Top Predicted Week 16 Fantasy Football Adds
TE , Green Bay Packers
Kraft is this week's top non-DST add, although with a much lower than usual number for the top player at just 34%. I would say that's a pretty fair summary of how I feel about him, too. If you need tight end help in a deep league, you could definitely do worse than Kraft. He has at least four targets in each of the last three weeks, as well as very impressive 90%+ route participation rates in each of the last two games. That's great, and he is showing the receiving chops necessary to turn that role into production.
On the other hand, the tight end position is suddenly very deep. I know fantasy analysts say this every year, but I think it's for real this time. With no teams on bye at this stage of the season, our Week 16 projections have Kraft outside the top 20 tight ends. I would maybe have him a few slots higher, but I still can't justify ranking him in the top 12 tight ends for this week. This is especially true given that his Week 16 opponent, the Panthers, allow the ninth-fewest Half-PPR points per game to tight ends. That means, unless you're in a league with more than the usual amount of players or a Tight End Premium league, you probably don't want Kraft in your lineup. With that in mind, I don't recommend him as a pickup. I've already talked about how I don't love holding near-replacement-level backups, especially at quarterback or tight end, at this stage of the season. If your league is bigger than normal, or tight ends are just being hoarded, you can add and start Kraft and hope for the best. Otherwise, don't bother.
WR , Los Angeles Chargers
It's tough to know what to make of Joshua Palmer's Week 15 performance. On the one hand, he finished as a WR1 in all formats with 113 yards and a touchdown on four catches. On the other hand, his day looks a lot different without a 79-yard touchdown that was the result of a blown coverage after the Chargers were already down an absurd 49 points. Even with sidelined, Palmer saw just four targets, as the Chargers' -led offense looked entirely hopeless.
The Chargers have since fired their head coach, so they might get a classic interim coach bump over the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, both of those next two weeks come with bad matchups, as the Chargers will face the Bills (the 10th-worst opponent for WRs) and Broncos (ninth-worst). If Allen recovers from his heel injury in time to play, I don't think you can justify starting Palmer in any format. If he doesn't, Palmer is worth considering, as any NFL WR1 is always a potential fantasy option. With that in mind, he's worth adding if you need WR help. He's by no means a must-start in tough matchups and with the Chargers driving Stick (sorry), but he could be a decent flex play, and that's about as good as we're going to find this week.
RB , Las Vegas Raiders
If he's still available in your league, which he surprisingly is in 74% of cases, White is worth adding. It feels odd to feature him this week, as the week to pick him up was last week, when first went down. But a combination of pessimism about this offense and fears over a timeshare (which I myself am guilty of having) clearly led to White being overlooked in last week's waiver rush. Those who did add him got solid production in Week 15, as he finished with 69 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries while adding three catches on four targets. Veteran receiving back did dominate passing-down work, but White still manged a solid 59% route participation rate to go with his 17 rush attempts. Despite this, his EWI is still just 18%, meaning he will remain available in over half of leagues.
This does make some sense, as things aren't looking as good for White heading into Week 16 as they were last week. Instead of a matchup with the aforementioned dumpster-fire that was the Chargers, the Raiders have to play the Chiefs in Kansas City, where they are 10-point underdogs. That projected game script means White is unlikely to see quite as much work as he did in his first start. And this is without mentioning the Alabama elephant in the room: Josh Jacobs might be back this week. We haven't gotten many updates on the 2022 rushing leader's quad injury, but his return would immediately nuke White's value. With all that said, White is still a must-add — any NFL team's RB1 needs to be on fantasy rosters. He can be flexed in a pinch this week and would be a solid option in a high-paced matchup with the Colts in Week 17 if Jacobs is unable to return.
