Anyone can look at fantasy football rankings, but what if you like risks and want to swing for the fences? As the season goes on, this will be the spot for you to find the sleepers to start in your fantasy football league. Especially when byes and injuries start to pile up. Each week I will be picking one fantasy football sleeper at each position. These players are set to outperform their ranking and help win your week on the way to becoming a League Winner! Welcome to Fantasy Football 2023: Week 16 Sleepers.
Now let’s look at what we are picking from:
- I’m defining a sleeper as someone ranked outside of the top 30 for WRs and RBs who will finish in the top 20 at the position. That would be around 14 fantasy points based on the average of last year.
- For QBs and TEs, I am defining them as outside the top 12 but will finish in the top 10. Last year using average points per game that would be 21 fantasy points for QB and 11 fantasy points for TE.
- PPR Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) on Fantasy Pros will be used. These players may not be on the waiver wire but could be big
- I will track the hit rate based on the above settings but also how far the picked sleepers outperform their initial rankings for the week.
Week 15 Review
Week 15 we had a rough go of it but Tucker Kraft was a big hit. Geno Smith ended up not playing and Odell Beckham Jr was a total flop on Sunday Night Football. I am 12/48 on sleeper hits and 24/39 on players finishing higher than they were initially ranked. For the year I am at 61.5% of hitting the player ranking above their initial ranking.
So, now let’s take a look at some fantasy football sleepers for Week 16 of the NFL season.
QB: Nick Mullens vs the Minnesota Vikings
Fantasy Pros ECR: QB16
The Minnesota Vikings offense was the best it has been in weeks with Nick Mullens as the starter last week. Mullens finished as QB11 last week and had over 300 yards and that was with a couple of bad turnovers. This week he gets the Detroit Lions who give up the fifth most points to quarterbacks. The Vikings will have to keep up with the Lions high-scoring offense so I see Mullens throwing quite a bit to keep up.
RB: Gus Edwards vs the San Francisco 49ers
Fantasy Pros ECR: RB34
I know the San Francisco 49ers‘ defense is very good and allows the seventh fewest fantasy points to running backs, but I see this game being low-scoring defensive battle. With Keaton Mitchell out, I see Gus Edwards having a bigger role. Edwards had 58 rushing yards last week which was the most he has had in three weeks. Also when the Baltimore Ravens get close, Edwards is used as he has a touchdown in seven out of the last nine games.
WR: Tyler Boyd vs the Pittsburgh Steelers
Fantasy Pros ECR: WR43
Ja’Marr Chase has a shoulder injury so Tyler Boyd will move up to the WR2 spot for the Cincinnati Bengals. I know Joe Burrow is out but Jake Browning has over 275 passing yards in his last three games. The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is not as strong this year and just allowed Gardner Minshew to throw three touchdowns last week. I expect Boyd to be very involved in this game.
TE: Cade Otton vs the Jacksonville Jaguars
Fantasy Pros ECR: TE20
One thing that the Jacksonville Jaguars have always struggled with is defending tight ends. They are allowing the third-highest amount of fantasy points to tight ends this season and just allowed Isaiah Likely to get 70 yards and a touchdown. Cade Otton has had a quiet past few games but does have over 40 receiving yards in three out of five games. I see him having a huge game this week.
Good luck to everyone this week! Hopefully these Week 16 sleepers can take your fantasy football team over the top. Make sure to follow our content all year so we can help you to be a League Winner!
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Brandon Haye
Brandon grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and works as a health insurance data analyst. He has no children, but two fur babies - Squirt and Brownie. He and his wife, Katie, spend their time playing poker and enjoying time with their pups. Brandon is a huge Michigan Wolverine and Jacksonville Jaguars fan. He at one time was in 77 fantasy leagues and loves the game of football. Brandon started writing for The Leauge Winners in 2021.