Can James Conner repeat as fantasy RB1 in Week 16? | Fantasy Football Live

Yahoo Fantasy analysts Andy Behrens and Sal Vetri offer their bold predictions for the fantasy semifinals - including if Arizona's Trey McBride can finally catch a touchdown pass in 2024.

Video Transcript

Alright, let's grab the hot sauce and get spicy.

It's time for some bold predictions for week 16.

We'll give you things you never thought you'd hear.

It'll be absolutely mind-blowing, except for Andy Barns, which will be right down the middle.

So.

What do you got for us as your bold prediction?

Yeah, James Connor of the Arizona Cardinals was the RB one on the week last week, and I think he's going to do it again and be the RB1 once again this week.

Top 100 yards, have a couple of touchdowns.

Don't look now, but James Connor is currently on pace, and maybe we have to knock on wood here for the first time in his career to play every single regular season game.

And despite turning 30 years old in a couple of months, relatively old for the running back position, it being the end of the year.

You might think, oh, he's slowing down a little bit, not at all.

He currently leads the NFL in broken tackle rate.

He's top 5 in breakaway runs, and he's coming off of arguably his two best fantasy days of the last two weeks, including last week, where he was the RB1.

138 total yards and 2 touchdowns against the Patriots, and the matchup gets even better this week.

The Panthers allow the most rushing yards per game, the second most rushing touchdowns.

You can look at any split you want this year.

The last 6 games, starting running backs are averaging 125 rushing yards per game against Carolina.

You look, last week, Rico Dale had a career high 149 rushing yards.

Everybody gets there against Carolina.

I think Connor's going to do it again to the tone of 100+ yards and 2 touchdowns, another 30 points in the RB1 overall, he's going to be a league winner.

The playoff schedule has been great.

It will continue to be great next week.

James Connor is an RB1.

I mean, that's a good prediction.

I don't know how bold.

Andy Barns, give us bold.

Come on, just take us home.

Hey, listen, I'm going to give you something that has not happened yet this season.

So by definition, I think that's bold.

Trey McBride week, OK, it's finally arrived.

I think it's here.

At least I, I hope it's arrived because I have a desperate fantasy need for McBride to, to finally break out of the wildest touchdown.

Out that anybody has ever seen.

McBride, of course, without a receiving TD this year on 89 catches and 116 targets.

He's been the best player in the league, basically between the one yard lines, and he cannot score.

They even tried, they tried a little shovel pass to him last week and he became the only tight end to not score on a shovel pass.

Unbelievable.

Um, he's the overall tight end 3 on the season without a receiving touchdown, which is just crazy.

This week though, he runs into a defense that has allowed a league-high 11 touchdowns to opposing tight ends in Carolina.

Noah Gray had a couple of scores against him.

Foster Moreau has a couple of scores against Carolina.

If McBride just sees his usual double digit target total in this one.

And he can't score, he might actually be cursed.

The bold prediction here is that not only does McBride break the drought, he then rebreaks it.

He gets in the end zone twice.