🔥Monday Morning Fantasy Football Recap

After quarterbacks and wide receivers dominated the news and the fantasy scoring the last two weeks, it was the running backs’ turn to step up and deliver fantasy championship berths to their managers in Week 16. By the time the dust settled on Sunday night, 10 running backs produced at least 20 points in half-PPR formats (and Kyren Williams just missed with 19.4).

Leading the way was Jonathan Taylor (who was the fantasy laughing stock last week) with an all-time fantasy playoffs performance with 218 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. His 39.8 fantasy points were almost 10 better than any running back in Week 16.

In addition to Taylor’s performance, Chuba Hubbard, DeVon Achane, James Conner, and Saquon Barkley all contributed at least 115 rushing yards and a score. James Cook, Bijan Robinson, Jerome Ford, and Jahmyr Gibbs all played workhorse roles on Sunday and finished with at least 100 total yards and a score as well.

Even dart throws like Tyrone Tracy Jr., Alexander Mattison, and Tyjae Spears delivered strong performances for fantasy managers who were forced to start them in their matchups. For one Sunday, at least, football looked like the old-school, smashmouth days of yesteryear with the running backs stealing all the highlights.

The Deep Dive Fantasy Newsletter will hit your inboxes four days a week this season and each Monday I will bring you the highlights, lowlights, injury reports, and Monday Night Football look-ahead all here in one place.

First up are the top fantasy football headlines from a wild Week 16.

⭐ Jayden Daniels Adds to His Rookie of the Year Campaign

Rookie Jayden Daniels was the best fantasy quarterback on Sunday by a healthy margin, producing 36.4 fantasy points thanks to 258 passing yards, 81 rushing yards, and five passing touchdowns in a wild comeback victory against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Despite the recent strong play from Brock Bowers and Brian Thomas Jr., Jayden Daniels is now the Rookie of the Year favorite with odds between -10000 and -20000 in most sportsbooks. He has a 22:8 touchdown-to-interception ratio and is up to 737 rushing yards and 3,303 passing yards on the season. If the stats didn’t have it for him already, this comeback win was his signature moment to cap his ROY award.

👎 Josh Allen Puts Up a Dud Against New England

After four straight games with at least 25 fantasy points (and 92 combined fantasy points the last two weeks), Josh Allen’s fantasy mangers must be looking at his box score against the lowly New England Patriots and wondering where it went so wrong. New England was able to contain Allen in the pocket and lock up his wide receivers all afternoon in Week 16.

With just one passing touchdown and 154 passing yards, Allen ended the game Sunday with just 12.2 fantasy points, AKA half a point better than Aidan O’Connell. Fantasy managers would have done better to start Mac Jones or Mason Rudolph. It’s a brutal blow at the worst possible time for a player who is likely to win the 2024 NFL MVP.

🚫 Brian Robinson Jr. is Not Invited to the Scoring Party

The one stud running back who did not receive an invitation to the running back holiday scoring bonanza was Brian Robinson Jr. Despite his team scoring 36 points, Robinson managed just 1.10 fantasy points thanks to just 24 rushing yards and two lost fumbles. The Commanders have a running back dream matchup against the New Orleans Saints next week, so we should pay close attention to the coach-speak this week to see if Robinson ends up in the dog house after putting the ball on the ground two times in a key divisional game.

🟣🟡 Justin Jefferson Peaking at the Right Time

Remember that time when everyone was panicking when Justin Jefferson didn’t have a touchdown for six straight weeks? Well, those days are long gone because Jefferson is one of the hottest streaks of his career right now. With 144 receiving yards and two touchdowns against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Jefferson now has 24 receptions, 349 yards, and five touchdowns in his last three games.

As the Minnesota Vikings need a win next week to have a chance at the division title in Week 18, consider Justin Jefferson a top-three wide receiver option again. The connection he and Sam Darnold have developed this year is uncanny and Jefferson is now making catches at every level of the field.

🐏 Cooper Kupp Busts Again in Week 16

After just three catches for 24 yards against the New York Jets, Cooper Kupp officially has two straight bombs in the fantasy playoffs. After getting shut out completely in Week 15, Kupp scores just 3.9 points for any of his managers who managed to squeak into the next round despite his goose egg in Week 15. The passing attack for the Rams has looked out of sync for two straight weeks now, but they are still in the driver’s seat for the NFC West because the Seahawks and Cardinals keep losing.

