NFL fantasy football news and player signals for Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Must start for Week 16 fantasy playoffs.

Must start for Week 16 with 25–30 touches expected as Philip Rivers continues as starter for Monday night. Improved continuity expected with Rivers' additional practice and starting reps. Easier matchup against San Francisco than the previous week vs. Seattle; Colts at home while 49ers travel to Indianapolis.

Must-start for Week 16 against Patriots' weakened run defense. Patriots were elite run defense until Milton Williams' Week 11 injury; since then they've ranked 31st in EPA per rush allowed and 30th in offensive success rate allowed. They've allowed 30 PPG to RBs over the last two weeks (James Cook had a huge game). Williams is out on IR. Henry is likely to get heavy volume as the Ravens try to establish the run game.

Flex consideration for Week 16 against Pittsburgh despite initial reluctance to start him. Steelers' defensive injuries (Nick Herbig lost, TJ Watt likely out longer, Derrick Harman status uncertain) create opportunity. Harman's splits show wide gap in run defense with/without him on field. Recent precedent: Devon Henry recently torched Pittsburgh's run defense, suggesting vulnerability.

Earned dub flex designation in full PPR leagues for Week 16. BDGE Fantasy Football describes him as having a 'Kendrick Lamar type season,' with Aaron Rodgers targeting him as the first read on every dropback. High snap count, strong ground game, and 4.5 reception floor in a 51.5-point total game where both teams will need to score.

Left last week's game with ankle injury not expected to be overly serious. If healthy and playing, ranks in dub flex category but closer to middle of tier; needs better performances and backfield takeover to earn higher ranking. Conditional on injury status and competing with Nick Chub and Jaward Jordan.

Missed last week's game with rib injury; injury status uncertain for Week 16. BDGE Fantasy Football does not want to start him due to backfield complexity with Woody Marks and Jaward Jordan also in the mix.

Jacksonville RB who suffered a rib injury last game with unclear severity and availability status for Week 16. Despite inefficiency on the ground, he receives high volume of touches and goal-line work, placing him in feels good category due to pass-catching ability and scoring opportunities. BDGE Fantasy Football compares him favorably to Travis ETN in terms of opportunity profile.

Arizona RB who assumed a bellcow role last week when Zonovan Knight went out. Despite the offense's tendency to target Michael Wilson and Trey McBride, BDGE Fantasy Football believes Carter is a good start this week and leans closer to dub flex than shaky flex. If Amari De Marcato hovers around 20-25% of snaps, Carter could see a strong day from volume alone; he also catches passes, adding to his upside.

Bucky Irving is the primary Tampa Bay RB with an improving health trajectory and increasing touches. Vegas projects 81 yards, a high yardage projection for him. He is the go-to guy getting the majority of touches in the Tampa Bay offense and is ranked as the best player in the offense despite Shawn Tucker's goal-line role. Irving will remain efficient as long as Tampa Bay's offensive pieces stay healthy. While Tucker may get carries at the 1-2 yard line, Irving can still score inside the 10-yard line on pass plays.

Isaiah Davis played 43% of snaps last week in committee with Bruce Hall, who played 57%. The snap split is not considered sticky, making it difficult to feel confident about any Jets offensive player for Week 16.

Tyrone Tracy is coming off a massive game with 2 TDs despite missing time the week before with a hip injury. He is sharing the backfield with Devin Singleary in a committee situation where the hot hand approach could benefit him. Riding the hot hand could help this week despite committee risk, but the situation remains volatile.

Jordan Mason is splitting carries and snaps with Aaron Jones in the Minnesota offense, but Jones typically plays 65% of the snaps while Mason gets the remainder. Categorized as shaky flex for Week 16.

Aaron Jones is projected an extremely high yardage total of 78 total yards by Vegas, which is a high number for him. He typically plays 65% of the snaps in the Minnesota offense, which has looked good against weak opponents. The Giants are a poor defense, making this a favorable matchup. Classified as dub flex with a recommendation to have him in your lineup for Week 16.

Kamani Vidal has carved out a role as the pass-catching back in the Los Angeles Chargers offense and is viable to pop off a big play; however, without goal-line touches and without having the backfield to himself, he is classified as closer to a shaky flex than a must-start. The yardage total is expected to continue moving in favor of Omar Hampton.

Hunt's value is limited in Week 16 as a goal-line back. With Gardner Minshew under center instead of Patrick Mahomes, Tennessee's pass-funnel defense and limited goal-line opportunities make him an avoid. Pacheco had more carries than Hunt last week.

