The fantasy football playoffs are in full swing, as managers prepare for Week 16 of fantasy football.\u00a0 Sometimes, players who are viewed as fringe starters can produce unexpectedly big performances.\u00a0 These can often make or break fantasy football matchups.\u00a0 Below is a list of players, one from each position, who carry upside this week and can be placed in fantasy starting lineups.<\/p>\n
Aaron Rodgers had his best game of the season in Week 15, finishing as the QB4 in fantasy.\u00a0 Rodgers threw for 289 passing yards and three touchdowns against the Jaguars, as the Jets snapped their four-game losing skid<\/a>.\u00a0 Rodgers will face the Rams<\/a> in Week 16, who have been susceptible to shootouts all season.\u00a0 The Rams’ defense allows the ninth-most fantasy points per game (FPPG) to quarterbacks this season.\u00a0 While the Jets<\/a> are eliminated from playoff contention, Rodgers has QB streaming appeal this week and is set up to have another strong performance.<\/p>\n Jerome Ford has been mostly a non-factor for fantasy this season, playing second fiddle to Nick Chubb since his return from injury in Week 7.\u00a0 However, Chubb is back on injured reserve with a season-ending foot injury.\u00a0 This opens the door for Ford to return to lead-back duties, as the Browns face the Bengals in Week 16<\/a>.\u00a0 The Bengals rank 21st against RBs this season, allowing 18.14 FPPG to the position.\u00a0 While Ford is rostered in most leagues, he should be picked up off waivers wherever available.\u00a0 Managers should view Ford as an upside flex option this week, especially after he averaged 12 yards per carry last week.<\/p>\n Christian Watson is a boom-or-bust fantasy player.\u00a0 However, he has recorded at least 50 receiving yards in 4\/5 games and has seen six targets in the last two contests.\u00a0 The explosive wideout is always a big play threat, ranking second in 20+ yard receptions this season.\u00a0 The Packers also face the Saints at home in Week 16, drawing a favorable matchup for Watson.\u00a0 The Saints<\/a> are allowing the seventh-most FPPG to opposing wideouts this season.\u00a0 They have also conceded at least two touchdowns to receivers in 3\/4 games, being particularly vulnerable in the red zone.\u00a0 While the Packers’<\/a> receiving room is crowded, Watson carries upside this week and can be viewed as a high-end WR3\/4 for fantasy managers.<\/p>\n Sam Laporta has been more involved in the Lions’<\/a> offense lately.\u00a0 The second-year tight end has seen at least six targets in the last five games, catching ten passes for 111 yards last week.\u00a0 The Lions will face the Bears in Week 16, who have been weak against tight ends this season.\u00a0 The Bears’<\/a> defense is allowing over 60 receiving yards per game, along with the ninth-most FPPG to the position.\u00a0 With the Lions losing David Montgomery for the season<\/a>, expect the Lions to continue with a pass-heavy approach moving forward.\u00a0 Laporta should continue to be a primary target for Jared Goff and is a top TE option for fantasy managers this week.<\/p>\n Universal Responsible Gambling Disclaimer: Ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER<\/p>\n Main Photo: Corey Perrine\/Florida Times-Union-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Unexpected players will often make or break weekly fantasy matchups. These are some of the best upside plays for Week 16 of fantasy football<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5329,"featured_media":205304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,54],"tags":[275,8920,32545,9056,9621],"class_list":["post-205285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","category-editorials","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-christian-watson","tag-fantasy-football-2024","tag-jerome-ford","tag-sam-laporta"],"modified_by":"Will Koshover, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5329"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205285"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":205473,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205285\/revisions\/205473"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Running-Back – Jerome Ford<\/h3>\n
Wide Receiver – Christian Watson<\/h3>\n
Tight-End – Sam Laporta<\/h3>\n