Fantasy Football Week 16 Wide Receiver Rankings

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)

Key:

Must Start- a player who is in your lineup regardless of the matchup or most circumstances. They will likely finish near the top of the league in points that week and in most weeks.

Starting WR1- a player who makes fantasy owners comfortable starting week after week. Regardless of the matchup, this player has a high floor.

High WR2- a player who may isn’t likely to carry a lineup that week, but has the ability to have a breakout game and is teetering between WR1 and WR2 category.

Starting WR2- a player who should be started in most lineups and should reach their point projection. This player is started is because of their consistency and moderately high floor

Low WR2- a player who may not be a lock to start for a team every week, but will start more times than not. Their production may not be pretty or win a person their lineup but the production is consistent enough to make a fantasy owner comfortable starting them.

Flex- a player who could float around the territory of being benched, but is started due to the potential to play better than their point projection. However, this player has the potential to flop and causes a fantasy team to lose if he has a bad game.

Deeper League Flex- a player who has starting value in deeper leagues. There are enough reasons to leave this player on the bench, but their upside makes them an attractive option. Desperate times may call for a player like this to be inserted into starting lineups.

Upside Player- a player who is boom or bust. This player can exceed expectations in a given week or could flop and be the reason why someone lost their fantasy matchup.

Leave on the Bench- a player who should be avoided in all lineups that week. Many times this player could even be left on waivers.

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

Possible Changes that can occur before Sunday

WR6 Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs

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.

WR11 D.J. Moore, Carolina Panthers

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.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: WR13 Mike Evans, & WR17 Antonio Brown

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.

WR15 A.J. Brown, Tennessee Titans

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.

WR16 Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings

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.

WR18 Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks

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.

WR20 Brandin Cook, Houston Texans

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.

WR37 Jarvis Landry, Cleveland Browns

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.

WR41 Kadarius Toney, New York Giants

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.

WR42 Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay Packers

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.

Detroit Lions Wide Receivers: WR47 Josh Reynolds & WR76 Kalif Raymond

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.

WR51 Jamison Crowder, New York Jets

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.

WR56 Cole Beasley, Buffalo Bills

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.

WR57 Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears

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.

WR58 Rondale Moore, Arizona Cardinals

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.

WR62 Laviska Shenault Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars

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.

WR64 Zay Jones, Las Vegas Raiders

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.

WR68 Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos

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.

WR70 Jalen Guyton, Los Angeles Chargers

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.