The Green Bay Packers will face the New Orleans Saints in Week 16. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Christian Watson.
Is Christian Watson Playing in Week 16?
Watson is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Packers’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Christian Watson in Week 16?
Watson has just a pair of top-30 finishes this season; while the matchup isn’t prohibitive, he’s pretty clearly not viewed as a consistent threat by this offense (nine catches over the past four weeks).
That said, if you’re grasping for straws and/or have a player ruled out late on Sunday and are making a Monday night dart throw your backup plan, Watson does have a 35+ yard catch in each of his past three games. My fear isn’t his ability to exploit this secondary as much as it is Green Bay’s need for such a role as a double-digit point favorite.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 16 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Christian Watson’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 16
As of Sunday morning, Watson is projected to score 10.5 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 2.9 receptions for 42.9 yards and 0.5 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Saints' Defense
Although the New Orleans Saints had an ugly season across the board before Dennis Allen's firing, the defense stood out as an issue. Allen was the former DC under Sean Payton, and when his defense ranked well below its sixth-place finish from last year (and 13th in 2022), the writing was on the wall.
Since Allen's firing, the performances have been all over the place. New Orleans has alternated top-six weeks with bottom-15 performances, and Sunday vs. the Commanders was time for the bad version to appear.
The Saints posted a 75.3 (C) grade, ranking 18th on the week.
It's nearly impossible to post a below-average grade like that when the pass rush excels to the degree the Saints did on Sunday. New Orleans recorded eight sacks, double its total in any other game this season and one shy of the most by any team this year. Beyond the sacks, they also posted the sixth-highest non-blitz pressure rate (44.7%) on the week.
However, the Saints' run defense continued to flail, ranking 21st in success rate (60%) and 20th in EPA per play (0.10) for the week. That's actually a massive improvement from the typical New Orleans run defense, which ranks 30th in success rate and 29th in EPA per rush for the season.
Ultimately, that places a pretty firm cap on the Saints' defensive ceiling, particularly given that the offense isn't strong enough to force defenses to play from behind and abandon the run.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Christian Watson’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 6:05 AM ET on Sunday, December 22. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 16 WR PPR Rankings
1) Ja'Marr Chase | CIN (vs. CLE)
2) Puka Nacua | LAR (at NYJ)
3) Justin Jefferson | MIN (at SEA)
4) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (at CHI)
5) Nico Collins | HOU (at KC)
6) Mike Evans | TB (at DAL)
7) A.J. Brown | PHI (at WAS)
8) CeeDee Lamb | DAL (vs. TB)
9) Davante Adams | NYJ (vs. LAR)
10) Tyreek Hill | MIA (vs. SF)
11) Drake London | ATL (vs. NYG)
12) Tee Higgins | CIN (vs. CLE)
13) Courtland Sutton | DEN (at LAC)
14) Cooper Kupp | LAR (at NYJ)
15) Jauan Jennings | SF (at MIA)
16) Malik Nabers | NYG (at ATL)
17) Terry McLaurin | WAS (vs. PHI)
18) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (vs. MIN)
19) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (vs. LAR)
20) Jerry Jeudy | CLE (at CIN)
21) Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX (at LV)
22) Ladd McConkey | LAC (vs. DEN)
23) Khalil Shakir | BUF (vs. NE)
24) DJ Moore | CHI (vs. DET)
25) Calvin Ridley | TEN (at IND)
26) Jordan Addison | MIN (at SEA)
27) DK Metcalf | SEA (vs. MIN)
28) Zay Flowers | BAL (vs. PIT)
29) DeVonta Smith | PHI (at WAS)
30) Jakobi Meyers | LV (vs. JAX)
31) Jameson Williams | DET (at CHI)
32) Jayden Reed | GB (vs. NO)
33) Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI (at CAR)
34) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. HOU)
35) Darnell Mooney | ATL (vs. NYG)
36) Keenan Allen | CHI (vs. DET)
37) Josh Downs | IND (vs. TEN)
38) Elijah Moore | CLE (at CIN)
39) Rome Odunze | CHI (vs. DET)
40) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (vs. TEN)
41) Adam Thielen | CAR (vs. ARI)
