We don’t do the Redrafter product in December. With so few games left, it doesn’t make sense to try to re-stack the entire board. But many leagues still allow waiver moves, and below is a brief overview of the names being kicked around in Week 16.
Arizona: Cardinals have run the ball surprisingly well in their last two games (over 140 rushing yards in each game) but Kerwynn Williams and Stepfan Taylor should split the load pretty evenly, and both of the remaining games are against teams with really good run defenses.
Buffalo: C.J. Spiller has been practicing and will play for the first time since Week 7. Opponent (Oakland) has a lesser defense, but Spiller should be a distant No. 2 in the backfield behind Fred Jackson.
Carolina: Panthers haven’t decided yet if Cam Newton (back) will return this week. If not, it will be Derek Anderson facing his old team. For fantasy purposes, the more notable injury is DeAngelo Williams (broken hand). If Williams sits out, Jonathan Stewart would look good as a full-time player against a lesser run defense.
Cleveland: There aren’t any high-level players in this offense right now. Johnny Manziel doesn’t look viable as a passer, and Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West have split the playing time pretty evenly at tailback.
Dallas: DeMarco Murray broke the ring finger of his left hand on Sunday night. He hasn’t been ruled out yet; they’re saying he’ll be a game-time decision and that they’re hopeful he’ll play. He tends to carry the ball with his other hand. If Murray is ruled out, Joseph Randle very easily could be a top-10 back. Lance Dunbar would also play, but Randle probably would get a lot more of the playing time. Randle isn’t a Murray-type talent, but that’s a great line he would run behind. For the year, he’s averaged 7.0 yards per carry as a change-of-pace guy. The Colts and Cowboys are kicking off late on Sunday, making the Murray decision trickier.
Detroit: Lions are playing Chicago on Sunday. Bears have allowed a league-high 13 TD passes to tight ends. Eric Ebron is Detroit’s only real receiving threat at that position. Hmm. Ebron will be higher than usual on this week’s board. Much higher.
Houston: With Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tom Savage out, the Texans are down to their fourth-string quarterback. They’ll start either Thad Lewis or Case Keenum, and neither should do much as a passer. (Even against a lesser Baltimore pass defense, we don’t see the Texans putting up viable passing numbers.) Texans expect Andre Johnson will return this week.
Indianapolis: T.Y. Hilton tweaked his hamstring on Sunday. With the Colts playing meaningless games the next two weeks (they’re not going to catch Denver or New England) the team might be tempted to hold him out. Maybe. Chuck Pagano says the Colts won’t rest players in their final games, and he was true to his word in Week 17 last year. If Hilton winds up sitting out, we’d have considerable interest in Donte Moncrief, who’d then become their best remaining receiver. Moncrief is just a rookie, but he’s better than Reggie Wayne and Hakeem Nicks. Moncrief didn’t catch any of the 3 balls thrown to him on Sunday but had the catch of the day anyway. He caught a long touchdown off a deflection that was nullified by a penalty.
Jacksonville: Denard Robinson is out for the year, so Toby Gerhart has to be considered as a Week 16 fill-in running back this week. Jags are at home, and they’re playing against a Tennessee defense that’s got about the worst run defense in the league. However, Storm Johnson will also play at tailback in this game. Also note that while the Titans are terrible against the run, they played reasonable well against the Jets on Sunday, giving up only 114 rushing yards. Blake Bortles is questionable with a foot injury.
New England: Jonas Gray played more on Sunday. The Patriots went with LeGarrette Blount in the first half, but when he wasn’t effective, they started working in Gray more in the second half against Miami. For this week, neither should make much of an impact – Jets defense is a lot stronger against the run. This should be a game where Tom Brady puts up big passing numbers.
New Orleans: Khiry Robinson is playing again. He won’t get as much work as Mark Ingram, but in the Monday night win in Chicago, Robinson was in the game multiple times when the ball was inside the 10.
N.Y. Giants: Rashad Jennings re-injured his ankle early in the Washington game. He’ll probably sit out this week, making Andre Williams their featured tailback.
Philadelphia: Mark Sanchez has really struggled the last two weeks. When Nick Foles is cleared, the Eagles will quickly go back to him. Foles threw on the field prior to Sunday’s game. The Eagles have already ruled out Foles for Week 16, but he could be back for the final game.
San Diego: Keenan Allen is out for the rest of the regular season with a broken collarbone. Seyi Ajirotutu should take that spot (with Malcom Floyd and Eddie Royal staying in their usual roles). But Ajirotutu played extensively against Denver and caught only 1 of the 4 passes thrown his way. He has no fantasy value. If Ryan Mathews (ankle) sits out again this week, the Chargers will go with Branden Oliver and Donald Brown at tailback. Against Denver, they each caught 4 passes. Oliver had a 12-5 edge in carries. Each would have nominal value this week, with San Francisco being strong against the run.
San Francisco: There could be a revised approach at tailback this week. Frank Gore (concussion) and Carlos Hyde (ankle, back) both left the Seattle game. If they’re both out this week, the 49ers would be done to Alfonso Smith as their featured runner. Against Seattle, he carried 4 times for 6 yards, and twice when they were in short-yardage situations they went with their up back, Bruce Miller, as their ball carrier. Our early guess is that Gore will be active but that Hyde won’t. The 49ers have been eliminated from playoff consideration, so there’s no urgency to rush anyone back.
Tampa Bay: Josh McCown has really struggled, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the Bucs turn to Mike Glennon. Tampa Bay has placed rookie tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins on injured reserve, but nobody is going to step in there and put up good numbers.
Tennessee: They’re down to Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback. When he started three games earlier this year, Tennessee passed for 194, 233 and 160 yards in those games, with 3 TDs. Nate Washington and Delanie Walker will be two of his main receivers. They say they’re hopeful that Kendall Wright (broken hand) will be able to return after missing two games. Probably best to pass on all of those guys. … Shonn Greene played a lot more than Bishop Sankey last week, but Ken Whisenhunt says that was out of the belief that Greene would be extra motivated to face his former team. It should be back to Sankey on Thursday night. … The Titans defense has some value this week, considering Jacksonville has allowed 9 more sacks than any other defense.
Washington: Robert Griffin III will start at quarterback. He’s got a decent chance of posting above-average numbers this week. He ran the ball surprisingly well at New York, picking up 46 yards and scoring a touchdown that was overturned when referees ruled that he lost control of the ball before he crossed the goal line.
—Ian Allan