Week 16 Thursday Fantasy Football Takeaways: Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams, Chris Olave, Demarcus Robinson, Derek Carr, Matthew Stafford and More

Week 16 of the NFL season opened with an entertaining game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. The Rams built a 20-point lead and held on late for a 30-22 win.

Los Angeles racked up 458 total yards of offense, while New Orleans had 339, so there was no shortage of big-time fantasy performances. Let’s discuss some of them.

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Several Rams Put Up Big Showings

Quarterback Matthew Stafford had another big-time outing, completing 24-of-34 passes for 328 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn’t intercepted and only was sacked once.

Stafford is one of the hottest QBs in the league right now. He’s thrown for multiple touchdowns in five straight games, only throwing one interception over that span, and none in the past four games. He’s topped 225 passing yards in those games and has finished with a completion percentage over 70 in three of them.

If you roster Stafford and are playing in week 17, it will be hard to keep Stafford out of your lineup, even in a bit of a tougher matchup against the New York Giants.

Running back Kyren Williams continued to impress, even against a pretty strong Saints’ defense. Williams rushed 22 times for 104 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t get a target in the passing game, but his rushing numbers alone were enough for fantasy owners.

When Williams has been on the field, the Rams’ offense looks much, much better - the team has won seven of the 11 contests he’s played in. Williams has topped 100 scrimmage yards in all but three contests, and now has 12 total touchdowns.

Williams needs to be in your starting lineup every week, and he could be a guy that helps you win a fantasy title next week, as the Giants’ defense is below average in slowing opposing RBs.

Ronnie Rivers came off the injured reserve list and got all of the backup work for the Rams. He rushed six times for 20 yards. Royce Freeman can be dropped, if you still roster him - I’d leave Rivers on the waiver wire, unless you are absolutely desperate in a deeper league. Williams simply doesn't concede much work to anyone else.

Puka Nacua led the Rams’ pass catchers, hauling in nine of his 11 targets for 164 yards and a touchdown. 

The yardage was the most this season for the talented rookie. He’s topped 50 yards and four catches in each of the past four contests. Nacua also added 16 rushing yards on two attempts.

Nacua should be starting in week 17, especially seeing the Giants’ defense struggles in slowing WRs.

Demarcus Robinson ended up outperforming Cooper Kupp on the night. Robinson caught all six of his targets for 82 yards and a touchdown. Kupp hauled in half of his 12 targets for 52 yards, but didn’t score.

Robinson has 40 or more receiving yards in four straight games now, with 82 yards being a new season high. He’s scored in four straight games and makes a pretty solid flex starting option in standard leagues for week 17.

Kupp’s performance was a little underwhelming, but the 12 targets show that he still should be started in week 17. He’s got eight or more targets in each of the past four games, with Thursday being the first time in that span that he hasn’t scored. 

Tight end Tyler Higbee made three grabs on as many targets for 30 yards. Those are pretty pedestrian numbers on a night the Rams threw for nearly 330 yards.

Higbee has only topped 50 receiving yards twice this season, and both his touchdowns came in one week. He’s a starting option in deeper leagues for week 17, but he can be dropped in standard leagues, especially seeing the Giants’ defense slows opposing TEs quite well. 

Saints Pass Game Strong, but Run Game Struggles

Of the Saints’ 339 total yards, 304 of those yards were from the passing game. Quarterback Derek Carr went 27-of-40 for 319 yards, taking two sacks. He threw three touchdowns and one interception.

Carr now has back-to-back three-touchdown games and has topped 300 passing yards six times this season. Interceptions remain an issue, with seven across the last eight contests now. 

The Saints’ QB has another favorable matchup next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so he’s definitely in the starting conversation for week 17.

Running back Alvin Kamara easily had his worst showing of the season, finishing with just 35 scrimmage yards. He rushed nine times for 19 yards and caught 5-of-6 targets for 16 yards. 

Kamara only had one other game this season under 50 yards (tallying 45 yards earlier this month), but he scored once in that game. Kamara was an OK option with his five catches in PPR leagues, but his fantasy score is still likely to be an under average one for the week.

Jamaal Williams tallied just 13 yards on three touches. The do-it-all Taysom Hill had 2 yards on two touches. Again, the Saints’ backs simply couldn’t do much of anything.

The Bucs’ defense is pretty strong in slowing opposing backs, so after this showing, it might be tough for fantasy owners to start Kamara next week. Williams should be avoided in all formats, while Hill should probably only be a starting option in deeper leagues because of his upside - he’s only got 7 yards on four touches the past two weeks, so I’d try to avoid him in any leagues next week.

Chris Olave led the Saints’ pass catchers on the night. He caught 9-of-13 targets for 123 yards, but wasn’t able to find the end zone, which would have likely left him as one of the top fantasy performers of the week.

It was the third time in the past four games that Olave has topped 100 yards, although he’s only scored once over that span. He’s the New Orleans pass catcher you need to be starting in week 17, especially against a Buccaneers’ defense that struggles to slow wideouts.

Rashid Shaheed had a strong showing, catching five of his nine targets for 70 yards and one touchdown. It was his best showing since late October.

Shaheed’s nine targets were his most since mid-November, and the score was his first since late October. He’s a pretty solid flex starting option for week 17.

Tight end Juwan Johnson made four grabs on seven targets for 48 yards and a score. It was his most receiving yards this season and second straight week with a score.

The Bucs’ defense allows 14 fantasy points per week to tight ends, so Johnson is a decent starting option for week 17, although his fantasy value really comes down to whether he can score or not, and Tampa Bay is pretty solid at keeping TEs out of the end zone.

A.T. Perry made one catch on his only target, but turned it into a 35-yard touchdown. 

It was the rookie’s second touchdown this season. He has at least one catch over the past six games and he’s averaging 23.5 yards per reception, but it’s not enough for me to want to start him in week 17 unless it’s a really deep league. Perry is probably worth stashing on the end of your bench in dynasty leagues, especially ones with deeper rosters.