42) Tank Dell | HOU (at KC)
43) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. HOU)
44) Quentin Johnston | LAC (vs. DEN)
45) Amari Cooper | BUF (vs. NE)
46) Romeo Doubs | GB (vs. NO)
47) Rashod Bateman | BAL (vs. PIT)
48) Christian Watson | GB (vs. NO)
49) Jalen Coker | CAR (vs. ARI)
50) Jalen McMillan | TB (at DAL)
51) Ray-Ray McCloud III | ATL (vs. NYG)
52) DeMario Douglas | NE (at BUF)
53) Tim Patrick | DET (at CHI)
54) Deebo Samuel Sr. | SF (at MIA)
55) Joshua Palmer | LAC (vs. DEN)
56) Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | TEN (at IND)
57) Michael Wilson | ARI (at CAR)
58) Marquez Valdes-Scantling | BUF (vs. NE)
59) Keon Coleman | BUF (vs. NE)
60) Cedric Tillman | CLE (at CIN)
61) Sterling Shepard | TB (at DAL)
62) Devaughn Vele | DEN (at LAC)
63) Wan'Dale Robinson | NYG (at ATL)
64) Parker Washington | JAX (at LV)
65) Calvin Austin III | PIT (at BAL)
66) Tre Tucker | LV (vs. JAX)
67) Brandin Cooks | DAL (vs. TB)
68) Mike Williams | PIT (at BAL)
69) Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN (at LAC)
70) Tyler Lockett | SEA (vs. MIN)
71) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (vs. NO)
72) Kendrick Bourne | NE (at BUF)
73) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. HOU)
74) David Moore | CAR (vs. ARI)
75) Darius Slayton | NYG (at ATL)
76) Kayshon Boutte | NE (at BUF)
77) Kevin Austin Jr. | NO (at GB)
78) Ricky Pearsall | SF (at MIA)
79) Andrei Iosivas | CIN (vs. CLE)
80) Van Jefferson | PIT (at BAL)
81) Allen Lazard | NYJ (vs. LAR)
82) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (at NYJ)
83) Dyami Brown | WAS (vs. PHI)
84) Tutu Atwell | LAR (at NYJ)
85) Tyler Boyd | TEN (at IND)
86) KaVontae Turpin | DAL (vs. TB)
87) Mack Hollins | BUF (vs. NE)
88) Jalen Tolbert | DAL (vs. TB)
89) Jalen Nailor | MIN (at SEA)
90) Michael Woods II | CLE (at CIN)
91) Troy Franklin | DEN (at LAC)
92) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. HOU)
93) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (vs. PHI)
94) Devin Duvernay | JAX (at LV)
95) Curtis Samuel | BUF (vs. NE)
96) Malik Washington | MIA (vs. SF)
97) Justin Watson | KC (vs. HOU)
98) Adonai Mitchell | IND (vs. TEN)
99) Greg Dortch | ARI (at CAR)
100) Cedrick Wilson Jr. | NO (at GB)
101) Derius Davis | LAC (vs. DEN)
102) Jahan Dotson | PHI (at WAS)
103) Lil'Jordan Humphrey | DEN (at LAC)
104) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (vs. PHI)
105) Jalin Hyatt | NYG (at ATL)
106) Tylan Wallace | BAL (vs. PIT)
Saints at Packers Trends and Insights
New Orleans Saints
Team: The Saints, the same team that opened the season by scoring 47 points against the Panthers, have scored 47 points since their Week 12 bye.
QB: New Orleans had the hot start – since Week 3, they rank 24th in yards per pass, 26th in pass touchdown rate, and 30th in completion percentage.
Offense: On Sunday, Alvin Kamara joined Lenny Moore, Marshall Faulk, and Christian McCaffrey as the only players with 25 receiving touchdowns and 50 rush touchdowns.
Defense: Despite posting their fourth-lowest blitz rate of the season on Sunday (13.3%), the Saints recorded their highest sack rate of 2024 (20.5%).
Fantasy: Kamara’s last run gaining more than 30 yards came during his six-touchdown effort against the Vikings on Christmas Day of 2020.
Betting: Unders are 15-1 in New Orleans’ last 16 games played on extended rest, going under by an average of 7.1 points)
Green Bay Packers
Team: As of Tuesday, we are more than 365 days removed from Green Bay’s last regular-season loss in the United States against a non-NFC North team.
QB: Jordan Love was intercepted three times when blitzed in his first three games this season – he’s been picked off on such a pass just twice since.
Offense: On Sunday night, the Packers had four first-half possessions — 15 first downs, 235 yards, and four scoring drives (20 points).
Defense: Matchup-based defense. Over the past three weeks, Green Bay has two sub-10% games (Week 13 vs. Miami and Sunday in Seattle) and a plus-30% game (32.6% in Detroit, easily their highest mark of the season)
Fantasy: Josh Jacobs had nine touches in the first six minutes on Sunday night, tying him for the most such touches in a game during the 2000s (others: Chris Ivory in Week 4, 2014, and Peyton Barber in Week 17, 2017).
Betting: The Packers failed to cover four straight games in the middle of the season (Weeks 7-11) but haven’t failed to cover a game since (3-0-1).