Week 16 QB/TE Waiver Wire Targets: Russell Wilson, Brenton Strange, Aaron Rodgers, Noah Gray, Cooper Rush and More

Week 15 of the NFL regular season is nearly finished, which means it’s time to look at some possible waiver wire targets for week 16.

With most of you in the fantasy playoffs now, I’m going to switch the focus of my waiver story on quarterbacks and tight ends here. I’ll be putting more focus on players with good matchups in week 16.

Let’s dive in!

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Quarterback Options

Cooper Rush, Russell Wilson, Mac Jones, Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers are the locked-in quarterbacks (as of now) who have great matchups in week 16, and are available in at least a decent amount of leagues.

There’s several teams (Raiders, Browns, Giants) with quarterback questions that also have great matchups in week 16. The Raiders will likely start Aidan O'Connell or Desmond Ridder, while Cleveland starts Jameis Winston or Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the Giants start Tommy DeVito, Drew Lock or Tim Boyle.

We’ll talk about everyone and the matchups ahead - every matchup is against a bottom-10 defense against fantasy quarterback (going into Monday’s games).

Rush helped the Cowboys to a win over the Panthers in week 15. He was 18-of-29 passing for 214 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. 

He has multiple touchdown passes in three of the past four games, and has just one pick in that span. Rush has 180 or more passing yards in each game, but not over 250 yards. He faces the Buccaneers in week 16. 

Wilson was 14-of-22 passing during the team’s loss to the Eagles this week. He had just 128 passing yards, but had a touchdown and no picks. Wilson rushed for 13 yards on four scrambles and lost a fumble.

Wilson has under 160 passing yards in two straight games now, but he has avoided interceptions in those contests. He’s got the Ravens on Saturday afternoon. It’s a favorable matchup on paper, but not one that Wilson excelled in back in week 11 (scoring six fantasy points in that game).

Jones was 31-of-46 passing for 294 yards, two touchdowns and two picks in week 15. He added 29 rushing yards on four carries.

Jones has at least 220 passing yards in three straight games, but has four touchdowns and picks over that span. He takes on the Raiders in week 16.

Cousins plays on Monday night, so you’ll either have to watch that game, or come back to FantasySP on Tuesday for the Monday fantasy takeaways story to see how Cousins fared.

He’s struggled over the past four games coming into the Monday clash, with no touchdown passes and eight interceptions in that span. Cousins averaged 267 passing yards in the games, however. He’s got a favorable matchup against the Giants in week 16.

Rodgers was 16-of-30 passing, but for 289 yards, three touchdowns and no picks in week 15. He turned back the clock and rushed for 45 yards on six scrambles.

Rodgers had 339 passing yards, a touchdown and no picks in week 14, so he’s heating up a bit (although the matchups have helped). A game against the Rams in week 16 sets Rodgers up with the chance to keep things rolling.

The Raiders starting quarterback will face Jacksonville in week 16, which is the most favorable fantasy matchup a QB could have. Las Vegas plays on Monday night, so we’ll see who starts/performs well.

Cleveland plays Cincinnati in week 16, which is again one of the better fantasy matchups a QB could have. Winston didn’t start against Cincy in the team’s first meeting.

The Giants’ matchup against the Falcons is also very favorable. DeVito started in week 15 before Boyle took over after DeVito went into the concussion protocol. Lock was the emergency quarterback and nursing injuries of his own.

Unfortunately, a lot of the best matchups in week 16 are for quarterbacks who aren’t that great of fantasy players. I’m sure a few of these quarterbacks will be part of my big quarterback start decision story later in the week, so be sure to check back for that!

For now, here’s how I’d rank the locked-in fantasy QBs for week 16: Wilson, Rodgers, Cousins, Rush, Jones. Hopefully we’ll have some clarity later in the week, but I at least wanted to highlight some favorable matchups at the start of the week so you could set up your waivers accordingly.

Tight End Options

Brenton Strange, Chig Okonkwo and Josh Whyle, Dalton Schultz, Cade Otton, Mike Gesicki, Foster Moreau, Pat Freiermuth and Noah Gray are tight ends I want to talk about. Some are here for week 16 matchups, while others had good games in week 15.

Strange took full advantage of Evan Engram being out (for the season) and had 73 yards on 11 receptions and 12 targets in week 15. He’s posted some decent numbers without Engram around, but this was definitely his best showing.

He takes on the Raiders in week 16, which is a fantastic matchup for fantasy TEs.

Okonkwo and Whyle are listed together, because of a favorable matchup ahead and good showings in week 15. The Titans play the Colts, who also struggle to slow TEs.

Okonkwo had 59 yards on eight catches and 10 targets in week 15. He has at least four targets in three straight games, but only had 35 yards in the previous two games combined. Whyle had 37 yards and a score on five grabs and targets in week 15. He had five targets over the previous two games, but just 34 yards.

Schultz only had 13 yards on two catches and four targets in week 15. He had 61 yards and a score on five grabs and seven targets in his previous game. 

Schultz takes on a Chiefs’ defense that allows a good amount of fantasy points to opposing tight ends every week.

Otton is owned in almost every league right now, but I’m guessing the number will drop after having just 24 yards on two catches and three targets in week 15. He has gone over 35 yards just once in the past five games, while also not scoring in that span.

Otton has a pretty average matchup against the Cowboys in week 16. The reason I highlight Otton is he’s produced a few good fantasy showings this season, and might be a touch safer starting option.

Gesicki is here for his matchup against the Browns in week 16, although he had just a two-yard catch on his lone target in the team’s first meeting.

Gesicki had 37 yards on three receptions and four targets in week 15. He has at least three targets and 24 yards in three straight games, which isn’t much, but it’s something. In a favorable matchup, Gesicki is at least worth a mention.

Moreau had 39 yards and a score on four catches and targets this past week. He had 40 yards on two grabs and targets in the previous game.

Moreau takes on Green Bay in week 16, which is a slightly above-average clash for a tight end. Juwan Johnson could just as easily be the team’s top fantasy tight end, but I mentioned Moreau because he came through as a fantasy player in week 15.

Freiermuth had just 22 yards on three catches and six targets in week 15, but he scored a touchdown to deliver for the fantasy owners that rolled with him. He has a score in three straight games now, and at least three catches in four straight - he had between 48-68 yards in the previous three games.

Freiermuth’s clash with the Ravens is similar to Moreau’s against Green Bay. He had 14 yards on two catches and targets in the team’s first meeting, which was the last time Freiermuth didn’t do much as a fantasy player.

Gray scored again in week 15, going for 21 yards on two receptions and five targets overall. He has at least four targets in five straight games, along with five scores in that span (two scores in two different games).

Gray’s matchup against the Texans is pretty average, but he’s more here because he’s delivered of late for fantasy owners.

I’d imagine several of these players would be covered in start/sit stories or start decision articles later in the week too, so be sure to check back for those!

Here’s how I’d rank them right now: Freiermuth, Strange, Otton, Gray, Schultz, Okonkwo, Gesicki, Whyle and Moreau.