Fantasy Football Week 16 quarterback rankings: Gardner Minshew lands in top 12 in tough week for QB

Before we get to the Week 15 rankings, let’s address some of the biggest questions Fantasy players face as a quarterback heading into the Fantasy semifinals, starting with one of the biggest injuries of the season, potentially:

Is there a streamer worth trusting to replace Jalen Hurts?

Gardner Minshew. He’s probably the only widely available quarterback I’d feel comfortable with starting this week. In six-point passing TD scoring formats, he had 22.8 and 18.4 points in his two starts last season, and in 2020 he topped 20 points six times in nine starts, and was without AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. To trow. I don’t think Minshew is as good as Hurts, even as a passer, but Minshew is pretty competent, and this offense is in a very good position for him to start running. The only doubt is a very tough matchup, but given that apparently half the league will be playing in sub-zero temperatures and high winds this weekend, that’s not enough to scare me. Minshew could end up in the top 12 QB for me before it’s all said and done and down.

What about Justin Herbert?

Herbert has been a huge disappointment this season, and lately he hasn’t had as many excuses. He’s played without his best weapons and without a group of key offensive linemen for much of the season, and while the line is still a mess, he’s had Keenan Allen and Mike Williams in the past two weeks and has one touchdown and two interceptions. . 93 attempts. That’s pretty awful. The chargers The offensive game planning is a mess, rarely taking advantage of Herbert’s enormous arm strength on a regular basis, and all too often leaving the Chargers trying to string together 5-yard drives. He still throws the ball 40+ times most weeks and is prodigiously talented, which is probably why I’m still starting Herbert – his lead is too immense to leave on my bench without a really compelling option. But he’s more of a low-end QB1 than the elite type we expected him to be.

Can you still trust Geno Smith without Tyler Lockett?

Lockett is expected to miss at least a few weeks with a broken finger, and that’s bad news for a Seahawks The offense relied heavily on its top two receivers: 48% of Smith’s targets have gone to Lockett or DK Metcalf, with Noah Fant’s 53 targets ranking third on the team, less than half the total. of Lockett. And Smith has been especially efficient at targeting Lockett, continuing a trend that has basically held up throughout Lockett’s entire career: His 8.9 yards per target stands out relative to even Smith’s very solid 7.8 Y/A overall. . Marquise Goodwin is a solid deep threat and Fant and WIll Dissly are a decent tight end duo, but I think Smith will miss Lockett, a reliable option in middle and deep games. It’s not enough to sit Smith down in what we hope will be a shootout against the bossesbut it does make your margin of error a bit smaller.

Is Trevor Lawrence now a must-have fantasy quarterback?

I was a bit skeptical about Lawrence’s recent hot streak, because one of the hardest things to do when analyzing points is to differentiate between a hot streak and a player reaching a new level of performance. However, after another brilliant performance against a very good Cowboys defense in Week 15, I’m on board. Sure, it may end up being quite a run, but Lawrence was an elite prospect who showed signs of making a big step up earlier this season with his rebuilt receiving corps, and now it looks like he’s cemented his place as one of the best. quarterbacks in the league. The Jets the defense is pretty good, but Lawrence has earned the benefit of the doubt as a top 10 QB.

Here are my initial rankings for the QB position for week 16:

1. Patrick Mahomes vs SEA
2. Josh Allen @CHI
3. Justin Fields vs. BUF
4. Justin Herbert @IND
5. Joe Burrow @NE
6. Tua Tagovailoa vs. IS
7. Kirk’s Cousins ​​v. NYG
8. Geno Smith @KC
9. Dak Prescott v. PHI
10. Trevor Lawrence @NYJ
11. Tom Brady @ARI
12. Gardner Minshew @DAL
13. Derek Carr @PIT
14. Daniel Jones @MIN
15. Deshaun Watson vs NO
16. Aaron Rodgers @MIA
17. Jared Goff @CAR
18. Brock Purdy vs. WAS
19. Taylor Heinicke @SF
20. Russell Wilson @LAR
21. Mitchell Trubisky vs. LV
22. Baker Mayfield vs. DEN
23. Mac Jones vs. CIN
24. Trace McSorley against tuberculosis
25. Zach Wilson vs. JAX
26. Nick Foles vs. LAC
27. Davis Mills @TEN
28. Tyler Huntley vs. ATL
29. Malik Willis vs. HOU
30. Sam Darnold vs. STOP
31. Andy Dalton @CLE
32. Desmond Ridder @BAL