not play then Antoine Wesley would join the list at WR62 between Laviska Shenault Jr. and Kendrick Bourne.
Lavisha Shenault Jr. missed practice Wednesday with a shoulder and foot injury. If he was to miss this week’s game against the New York Jets Laquon Treadwell and Marvin Jones Jr. would be locked into their WR43 and WR52 slots.
Zay Jones missed practice Wednesday with a toe injury. If Jones misses this week’s game against the Denver Broncos then Hunter Renfrow retains his WR25 slot. Bryan Edwards would move up to WR73 slot between Allen Lazard and K.J. Osborn.
Courtland Sutton was limited in practice Wednesday with a wrist injury. If he was to miss this week’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders it could mean a slight uptick in targets for Jerry Jeudy and Tim Patrick.
Jalen Guyton was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. If he misses this week’s game against the Houston Texans Joshua Palmer would jump into Guyton’s WR70 slot.
Nelson Agholor is dealing with a concussion. If he misses this week’s game against he Buffalo Bills N’Keal Harry would jump into Agholor’s WR80 slot.
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