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Week 16 of the 2023 fantasy football season starts with a Thursday Night Football showdown between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. This will be an important game for both teams as they are each fighting for a spot in the NFL Playoffs this year. With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, the outcome will play a major role in the playoff picture.
This matchup will also be extremely important for fantasy football players who are participating in the playoffs in Week 16. It's always crucial to get off to a strong start in the first game of a fantasy week, but even more so during the playoffs. Failure to maximize weekly scores can result in a season-ending loss, so managers must properly all available options before finalizing lineup decisions.
Thursday Night Football Week 16 Start 'Em & Sit 'Em fantasy football
Week 16 matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams is loaded with relevant fantasy football options. Both teams feature deep offensive rosters with many various fantasy contributors and many of them are playing in favorable situations this week. This is also projected to be one of the highest-scoring games of the week, further improving the overall fantasy outlook.
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While several factors contribute to solid fantasy football projections for many of the players in this game, managers should still carefully analyze all of the potential options before finalizing their lineup decisions. Blindly starting players in fantasy lineups often results in missing out on maximum fantasy scores. This can be catastrophic during the 2023 playoffs.
Determining which fantasy players to target in any game is based on a large number of variables. Some of these include recent individual performances, injuries to relevant players, potential game scripts, expected offensive roles, direct weekly matchups, and projected team totals. This helps to reveal which players make the best lineup options each week.
This specific strategy highlights the importance of placing weekly values on all players, rather than basing lineup decisions on season-long outlooks. It is usually more beneficial to target players in the best weekly situations that create the most upside, as opposed to simply starting the best overall players. This is even more true with the 2023 fantasy football playoffs underway.
This process can be complicated, but the Start/Sit Optimizer makes it much easier. This useful tool considers all of the factors for any player in a given week to generate lineup suggestions and fantasy projections. Managers who take advantage of it often gain an edge over the rest of their league and can come that much closer to a league championship.
The Optimizer was also used to help generate the following list of players to potentially target and fade in fantasy football lineups on Thursday Night Football for Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season.
TNF Week 16 Fantasy Football Start 'Em Picks
Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford has seen a recent resurgence in his fantasy football value. After failing to finish inside of the top 15 weekly quarterbacks in any of his first eight games this year, he has now recorded three top-eight finishes in the past four weeks. The only one where he didn't, he still finished at QB12, making him a starter on most fantasy rosters. He can be used in Week 16 in a projected high-scoring game on his current hot streak.
Kyren Williams
Kyren Williams is having a sensational fantasy football season as one of the biggest breakout stars of the year. Despite serving as a backup to start the season, and also missing four games with an injury, he has still been one of the best fantasy football running backs this year. In games he has started, he ranks as the RB2 in fantasy points per game.
Alvin Kamara
Alvin Kamara will be playing in a challenging direct matchup this week against the Rams' rushing defense that allows the fourth-fewest fantasy points per game to running backs. He has still been too good this season to leave on the bench in Week 16 and his receiving upside always gives him one of the safest floors of any player in his position.
Cooper Kupp
Cooper Kupp has been up and down this year, but when he's on, he's still one of the best overall fantasy wide receivers. He has eclipsed eight receptions and 100 yards in each of the past two weeks and four times in his past ten games. With his volume being consistently increased over the past month, he is a safe lineup option for Week 16.
Puka Nacua
Puka Nacua has been one of the biggest breakout stars in fantasy football this year, especially among rookies. Even when competing with Kupp's massive workload for targets, his volume has remained extremely reliable this year. This includes receiving at least seven targets in all 14 of his games this season. He is a WR2 on many fantasy rosters in most weeks.
Chris Olave
Chris Olave missed his first game of the season last week but is fully expected to play in Week 16 on Thursday Night Football. He has ranked among the top 25 wide receivers in PPR leagues for each of his past five games, giving him plenty of upside in a potential shootout with the Rams.
Taysom Hill
Taysom Hill is one of the most unique fantasy football players due to his super-utility role with the Saints. He contributes as a passer, rusher, and receiver, giving him plenty of routes for fantasy production. He is technically listed as a tight end, and considering the Rams allow the fifth-most fantasy points per game to the position, Hill makes for a solid Week 16 play.
TNF Week 16 Fantasy Football Sit 'Em Picks
Derek Carr
Derek Carr has been having a disappointing 2023 fantasy football season, totaling just two weekly finishes among the top ten quarterbacks and just five multi-touchdown games. He has also exceeded two touchdowns just once this season. Despite a favorable matchup against the Rams' sixth-worst defenses against fantasy quarterbacks, Carr is better off faded in traditional 1QB leagues. He should be used only in 2QB and Superflex formats this week.
Rashid Shaheed
Rashid Shaheed was expected to see a major boost to his fantasy production when Michael Thomas went out with an injury. This hasn't been the case as he has totaled just five receptions and 45 yards across the past four weeks. He should not only be faded in Week 16, but he is safe to drop at this point for managers who added him as an upside pick off of the waiver wire.
Tyler Higbee
Tyler Higbee has turned in some big games during the 2023 fantasy football season, but he has also been extremely inconsistent. He has finished among the top ten tight ends three times this year but has also ranked outside of the top 20 in eight different weeks. His floor is too low to trust in a win-or-go-home game for the fantasy playoffs.
