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“Last game of the year, Brent. Can’t hold anything back.” – Dan Fouts

That’s right, baby! Week 16 of the NFL is here. For the majority of you, this is it. The finals are upon us. With so many teams resting players in the final week of the regular season, this is usually the week where the fantasy playoffs come to a close and a winner is finally crowned. If this isn’t the end for you and you have one more week to labor through, don’t worry – next week’s piece will include a full list of players we expect to sit and, subsequently, screw your fantasy season. For today though, it’s business as usual. We’re going to start with last week’s targets leaders, see how the overall targets leaderboard is affected and then what that could mean for this week.

So let’s not waste any more time and let’s get to it…

Week 15 Targets Leaders

 

Odell Beckham Jr., WR NYG – While there might not be anything new to add regarding Beckham and his “must-start” status, it sure is fun to talk about him, isn’t it? The guy is just ridiculous and he’s single-handedly pushed people through their playoffs with one game better than the game before. He’s just 11 targets behind Rueben Randle in four fewer games and has closed the gap significantly regarding target percentage. Over his last four games, he’s seen 49 targets, has averaged 127.3 receiving yards per game and has a total of six touchdowns. He’s also Eli Manning’s go-to- guy inside the red zone as evidence by a whopping seven targets inside the 20 yard line this past week. If you own him, congratulations. Perhaps instead of a trophy, your league should just buy you an ODB jersey.

, WR ATL – If you’re a Julio Jones owner, you’re doing just fine if you were able to pick up Douglas. If not, well then trouble is brewing. About the only person who said Jones was playing this past week was an overly-optimistic Mike Smith, coach of the Falcons. No one, and I mean no one, else backed him up. And now we know why. Whiule the Falcons ultimately lost the game, they didn’t miss a beat with Douglas in there. He collected a team-high 14 targets and proved himself incredibly reliable with his 10 catches for 131 yards. He may not have found the end zone this week as Roddy White hogged the red zone targets, but should Jones be out again, you can expect similar targets with many more red zone looks.

DeAndre Hopkins, WR HOU – With Andre Johnson out with a concussion, it was a no-brainer that Hopkins would see all the targets and should have been started. However now with Ryan Fitzpatrick AND Tom Savage out, there’s just no way I am even thinking about starting Hopkins. Strictly in the fantasy sense, he’s dead to me.

Mychal Rivera, TE OAK – The late-season surge from Rivera has been a nice, little surprise for those who have struggled with the tight end position all year, especially in a PPR format. He’s now averaged nine targets over the last three games and has turned into a heavily-leaned on option for rookie quarterback Derek Carr as evidenced by his steadily increasing target percentage. It’s always tought to find help this late, but if you sift through the wire, there’s a chance someone like Rivera has slipped through the cracks.

Nate Washington, WR TEN – I was on the fence regarding my trust in Washington this week. Sure it was the Jets he was facing, Justin Hunter was out and Kendall Wright was banged up, but with the switch back to Jake Locker sand just the train wreck that has been the Titans offense this year, I had my doubts. Well, he came through in one favorable match-up and has a pretty decent one against the 17th-ranked Jaguars pass D. It’s not that I’m running out to grab him, but if he’s available and I’m in need of a potentially helpful WR3 play, I might look in his direction.

Overall Targets Leaderboard

 

Target Percentage Leaders

/Marques Colston, NO – While Graham’s target percentage remains relatively unchanged, the rise in rate for Colston should be monitored. Not just because Colston is seeing more work, but his work isn’t always going to come at the expense of guys like Kenny Stills. Given the lack of real production we’re seeing from Graham in recent weeks, Colston’s numbers could climb even higher by the end of the next two weeks. Watch for Graham’s numbers to possibly take a hit at the worst possible time for fantasy owners.

Red Zone Target Percentages

Greg Olsen/Kelvin Benjamin, CAR – No one is waiting to hear more about the status of Cam Newton than Olsen and Benjamin owners. Just one game with Derek Anderson under center and the red zone looks for both players fluctuates by nearly two-percent with the advantage heading Olsen’s way. Should Anderson get the start again, keep that in mind when the Panthers end up down in the red zone. If Olsen is getting 40-percent of the looks down there, then you can bet that he’s the one who could end up with multiple scores.

Potential Risers

Michael Floyd
Torrey Smith
Malcom Floyd
Heath Miller
Coby Fleener

Potential Fallers

Doug Baldwin
Dwayne Bowe
Kendall Wright
Allen Hurns
Greg Jennings

Week 16 Match-Up to Watch

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints – Well how do we not single out this game as potentially one of the biggest for fantasy owners? You’ve got two of the worst defense here going up against two of the most high-octant offenses around. Even if Julio Jones is out for the Falcons, Harry Douglas can do plenty to replace him. Matt Ryan and Drew Brees ina shootout in a dome with a potential division title on the line? Yeah, we like this one a lot.