Packers fantasy football outlook: Tonyan a must-start in championship week

The fantasy championship games are here and chances are, if you made it this far you have a few Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans on your roster.

These teams are two of the top four offenses in the league and it should lead to a high-powered showdown on Sunday Night Football with fantasy points galore.

With all that in mind, who should you start? Who should you avoid? We are here to help.

Players are graded on a 1-5 scale of football emojis, from “don’t even think about starting him” (🏈) to “you’re a fool if you bench this guy”(🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈).

Here’s how Week 15 shakes out:

GREEN BAY PACKERS

QB Aaron Rodgers: 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈

Worried about Rodgers’ 143-yard performance against the Carolina Panthers? Don’t be. First off, the Packers will need to keep pace with Tennessee’s second-ranked offense, so Rodgers will likely get more chances to air it out. Secondly, it is hard to imagine him getting sacked five times again or even having much pressure in the pocket since the Titans’ pass rush is the least productive in the NFL with a league-low 14 total sacks. Lastly, he’s worked himself into the MVP conversation with 3,828 yards, 40 touchdowns and just four interceptions this season. He’ll be fine on Sunday.

RB Aaron Jones: 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈

Jones is coming on strong as the season comes to a close, rushing for two touchdowns and at least 130 yards in two of his last three games. He should have running lanes on Sunday too, since Tennessee allows the seventh-most fantasy points to running backs this season. Trust Jones on championship weekend.

WR Davante Adams: 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈

From a fantasy perspective, Adams stat line of catches for 42 yards against the Panthers was rather pedestrian. Well, based on his 2020 season, his low production won’t last long. He had at least 100 receiving yards and a touchdown in his two games prior to Carolina and went on an eight-game touchdown streak before the Panthers game. Expect him to get back on track vs. the Titans.

WR Allen Lazard: 🏈🏈

Having Lazard on the field adds one more playmaker to the Packers’ offense but that doesn’t mean he deserves a spot in your lineup. In his five games since coming back from injury, Lazard has 16 catches for 166 yards and a touchdown, which is perfectly fine as a complimentary piece in Green Bay’s offense but not consistent enough to warrant a start.

TE Robert Tonyan: 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈

Tonyan started the season as a fun story with a last name that was constantly mispronounced to a must-start at TE and a Pro Bowl snub. He has scored one touchdown in east of the last five games and his 10 scores are tied for the most in the NFL among tight ends. Unless you got this far with Travis Kelce, Darren Waller or T.J. Hockenson, ride with Tonyan as your starting tight end.

Packers D/ST: 🏈

Remember that Tennessee has the second-best offense in the NFL? Yeah, that means the Packers D/ST is a no-go this week unless you feel like losing your fantasy championship game. The Titans have scored at least 30 points in each of their last five games and could easily do it again Sunday.

TENNESSEE TITANS

QB Ryan Tannehill: 🏈🏈🏈🏈

This ain’t your older brother’s Tannehill. He has been outstanding this season and has been able to hurt teams in different ways. He’s thrown for 3,482 yards, 31 touchdowns and five interceptions (both fifth among QBs) and has rushed for 173 yards and four scores. What does that all add up to? Fantasy points and a 10-4 record for Tennessee. If you have a Rodgers, or a Patrick Mahomes or a Deshaun Watson, then sure, start them over Tannehill but he’s an easy start otherwise.

RB Derrick Henry: 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈

Henry leads the NFL in rushing yards (1,679 yards) and rushing touchdowns (15) so far. Green Bay’s defense allows the fifth-most points to running backs this season. We’re done here.

WR A.J. Brown: 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈

Brown has 10 touchdowns this season and four of them have come in the last five games. Not only that, there have only been two games this season where he hasn’t scored a touchdown or reached at least 60 receiving yards. Either the yardage will show up or the touchdowns will, or both if all goes well for him. He will be going up against the Packers’ ninth-best fantasy defense against receivers but he is just too much of a threat to seriously consider benching.

WR Corey Davis: 🏈🏈🏈🏈

Davis has emerged as a great deep threat for the Titans and his 15.8 yards per catch is eighth-best in the NFL. With 60 catches for 945 yards and five scores, he is on pace for his first 1,000 yard season. The Western Michigan product has at least 60 receiving yards in five of his past six contests and passed 100 receiving yards three times in that span. He doesn’t score touchdowns at quite the same rate, but that should not scare you away.

Titans D/ST: 🏈

The Titans have this reputation as a hard-nosed, tough football team and the reputation is well-earned after a surprise trip to the AFC championship game last year. That does not mean they have a good defense. Tennessee’s defense allows the sixth-most yards per game and its pass rush is extremely weak. Green Bay should be able to light up this defense, so keep it on the bench.