Pacheco is classified as an avoid for Week 16 against Tennessee. The pass-funnel defense featuring Jeffrey Simmons and Tavandre Sweat makes it difficult to run the ball. Pacheco had more carries than Kareem Hunt last week but still faces a poor matchup.

Cook is ranked as the goat and a must-start for Week 16. He faces Cleveland, which has been shredded by opposing running backs in fantasy football since defensive tackle Malik Collins went out.

Warren had a breakout game last week but was not involved in the passing game. With Chris Rodriguez returning to full practice on Tuesday and expected to be ready for Thursday, the Washington backfield becomes muddled. BDGE Fantasy Football ranks Warren as a shaky flex leaning toward dub flex in a timeshare with Kenneth Gainwell, with mainstream consensus shifting to favor Gainwell over Warren. Detroit Lions run defense is pretty good, making the timeshare more complicated. The entire Washington running back group is recommended to avoid for Week 16.

Coming off a two-touchdown, nearly 100-yard game. Despite Green Bay being a tough matchup on paper, BDGE Fantasy Football feels relatively good about Swift for Week 16 due to Chicago's receiver injuries (Roma Dunes, Luther Burden, Christian Watson, Dantavian Wixs all DNP) forcing a run-heavy, 12-personnel game script. Ranked as a 'dub flex' (definitely flex); BDGE says 'you definitely have DeAndre Swift in your lineup if you own him,' comparing him to Kyren Williams as a guy who has earned the 'feels good' category.

Played through knee soreness last week and scored two touchdowns. Expected to miss some practice time this week but should be good to go for Week 16 against Chicago in a cold-weather, run-heavy game script. Ranked as a start.

Rodriguez was sidelined last week but returned to full practice on Tuesday and is expected to be ready for Thursday. His return will restore the Washington backfield to a muddled committee, making the entire running back group one to avoid for Week 16 fantasy purposes due to unclear carry split and uncertainty about how carries will be distributed.

Has a 61-yard projection for Week 16 against the Rams. In the previous Rams matchup, Walker went over 100 total yards from scrimmage with 45 receiving yards. However, he is placed in the shaky flex category due to Seattle's offensive line struggles (Charles Cross DNP) and the Rams' strong run defense; not recommended as a strong flex for the Week 16 semi-final.

Ranked in the 'mustard' (must-start) category for Week 16 despite Philadelphia's ground game not being great overall. Has been coming through in recent weeks and faces Washington, a very easy matchup for Philadelphia as 6-12 point favorites in a 44.5-point total game.

Placed in shaky flex category for Week 16 despite back-to-back good games prior. In the previous Rams-Seattle matchup, Corum rushed 8 times for approximately 10 yards, illustrating Seattle's defensive strength and the difficulty of the matchup.

Jonathan Taylor has no interest in Chris Rodriguez as a starting running back for the Commanders because he doesn't catch the ball. Rodriguez missed the previous game and wasn't ranked in the prior week's running back rankings. Facing the Philadelphia Eagles this week compounds the concern with a tough defensive matchup.

Could end up being much higher in flex rankings. If Dermarcus does not play, Michael Carter is in a really good matchup against the Atlanta Falcons where the over-under is 47.5 points with a ton of points expected to be scored. The Arizona Cardinals go into garbage time the second the game gets kicked off, and Michael Carter is a receiving back so he should be able to get a ton of target volume.

Horrible matchup against the Rams and has been horrible himself. Zack Charbanet continues to play just as much or sometimes more. This was the first game all year where Kenneth Walker did not see 10 carries. Over the past two games, he's had 19 total carries and hasn't cracked 50 total rushing yards; over the past two games, he's had four targets and one positive receiving yard. The workload doesn't look great.

Had a good matchup against Dallas last week with 15 opportunities but only scored 9.5 fantasy points. This week against the Giants, the Minnesota Vikings have a fine 23.5-point total, but Jonathan Taylor is moving him lower in rankings because Kenneth Gainwell is preferred as a personal roster pick.

Devin Neil is likely to miss this week due to injury concerns. If he were 100% healthy, the Jets matchup would be favorable, but more likely than not he will be unavailable.

DeAndre Swift had a phenomenal day last week with multiple rushing touchdowns and 55% of the carries for the Chicago Bears—the highest carry share he has seen since week one. Kyle Monangai is not a major threat, and the Green Bay Packers matchup is not concerning.

Woody Marks got banged up and availability is uncertain, but if he plays 100%, he should be jammed into lineups given the exceptional matchup against the Raiders—arguably the worst team in the NFL with a 14.5-point spread favoring Houston.

