This edition of Fantasy Football Final is all about the future -- whether it be a title game in Week 17, a consolation grudge match or just a handbook for setting up potential draft/keeper strategies for next year. Here's an inside look at all the shining studs and biggest duds from Week 16.
(Winning team info in bold.)
Oakland Raiders 23, San Diego Chargers 20 (OT)
If you're choosing between Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper for your lineup next week, choose Crabtree. The veteran WR has become Derek Carr's favorite possession receiver and finds himself in one-on-one coverage a lot.
Keep riding Danny Woodhead in PPR. He had eight catches and 105 all-purpose yards on Thursday. He's an RB2 for any season-ending FF showdown.
Washington Redskins 38, Philadelphia Eagles 24
Are you in on Kirk Cousins yet? Is he still sitting on your bench? He shouldn't be. He had four TDs against the Eagles and should have similar success against an uninspired Cowboys squad next week.
Don't keep or play any Eagles RBs for Week 17 or next year. Darren Sproles is a PPR flex play, but that's it.
Atlanta Falcons 20, Carolina Panthers 13
RB Devonta Freeman has cooled off after his otherworldly first half of the season, but he's still an RB2/Flex play. He had 73 yards and a TD on the ground, along with three catches for 17 yards in this one.
Cam Newton had his worst game of the season on Sunday, but the Panthers will have plenty to play for next week against the Bucs with the #1 seed in the NFC potentially on the line. Expect a QB1 bounce back.
New York Jets 26, New England Patriots 20 (OT)
The Jets are officially using a running back by committee, which means you've got to pick your TD vulture carefully for Week 17.
New England's running game is a mess, and Steven Jackson isn't a quick fix. He had just seven carries for 15 yards on Sunday. Stay away from this Belichick backfield in Week 17.
Baltimore Ravens 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
Ravens WR Kamar Aiken will be worth a solid middle-round draft pick next year. With Joe Flacco back, the kid's going to shine.
Pittsburgh is going to ride RB DeAngelo Williams next week against a hide-and-go-seek Browns rush defense. He's an easy play.
Kansas City Chiefs 17, Cleveland Browns 13
The Chiefs continue to win ugly, with the only week-after-week play on our radar being TE Travis Kelce. Not even WR Jeremy Maclin is on that list, even with his TD on Sunday.
Johnny Manziel ran for over 100 yards on Sunday. That doesn't mean much fantasy value-wise, considering his footwork is terrible in the pocket and he seems baffled when faced with complex progressions.
Houston Texans 34, Tennessee Titans 6
WR DeAndre Hopkins is the steady hand of this year's wideout crop and an easy first-round pick in 2016. Would we pick him over Antonio Brown? Well, who's going to be QB next year?
We hope against hope that you've dropped all Titans players except TE Delanie Walker. If not, feel ashamed of yourself.
Indianapolis Colts 18, Miami Dolphins 12
It doesn't look good for Colts QB Matt Hasselbeck's status for Week 17. If it's Charlie Whitehurst under center, everyone except RB Frank Gore needs to be benched...full stop.
QB Ryan Tannehill and WR Jarvis Landry make quite the combo in Miami, and they'd be even better if RB Lamar Miller could operate with some semblance of consistency.
Detroit Lions 32, San Francisco 49ers 17
Where is Calvin Johnson going to slot in next year's draft proceedings? He'll undoubtedly be picked way too high by some people due to name value, but they could strike the jackpot because he's such a physical freak. Don't pick him in the first four rounds, at least not until they find another threat or two to draw help coverage away.
Do you have any 49ers on your roster? If so, you're very brave.
Buffalo Bills 16, Dallas Cowboys 6
RB Mike Gillislee came out of nowhere to rush for 93 yards on Sunday, but he's still not a flex consideration at this point -- LeSean McCoy injury or not.
Ugh. Darren McFadden was the lone bright spot for the Cowboys offense on Sunday, rushing for 99 yards. Stay away.
Chicago Bears 26, Tampa Bay Bucs 21
RB Ka'Deem Carey is a interesting sleeper play for next year. He showed some potential future value on Sunday, catching a TD and running for another. Let's see what kind of reps he gets in the preseason.
Pro Bowl running back Doug Martin was limited to 49 yards on 17 carries, and also fumbled twice. It's an outlier -- play him next week.
New Orleans Saints 38, Jacksonville Jaguars 27
RB Tim Hightower remains an intriguing flex decision. He blew up in Week 16, running for 122 yards and two TDs. We're not sure if he'll duplicate that next week, but we're not banking against it.
If you didn't know, Blake Bortles is a QB1 in both ten- and twelve-team leagues. He did throw two picks on Sunday, but he also racked up 368 passing yards and four TDs.
St. Louis Rams 23, Seattle Seahawks 17
We're sold on Todd Gurley as next year's early-round monster pick, especially once St. Louis gets its QB situation under control.
WR Doug Baldwin has set a Seahawks franchise record with 13 receiving touchdowns this year. He's swung quite a few playoff games already, including this week's 118-yard performances on eight catches (with a TD).
Arizona Cardinals 38, Green Bay Packers 8
WR Michael Floyd has gone from a fringe play to a must-start in PPR for Week 17. He caught six passes for 111 yards on Sunday.
If you can figure out what's going on week-to-week with this Packers offense, let us know. Even Aaron Rodgers' value has fluctuated.
Minnesota Vikings 49, New York Giants 17
Adrian Peterson is going to leave this year just how he came into this one -- a top RB1 who's going to go in the first two rounds of almost every upcoming fantasy draft.
What we learned from Sunday's blowout loss for the Giants is that the offense can't do a thing without Odell Beckham Jr. drawing attention on the outside.
Denver Broncos 20, Cincinnati Bengals 17
If you're choosing between WRs Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas next week, we're leaning Sanders because of his red-zone targets from QB Brock Osweiler on Sunday.
AJ Green is currently the only "must play" on the Bengals heading into Week 17, especially with Tyler Eifert's status up in the air.
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