The Buffalo Bills will face the New England Patriots 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 Amari Cooper.
Is Amari Cooper Playing in Week 16?
Updated at 2:55 PM ET on Sunday, December 22
Cooper is active for today's game.
Despite what the box score may tell you, Cooper did, in fact, play last week. He remains on the weekly practice report with a wrist issue but is practicing in full. Cooper will play on Sunday. Whether that translates into any targets is a completely different question.
We’ll continue to monitor the Bills’ 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 Amari Cooper in Week 16?
When the season concludes, I’ll run through all of the numbers and highlight some of the most impressive, quirky, or underwhelming nuggets from the season. I suspect that Cooper, with Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid both at less than full strength, earning exactly zero targets (15 routes) in a game in which the Bills scored 48 points will be on the list.
I can’t really explain it other than saying that the Lions made a point of taking him away and that Josh Allen is playing at such an elite level that he simply opted to take the path of least resistance (114 receiving yards for Ty Johnson being as good an example as that as you’ll find).
Cooper has yet to make anywhere near the impact I thought he would when this trade went down; at this point, I’m done assuming any sort of ramp-up during the regular season. He’s yet to reach a 54% snap share with the Bills, and given the number of ways this offense can beat you (not to mention what could be a very run-heavy script as massive favorites with newfound one-seed life), Cooper is a shaky bet at best.
I have both him and Coleman ranked as WR4s this week, preferring the late-season peak of Jalen McMillan over both of them.
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.
Amari Cooper’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 16
As of Sunday morning, Cooper is projected to score 10.9 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.6 receptions for 51.4 yards and 0.4 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 Patriots' Defense
Of all the elements of Jerod Mayo's start as head coach, the decline in New England's defense will be the most concerning. Having been a top-10 defense in each of the last three years, to have fallen this much is a major concern.
New England needed a solid defense to support its rebuilding offense, and that hasn't been the case. After trading away Matthew Judon before the season, the Patriots will need to address their failure to get pressure without blitzing (24.5%; 31st) this offseason.
Week 15 vs. the Cardinals resulted in a 65.0 (D) grade, their third-lowest of the season. Since a miraculous A- grade against the Bears in Week 10, the Patriots have the second-worst Defense+ grade ahead of only the Jaguars, with no individual games grading out better than a C-.
Overall, New England has ranked 20th or worse in nine out of 14 games this year. The Patriots will be massive underdogs with two games against the Bills and one against the Chargers to finish the season, potentially sending this unit even further down.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Amari Cooper’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)
Patriots at Bills Trends and Insights
New England Patriots
Team: The Patriots now have 11 losses — the same number they finished the 2000 season with. They beat the Bengals that season and then went on to win three Super Bowls in four seasons. They opened this season with a win over Cincinnati…
QB: Drake Maye had 2.73 seconds, on average, to throw in Arizona on Sunday, his second-lowest mark this season (third lowest by a Patriot QB).
Offense: The Patriots’ top-3 yards per drive games have all come over the past month.
Defense: New England has dropped four straight, and in all four of those games, they’ve allowed three touchdowns on four red zone trips. On Sunday, they also allowed the Cardinals to pick up 66.7% of their third downs, tying their worst showing this season in that regard (also: Week 3 at Jets).
Fantasy: Drake Maye has over 2.5 fantasy points as a runner with over 200 passing yards in four straight games.
Betting: New England is 4-9 ATS in their past 13 AFC East games (1-4 ATS over their past five).
Buffalo Bills
Team: Tyler Bass missed a 24-yard field goal on Sunday, the first miss on 78 such attempts (24 yards or shorter) this season,
QB: Josh Allen, on Sunday in Detroit, became the first player in NFL history with multiple pass TDs and multiple rush TDs in consecutive games
Offense: Buffalo is the first team to score 90 points over a two-game span on the road since the 2019 Ravens.
Defense: Over the past two weeks, the Bills have scored 90 points and allowed 86, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that opponents are four-of-four on fourth downs (season prior: 10-of-24) and 10-of-11 in the red zone (season prior: 21-of-42).
Fantasy: Josh Allen and James Cook each recorded two rushing TDs on Sunday. It's the fourth time in Bills history that they've had a duo score multiple rushing in a single game.
Betting: Overs are 5-1 in Buffalo’s past six home divisional games (2-0 when facing the Patriots).