We are coming up on the end of the fantasy football regular season in standard leagues so this could be a make or break week for you. Hopefully I can help you make the decision on who to start this week to get you that W & playoff bid. All my decisions are purely based on PPR scoring.
Top 3 Performers of Week 12:
Drew Brees- 32 fantasy points
Antonio Brown- 32 fantasy points
Colin Kaepernick- 32 fantasy points
QBs to start in Week 13:
Tyrod Taylor (vs. Raiders): Taylor has been a very solid fantasy QB this season despite having a bunch of injuries to his weapons on offense. In Week 12 we saw Sammy Watkins return from injury which only gives you more optimism for Taylor going forward. Taylor is also a great dual threat QB so that helps his stock. Taylor faces the Raiders who have given up the 10th most points to QBs this season. I expect a high scoring game so Taylor is a nice option in Week 13.
Colin Kaepernick (vs. Bears): Kaepernick has played pretty well at least in fantasy terms since being named starter earlier in the season. In the last 4 weeks here’s the list of QBs who have had more fantasy points than Kaepernick: Aaron Rodgers… That’s it. Kaepernick as of me writing this article is only owned in 43% of ESPN leagues so if you’re looking for a viable fill in QB he’d be the first guy I’m looking at. The Bears have actually been good against QBs this season but I believe Kaepernick has another good game here.
Russell Wilson (vs. Panthers): Wilson has been fairly inconsistent this season. In weeks 6-8 Wilson had 10 or less points & then in weeks 9-11 he had 23+ points but then he had a rough game in Week 12 scoring just 10 points. The one good thing you could take away from his performance in Week 12 is that he had his most rushing yards that he;s had this season with 80. This week he faces the Panthers who I believe can be had in the passing game & are giving up the 6th most points to QBs this season.
My Star QB of the Week: Drew Brees (vs. Lions): This might be the highest scoring game of Week 13 between the Saints & Lions. Both teams have high powered offenses & less than spectacular defenses. Brees is coming off a 32 points performance in Week 12 & Brees will be at home again in Week 13. The Lions have allowed the 5th most points to opposing QBs this season. Brees at 37 is still one of the few elite QBs in the NFL.
Under the Radar QB: Alex Smith (vs. Falcons): I know Smith isn’t usually a fantasy relevant QB unless you play in a 2 QB league but this week I like his matchup. Smith is coming off an alright game against Denver & will face the Falcons in Week 13. The Falcons have allowed the most points to QBs this year & have allowed the 3rd most TDs to QBs. The loss of Desmond Trufant also hurts that Falcons defense.
QBs to sit in Week 13:
Blake Bortles (vs. Broncos): Bortles isn’t a good NFL QB in any sense but in fantasy he’s been pretty good. Bortles is actually tied with Matthew Stafford in fantasy points this season with 189. If you start Bortles at QB you’re hoping for garbage points from him but I would not rely on that this week. This week he faces a Denver team that’s coming off a tough loss in overtime against the Chiefs. The Broncos defense has allowed the least amount of points to QBs this season. Bortles could be in for a very long day on Sunday.
Andy Dalton (vs. Eagles): Dalton has been a solid fantasy QB this year but with the injuries of A.J Green & Giovanni Bernard he becomes hard to trust in fantasy. Dalton has Tyler Eifert to throw to but at WR he has rookie receiver Tyler Boyd & then he has Brandon Lafell as well. It’s hard to see Dalton being great with those guys. Eagles secondary can be had but their defense has been good against QBs allowing the 9th least amount of points to QBs this season.
RBs to start in Week 13:
Jordan Howard (vs. 49ers): Howard has been a solid fantasy back this season & that should continue this week as he faces the weak 49ers defense. Howard had 15 pints in Week 12 against the Titans & his workload didn;t change much with Matt Barkley as QB. If anything he’ll get more carries to take pressure off Barkley. The 49ers have allowed the most points to RBs this year.
Spencer Ware (vs. Falcons): Ware has most likely taken the reins of being the Chiefs RB for years to come as Jamaal Charles got injured again a few weeks back. Ware has been a nice option in the rushing & passing game this season. Ware has been held without a rushing touchdown in his last 5 games but I believe that ends this week against the Falcons. The Falcons give up the 3rd most points to opposing RBs.
