Fantasy Football 2013 Wide Receiver Rankings: Week 16
Julian Edelman
Calvin Johnson hasn't scored a touchdown or gone over 100 yards in two straight games, but he's still No. 1 on Athlon Sports' fantasy football Week 16 wide receiver rankings. For one, Johnson still leads his peers in fantasy points, despite the best efforts of Josh Gordon, Antonio Brown, Brandon Marshall, Demaryius Thomas and others, but also because he's home this week against a pretty beat-down Giants defense. Megatron is one of the few players who can make a lot of noise even if he catches a few passes.
As for the rest of this week's field, Gordon, Marshall, Brown and Thomas are all must-start options, along with A.J. Green, Dez Bryant, DeSean Jackson and Marshall's teammate, Alshon Jeffery. In particular, we really like the Chicago vs. Philadelphia matchup, as the Eagles are giving up the most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. The Vikings aren't too far behind, which bodes well for Green and we wouldn't be at all surprised if the Dallas-Washington pairing is a high-scoring affair. That's good news for Bryant owners as well as Pierre Garcon, who caught seven passes for 129 yards and a touchdown with Kirk Cousins as his quarterback last week.
That's not to say that Denver won't be up to its usual tricks against Houston, so by no means are you sitting either Thomas or Eric Decker. And likewise, Andre Johnson should add to his league-leading receptions total (99) against the 28th-ranked passing defense in the league. What remains to be seen for that game, however, is will Wes Welker return after missing last week because of a concussion? Larry Fitzgerald and Victor Cruz are also going through the required concussion tests and are questionable for Sunday. Although Fitzgerald's road matchup in Seattle and the Giants' offensive struggles may be enough reason alone to leave both on the bench this week.
As far as some less-heralded options go, what about New England's Julian Edelman? He's picked up the slack and then some since Rob Gronkowski tore his ACL and MCL, racking up 39 receptions over his last four games, including 13 for 139 yards and a touchdown against Miami. It's pretty clear that he has become Tom Brady's favorite target, as Edelman has quietly put together a top-15 fantasy season. And then there's San Diego rookie Keenan Allen. He caught just two passes in last week's surprise win in Denver, but both of them went for touchdowns. He's emerged as not only Philip Rivers' No. 1 target, Allen is a leading contender for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He has seven touchdown grabs on the season and needs just 69 yards receiving against Oakland to reach 1,000. All Allen did in his first game against the Raiders was haul in six passes for 115 yards and a score.
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2013 NFL Week 16 Fantasy Football Rankings — Wide Receivers
Rk | Player | Team | OPP |
1 | Calvin Johnson | DET | vs. NYG |
2 | Josh Gordon | CLE | at NYJ |
3 | A.J. Green | CIN | vs. MIN |
4 | Brandon Marshall | CHI | at PHI |
5 | Alshon Jeffery | CHI | at PHI |
6 | Dez Bryant | DAL | at WAS |
7 | Demaryius Thomas | DEN | at HOU |
8 | Antonio Brown | PIT | at GB |
9 | DeSean Jackson | PHI | vs. CHI |
10 | Andre Johnson | HOU | vs. DEN |
11 | Pierre Garcon | WAS | vs. DAL |
12 | Vincent Jackson | TB | at STL |
13 | Keenan Allen | SD | vs. OAK |
14 | Jordy Nelson | GB | vs. PIT |
15 | Eric Decker | DEN | at HOU |
16 | Julian Edelman | NE | at BAL |
17 | Torrey Smith | BAL | vs. NE |
18 | Mike Wallace | MIA | at BUF |
19 | Marques Colston | NO | at CAR |
20 | Michael Crabtree | SF | vs. ATL (Mon.) |
21 | Anquan Boldin | SF | vs. ATL (Mon.) |
22 | Kendall Wright | TEN | at JAC |
23 | Dwayne Bowe | KC | vs. IND |
24 | Larry Fitzgerald | ARI | at SEA |
25 | Wes Welker | DEN | at HOU |
26 | Roddy White | ATL | at SF (Mon.) |
27 | Danny Amendola | NE | at BAL |
28 | T.Y. Hilton | IND | at KC |
29 | James Jones | GB | vs. PIT |
30 | Greg Jennings | MIN | at CIN |
31 | Brian Hartline | MIA | at BUF |
32 | Riley Cooper | PHI | vs. CHI |
33 | Steve Smith | CAR | vs. NO |
34 | Doug Baldwin | SEA | vs. ARI |
35 | Rod Streater | OAK | at SD |
36 | Golden Tate | SEA | vs. ARI |
37 | Cordarrelle Patterson | MIN | at CIN |
38 | Harry Douglas | ATL | at SF (Mon.) |
39 | Hakeem Nicks | NYG | at DET |
40 | Rueben Randle | NYG | at DET |
41 | Jarrett Boykin | GB | vs. PIT |
42 | Stevie Johnson | BUF | vs. MIA |
43 | Michael Floyd | ARI | at SEA |
44 | Emmanuel Sanders | PIT | at GB |
45 | Robert Woods | BUF | vs. MIA |
46 | Denarius Moore | OAK | at SD |
47 | Marlon Brown | BAL | vs. NE |
48 | Andre Holmes | OAK | at SD |
49 | DeAndre Hopkins | HOU | vs. DEN |
50 | Ace Sanders | JAC | vs. TEN |
Rankings are based upon Athlon Sports' standard scoring system:
OFFENSIVE SCORING
All touchdowns are 6 points
1 point for 25 yards passing
1 point for 10 yards rushing/receiving
Receptions are .5 points
Interceptions/fumbles are minus-2 points
Additional Week 16 Positional Rankings
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Tight Ends
Defense/Special Teams
Kickers
