Fantasy Football NFL Week 16 Target Report: Best Options For 2024 Playoffs

There are precious few weeks of fantasy football left. Some are still in the playoff hunt. Others are holding out hope via DFS. And you better believe we’ll be playing whatever forms for fantasy are available to us during the actual NFL playoffs.

Wherever you stand, it’s crucial to know who you can trust, who you can’t, and where the dart throws might be. And that’s what we focus on in this article.  This week in the article, you will see more red names than ever as we narrow down who deserves to be in a championship lineup.

2024 Fantasy Football NFL Week 16 Target Report Preview

Why do we do this? Well, historically incredibly rare for a team to have three players all get 100+ targets. It’s happened only once over the last three years and less than 3% of the time over the last five years.

More teams will have ZERO players get 100+ targets than have three. And, last year, every top 24 WR except one got 100+ targets (and that was Deebo Samuel who scored 5 rushing touchdowns). That’s why the NFL Fantasy Football Week 16 Target Report is so important.

In the chart below you will see our PROJECTION for what we believe will happen. That projection is a mix of what we are seeing on the field, who is actually healthy, and what we predict for the rest of the season.

Naturally, that is going to change from week to week and it’s important to check the notes section at the bottom as to why. Our 2024 NFL Fantasy Football Week 16 Target Report has a note for every single team. So, let’s take a look!

Fantasy Football Target Chart 2024 NFL Week 16

Fantasy Football Week 16 Target Report Advice & Takeaways

NOTE: If a team moved from where they were in the Week 15 NFL target report, they will be denoted with ***

Clear Top Two

Arizona Cardinals

• Trey McBride
• Marvin Harrison Jr
  • For better or for worse, the Cardinals are a fairly simple team in terms of usage. James Conner is on a tear. And Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison are the clear top two targets. We hoped the recent move towards more slot snaps would help Michael Wilson. But he remains a deeper DFS play mostly.

Atlanta Falcons

• Drake London
• Darnell Mooney
  • London maintains his pace of 125 targets while, despite his zero this week, Mooney is still on pace for over 100. Ray-Ray McCloud and Kyle Pitts have offered no consistency - which highlights why we focus on the top two targets on each team.

Baltimore Ravens

• Zay Flowers
• Mark Andrews
  • Rashod Bateman was never going to come close to 100 targets in his role and in this offense. But he still lives in DFS or flex dart throw land despite having only 56 through 14 games. Zay Flowers has 97 targets, and Mark Andrews has inspired enough confidence in him lately to rank him in the TE1 range.

Chicago Bears***

• DJ Moore
• Keenan Allen
  • I honestly should have elevated Keenan Allen last week. We’ve seen enough from him in the Thomas Brown play calling era for him to be included here. And he has 95 targets despite missing two games. In fact, technically the Bears have three players all with 82 targets per Pro Football Focus which would make them the only team with three players on a 100+ target pace. But Rome Odunze is difficult to trust. 

Cincinnati Bengals

• Ja'Marr Chase
• Tee Higgins
  • Same situation here. There are two guys we can trust as pass-catchers. If/when one of them is out, guys like Mike Gesicki and Andrei Iosivas are on the menu. 

Las Vegas Raiders

• Brock Bowers
• Jakobi Meyers
  • Both these guys already have 100+ targets. So that isn’t a question. The only question is the quality of the targets moving forward depending on who the quarterback is. You really can’t go away from Bowers, but Meyers has likely found himself on the fringe of your lineup. He’s naturally better in full PPR than other formats. 

Los Angeles Rams

• Puka Nacua
• Cooper Kupp
  • These two and Kyren Williams are the guys we can consider. This team is one of the easiest to analyze as it’s one of the most highly consolidated. The potential return of Tyler Higbee does nothing for us. 

Philadelphia Eagles

• AJ Brown
• DeVonta Smith
  • Dallas Goedert was already hard to lean on so we’re not going to lean into Grant Calcaterra. AJ Brown is locked in and DeVonta Smith is a guy capable of big games that should probably find a spot in your lineup in leagues with three WRs and a flex. Good matchup this week with Washington. 

San Francisco 49ers

• George Kittle
• Jauan Jennings
  • This past game goes out the window to some degree because of the weather. But we had already moved Deebo Samuel out of our circle of trust given his performances before that. He has not cracked 22 receiving yards in five straight games. The only thing keeping him in lineups at this stage is name value. Kittle and Jauan Jennings are guys we are using, however. 