RJ Harvey suffered an injury this past week, making a solidified ranking difficult. Assuming he plays, the volume has been strong with at least 17 opportunities in every game since the bye week. Denver is favored in the matchup against Jacksonville.

Henderson was ranked RB17 last week but is now viewed with increased confidence as his role expands alongside Reddarre Stevenson; he scored 30.1 fantasy points last week, averages 5.4 yards per carry, and 3 targets per game, making him an "absolute jam" as usage trends favorably and concerns about Stevenson diminish.

Etienne was an auto-start last week after scoring 31.5 points (RB1 overall) with three receiving touchdowns when Jacksonville projected to score 26 points; this week he ranks lower because Jacksonville's projection drops to 21 points against Denver's tough defense at Denver, making him a middle-of-the-road play.

Chase Brown is losing backfield share to Sami Perine over the past three weeks, yet continues to finish as a top-13 running back every week since week eight; this week's matchup against Miami Dolphins is favorable despite the reduced role.

Javvante Williams faces the Los Angeles Chargers in a game with a 49.5-point over/under, one of the week's highest-scoring matchups; he averages 16.4 carries and 3.3 targets per game (approximately 20 total opportunities) in an offense projected to score considerable points.

Williams faces the Los Angeles Chargers in a game with a 49.5-point over/under, one of the week's highest-scoring matchups; he averages 16.4 carries and 3.3 targets per game (approximately 20 total opportunities) in an offense projected to score considerable points.

Henry offers a relatively decent floor; his last game under 10 fantasy points was Week 5 against Houston. He has no receiving role, making him touchdown-dependent, but the Ravens are projected to score heavily against New England, giving him reasonable touchdown upside.

Wilson is the backup to Josh Jacobs and would be an "auto jam" if Jacobs misses time, making him a handcuff with significant upside in a playoff scenario.

Jacobs is walking around the locker room with a limp and is clearly injured, but has been playing through injury for a while. Jonathan Taylor has Jacobs on his own team and will play him with "zero hesitation" if he faces the Chicago Bears, indicating confidence in his availability and matchup despite the injury concern.

Irving is entering his fourth healthy week and is expected to play the full role for Tampa Bay in a critical playoff game at Carolina. Despite Shawn Tucker taking a goal-line opportunity last week and Rashad White still getting work, Irving has averaged 20 opportunities per game since returning from injury. The Buccaneers have an implied team total of 24.5 points. Per Jonathan Taylor, "you absolutely jam him" in this spot.

Barkley has recorded 20 carries in each of the past two weeks and finished as a top-12 RB in back-to-back games. However, he has only one game all season with 20+ fantasy points (Week 8 vs. Giants), limiting ceiling expectations. Per Jonathan Taylor, the consistent volume is there and the matchup against Washington is favorable, but expectations for a championship-winning performance should be tempered.

Taylor was ranked lower last week due to a tough Seattle matchup and Philip Rivers at QB, which projected the Colts as the second-worst offense. This week, Indianapolis has an implied team total of 20.5 points—not great, but a significant bounce-back from last week's projection. Per Jonathan Taylor, Taylor should be "a-okay this week" despite not having early-season RB1 overall expectations.

Cook is ranked A-tier for Week 16. Despite facing the Cleveland Browns' rush defense (which was strong early but has declined), Cook is averaging 19 fantasy points per game, 19.5 carries per game, and 2.5 targets per contest. The Buffalo Bills project to be the second-highest scoring team in the league with a 10.5-point spread, supporting consistent run volume. Per Jonathan Taylor, this volume and offensive environment justify the A-tier ranking.

Achane is ranked in the S-tier (set-and-forget tier) for Week 16 alongside McCaffrey, Gibbs, and Robinson. Per Jonathan Taylor, these players can single-handedly win matchups and require no further discussion.

McCaffrey is ranked in the S-tier (set-and-forget tier) for Week 16 alongside Gibbs, Achane, and Robinson. Per Jonathan Taylor, these players can single-handedly win matchups and require no further discussion.

Robinson is ranked in the S-tier (set-and-forget tier) for Week 16. Although he typically plays in a bad offense, he faces the Arizona Cardinals this week where the Atlanta Falcons have an implied team total of 25 points, creating potential for Robinson to "go nuclear." Per Jonathan Taylor, these S-tier players can single-handedly win matchups.

Gibson is ranked in the S-tier (set-and-forget tier) for Week 16 alongside McCaffrey, Achane, and Robinson. Per Jonathan Taylor, these players can single-handedly win matchups and require no further discussion.