The Philadelphia Eagles will face the Washington Commanders 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 A.J. Brown.
Is A.J. Brown Playing in Week 16?
The Eagles gave several veterans Wednesday off. A.J. Brown returned to a limited practice on Thursday with a combination of knee and rest. He was limited again on Friday, suggesting he picked the knee injury up at Wednesday’s practice.
“I’m playing.”
Doesn’t sound like AJ Brown is 100 percent but as he points out, nobody is this time of year. pic.twitter.com/wERpXY265B
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) December 20, 2024
Clearly, there’s something minor he’s dealing with, but he will play on Sunday.
We’ll continue to monitor the Eagles’ 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 A.J. Brown in Week 16?
A first-quarter touchdown?
A touchdown dance with Jalen Hurts?
After a week full of speculation, A.J. Brown seemed pretty happy with the passing game that he criticized (8-110-1 against the Steelers). He was clearly the focal point of this game plan (six targets on Hurts’ first 10 throws); while some of that might be a squeaky-wheel situation, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to feature a borderline unguardable physical specimen.
When all was said and done, the Eagles were ultra-impressive in their 27-13 win over the Steelers, and I don’t think it’s a mistake that they took down one of the league’s best defenses by funneling 74.2% of their targets to their two top receivers.
Saquon Barkley was banged up during this game, and that certainly changed the composition of this offense to a degree, but I saw enough to consider both receivers in Philly as viable options with Brown (32% target share in the Week 11 meeting with the Commanders) returning to WR1 status.
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.
A.J. Brown’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 16
As of Sunday morning, Brown is projected to score 17.6 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 5.6 receptions for 87.7 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 Commanders' Defense
The Commanders are an intriguing defense because they started the season poorly (three of five weeks ranked inside the bottom 10). We saw a brief spell of improved performances, but those were all against lesser-talented offenses.
Washington's standing improved as the season went on, but league average seems like the overall ceiling.
Washington ended up with an above-average 78.4 (C+) grade in its Week 14 win over New Orleans. However, it was really a tale of two halves, as the defense nearly collapsed enough to allow Spencer Rattler to steal the win off the bench.
If you only look at the first half, the Commanders would have had Week 15's best Defense+ grade. Washington pitched a first-half shutout and allowed a minuscule 1.9 yards per play.
But isolating to the second half, the Commanders posted the third-worst Defense+ grade of any team in Week 15. Washington allowed 6.7 yards per play after halftime and had the third-worst EPA per dropback (-0.61) of any defense in the second half last week.
It's possible the Commanders were caught off guard after game planning for Jake Haener, but Spencer Rattler's error-prone season to date shouldn't have caused them so many issues. Washington's pass defense briefly surged in the middle of the season but still ranks just 23rd in EPA per dropback (-0.10) for the season.
There's been a slight defensive improvement under Quinn, but not to the level that his Cowboys units performed at in the past three years. That's not the fairest comparison, given that this was supposed to be the first year of a rebuild and not a playoff team right away. Still, with Washington's status as a contender, it's a reality that must be acknowledged.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
A.J. Brown’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)
Eagles at Commanders Trends and Insights
Philadelphia Eagles
Team: The Eagles opened last season with a 10-1 run in which they averaged 2.53 points per drive and scored a touchdown on 29.4% of drives. During their current 10-game win streak, they are putting 2.60 points on the board per drive (31.2% TD rate).
QB: Jalen Hurts completed 22-of-26 passes from within the pocket on Sunday (84.6%, his best mark since going 18-of-20 against the Falcons in Week 2).
Offense: In Weeks 1-10, Philadelphia didn’t have a single game in which they converted 55% of their third downs – they’ve now done so in four of five (10-of-17, 58.8%, on Sunday against Pittsburgh).
Defense: Sunday was the ninth time this season in which Philadelphia didn’t allow their opponent to pick up more than 30% of their third downs.
Fantasy: No one is complaining, but after consecutive games with both a 30+ yard rush and catch, Saquon Barkley doesn’t have a run gaining more than 25 yards or a catch picking up more than five in three straight.
Betting: The Eagles lost 33-16 in Tampa Bay as a one-point favorite in Week 4 – they’ve covered all five of their road games since, beating the spread by at least eight points in each of those contests.
Washington Commanders
Team: Washington games have seen 51 points scored in the final minute of regulation this season (3.64 per game). That puts them on pace to top the 2012 Lions for the most such points in a season during the 2000s (the Commanders have seen 51 such points scored, those Lions saw 57 in 16 games, 3.56).
QB: Over his past four games, Jayden Daniels is 11-of-13 with seven touchdowns when throwing inside of the red zone.
Offense: Terry McLaurin became the first Washington receiver with a double-digit touchdown season since Gary Clark (1991). His 10th TD catch came on his 84th target of the season (previous two seasons: nine touchdown grabs on 252 targets).
Defense: The Commanders have allowed multiple offensive touchdowns and multiple FGM in four straight games (prior to this run: three such games).
Fantasy: Daniels leads the league with six games this season with at least 30 passes and seven rush attempts.
Betting: In Washington’s past three home games, sportsbooks have projected a total of 135 points — 176 points have been scored in those games.