Seattle Seahawks

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba
• DK Metcalf
  • Tyler Lockett kind of made things easy on us by disappearing into the background. JSN is the WR6 on the season in PPR so it’s not a question with him. DK Metcalf has been less consistent, but the upside of big plays is always there with him. 

Washington Commanders

• Terry McLaurin
• Zach Ertz
  • Of course, once we move Zach Ertz up, he suffers a concussion. Noah Brown is done for the fantasy season as well. Guys like Dyami Brown and Ben Sinnott might be interesting dart throws in DFS, but this is a tough matchup. So, it’s likely McLaurin in your lineups or no one. Unless Ertz clears in time, but he has not practiced as of Wednesday. 

High Consolidation

Cleveland Browns

• David Njoku
• Jerry Jeudy
• Cedric Tillman
• Elijah Moore
  • This quarterback change hurts. Real NFL teams care about turnovers. A lot. We do not care in fantasy football land. There is no question that Dorian Thompson-Robinson is a downgrade for these weapons vs. Jameis Winston. David Njoku, if healthy, would still be a viable option. Jerry Jeudy is now likely operating on the fringe. 

Miami Dolphins

• Tyreek Hill
• Jaylen Waddle
• De’Vone Achane
• Jonnu Smith
  • This team really has developed into the East Coast 49ers. Which makes sense since Mike McDaniel came over from there. They use the fullback a ton which highly consolidates the snaps and targets among these guys. And no one has been hotter lately than Jonnu Smith. 

Minnesota Vikings

• Justin Jefferson
• Jordan Addison
• T.J. Hockenson
  • We always run into trouble with teams like this. Because, when it’s good and they are throwing a ton, everyone can eat. When it’s not, Justin Jefferson can usually still eat but one or more of Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson could end up the odd man out. Hockenson’s route participation has been up lately even if his snap counts aren’t, so we do trust him a little more than before. Hopefully the Seahawks push them to throw but it’s not a great run defense. 

New York Jets

• Davante Adams
• Garrett Wilson
• Breece Hall
  • Aaron Rodgers seems to be going back and forth with the media on whether he’s going to “show the world” or whether he’s going to hang them up. But as of late he’s actually been playing pretty well and letting the ball fly. It’s hard not to use these three guys in your lineup where you have them. Wilson and Adams already have 100 targets on the season - Wilson has 132. 

One Stud, Then Uncertainty

Carolina Panthers

• Adam Thielen
  • It’s fun to get excited about a guy like Jalen Coker. Undrafted player who has some steam this offseason. But is that a player we can trust right now in fantasy playoffs? The reality is that Adam Thielen has done enough but guys like Coker and Xavier Legette have not. The tight ends and David Moore are rotational players at this point though we like Ja’Tavion Sanders in dynasty. 

Dallas Cowboys

• CeeDee Lamb
  • Jake Ferguson has a good matchup, but he really has not delivered us much since Dak Prescott got hurt. Brandin Cooks is back and he’s also a DFS level dart throw but not someone you want to be relying on in playoff matchups.

Denver Broncos

• Courtland Sutton
  • This one is easy now that it’s playoff time. No one ever emerged as the true second target. It’s too late to play that guessing game in your real, meaningful leagues.

Detroit Lions

• Amon Ra St. Brown
  • I know a lot of us play in deeper leagues. Leagues where guys like Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta are in your lineups no question. But I also think deep down you understand why it’s tough to trust these players. Jameson Williams has 67 targets on the season while Sam LaPorta has 57. Amon-Ra St. Brown has 114 - he’s the one guy that is truly a stud right now for fantasy. 

Houston Texans

• Nico Collins 
  • Tank Dell over the last two weeks had one catch for 23 yards against the Jaguars and two catches for 26 yards against the Dolphins. If your team is still in it, you can’t really be considering him in the lineup this week, right? Same goes for Dalton Schultz, who couldn’t offer consistency even when both Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins were out. 

Indianapolis Colts

• Michael Pittman
  • It’s honestly not even super easy to trust Michael Pittman. But at least he offers some semblance of a floor. Josh Downs had a great run when Joe Flacco was the quarterback but his low aDot routes that require quick, accurate throws simply do not mesh well with the playstyle of Anthony Richardson.

