• Add Clyde Edwards-Helaire: With Jerick McKinnon on injured reserve and Isiah Pacheco in concussion protocol, Edwards-Helaire is next up for the Kansas City Chiefs.

• Add Romeo Doubs: The Green Bay Packers wide receiver recorded 75-plus yards and a touchdown this past week and is the team’s only healthy wideout among their top four.

• Add Chigoziem Okonkwo: The Tennessee Titans tight end has stepped up while his teammates are out with injuries.

Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes

Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season is just about in the books. Here are the players you should be targeting in your fantasy football leagues, including targets in smaller leagues and deeper leagues, as well as players to avoid.

Jump to a position group:

QB | RB | WR | TE

Quarterback

Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints (Rostered in 22.4% of leagues on ESPN)

Carr completed 27 of his 40 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns on Thursday Night Football.

• Carr has endured stretches this season where he’s been a clear fantasy backup and other stretches where he’s been a fantasy starter. He has now put together back-to-back fantasy starter performances.
• He accomplished this despite all of his top wide receivers dealing with injuries. The extended time off should help Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed play closer to 100%.
• Michael Thomas could be back for Week 17. He is currently on injured reserve but is eligible to return to practice.
• The Saints play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
• Both teams will treat this like a playoff game, and it’s less likely to be impacted by weather. That could also help Carr.
• He is unlikely to be ranked among the top 12 quarterbacks for the week, but he has the best shot of putting up top-12 numbers among the players available.

Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (9.2%)

Young put up the best performance of his rookie season in Week 16, with 312 yards and two touchdowns on 23 completions.

• He accomplished that against the Green Bay Packers, a team that has allowed plenty of fantasy points to quarterbacks. The Panthers are facing another team in Week 17 that has allowed a lot of production to quarterbacks in recent weeks, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• Since the Jaguars’ Week 9 bye week, six of the past seven opposing quarterbacks gained at least 260 yards passing and rushing combined against them, and six of the past seven scored multiple touchdowns.
• As a result, six of the past seven have finished as at least top-12 fantasy quarterbacks.
• Young would be a bit of a gamble, considering he has only two games this season of ranking in the top half of quarterbacks, but if you’re in a deep league and had Trevor Lawrence or Sam Howell, you might need to take this big of a risk.

Running Back

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs (28.2%)

Edwards-Helaire will likely start for Kansas City this week against the Cincinnati Bengals.

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