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Week 15 is in the books, which means that the 2024 fantasy football season has come to an end for many fantasy managers.
If you are reading this, it very likely means that you are still fighting for a fantasy football championship. Congratulations if that's the case! You certainly don't need me to tell you that every decision you make from here on out is of crucial importance.
Without wasting any time, let's dig right into the Week 16 Fantasy Football Playoff edition of Risers and Fallers. We'll touch on players and decisions that could help you bring home the coveted championship trophy over the next two weeks. Good luck!
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Week 16 Fantasy Football Risers
Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
Already the overall fantasy RB4 this season while sharing snaps with David Montgomery, Gibbs should/can/will go ballistic during the fantasy football playoffs with Montgomery now lost for the rest of the year to an MCL injury.
Jahmyr Gibbs with no David Montgomery #OnePride pic.twitter.com/Pt63b5xizm
— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰 (@the_det_times) December 16, 2024
Despite garnering just a 53.1% snap share in 2024, Gibbs ranks second in the NFL in total TDs (14), as well as fifth at the RB position in both rushing (1,047) and receiving (395) yards.
We can expect his volume to spike to elite levels with Monty on the shelf. With his backfield mate ailing, Gibbs logged a season-high 75% snap share in Week 15 against the Bills. On the three occasions Montgomery was inactive last season, Gibbs averaged 18 carries per game on a 72% snap share.
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
The 2023 second-round pick looked like the future at the position for the Jaguars in Week 15. Getting the start in place of Jacksonville's incumbent starting tight end, Evan Engram, Strange balled out by reeling in 11 of 12 targets for 73 yards against the Jets on a 26% target share.
It's not the first time he's impressed this season. The second-year pro filled in admirably for an injured Engram earlier in 2024, amassing 120 yards, 12 catches, and two TDs from Weeks 2-5. With Engram on IR for the remainder of the year -- and with just one year and no guaranteed money left on his contract -- it's very likely that Jacksonville funnels opportunities to Strange down the stretch to confirm that he can be its tight end of the future.
With the Raiders and Titans on deck in the next two weeks, the second-year pro could be a difference-maker in the fantasy football playoffs.
Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns
Poor Nick Chubb suffered a broken foot in Cleveland's Week 15 loss to the Chiefs. The injury will end Chubb's season and send Jerome Ford (back) into the lead-dog role for the Browns.
Browns HC Kevin Stefanski says RB Nick Chubb suffered a broken foot vs. Chiefs. pic.twitter.com/bJS47VQiWy
— NFL (@NFL) December 15, 2024
Due to Cleveland's overall offensive deficiencies -- especially with Dorian Thompson-Robinson expected to get the start at QB over Jameis Winston in Week 16 -- Ford shouldn't be viewed as a fantasy playoff savior, but he does provide a beacon of hope for some managers; specifically, those who are scrambling to deal with the recent loss of Chubb or Detroit's David Montgomery.
Ford was in this position during the early part of the season, as Cleveland awaited Chubb's return from the injury that ended his 2023 campaign. In his five healthy games without Chubb, Ford averaged 11.94 fantasy points per game and garnered a snap share of 75% or more in three of those outings.
Davante Adams, New York Jets
Adams' fantasy managers have battled through a frustrating season, but their patience has been rewarded down the stretch. The veteran exploded for 198 yards and two TDs on nine catches last week against the Jaguars to lead all wide receivers in fantasy scoring.
While the final Week 15 result was certainly a ceiling performance from Adams, it probably shouldn't have come as a surprise given his recent underlying metrics. The 31-year-old wideout has been targeted 11 or more times in five of New York's last six games. It's an elite volume that's resulted in back-to-back outings of 100+ yards and at least one touchdown.
With New York's season essentially over from a win/loss standpoint, Aaron Rodgers seems content to spend what is likely his last games with the Jets relentlessly slinging the rock to his old friend and former Packers teammate. With matchups against the Rams and Bills remaining, we could see more fireworks from Adams.
Other Risers: Kendre Miller, Malik Nabers, Aaron Rodgers, Tyjae Spears, Jalen McMillan
Week 16 Fantasy Football Fallers
Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns
An underachiever for his entire career, Jeudy was unlocked with the insertion of Jameis Winston into the Browns starting lineup. Since Winston's first start in Week 8, Jeudy has been a legitimate league-winner for his managers, ranking as the overall fantasy WR4 across Weeks 8 to 15.
However, fantasy managers who have ridden the Jeudy wave into their league's playoffs have had the magic carpet violently pulled from beneath their feet with the news that Cleveland will start Dorian Thompson-Robinson at QB in Week 16.
DTR averaged a shockingly low 3.9 yards per pass attempt in parts of eight games last season. To say that his presence craters Jeudy's value for the fantasy playoffs is an understatement.
Breece Hall, New York Jets
Hall's status as a faller comes as no surprise to his fantasy managers, who have had to deal with injuries, ineffectiveness, and concerns that Hall could be shut down for the season over the past month.
Breece Hall managers really needed this TD 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ZKxQvjIvdC
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) December 15, 2024
He emerged from a dreamy Week 15 matchup against the Jaguars with a solid, if unspectacular, 12.1 fantasy points -- thanks in large part to a last-minute TD -- but Hall's outlook for the fantasy playoffs remains shaky at best.
He's topped 15 fantasy points just once since Week 8 and simply hasn't looked like he's at 100% physically. As long as Hall is active against the Rams in Week 16, you're probably still starting him, but managers should continue to temper their expectations.
Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
Bowers has been so spectacular in his first pro campaign that it's hard for his fantasy managers to even be mad, but the timing of the dip in his fantasy production is brutal. His already ugly quarterback situation has gotten worse as the season has progressed and hit rock bottom with Bowers being forced to catch passes from Desmond Ridder in what should have been a smash spot against the Falcons in Week 15.
Unsurprisingly, Ridder's presence tanked Bowers' fantasy output, as he tallied just 35 yards on three catches last week. He's now failed to top 50 receiving yards -- or hit double-digit fantasy points -- in three of Las Vegas' last four.
His Week 16 prospects would be brighter if Aidan O'Connell can return from injury, but Bowers' fantasy managers have little choice but to hope the rookie's talent can somehow overcome the Raiders' hideous quarterback play the rest of the way.
Amari Cooper, Buffalo Bills
Sometimes you just have to take your "L." I honestly thought the midseason trade that sent Amari Cooper to Buffalo would be a boon to both his fantasy value and the Bills offense as a whole. Boy, was I wrong. Though I think Cooper could still evolve into a valuable asset for the Bills in the real-life NFL playoffs, my hopes for him in the fantasy version have fizzled to nearly nothing.
Just now realizing that Josh Allen completed passes to nine different receivers yesterday, and none of them were to Amari Cooper, who wasn't even targeted coming off a game in which he had 14 targets. Honestly, I don't even know what to make of that. #Bills
— Jay Skurski (@JaySkurski) December 16, 2024
While the Buffalo offense was busy dropping 48 points on Detroit in Week 15, Cooper logged the dreaded goose egg against the Lions. The most puzzling part is that he received no targets last week after seeing 14 targets in a Week 14 loss to the Rams.
Since he made his Bills debut in Week 7, the veteran has missed two games due to injury, caught three or fewer passes four times, and topped 15 fantasy points on zero occasions.
Other Fallers: Alvin Kamara, Kyler Murray, Chiefs pass-catchers, Tank Dell, DK Metcalf
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