✅ Chig Okonkwo Was the Right Tight End All Along

No tight end has more than Chig Okonkwo’s 21 targets over the first two rounds of the playoffs. Okonkwo has turned those 21 targets (most of them from Mason Rudolph) and turned them into 17 catches for 140 yards. He has been a top-three tight end each of the last two weeks and now looks like the best possible waiver wire pick-up at the position for fantasy managers needing a tight end for the championship. As of Monday morning, Okonkwo was only rostered in 6% of Yahoo leagues, and that number is likely to spike way up after waivers this week.

Jalen Hurts landed on his head during a rush attempt in the first quarter, leading to a concussion that kept him out the rest of the game. Hurts will now enter concussion protocol in hopes of being cleared ahead of Week 17 when the Eagles will have a chance to clinch the NFC East. If he is unable to go, your fantasy weapons will have to rely on the arm of Kenny Pickett once again.

James Conner was on his way to a truly massive fantasy day but was forced to leave the game against the Carolina Panthers with some sort of right knee injury. Speculation after the fact has been everything from hyperextension to sprain to bone bruise, but more tests will be run on Conner early this week. The Cardinals were eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday so there is a slight concern that any significant issue could just force Arizona to shut him down this year.

Kenneth Walker III was tackled awkwardly which led to an injury to his ankle. He left the game and did not return, so fantasy managers will have to wait and see what the severity of his injury actually is. With the Seattle Seahawks in a short week playing the Chicago Bears, fantasy managers should begin making preparations for another option in case Walker can’t go in the fantasy championships.

Drake London left the game against the New York Giants with a hamstring injury, but coach Raheem Morris said it was not serious and London could have returned if they needed him. At the time, the Falcons were blowing out the Giants, so fantasy managers should breathe a sigh of relief that it looks like London will be ready to go for Week 17.

Sterling Shepard had maybe the best Sunday Night Football player intro of all time, but then proceeded to have a really bad drop and then hurt his hamstring in a close game the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to move out of first place in the NFC South. With the injury happening so late on Sunday night, there is not much information available, but Shepard will have tests run when he returns to Tampa early this week.

CeeDee Lamb has now left for parts of three games in a row with a shoulder injury, and while Lamb still came back and finished Sunday Night Football with seven catches and 105 yards, we need to monitor this situation. With the Dallas Cowboys now officially eliminated from the postseason, do they wind down Lamb to keep him healthy over the last two weeks? We just need him for one more game, but pay close attention to what the Cowboys are saying as they prepare for a tough defense in the Philadelphia Eagles.

Monday Night Football Play on Bleacher Nation Fantasy.

Passing Yards: Spencer Rattler (+56 yards) OVER Jordan Love

All the signs point to this being a massive Josh Jacobs rushing game for the Green Bay Packers. The New Orleans Saints allow 4.9 yards per rush attempt to opponents, which ranks 31st in the NFL. Their 134.4 rushing yards per game allowed is 27th this season.

We have seen the Green Bay Packers deploy Jacobs for 25 or more touches when the matchup favors the running game, so this Monday Night Football game where the Packers are favored by 14.5 points is exactly the right scenario.

As more than two touchdown underdogs and with David Carr and Alvin Kamara out for this game, you can count on the Saints to be throwing early and often. With a 56-yard head start on Jordan Love (who has thrown for under 230 yards in three of his last four games), Rattler can get the ball in the air enough to beat this line.

Download the BNF App and pick yours today!

Must be 18+ (21+ MA & AZ, 19+ AL, NE) and present in a state where Bleacher Nation Fantasy powered by StatHero operates. Terms apply. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Click here https://www.ncpgambling.org/ or call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Still not a 4for4 subscriber? Our new packages are out for 2024/2025 So for access to award-winning rankings, highly actionable content for redraft, DFS and betting, and much more, head to 4for4 and check it all out!

There are also more articles on 4for4.com discussing all things Week 16 in the NFL. Check back throughout the week for much more.