Week 16 Sunday Fantasy Football Takeaways: Bryce Young, Jerome Ford, Keenan Allen, Chig Okonkwo and More

We’ve taken a look at fantasy football takeaways from Thursday’s game and two Saturday games, and now will go over the Sunday slate of week 16 games.

We got at least one player at each offensive fantasy position to discuss. We’ll do an IDP roundup later today, and then a final takeaway story after the Monday night game, so be sure to check back for those!

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Bryce Young Turns in Big Performance

Bryce Young helped the Carolina Panthers pull a massive upset over the Arizona Cardinals.

Young was 17-of-26 passing for 158 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He rushed five times for 68 yards and another score.

The yardage wasn’t anything too crazy, but the three total touchdowns and no turnovers helped Young post one of the top fantasy scores among quarterbacks this week.

After a very rough start to the season, Young has finished the season with some positive showings. He might not only have earned himself a chance to remain the team’s starting quarterback for another season, but also has become a fantasy asset down the stretch.

Most fantasy owners are only going to trust Young in deeper leagues, but it’s hard to ignore Young after his big fantasy outing in week 16. He takes on the Buccaneers in week 17, which was one of the most favorable matchups for a fantasy QB coming into week 16. 

The last time the teams met, Young was 26-of-46 passing, but for 298 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. He rushed for 17 yards and a score on three scrambles. 

That line, and his big week 16 outing, definitely puts Young in the running as a streaming option for week 17. Again, I’d think most standard league owners aren’t likely to start him, but he’s an option for those desperate. Young is a good/great option the deeper a league gets.

Jerome Ford Excels in Loss

Cleveland’s Jerome Ford regained the lead role in the backfield after the season-ending injury for Nick Chubb.

He took advantage of the opportunity in week 16 and rushed for 92 yards and a score on just 11 carries. He also caught all five of his targets for 39 yards.

Fantasy owners who started Ford were probably a bit disappointed to only see him get 16 touches, but his efficiency still allowed him to post a big fantasy score. Those in PPR leagues had to be thrilled with his final fantasy score.

Pierre Strong and D'Onta Foreman were the other Cleveland backs to get involved on Sunday, but each had just two carries. Strong also had two catches, but neither were fantasy relevant.

Ford and the Browns take on the Dolphins in week 17. That matchup was a pretty average one coming into week 16.

Ford is a risky fantasy starting option in standard leagues because Cleveland could fall behind big early and abandon the running game, like they did this week. Then fantasy owners would be banking on a big play or touchdown run to have Ford deliver a good amount of fantasy points.

I like Ford more as a deep-league option, but definitely think he’s in the running for some standard league starts. FantasySP will likely have Ford in some start/sit articles going into week 17, so be sure to check back for those.

Keenan Allen Goes Off for Bears

Chicago was throttled by Detroit on Sunday, and it led to rookie quarterback Caleb Williams throwing 40 times.

It’s not a good recipe for winning, but it is helpful for the team’s pass catchers. Three wideouts had over 65 receiving yards, with Keenan Allen leading the charge.

Allen went for 151 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions and 13 targets. It was the fourth time in five games that he went for more than 70 yards, and he’s scored five times in that span.

Having three good receiving options on the team makes starting any of them in a standard league a risky proposition, but it’s hard to argue with Allen’s numbers of late. He has eight or more targets in five of the past six games, and if you drop it to six targets, he’s reached that mark in eight of the past nine contests.

A week 17 matchup with the Seahawks is a pretty average one on paper. It will put any of the Bears’ wide receivers on the start/sit line in standard leagues, but if you are playing a meaningful matchup, you likely will have a few better options.

Allen is a better deep-league option in my eyes, and a pretty good one at that seeing what he’s done of late.

Deebo Samuel Sr. Finally Gets Going

The 49ers were officially eliminated from the postseason this week, and the team lost to the Dolphins, but Deebo Samuel Sr. finally had a positive fantasy showing.

Samuel went for 96 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven receptions and nine targets. He also rushed five times for 25 yards.

It was just the third time Samuel reached 100 total yards this season. He hadn’t topped 35 yards in any of the previous five contests.

This outing puts Samuel back in the running for standard league starts in week 17. We first have to see what San Francisco veterans are going to play in a meaningless game, but if Samuel is out there, he’s got a great matchup against the Lions.

Much like in the case with Allen, I’d think fantasy owners playing meaningful matchups in a standard league have better options available to them. His week 16 showing and week 17 matchup does make Samuel a standard league flex option though, while he’s a good deep league option, if he ends up playing.

Olamide Zaccheaus Helps Commanders Rally

The Commanders rallied from a two-score deficit, and Olimade Zaccheaus was a big part of the reason why.

Zaccheaus had 70 receiving yards and two touchdowns on five catches and eight targets. It was the second-most yards Zaccheaus has posted in a game this season, and the scores were his first two.

Zaccheaus hadn’t gone for over 36 yards in any of the previous five contests, but this kind of outing is pretty hard to ignore. He’s just a deep-league option in my eyes, but he does have a great week 17 matchup against the Falcons, so he might actually appeal to some standard league owners desperate for some fantasy wideout help.

He’s more of a lottery ticket play to see if he can replicate his big week 16 showing, but he’ll definitely be added and played more in leagues than he was last week.

Chig Okonkwo has Big Showing Without TD

Tennessee tight end Chig Okonkwo had a good fantasy showing without the benefit of a touchdown.

He caught nine of his 11 targets for 81 yards. Okonkwo did catch a two-point conversion pass for a couple extra fantasy points.

Okonkwo has been more involved offensively down the stretch. He had 59 yards on eight catches and 10 targets in week 15. He’s had at least four targets and three catches in the past four contests. Okonkwo also had a 70-yard touchdown grab five games ago, so he’s really delivered three big-time outings over the past five games.

He’s got a good week 17 matchup against the Jaguars. Unfortunately, the last time these teams met, he only went for eight yards on three catches and four targets. 

I think Okonkwo is a better fantasy option for this upcoming clash. He’s a better deep-league option, but at a very weak fantasy TE spot, I could see him drawing some standard league starts as well.