Upcoming Bye Weeks

Week 13: ARI, CAR

Week 14: ATL, CHI, GB, IND, WAS, NO

QB

Deshaun Watson (Cleveland Browns) – 0%

It is too late if you don’t have him now. He is going to be a priority for all of the managers who waited until the last minute. But, if you want to use a priority and need a QB, do it. I would go up to as much as 50% of FAAB if you were desperate, but I’ve been hammering picking him up for over a month now so I’m recommending 0%.

Mike White (New York Jets) – 0%

Mike White cemented himself as the starter for the New York Jets. Granted, this was an easy matchup, but it is worth mentioning that he was playing with consistent rainfall and sustained winds around 15 MPH. Mike White ended up finishing as the QB6 on the week with 24.8 fantasy points and will face another above average matchup Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. After that in Week 14, he has a tough matchup against the Bills. Beyond that, it is easy with the Jets facing DET, JAX, SEA, and MIA. All four present neutral to plus matchups for White, who has an above average receiving group around him.

Bryce Perkins (LA Rams) – 0%

Perkins is a dual threat QB operating under the Sean McVay scheme with little to no talent around him. On Sunday against the Chiefs, Perkins threw the ball only 23 times in a game in which they were losing the entire way. Where Perkins becomes enticing is his rushing floor. He ran the ball nine times for 44 scoreless yards. I expect better performances from Perkins both in the air and on the ground going forward as he becomes more acclimated to the NFL level. Upcoming, he will face SEA, LV, GB, DEN, and LAC, all of which are below average to downright awful at stopping the run. 

RB

Zonovan Knight (New York Jets) – 5%

It appears that Knight has surpassed both Ty Johnson and James Robinson on the depth chart to be the 1B to Michael Carter’s 1A. The reason why Knight is a target this week is because Carter seems to have sprained his ankle. Currently, the severity of that ankle is unknown but sprained ankles are never good for backs who are below average in size and are essentially spell backs in nature, unable to handle a large workload. Knight ended up running the ball 14 times for 69 scoreless yards and brought in all three of his targets for 34 yards in the air. I expect Carter to miss at least two weeks and this upcoming week when the Jets face the Minnesota Vikings, who we just saw give up nine receptions for 76 yards to Rhamondre Stevenson on Thanksgiving night. 

Chuba Hubbard (Carolina Panthers) – 0%

The Panthers are on a bye this week so there is no need to put a claim on Hubbard but I do like his outlook once the Panthers return from their bye. As crazy as it is, the Panthers are still in the thick of things for a playoff berth. They have become a run dominate team, riding Foreman and Hubbard with Darnold told to just not fuck it up. On Sunday against the below average Broncos rush defense, the Panthers ran the ball 41 times between Foreman and Hubbard, with Foreman seeing 24 of the carries and Hubbard 17. Hubbard finished with 65 scoreless yards on those 17 carries but once the Panthers come back from their bye, they will face SEA, PIT, and DET. Those three weeks present neutral to above average matchups for Hubbard to see a high volume backup role where he has about 15 touches. 

Mike Boone (Denver Broncos) – 0%

The Broncos are spiraling out of control and Nathaniel Hackett is all but fired at the end of the season. However, they still have games to be played and I expect Mike Boone to return in Week 13 and immediately handle all of the air work from the backfield. This isn’t a luxurious spot but the Broncos have no one else except the corps of Latavius Murray. Outside of his 52-yard run on Sunday, Murray compiled only 40 yards on his other 12 carries with one lone reception for six yards. At this point, Boone is a more talented rusher and receiver than Murray but I do expect Murray to still out-snap Boone due to his blocking abilities and knowledge of the game. Murray will get the majority of the ground work, including goal line touches while Boone gets the receiving work and about 20-30% of the rushes. 

Cam Akers (LA Rams) – 0%

Believe it or not, I liked what I saw from Cam Akers enough to recommend him going forward. As I just mentioned with Perkins, the Rams are going to be facing one of the most generous rushing schedules as the fantasy football season runs its course. The Rams are going to implement a run first, borderline run only, offense moving forward. The more they run, the more this fits Cam Akers, who outgained Kyren Williams 37 to 35 when Kyren actually out touched Akers 11 to 8 on the ground. I’m not recommending Kyren Williams, because I don’t think the Rams are going to be throwing to their backs to justify his below average talent. 

End of Bench Handcuffs – 0%

Darrell Henderson/JaMycal Hasty

Tyrion Davis-Price

Jaylen Warren/Benny Snell

Isaiah Spiller

Melvin Gordon

Keaontay Ingram

James Cook

WR

Treylon Burks (Tennessee Titans) – 20% 

Burks is the top target for players rostered in 50% or less of leagues. He has now put together back to back double digit PPR performances with 18.1 in Week 11 and 11 in Week 12. Burks is not fully integrated into the Titans offense and is going to see 6+ targets a game with designed plays to get him into space. He should be viewed as a weekly WR3. 

Zay Jones (Jacksonville Jaguars) – 7%

The Jags have a good schedule coming up. Zay has made a consistent appearance in these articles so there should be at least a solid chance you’ve held on to him. The next two weeks the Jaguars get plus matchups, visiting both the Lions and the Titans. With that, Zay is also seeing an elite share the last three weeks. He has seen target shares of 10 and 14 over his last two and now sits at about a 21% share over the season and 31.6% over his last three. The volume isn’t going anywhere for Zay Jones who is proving he is an above average, consistent WR in the NFL.

