Dalvin Cook will be at the top of his owners' minds as they prepare for fantasy football championships in Week 16, and we'll all be waiting a long time to know what's up, as the Vikings don't play until Monday night. On one hand, that's highly stressful since he's been one of the best running backs all season and has a solid matchup against the Packers. On the other, we have enough confidence in Minnesota handcuffs Alexander Mattison and Mike Boone to say that at least one will be in the starting tier in our Week 16 fantasy RB rankings.
Our fingers are crossed that you could overcome Cook's shoulder injury and make it into your fantasy football championship despite that setback. The first order of business for all Cook owners is to pick up both Mattison and Boone on waivers. Until we understand what the deal is with Mattison's ankle injury, there's no taking chances in what for most of you is the final week of your fantasy season. Whatever you do, you want a Minnesota running back hammer on Monday Night Football.
WEEK 16 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
If you're the lucky owner who beat a Cook owner because of his injury, you should also consider picking up Mattison and/or Boone. There's no reason you can't reap double the rewards. The other prime pickup at the RB spot for Week 16 is Kerryon Johnson (knee). It's not a lock that he'll return from Injured Reserve, but he's been back at practice and is eligible to be activated this week. It's not often you get a back that talented off waivers this late in the season.
If you're worrying yourself into the ground about tough matchups, like Todd Gurley against the 49ers or Devin Singletary against the Patriots, it could be one of those pickups who makes you feel more at ease. Gurley probably still needs to start for you, especially after Devonta Freeman found running room against San Francisco, but Singletary is a definite sit candidate in favor of someone like Johnson or a Viking.
WEEK 16 DFS LINEUPS:
FD Cash | FD GPP | DK Cash | DK GPP | Y! Cash | Y! GPP
You could also try and target Adrian Peterson, who's available in some leagues and looked pretty spry in Week 15. Any variety of PPR scoring owners could also look Patrick Laird's way, as a matchup with the Bengals should see him get plenty of touches and possibly find the end zone (although if you want Laird, keep an eye on news out of Miami this week after they gave rookie Myles Gaskin a longer look Sunday, too).
WEEK 16 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
The last piece of advice to give for fantasy football championships is this very unanalytical thinking: Don't get too cute. A bad matchup or a little injury aren't always the worst thing in the world for a stud back. Would you rather your season rest in the hands of a guy like Gurley or a guy like Laird? That's what I thought. The last thing you need is to be kicking yourself all offseason for going away from the player you've started all year only to see him dominate.
Reminder: These rankings will be adjusted throughout week, so check back often for the latest updates and analysis!
MORE WEEK 16:
Waiver pickups | FAAB planning | Stock watch | Snap counts | Fantasy playoff tips
Week 16 Fantasy RB Rankings
MORE WEEK 16 DFS: Stacks | Values | Lineup Builder
These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues.
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Christian McCaffrey, CAR @ IND. McCaffrey has gotten you this far. There's no reason he doesn't have one more big game left in those legs. |
| 2 | Saquon Barkley, NYG @ WAS |
| 3 | Nick Chubb, CLE vs. BAL |
| 4 | Marlon Mack, IND vs. CAR. The Panthers have allowed the most fantasy points to running backs this season. There's no doubting Mack in this one as a solid volume play in a fantastic matchup. |
| 5 | Chris Carson, SEA vs. ARZ |
| 6 | Ezekiel Elliott, DAL @ PHI |
| 7 | Leonard Fournette, JAX @ ATL |
| 8 | Joe Mixon, CIN @ MIA. Mixon looking good running the ball against the Patriots was a welcome sign heading into a favorable matchup against the Dolphins in Week 16. You can definitely count on Mixon in this one. |
| 9 | Mark Ingram, BAL @ CLE |
| 10 | Kenyan Drake, ARZ @ SEA. Drake probably won't score four touchdowns again, but he's turned into a rising star again after being freed from Miami. Start him with confidence despite the tough road environment in Seattle. |
| 11 | Devonta Freeman, ATL vs. JAX. Jacksonville has surged in the wrong direction and allows the second-most fantasy points to running backs in 2019. Freeman showed some wiggle even against the 49ers, so the Jaguars shouldn't pose a threat. |
| 12 | Le'Veon Bell, NYJ vs. PIT. Revenge game. If you've been riding with Le'Veon all season, you are here, too. |
