Welcome to the Week 16 Fantasy Football Usage Report. Volume is paramount in fantasy football, and a player’s usage determines the type of volume they receive. Every week this season, I’ve taken a look at different usage trends throughout the NFL to help us prepare for the rest of the season and beyond. Now, we’re almost at the end of the road. Let’s analyze the fantasy football usage trends from Week 16, aka the semifinals week of the fantasy playoffs.
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Week 16 Fantasy Football Usage Report
Colby Parkinson Lets Us Down
Colby Parkinson has had an inspiring season, especially as of late. The Rams moved to a heavy tight end personnel offense this year, which has enabled Parkinson to play a larger role, especially since Tyler Higbee has been out with an injury. But on Thursday night, with everyone counting on him after Davante Adams was ruled out, Parkinson struggled. He played the most snaps of any Rams’ skill player and ran 70.6% of the routes (tied for second on the team), but turned that into only a 10.2% target share and 4.1 PPR points. Over his previous six games, Parkinson had a 14.3% target share and averaged 13.5 PPR PPG.
This week was a reminder that Colby Parkinson is a mid-level tight end who has been propped up by a great offense and quarterback. Players like Parkinson can have streaks when the stars align, but expecting it to continue will always be risky. With Terrance Ferguson looming, I don’t expect to have interest in Parkinson next season.
A.J. Brown’s Vintage Performances
At the beginning of the season, A.J. Brown looked like he might end up as one of the worst fantasy picks of the season. Both he and the Eagles’ offense looked like shells of their former selves. For the last five weeks, though, Brown has been on a roll.
Over that time, Brown has a 30.4% target share and is averaging 21.4 PPR PPG. In his first eight games, Brown averaged only 11.2 PPR PPG with four games under 8.0 points. It helps that during his run, the Eagles faced some of the worst defenses in the league, and the Eagles’ offense has looked better overall.
Whatever was causing Brown’s struggles to start the season is clearly gone. Brown’s strong end to the season should inspire confidence in him for 2026.
D.J. Moore’s Revival
It’s been an up-and-down season for D.J. Moore, with more downs than ups. The Bears’ youth movement has often had him on the outside looking in of the offensive game plan. But over the last two weeks, as the Bears dealt with injuries to their wide receiver corp, Moore has stepped up.
In that time, Moore has played 91.6% of the snaps, run 97.1% of the routes, seen a 21.1% target share, and averaged 22.4 PPR PPG. Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III could both be out again in Week 17, so it should be no surprise if Moore is productive again in the fantasy football finals.
Moore is still under contract with the Bears through 2029, but we have to wonder if the Bears will have him in the background again in 2026 to feature their young players. It will be interesting to see where his ADP ends up.
What Happened to Jaxson Dart?
In what has to be the most surprising stat line of the weekend, Jaxson Dart attempted only 13 passes, completing seven of them for 33 yards, zero TDs, and one interception. He also ran only twice for seven yards. He was also sacked five times and finished with only .02 fantasy points on the day.
This is an odd one. The Giants ran just 43 total plays. As far as we know, Dart wasn’t injured. The Vikings have a good defense that can pester quarterbacks, but that doesn’t explain this stat line. Considering how Jaxson Dart has performed so far this year, I’m chalking this up as an outlier game and nothing more. Things like this can happen occasionally, where the performance is almost unexplainable. We know Dart can play and is a producer for fantasy football. I’m not letting this change my mind on him.
Quinn Ewers Gets a Shot
The Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa‘s marriage is likely over, and he was benched in favor of Quinn Ewers entering Week 16. In Ewers’ first start, against a horrendous Bengals defense, he showed why he wasn’t a highly thought-of prospect.
Ewers completed 20 of his 30 passes for 261 passing yards, mostly in garbage time, but threw two interceptions and zero TDs. He finished the day with 8.4 fantasy points. The good news is that the Dolphins’ weapons were mostly fine. De’Von Achane had 18 PPR points, and Jaylen Wright, Jaylen Waddle, and Malik Washington all had over 10 PPR points.
Quinn Ewers didn’t play well, but he didn’t do much worse than what Tua Tagovailoa was doing. You can still trust Achane in Week 17; you probably weren’t trusting anyone else anyway at this point. This will also likely be the end of Ewers’ relevance as the Dolphins will be looking for a new quarterback in 2026.
