It’s best to remember the lesser things when compiling a fantasy football lineup, so don’t miss our tight end rankings. Also, check out this important start-sit advice. Also, as usual, this is the place to be for our fantasy football defense rankings for Week 16.
The best bet for this week’s fantasy playoffs is Green Bay. The Packers are coming off a seven-sack performance against division rival Seattle. They also defended six passes and picked off two. The Packers are No. 1 this week, according to Pat Fitzmaurice of FantasyPros.
“Green Bay ranks inside the top 10 in defensive fantasy scoring and gets a gorgeous home matchup against the Saints, who figure to be starting fifth-round rookie Spencer Rattler at quarterback,” Fitzmaurice wrote. “In three starts this season plus Sunday's relief appearance in place of the ineffective Jake Haener, Rattler has fumbled three times, thrown two interceptions, and taken 14 sacks.”
But it’s more than Rattler. The Saints may be without running back Alvin Kamara, adding to the incredible list of injuries that includes Derek Carr, Chris Olave, Taysom Hill, and Rasheed Shahid. This is makeshift team that will be playing not only outside of its home dome but in the frigid temperatures of Lambeau Field in December.
Top Fantasy Football Picks

Packers’ linebacker Edgerrin Cooper might go off this week. The second-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft had two passes defended, a sack, seven tackles, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, and an interception against the Seahawks.
Quarterback Jordan Love saw the impact, according to nytimes.com.
“Coaches read off his stat line and just hearing some of that stuff, he had a crazy game,” Love said. “And you’ve seen the work he’s put in throughout the course of the season. He’s getting better every week and he’s a phenomenal player.”
Defensive lineman Kingsley Enagbare said Cooper looks like a star, according to nytimes.com..
“He’s special, man,” Enagbare said. “Definitely, I feel like he’s a future Hall of Famer. From the stat line, you can see he can do everything — make tackles, make the interceptions, get the sacks. There’s literally nothing he’s physically not able to do. The sky’s the limit for him.”
Matt LaFleur joined in the praise of Cooper
And head coach Matt LaFleur joined in the praise.
“He’s just a hell of a player,” LaFleur said. “And I think (DC Jeff Hafley) does a great job of putting him in positions to have success and it’s been fun to watch and witness his growth. I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he could become in this league.”
Picking Green Bay’s defense means picking Cooper. And that’s a good move in Week 16.
Also in the good fantasy football mix are the Atlanta Falcons. They are coming off a standout performance against the Raiders, and now they get a weakened New York Giants team. The Raiders game produced much-needed confidence for a defense that had been struggling, but may be turning the corner, according to head coach Raheem Morris comments to Sports Illustrated.
“I’ve obviously intervened on both sides of the ball,” Morris said. “And it's been a lot of really good things that's come out of that. Whether it's been the pass rush, trying to help improving those things, which we've done over the last couple of weeks. Getting about nine sacks in the last two weeks, which was non-existent, which we had to work on to get it better.”
Other Standouts
The Minnesota Vikings find themselves in the other standouts group, but could be No. 1 if Sam Howell starts at quarterback for the Seahawks. Howell is a sack waiting to happen, and his off-target throws last week against the Packers showed he hasn’t gotten better since a rough rookie campaign in Washington.
The Vikings could get a fantasy football boost from the possible availability of defensive tackle Jalen Redmond, who has risen to prominence this season but may have suffered a concussion in Week 15. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said he hopes Redmond can play, according to a post on the Vikings YouTube pace via purpleptsd.com.
“Jalen Redmond very late in the game did get kind of identified by the independent (physician),” O’Connell said. “And (he) was put into the concussion protocol. But did come in feeling really good today. So he’ll go through that protocol throughout the week and hoping to have him available, but that’ll be strictly a medical thing as he works through that.”
However, if Geno Smith plays, move the Vikings down three or four spots.
Another standout unit is the Cincinnati Bengals, which had been one of the NFL’s worst through the first 11 weeks of the season. But since the bye week, the Bengals have posted three straight top-12 finishes. That includes a No. 4 finish in Week 15. The performance included four interceptions.
Fantasy Football Sleepers
It’s hard to trust the Arizona Cardinals, even in a plus matchup against the Panthers. This is especially true for a cross-country travel contest. Combine that with the fact the Cardinals finished No. 24 and No. 22 over the last two weeks. But they recently had a stretch of three top-six finishes. So if you’re looking for a bit of a sleeper, the Cardinals have that juice.
Another team to take a chance on is the Eagles. Yes, the Commanders have a good offense, but they sure didn’t play the part in trying to wrap up a win over the depleted Saints. Plus, the Eagles defense probably won’t be on the field as much as the eat clock with Saquon Barkley and ball-control passes from Jalen Hurts.
Fantasy Football Week 16 Defense Rankings
1. Green Bay Packers (GB) vs. NO
2. Atlanta Falcons (ATL) vs. NYG
3. Minnesota Vikings (MIN) @ SEA
4. Cincinnati Bengals (CIN) vs. CLE
5. Arizona Cardinals (ARI) @ CAR
6. Kansas City Chiefs (KC) vs. HOU
7. Philadelphia Eagles (PHI) @ WAS
8. Buffalo Bills (BUF) vs. NE
9. Denver Broncos (DEN) @ LAC
10. Los Angeles Chargers (LAC) vs. DEN
11. Baltimore Ravens (BAL) vs. PIT
12. Indianapolis Colts (IND) vs. TEN