| 13 | Phillip Lindsay, DEN vs. DET. Detroit has been gouged on the ground all season, allowing the third-most fantasy points to RBs. Lindsay won't be the only rusher to get looks for Denver, but as usual, he's the preferred option to Royce Freeman. |
| 14 | Melvin Gordon, LAC vs. OAK. Fumble woes hit Gordon in Week 15, but he's trusted enough that he should be back out there to run all over a shaky Oakland defense. |
| 15 | Todd Gurley, LAR @ SF. Yes, San Francisco has allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to RBs. But the Niners have allowed 4.28 yards per carry and mostly avoided trouble by limiting scores. Gurley should be fine here. |
| 16 | Alvin Kamara, NO @ TEN. As frustrating as Kamara's rushing outputs have been all season, you can't turn away from him now in crunch time of the fantasy season after he was a top-four pick in the preseason. |
| 17 | Mike Boone, MIN vs. GB. We've currently removed Dalvin Cook and inserted Boone here as the likely starter with Alexander Mattison also hurting. |
| 18 | James Conner, PIT @ NYJ. Pittsburgh didn't use Conner enough Sunday, but the Steelers will have a chance to rectify that against the Jets in Week 16, and it should be worth it to keep Conner in your lineup. |
| 19 | Aaron Jones, GB @ MIN |
| 20 | David Montgomery, CHI vs. KC |
| 21 | Raheem Mostert, SF vs. LAR. A third-straight game of Mostert dominating San Francisco carries leaves no doubt that he's the 49ers RB to play in Week 16. |
| 22 | DeAndre Washington, OAK @ LAC. Josh Jacobs is out for Week 16, so Washington will get the Oakland start and dominate touches. Washington saw 20 touches when Jacobs was out in Week 14. |
| 23 | Adrian Peterson, WAS vs. NYG. One last hurrah for AP against the Giants? Seems reasonable to me after he looked spry in Week 15. |
| 24 | Miles Sanders, PHI vs. DAL |
| 25 | Dion Lewis, TEN vs. NO |
| 26 | Austin Ekeler, LAC vs. OAK |
| 27 | James White, NE vs. BUF |
| 28 | Devin Singletary, BUF @ NE. Of all the matchups to avoid, this might be it, despite Buffalo's rushing success against New England in Week 4. Singletary is a bit safer in PPR leagues than he is in standard formats. |
| 29 | Kerryon Johnson, DET @ DEN. Assuming Johnson (knee) makes it off of Injured Reserve, you can consider him in FLEX spots this week. Just beware of the risk of us not really knowing what his workload will be. |
| 30 | Kareem Hunt, CLE vs. BAL |
| 31 | Ronald Jones, TB vs. HOU |
| 32 | Patrick Laird, MIA vs. CIN. Laird's workload was eaten into by Myles Gaskin in Week 15, but unless Brian Flores says otherwise during the week, Laird still gets the slight edge here in a game that the Dolphins should actually be favored in. |
| 33 | Peyton Barber, TB vs. HOU |
| 34 | Myles Gaskin, MIA vs. CIN |
| 35 | Carlos Hyde, HOU @ TB. Hyde's bad matchups down the stretch have been unfortunate, as he's had a really solid season. But you can do better than him against a defense that's allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to running backs this year. |
| 36 | Tarik Cohen, CHI vs. KC |
| 37 | Nyheim Hines, IND vs. CAR |
| 38 | Duke Johnson Jr., HOU @ TB |
| 39 | Latavius Murray, NO @ TEN |
| 40 | Jamaal Williams, GB @ MIN |
| 41 | Sony Michel, NE vs. BUF. Michel saw nine snaps in Week 14. He received 19 carries in Week 15. The Patriots are unpredictable to the point that it's hard to count on anyone beyond Julian Edelman and James White. Since the Bills are above average against the run, you don't need to mess with Michel's risk this week. |
| 42 | Matt Breida, SF vs. LAR |
| 43 | Royce Freeman, DEN vs. DET |
| 44 | Dare Ogunbowale, TB vs. HOU |
| 45 | Darwin Thompson, KC @ CHI |
| 46 | Ameer Abdullah, MIN vs. GB. With Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison both hurting, Abdullah may be the backup Monday night and get passing-down involvement.. |
| 47 | Chris Thompson, WAS vs. NYG |
| 48 | Spencer Ware, KC @ CHI. Ware has gotten a surprisingly decent workload for the Chiefs with Damien Williams out. This is probably a backfield to avoid altogether with a trip to Chicago up next and Akiem Hicks back healthy for the Bears. |
| 49 | LeSean McCoy, KC @ CHI |
| 50 | David Johnson, ARZ @ SEA |
| 51 | Jaylen Samuels, PIT @ NYJ |
| 52 | Tevin Coleman, SF vs. LAR |
| 53 | Rex Burkhead, NE vs. BUF |
| 54 | Frank Gore, BUF @ NE. Gore rushed for 109 yards against the Pats in Week 4, but that was with no Devin Singletary. Don't expect anything near a repeat this time around. |
| 55 | C.J. Prosise, SEA vs. ARZ |
| 56 | Gus Edwards, BAL @ CLE |
| 57 | Khari Blasingame, TEN vs. NO |
| 58 | Giovani Bernard, CIN @ MIA |
| 59 | Boston Scott, PHI vs. DAL. Scott didn't have an inspiring follow-up outing to his exciting Week 14. Oh well. |
| 60 | Jalen Richard, OAK @ LAC. |
| 61 | Tony Pollard, DAL @ PHI |
| 62 | Brian Hill, ATL vs. JAX |
| 63 | Malcolm Brown, LAR @ SF |
| 64 | J.D. McKissic, DET @ DEN |
| 65 | Javorius Allen, NYG @ WAS |