Fantasy Football Week 16 Reaction: Alvin Kamara, Tom Brady Win; Drew Brees Loses

Championship week has come and gone, and hopefully there’s even a few managers who claimed their league’s title.

If you had New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, you were given quite the Christmas present and may have even run away with the trophy before the weekend started. Then again, if you had Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady on Saturday or any Dallas Cowboys receivers on Sunday, you were in good shape, too.

The same can’t be said for managers who started Saints quarterback Drew Brees, San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk, among others. Anyway, here’s our winners, losers and surprises from the NFL’s Week 16 slate:

Winners:
Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
Kamara went off for six (!!!!) rushing touchdowns in a Week 16 win over the Minnesota Vikings. The dual-threat back recorded 172 yards of offense on 25 touches (155 rushing on 22 carries). Kamara incredibly eclipsed the 60-point mark in half-point PPR leagues.

Dallas Cowboys receivers
It was an outstanding day for the Cowboys trio of receivers with Michael Gallup (six rec., 121 yards, two TDs), Amari Cooper (four rec. 121 yards) and CeeDee Lamb (three rec., 65 yards, TD) all going off in Dallas’ Week 16 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Tom Brady, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Fantasy managers certainly wished Brady returned to play in the second half, even just one more scoring drive, but the 43-year-old QB put up four touchdowns and threw for 348 yards before the intermission. It was one of Brady’s three highest fantasy outputs on the campaign.

Losers:
Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
You’d think when an offense puts up 52 points, the quarterback had an above-average fantasy showing, right? Well, that’s not how it played out for Brees as he completed just 19 passes with two interceptions and didn’t throw a touchdown. Kamara, as noted, was responsible for six rushing scores while do-it-all Tayson Hill had one of his own.

Younghoe Koo, K, Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons kicker lost in more ways than one Sunday, pushing what would’ve been a game-tying, 39-yarder wide right against the Kansas City Chiefs. Koo, one of the best fantasy kickers all season, finished with just two extra points for his lowest output of the season.

Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
After six consecutive games with 73 or more receiving yards and five or more receptions, the 2020 first-rounder saw just two targets against the Cardinals. Aiyuk, who had four TDs in the previous five games, tallied just 15 yards on one catch Week 16.

Surprises:
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
Managers entering the title round with Mahomes up against the league’s second-worst passing defense (Atlanta Falcons) likely were licking their chops. And while it was fine for QBs not named Mahomes, it was far from the best for the likely NFL MVP. He had his third fewest points with two passing TDs, 278 yards and one interception.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers wideout registered the second-most points of his campaign (most since Week 1) in a comeback win over the Colts. Smith-Schuster finished with nine receptions for 96 yards and one touchdown.

Miles Gaskin, RB, Miami Dolphins
The 2019 seventh-rounder recorded his first multi-touchdown game of the season, finishing with 169 yards of offense with two touchdowns. Gaskin had 87 rushing yards on 14 attempts and five receptions (two scores) for another 82 yards. He more than tripled his projection.