Week 16 Flex Rankings for Fantasy Football

The first week of fantasy football playoff action did not come without its share of casualties. Among the carnage were season-ending injuries suffered by David Montgomery and Nick Chubb. While Chubb had hardly looked like his old self upon a midseason return, Montgomery had been one of the most consistent fantasy backs this season. Outside of last week’s early exit, Montgomery had finished as a top-24 fantasy running back in 12 of 13 games.  It seems evident that Montgomery’s injury should enhance the fantasy value of teammate Jahmyr Gibbs. But Gibbs is already the overall RB3 on the season. It is not as if fantasy managers were struggling with whether to start Gibbs because of Montgomery’s presence. For what it is worth, Gibbs is the number one overall player in my Week 16 Flex rankings.

The injury to Chubb is likely to cause a greater ripple effect. Jerome Ford now stands to take over as Cleveland’s top running back. Over the first six weeks, he occupied that role while Chubb was rehabbing from a knee injury that kept him out for over a year. In those six weeks, Ford was the overall RB31 in Half-PPR leagues. He only had one top-20 weekly finish in that span, though he finished inside the top-40 five times. He was a potential Flex play, depending on your other options. That is the area where I have Ford ranked this week as well. He certainly has a favorable matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. But Cleveland is turning to Dorian Thompson-Robinson to lead the team against its cross-state rival. Thompson-Robinson has averaged 3.7 yards per pass attempt while throwing one career touchdown pass against seven interceptions.

Montgomery and Chubb were not the only backs to suffer injuries last week. Saints star Alvin Kamara left Sunday’s game with a groin injury. I ranked him as if he will play. But this is a situation fantasy managers must pay particular attention to. New Orleans does not play until Monday night this week. The Saints are also three games out of the final playoff spot in the NFC with three games remaining. Odds are that New Orleans will be mathematically eliminated well before kickoff on Monday. I would not be shocked to see the Saints hold Kamara out if the playoffs are out of reach come game time. In that scenario, Kendre Miller would stand to benefit the most. The second-year back is a priority Week 16 waiver add and would likely slot in as an RB2 in 12-team leagues if the Saints sit Kamara.

Remember that we have two Saturday games this week in addition to the Thursday night game. This should not necessarily impact who you start. But I would keep all Thursday and Saturday players out of your Flex spot. It is always best to keep that spot open until Sunday. Also, the weather could impact several games on the Week 16 slate. I have not factored that into my calculus yet because it is relatively early in the week. More than half of this week’s games will be played outdoors, with cold temperatures and potential precipitation. I would not be in a rush to downgrade players just yet. But, for example, we have seen San Francisco’s offense torpedoed in two of their last three games due to bad weather. Yet another minefield that fantasy managers may have to navigate in their fantasy football semifinals.

Below are my initial Week 16 Flex rankings, designed to help you with your roster and lineup decisions. As is always the case, I base these rankings on half-PPR scoring formats. You may need to adjust accordingly if your league uses a different scoring system. See you next week in the Championship Round!

Check out all of our Week 16 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Flex

Week 16 Flex Rankings

Make sure to check out all of our Week 16 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!