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Week 16 of the 2023 fantasy football season features a Sunday Night Football showdown between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots. The game will wrap up a full slate of games being played on Christmas Eve before an NFL triple-header on Christmas Day. While the Patriots have already been eliminated from playoff contention, they will look to spoil the Broncos' postseason hopes.
This particular matchup will also be important for all fantasy football players. The 2023 fantasy playoffs have already kicked off, so most managers are playing in a sudden-death game this week. This means that they will need to make sure they set the best lineups possible with the most potential upside to advance to the next round. The following breakdown can help them do so for all of the SNF options.
Sunday Night Football Week 16 Start 'Em & Sit 'Em fantasy football
A matchup between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football in Week 16 may not be an exciting game for NFL fans, but fantasy football managers will be fully locked in. Many potential lineup options will be participating in this contest, so managers will need to carefully analyze all of them before finalizing any roster decisions.
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Determining which fantasy players to target in any game is based on a large number of variables. Some of these include recent individual performances, injuries to relevant players, potential game scripts, expected offensive roles, direct weekly matchups, and projected team totals. This helps to pinpoint the most favorable lineup options, and in turn, produce the highest possible weekly scores.
This process can be extensive and complicated, but the Start/Sit Optimizer makes it much easier. This useful tool considers all of the various factors for any player in a given week to generate lineup suggestions and fantasy projections. Managers who take advantage of it often gain an edge over the rest of their league, which can make a huge difference during the 2023 fantasy football playoffs.
Official injury reports are always another important factor when making lineup decisions for fantasy players in any game. For this particular Sunday Night Football showdown, the Broncos are expected to have their full offensive cast ready to go, making all of their usual fantasy football options available for lineups this week.
The Patriots aren't so lucky as they will be dealing with some key injuries this week. Rhamondre Stevenson is not expected to play, so Ezekiel Elliot is likely to make another start at running back. JuJu Smith-Schuster is also trending towards being unavailable, though he has basically been completely off of the fantasy football radar all season long.
Taking all of this and much more into careful consideration, here is a list of potential players to target and avoid in Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season. It can be an extremely valuable reference when setting lineups for the second round of the fantasy playoffs this week.
SNF Week 16 Fantasy Football Start 'Em Picks
Ezekiel Elliot
Ezekiel Elliot is averaging 22 touches per game across the past three weeks since Rhamondre Stevenson went down with an ankle injury. This has resulted in three finishes among the top 25 running back in PPR leagues, including an impressive RB1 finish two weeks ago. His current hot streak, paired with the Broncos allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to his position, makes Elliot a solid Week 16 lineup option.
Courtland Sutton
Courtland Sutton currently ranks as the overall WR26 in fantasy football this season, making him a back-end WR2 or high-end WR3 on most fantasy rosters. He has done so by scoring a touchdown in ten of his 14 games as the Broncos' preferred red zone target, as well as their leading receiver this year. He has also finished in the WR3 range or better in eight of his past nine games, giving him a safe floor in fantasy football.
Hunter Henry
Hunter Henry has been on a recent hot streak, finishing as the TE4 in PPR leagues in each of his past two games. He has now finished here or better four times this season, demonstrating his elite upside in the right matchups. Facing off against the Broncos defense is one of those situations to target him as the Broncos are allowing the most fantasy points per game to tight ends this season.
SNF Week 16 Fantasy Football Sit 'Em Picks
Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson is the definition of a weekly borderline starting quarterback in fantasy football for traditional one-QB leagues. He ranks as the overall QB16 this year, with eight finishes among the top 15, but just two top-tens. This gives him a relatively safe floor, but his ceiling is capped in difficult matchups. With the Patriots allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers, Wilson should be faded this week.
Bailey Zappe
Bailey Zappe has started four games this year for the Patriots and has finished as QB24 or worse in three of them. Before he took over as the starter, Mac Jones ranked in the bottom three in fantasy points per game among full-time starting quarterbacks. Neither of them should be considered for fantasy football lineups, regardless of who is named the starter each week.
Javonte Williams
Javonte Williams has received excellent volume for the Broncos this season, exceeding 20 touches in four of his past six games. Efficiency has been his biggest issue because, despite the massive workload, he has recorded more than 100 yards in a single game just once this season. He also has just one rushing touchdown, so in a projected low-scoring game, he should be left on the bench for fantasy football.
Jerry Jeudy
Jerry Jeudy has been one of the most disappointing wide receivers during the 2023 fantasy football season. He ranks as just the overall WR57 and has only scored one touchdown while failing to finish better than WR29 in any week this season so far. He can be faded, or even dropped, now that the fantasy playoffs are officially here.
Demario Douglas
Demario Douglas has been the Patriots' most productive wide receiver since Kendrick Bourne suffered a season-ending injury. Douglas has still failed to finish among the top 25 wide receivers in any week this season, despite his expanded role. He's hard to trust in fantasy lineups in one of the worst passing offenses in the NFL and facing the Broncos defense. They allow the eighth-fewest fantasy points per game to his position.
