Alexander Mattison leads Week 16's daily fantasy football values
By Jordan Vanek
The basis for being successful in any daily fantasy sports contest, whether cash games or large-field GPPs, is finding value to build around. Using 4for4’s Yahoo DFS Value Report, we can uncover some of the best values at each position for the Week 16 slate.
Quarterbacks
Justin Herbert, Chargers $37
The Chargers are 10-point favorites on the road and have the highest implied total on the entire slate this weekend. The Texans run the most Cover 2 in the entire NFL, and Justin Herbert averages 9.8 yards per attempt against this coverage with a 77% completion percentage, per SportsInfoSolutions. In each of the Chargers’ 10-point wins, Herbert has had 30+ pass attempts and three passing touchdowns in each game.
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Matthew Stafford, Rams $36
With all of the cheap running back salaries on the slate, Stafford comes in at an affordable salary in a good matchup. The Vikings’ pass defense has given up 8.1 yards per attempt since Week 10 and 283.5 yards passing per game. The last time Mike Zimmer and Sean McVay matched up against each other, Jared Goff threw for 465 yards and five touchdowns on 33 attempts. Stafford has thrown for three touchdowns in three of the last four games and has started to find a rhythm without Robert Woods.
Running Backs
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs $17
The Steelers have given up over 200 yards rushing in three games this season and have done so in back-to-back weeks. Edwards-Helaire has not seen a ton of carries recently but has led the team in carries each of the last three weeks. If Travis Kelce is out, they will need someone to take an uptick in touches.
Alexander Mattison, Vikings $16
Without Dalvin Cook, Mattison will look to take the full workload in this game and has had 25 touches in every game without Cook this year. The Rams have given up three games of over eight receptions to running backs, and without Cook, Mattison averages five receptions and has two games with six or more receptions.
Wide Receivers
Odell Beckham Jr., Rams $23
The Vikings have given up the most points to wide receivers on the season, and a lot of it has come from the second or third passing options. Rondale Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Cedrick Wilson all had over 17 points against the Vikings. Odell has had a touchdown in three of the last four games.
Tee Higgins, Bengals $22
Tee Higgins has had over 100 yards receiving in three of the last four games and will be playing a Ravens team that is depleted at the cornerback position. The Ravens ran a lot more bracketed coverage last weekend to try and slow down Davante Adams, and with the production Chase had in their first matchup, that coverage will be thrown Chase’s way, leaving the door open for Higgins.
Tight Ends
Cole Kmet, Bears $14
In three of the last four games, Kmet has seven or more targets and is coming off a nine-target, 71-yard game against the Vikings. On the season, the Seahawks have given up two games where a tight end caught multiple touchdowns and have given up over 10 points to tight ends in three of the last four games. The one game they didn’t give up over 10 points to a tight end was against the Rams, who started Brycen Hopkins.
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Kyle Pitts, Falcons $17
Pitts has had seven targets in four of the last seven games, and the Falcons have the seventh-highest implied total on the slate. The Lions have given up 10 or more points to a tight end four times in the last four games. Pitts has only scored one touchdown this season but leads the team in red-zone targets.
Defenses
Chargers, $13
Without Brandin Cooks, there isn’t a wide receiver with over 400 yards on this entire Texans offense and Davis Mills had 50 percent of his passing yards last weekend go to Cooks. The Chargers’ weak point is their rush defense, but the Texans haven’t run for over 100 yards since Week 6 in a game they lost, 31-3.
Jaguars, $12
The Jaguars are playing the Jets and are getting their first full week of practice without Urban Meyer. This game has a 41.5-point over/under and Zach Wilson has been sacked six times in two games this season, including 3.8 times a game since Week 12. The Jaguars haven’t forced many turnovers on the year, but Wilson has the highest interception rate of any quarterback they have faced this season.