Doug Martin (vs. Chargers): Martin has been back for 3 & has struggled getting yards but the volume of carries is there. He’s gotten an average of 21 carries in each game he’s played in since coming back from injury. In those 3 games he played 3 tough run defenses but his week he faces the Chargers who struggle against the run. The Chargers give up the 7th most points to RBs.
My Star RB of the Week: David Johnson (vs. Redskins): Johnson has been nothing of spectacular this year. I dearly regret passing up on him in all of my leagues (one of them was for Deandre Hopkins…). Johnson is currently the highest scoring fantasy player this season with 273 points & is 25 points ahead of the 2nd highest scorer (Drew Brees with 248). This week he faces the Redskins who allow the 6th most points to RBs.
Under the Radar RB: Rashad Jennings (vs. Steelers): I’m not going out of my way to start Jennings this week but his matchup this week definitely makes him a viable RB2 or flex play. Jennings has been getting the majority of the touches even with Paul Perkins being worked into the offense. Plus Jennings faces the Steelers who have given up the 4th most points to opposing RBs this year.
RBs to sit in Week 13:
Thomas Rawls (vs. Panthers): Rawls has come back with injury & has started 2 games since. Last week Rawls struggled to get anything going against the Buccaneers where he finished with just 3 fantasy points. This week he faces a tough Panthers run defense that allows the 2nd least amount of points to opposing RBs. I believe the Seahawks will be able to throw the ball in this game but will struggle to run the ball.
Jeremy Hill (vs. Eagles): Hill had a tough game running the ball in his first game getting the majority of the workload with Bernard out. Hill finished with 21 yards on 12 carries but luckily in PPR he salvaged his day by getting 6 receptions for 61 yards. This week he has another tough matchup against the Eagles who have allowed the 9th least amount of points to RBs this season.
WRs to start in Week 13:
Donte Moncrief (vs. Jets): Moncrief is a TD monster as he’s scored in 5 of 6 games he’s played in with the only game he didn’t score be the one where he injured his shoulder in Week 2. Moncrief seems to be the go to guy for the Colts & Andrew Luck & with T.Y Hilton injured he might even see more looks. Moncrief faces the Jets who allow the 7th most points to WRs this year.
Doug Baldwin (vs. Panthers): I believe the Seahawks will be able to easily move the ball through the air against the Panthers so why not start the Seahawks best WR? Baldwin has had 10+ points in 4 straight games & only scored a TD in one of those games (scored 3 in Week 10 against the Patriots). I believe Baldwin gets into the endzone on Sunday as the Panthers have allowed the 11th most points to opposing WRs.
Julian Edelman (vs. Rams): Edelman has been pretty good recently. Since Week 7 Edelman has had 13+ fantasy points & is clearly being targeted a lot more since Brady has been back. With Gronk being out with injury the WRs are going to have to step up some more to fill in for Gronk as much as possible. The Rams have been decent against WRs allowing the 15th most points to WRs but I believe Patriots have their way at home against the Rams.
My Star WR of the Week: Julio Jones (vs. Chiefs): In Week 12 Julio Jones was held to under 50 yards for the 3rd time this season but he was shadowed by the best CB in football in Patrick Peterson. Peterson held Jones to just 4 catches for 35 yards. Luckily Jones doesn’t have to face Peterson again in Week 13. He will however go against Marcus Peters but Peters typically doesn’t follow the best WR around. Plus Chiefs allow the 4th most points to WRs this season.
Under the Radar WR: Tyreek Hill (vs. Falcons): Hill has become a very viable fantasy option as Jeremy Maclin has been dealing with an injury. Even when Maclin returns Hill has cemented a role in this offense with his versatility & athleticism. Hill in Week 12 against a tough Broncos defense scored 26 fantasy points (1 receiving touchdown, 1 rushing touchdown, & 1 kick return touchdown). Hill faces the Falcons who allow the 12th most points to WRs.