Quinshon Judkins Suffers Serious Injury
One of the lone bright spots for the Browns has been rookie second-round pick Quinshon Judkins. Judkins has routinely found success despite playing behind a dreadful offensive line and poor quarterback play. Before Week 16, Judkins was averaging 12.3 PPR PPG while having the 49th-ranked run blocking rating due to the offensive line. Unfortunately, on Sunday, Judkins suffered a serious injury. Early reports are that he fractured his fibula and dislocated his ankle, which carries a four-to-five-month recovery time.
We should see Quinshon Judkins in 2026. We can’t expect much, though. To go with Judkins, the Browns will have Dylan Sampson, whoever they add in the offseason, and we’ll see if Raheim Sanders sticks around. I’m waiting for news of his recovery in the offseason before I have any interest in him.
Justin Jefferson’s Frustrating Year
No single player has been more frustrating for fantasy football in 2025 than Justin Jefferson. Week after week, he’s been actively bad for our fantasy teams, but it’s so hard to sit him. He’s been widely considered the best wide receiver in football for years. He’s transcended every situation. Not this year. Over the last six weeks prior to Week 16, Jefferson had averaged only 6.2 PPR PPG while still earning a 27.5% target share.
This week, even with J.J. McCarthy leaving mid-game, Jefferson got back on track a bit. Jefferson scored 14.5 PPR points, catching six of eight targets for 85 yards with a 36.4% target share. It’s not much, but it’s great to see Justin Jefferson give a usable week. If the Vikings weren’t in control of the game, it could have been even better. You still can’t expect a normal Jefferson performance in Week 17, but you can play him as a WR2. We need to see what the Vikings do at quarterback before we can really project Jefferson for 2026.
Marvin Harrison Jr. Returns (Again)
Returning in Week 16, the Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson saga got a new chapter. Harrison Jr. played 50.8.% of the snaps, ran 60.6% of the routes, had an 11.1% target share, and scored only 2.4 PPR points. Before the game, we got word the Cardinals planned to work him back in slowly, and that held true. It’s a bit of a lost season for Harrison Jr. as he’s dealt with injury throughout and poor quarterback play to start the season.
The hope was that Marvin Harrison Jr. could improve in his second season and perform as expected based on his prospect profile. That didn’t go as planned, but that will be the hope again in 2026. The Cardinals are another team trying to figure out what their plan is at quarterback. Maybe they keep Jacoby Brissett around, but Kyler Murray is expected to be a goner.
Courtland Sutton Reigns Supreme
For some time in the middle of the season, it seemed as though the times were changing for Courtland Sutton in the Broncos’ wide receiver pecking order. Sutton’s role lessened, and Troy Franklin matched him, possibly signaling a change.
But, since the Broncos’ Week 12 Bye, Sutton has been back in the driver’s seat. In that time, Sutton has a 21.8% target share while running 88.3% of the routes and playing 81.7% of the snaps on his way to 18.6 PPR PPG. During those four weeks, Sutton has had at least 10 targets three times, scored three times as well, and has at least 60 receiving yards every contest.
You can have confidence in Courtland Sutton as a WR2 in Week 17. Looking forward to 2026, Sutton will still be under contract with the Broncos, and they won’t be too motivated to add to the room. Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims, and Pat Bryant have all shown to be quality players. Sutton will be 31, but he could easily turn in another productive season.
Kenneth Gainwell League Winner
Entering the season, not a person on earth was projecting Kenneth Gainwell to be relevant for fantasy football in 2026, let alone be an end-of-season league winner, but that’s what he is. Over the last six weeks, Gainwell is averaging 14.3 PPR PPG while playing 52.4% of the snaps. He is handling 45.8% of the Steelers’ backfield opportunities and has an 18.4% target share. He has Aaron Rodgers‘ trust and has become a week-in and week-out RB2 for our fantasy teams.
You almost have to play Kenneth Gainwell in Week 17. If you’re able to bench him, your team is stacked. For 2026, Gainwell won’t be under contract. The Steelers will be an interesting follow this offseason. Does Aaron Rodgers retire? If he does, how do the Steelers react? Either way, Gainwell has played himself into a role for a team in 2026, and the size of it will depend on his situation.
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