Jameson Williams (Detroit Lions) – 5%

Jameson Williams should see his first NFL action this coming Sunday against the Jaguars. I expect the Lions to ease him in but within the next 2-3 weeks, they won’t be able to stop him. Assuming his health is near 100%, considering the Lions were adamant that they would not bring him back unless he was, he is by far the most talented perimeter WR on this team. He is the perfect complement to Amon-Ra St. Brown and this offense is loaded with talent once they are all healthy. 

Darius Slayton (New York Giants) – 5%

Slayton put together another solid volume performance on Thanksgiving, seeing six more targets, which brought him to a 23.3% share over his last three. I mentioned last week that the one thing that could throw Slayton off for the remainder of the season would be the Giants signing Odell Beckham Jr. They’re have been mixed reports about where OBJ is going to sign but Vegas seems to think it will be the Dallas Cowboys over the New York Giants. We are forced to proceed as if OBJ is not going to sign with the New York Giants, which means Slayton’s 20%+ target share isn’t going anywhere. 

TE

Tyler Conklin (New York Jets) – 5%

Conklin has a great matchup this week against the Vikings and a great fantasy football playoffs schedule. With Mike White solidifying himself as the QB in New York, it gives life to Conklin now that he has a competent QB who can get him the ball. The only week Conklin isn’t startable through Week 17 is Week 14 against the Bills.

Foster Moreau (LV Raiders) – 3%

Moreau put up 12.3 full PPR points against the Seahawks on Sunday but he also left a lot on the field, catching only three of his seven targets. This week he will get another good matchup as he will face off against the LA Chargers. I’ve been vocal about Moreau to end the season and even after he faces the Chargers in Week 13, he will get a middling matchup in LA against the Rams and then another top 6 matchup against the Patriots in Week 15. We can ride Moreau for three more weeks until we have to pivot to our Week 16 and 17 streamer TE, which we will be able to plan for way in advance. 

Evan Engram (Jacksonville Jaguars) – 0%

Engram is startable both in Week 13 and Week 14 before he faced tough matchups in Weeks 15 and 16. Engram can, however, be held over that time frame and fired up in Week 17 during championship week against the Houston Texans. Engram has been under performing as of late and has seen only seven targets over his last three games. But the Detroit Lions are a juicy matchup, and I think Doug Pederson and Trevor Lawrence will get Engram more involved. 

Jelani Woods (Indianapolis Colts) – 0%

Woods just posted eight receptions for 98 yards on nine targets in Week 12. This is by far the best game of Woods’ career and it happened on MNF. This probably pumped Woods to the top of a lot of waiver wires but I’m interested only if he is free, after waivers run. Woods had never topped three targets in a game before Week 12 and he caught fire against a defense that is bad at defending the slot, which is where Woods ran the majority of his routes on Monday night. I’m interested in Woods because of his schedule to end the season. After a tough matchup in Week 13 against DAL, Woods will see MIN, LAC, NYG and HOU to end the year. All four of these teams rank in the bottom 10 of points given up to the position. 

DST

Green Bay Packers – 1% 

The Packers face off against the Chicago Bears this week. It doesn’t matter who is going to QB the Bears offense, they have no offensive line and consistently absorb sacks while making pressured plays trying to make something out of nothing. This team is now without Darnell Mooney and only have Claypool and Kmet in the air game. The Packers give a high floor and high ceiling here. 

Seattle Seahawks – 0%

As I mentioned above with Perkins, the Rams are spiraling out of control. While Perkins is a usable streaming option, the Rams offense is still going to be one of the worst in the NFL for the rest of the season. They are playing third-string lineman and are limited in the amount of plays that Sean McVay can call. The Seahawks should get to Perkins consistently and they have a high floor with the Rams not expected to score many points. It helps that the Seahawks also will get the Panthers at home in Week 14 so this is more than just a one week pick up. You can certainly pick up both the Packers and the Seahawks and play the Packers Week 13, Seahawks in Week 14 and then the Packers again in Week 15 and you’re good to go for the next three weeks.

Looking Ahead

We’re at the pivotal point in the season where bench stashes become less valuable and planning ahead for future defenses can be the difference between championships and losing in the first one. I don’t recommend picking up 4-5 defenses but having 2-3 on your team at this point to plan ahead certainly makes sense. Here are a few options to plan ahead with. Keep in mind how quickly things change in the NFL and that this list will be changing every week until the end of the season. These defenses will be listed in the order I find them most valuable for those weeks as these articles are published. If you were stockpiling three defenses to run out to the Week 17 championship week you could go Seattle Weeks 13 & 14. KC Weeks 14 & 15 and Detroit Weeks 16 & 17. Those three would get you through the final weeks of the Championship season if you are streaming. 

Week 14: SEA, KC, LV 

Week 15: KC, CAR, PIT, ARI, GB

Week 16: DET, TEN, LAR

Week 17: DET, JAX, KC, SEA, TB, LAC

Week 18: MIN, TB, SEA, IND, LAC, NO