Fantasy Football Week 16 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Jayden Reed vs. Emeka Egbuka
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Two WRs who are iffy plays in week 16 in fantasy football are Green Bay Packers WR Jayden Reed and Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka. Both of the two WRs are ranked fairly close in our week 16 fantasy football WR rankings. Here is a breakdown of who to play between the two this week in fantasy football.
Emeka Egbuka
With the return of Mike Evans, Emeka Egbuka’s stats on the surface did not see a major drop off, as he put forth an ok fantasy outing last week, recording four receptions for 64 yards on seven targets. In Egbuka’s subpar play of late, this is the most receiving yards he has gotten in four games. This also came against the Atlanta Falcons, who have been an above-average pass defense this year, allowing the eigth fewest passing yards per game in the NFL. He will have a slightly more favorable time this Sunday when he and the Bucs take on the Carolina Panthers.
The Panthers this season have a pretty average passing defense, allowing the 17th fewest passing yards per game. Within that, they are allowing the 12th fewest fantasy points per game to the WR position in PPR formats. In their last three games, this above-average stat has not shown up against opposing WR2s–Egbuka’s role for the Bucs. Opposing WR2 against the Panthers in their last three games are averaging 56 receiving yards per game, 4.7 receptions per game, and have combined for three TDs. It is hard to bank on Egbuka having a good game because of how he has played recently, but the window for him having one is certainly there in week 16.
Jayden Reed
After being absent in action for 10 games, Jayden Reed, in his second game back from injury, had a solid game. Against the Denver Broncos, he had five receptions for 55 yards on six targets. This came with listed WR1 for Green Bay Christian Watson going down with a chest injury in the third quarter. His status ahead of week 16’s game against the Baltimore Ravens is still not certain.
Reed’s week 16 opponent, the Ravens, have been bad statistically in defending the pass all year, but have been slightly better as of late. In the year, they are allowing the seventh most passing yards per game–233.3– in the NFL. In their last three games, they have been giving up 245.3 yards per game. Opposing WR2s–role of Reed if Watson is out–over the Bears’ last three games, have not done well. They combined for just two receptions for 60 yards in this stretch. The WR2s in these games were Cincinnati Bengals WR2 Andrei Iosivas twice, and Pittsburgh Steelers WR2 Calvin Austin III. Primarily, the WR2 for Cincy Tee Higgins, was out with an injury in both of these games against Baltimore.
Final Verdict
When it comes to who should start between Reed and Egbuka in week 16 of fantasy football, Egbuka should start, and Reed should sit.
Reed does have the better matchup, but other factors led to him being the sit. The big separator in this is that Egbuka has big fantasy performances to his name in 2025, while Reed does not. Reed has not really had the chance to given he has been hurt for most of the season, but hoping he can break out for a big fantasy point performance in his third game back from injury feels like too big of an ask. All of this leads to the conclusion that Egbuka is the better fantasy WR play in this debate in week 16.
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Gray Deyo is a Nashville-based sportswriter who graduated with a sports management bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has covered prep sports, college sports, the WNBA, and the NBA for the past four years. In addition to writing for SI, Gray also currently contributes to Prep Girls Hoops