WRs to sit in Week 13:
Allen Robinson (vs. Broncos): Robinson has started to play a little better in recent weeks but that isn’t saying much especially how terrible he has been this season (not entirely his fault though). Robinson had a 3 game streak of scoring touchdowns until Week 12 where he finished with just 4 fantasy points. This week he faces the Broncos who allow the least amount of points to opposing WRs & he will have to go against either Chris Harris Jr. or Aqib Talib so I also don’t like that.
Randall Cobb (vs. Texans): Cobb has had a mediocre year where he’s scored only 3 touchdowns. He’s gone scoreless in the last 3 weeks & has scored an average of 9 points in those weeks. Cobb seems to be the 3rd option at WR for the Packers with the emergence of Davante Adams this season. The Texans allow the 3rd least amount of points to WRs this season.
Kelvin Benjamin (vs. Seahawks): If Benjamin doesn’t score that touchdown last week we’d be talking about Benjamin having a 1 reception, 9 yard day. Before scoring last week Benjamin had 6 straight games without a touchdown. Benjamin has been really inconsistent this season & is hard to trust with a tough matchup this week. The Seahawks allow the 6th least amount of points to WRs.
TEs to start in Week 13:
Zach Ertz (vs. Bengals): Ertz has played better the past few weeks even though he had a tough Week 12 where he had just 3 catches for 36 yards. Ertz is probably the best receiving option for Carson Wentz so I expect a nice week for Ertz with a nice matchup. The Bengals allow the 4th most points to TEs this season.
Kyle Rudolph (vs. Cowboys): Rudolph has been one of the better TEs this season. Rudolph is the 2nd best receiving threat in an Vikings offense that lacks weapons so he sees a large part of the targets. The Vikings will need to take advantage of the injured Cowboys secondary since the Vikings running game is non-existent. Cowboys allow the 6th most points to TEs this year.
My Star TE of the Week: Travis Kelce (vs. Falcons): Kelce is one of the best TEs in the NFL & showed that on Sunday night against the Broncos. Kelce had 8 catches for 101 yards. Kelce is the best receiving threat for Alex Smith & sees a majority of targets & that shouldn’t change against the Falcons who allow the 5th most points to TEs.
Under the Radar TE: Charles Clay (vs. Raiders): This is a big reach as he’s been a non factor this season being held without a touchdown still this season. But you know what? I believe he gets into the end zone on Sunday against the Raiders. Raiders allow the 9th most points to TEs & I believe the Bills will need to throw the ball to keep up with the Raiders.
TEs to sit in Week 13:
Julius Thomas (vs. Broncos): It’s hard to think people are still starting Thomas but the way TEs are this year in fantasy it’s not completely insane. Thomas has been a touchdown or bust TE all season. I don’t believe he gets into the end zone on Sunday against his former team in the Broncos as they’ve allowed the 10th least points to TEs this year.
Jared Cook (vs. Texans): Cook looked good in his first game back from injury in Week 11 where he had 6 catches for 105 yards & a touchdown. In Week 12 he finished with a disappointing 1 catch for 7 yards. Texans have been good against TEs this season as they’ve allowed the 5th least amount of points to TEs this season.
DEF/STs to start in Week 13:
New England Patriots (vs. Rams): Patriots are a solid defense & face the Rams this week at Gillette Stadium. The Rams seem to be a mess right now with Jeff Fisher right now & this is a bad time for the Rams to play the Patriots (as a Rams fan I’m scared for this game on how bad we could be beaten). A rookie QB & the Patriots are at home? I’d start their defense this week.
Green Bay Packers (vs. Texans): The Packers defense has been the most injury riddled defense in the NFL. They’ve 3 or 4 of their CBs this season & have had Clay Matthews be injured throughout the season. On Monday night they played a lot better holding the Eagles to just 13 points. This week they face a struggling Texans offense led by Brock Osweiler who looks like the biggest waste of $72 million I’ve ever seen.
DEF/STs to sit in Week 13:
New York Giants (vs. Steelers): The Giants defense has had 2 straight weeks of great defensive play but that was against the Bears & Browns. This week they face a high powered Steelers offense so I’m avoiding the Giants defense at all costs.
Buffalo Bills (vs. Raiders): The Bills have been a solid defense especially in fantasy this season. This week they have a terrible matchup against a high scoring Raiders offense. This will likely be a shootout so I’m not even thinking about starting Bills defense this week.