Jacksonville Jaguars

• Brian Thomas Jr
  • It feels irresponsible so sit here and definitively say “Brenton Strange is a guy you can trust”. But I will say this. He’s got a good role now with Evan Engram out and he has a good matchup this week - if you need him. Brian Thomas Jr still looks great even with Mac Jones, so we are penciling him into lineups, especially this week. 

Kansas City Chiefs

• Travis Kelce
  • We are tempted to elevate Xavier Worthy here given the confidence boost in him. He’s clearly ahead of the other guys in terms of snaps and targets as of late. But he hasn’t really put it all together yet. And they still do like to rotate guys. With Mahomes now dealing with this ankle issue and a very low over/under for this game, even our trust levels for the great Travis Kelce are waning. DeAndre Hopkins has not played a full snap share essentially since arriving so he’s also more of a flex play only.

Los Angeles Chargers

• Ladd McConkey
  • You know the deal here. Ladd McConkey is the clear top dog. Quentin Johnston and Joshua Palmer are dart throws trying to hit on a long touchdown. And Stone Smartt is an option if you are desperate but his matchup this week with Denver happens to be one of the worst ones. Even we, as big Smartt fans, are looking elsewhere this week. 

New England Patriots

• Hunter Henry
  • Here’s what we wrote last week:
  • “Hunter Henry leads this team in routes run, targets, receptions, and yards. Trust is a strong word, but the tight end position is not an easy one. I’m willing to start him in my leagues against the Cardinals this week and I think you should consider it given your situation. Hopefully he doesn’t make us regret it.”
  • And… he made us regret it. All those things are still true about his spot in that pecking order, but he chose playoff week to come out and have 4 targets after games of 9, 8, and 9. 

New Orleans Saints

• Alvin Kamara
  • If Alvin Kamara is out, then you can use Kendre Miller. But he’s not going to be targeted the way Alvin Kamara typically is because Kamara is a special pass-catching back. The next most interesting player for fantasy is Juwan Johnson simply because he’s TE eligible. 

New York Giants

• Malik Nabers
  • As we’ve mentioned, you might be able to use a guy like Wan’Dale Robinson in full PPR formats, just like guys like Josh Downs or Demario Douglas might be in play. But with the quarterback position in flux, it’s really just Malik Nabers. Nabers is chasing rookie records so there is some incentive there to get him the ball. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

• George Pickens
  • George Pickens is back practicing, so he’ll be in your lineups against the Ravens most likely where you have him. The touchdowns have been nice for Freiermuth, but he wasn’t really being targeted at a high level even with Pickens out. He’s still on the backend TE1, front end TE2 radar with all the injuries and disappointing options. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers***

• Mike Evans
  • Cade Otton is officially out of our trust circle. Mike Evans is chasing a milestone which is always great for fantasy. And Jalen McMillan’s role/targets lately has put him in heavy flex consideration. It doesn’t hurt that he’s finding the endzone too. 

Tennessee Titans

• Calvin Ridley
  • Mason Rudolph is starting this week. Even with Calvin Ridley, you are taking your life in your hands. I wouldn’t dare start anyone else from this team. 

Too Many Mouths To Feed?

Buffalo Bills

• Khalil Shakir
• Amari Cooper
• Dalton Kincaid
• Keon Coleman
• James Cook
  • Khalil Shakir is on pace for 100 targets but it’s hard to call him a “stud” outside of PPR formats. The reality is that they like to rotate and there’s no one consistently playing more than 70% of the snaps from week to week. So, these guys are perpetually going to be in flex consideration. 

Green Bay Packers

• Jayden Reed
• Romeo Doubs
• Christian Watson
• Tucker Kraft
• Josh Jacobs
• Dontayvion Wicks
• Luke Musgrave (OUT)
  • The leader on this team in targets, a 10-win team, is Jayden Reed with 65. Astounding. On a per game basis Romeo Doubs at 5.18 but even that wouldn’t be a 100-target pace, it’s not even a 90-target pace. We were concerned this team might spread the ball around, but this is another level. At this stage, Romeo Doubs feels like the safest option for fantasy while Jayden Reed does have the upside if he can get a few carries and score. But Josh Jacobs has been taking care of business.