3.Tom Brady
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15.Alex Smith
We're going to start this thing off on a bad note because I was dead wrong about my QB picks versus ESPN last week. I was high on Jay Cutler (ESPN #16, ME #9), who somehow struggled against the 49ers at home and wasn't even a top-25 fantasy QB. I was down on Drew Brees (ESPN #10, ME #15), and while he finished outside of the top-10, he still threw for nearly 300 yards and 3 TDs. It was a week that saw some big numbers from a lot of QBs, so Brees was basically a QB1 with those numbers and I'll chalk that one up in the loss column as well. Hopefully I'll do better this week...
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 I'm high on: Ryan Fitzpatrick (ESPN #13, ME #7)
I know I've been high on him pretty much all year versus the ESPN experts, but why stop now? In case you hadn't noticed, The Amish Rifle is a top-10 fantasy QB this year. And since his Week 5 bye, he's actually a top-5 fantasy QB if you take away the Oakland game he left early due to injury. Top. Five. This week he has a home game against the Titans, who give up the 5th-most fantasy points to QBs this season. Not only that, but just last week, Tennessee gave up over 300 passing yards and 5 TDs to Blake Bortles and the Jags. The week before that, Derek Carr smoked the Titans for 330 yards and 3 TDs. Fitzpatrick gets his turn in Week 14, and I say start him with confidence!
I'm down on: Ryan Tannehill (ESPN #14, ME NOT RANKED)
I almost ranked Jay Cutler again, but I felt a little snake bit after last week. I also considered Marcus Mariota and Brian Hoyer. But you know who I wasn't really considering for my top-15? You guessed it: Ryan Tannehill. I realize he has a juicy home matchup against the Giants, but he also had an amazing matchup last week against Baltimore and threw for 86 yards and a touchdown. That's not a typo...86! In his last 6 games, he has thrown either zero touchdowns or under 220 yards in FIVE of them. Maybe he'll finish as a top-15 fantasy QB this week, but I think it's just as likely that he'll finish outside of the top-20. I wouldn't trust him in the first round of my fantasy playoffs.
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RBs |
1.Doug Martin
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2.LeSean McCoy
3.Thomas Rawls
4.Adrian Peterson
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5.David Johnson
6.DeAngelo Williams
7.Jonathan Stewart
8.Devonta Freeman
9.Todd Gurley
10.Matt Forte
11.Lamar Miller
12.TJ Yeldon
13.Charcandrick West
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14.Shaun Draughn
15.Darren McFadden
16.Chris Ivory
17.Frank Gore
18.Javorius Allen
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19.Ronnie Hillman
20.LeGarrette Blount
21.Jeremy Hill
22.Latavius Murray
23.CJ Anderson
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24.Eddie Lacy
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25.DeMarco Murray
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26.Spencer Ware
27.Giovani Bernard
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28.Jeremy Langford
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29.Antonio Andrews
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30.James White
31.Matt Jones
32.Ameer Abdullah
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33.Tim Hightower
34.Bilal Powell
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35.Isaiah Crowell
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Last week I didn't spend a lot of time talking about my RB rankings versus ESPN's because they were so similar. But I did mention that I continued to be higher than their experts on Javorius Allen. He has become Baltimore's biggest playmaker left after all of the injuries, and he finished as the #1 fantasy RB in Week 13. I'd love to keep moving him up my rankings, but he faces that tough Seattle run defense this week so he'll stay around the same area for me. I was also a little down on LeGarrette Blount versus the ESPN experts, and he continues to be a boom-or-bust type of play. Last week it was "bust" against the Eagles, as the gameflow was just a bit different than everyone predicted. I still can't believe Philly beat the Patriots...IN NEW ENGLAND! Where was that horrible game when the Redskins played you guys, huh?!? But I digress...
I'm high on: Bilal Powell (ESPN #51, ME #34)
If you look at the last 3 weeks, Powell actually has more fantasy points than Chris Ivory (and those were all pretty favorable matchups). He's becoming a bigger part of the Jets offense now that he's healthy, and I don't think the ESPN experts are ranking him nearly highly enough. I think he should be considered as a flex play this week and has RB2 upside in PPR leagues.
I'm down on: CJ Anderson (ESPN #18, ME #23)
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| Even if he plays this week, I don't like Anderson too much. |
Anderson left the Week 13 game against San Diego with an ankle injury and didn't return. He said he doesn't think the injury is a big deal, but he's also not practicing yet this week. In a home game against Oakland this week, I think it's possible the Broncos could get up early and possibly play Hillman (and even Thompson) more in the second half...and that's all assuming Anderson even suits up this week. I like a healthy Hillman as a safer play, and I have him ranked higher than CJ.
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WRs
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1.Antonio Brown
2.Odell Beckham, Jr.
3.DeAndre Hopkins
4.AJ Green
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5.Brandon Marshall
6.Allen Robinson
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7.Mike Evans
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8.Alshon Jeffery
9.Julio Jones
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10.Calvin Johnson
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11.Larry Fitzgerald
12.Sammy Watkins
13.Demaryius Thomas
14.Martavis Bryant
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15.Eric Decker
16.Jarvis Landry
17.Brandin Cooks
18.Jeremy Maclin
19.Danny Amendola
20.Doug Baldwin
21.Randall Cobb
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22.Allen Hurns
23.Dez Bryant
24.Vincent Jackson
25.Emmanuel Sanders
26.TY Hilton
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27.John Brown
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28.DeSean Jackson
29.Michael Floyd
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30.Amari Cooper
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31.DeVante Parker
34.Michael Crabtree
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I told you Week 13 would be the last time to buy low on DaVante Parker (ESPN #49, ME #35), and I was right. After a week that was mostly injury-free to big name players, Parker was likely the top waiver wire add in your league. That is, unless you listened to my advice and picked him up last week. I wish I had listened to my own advice but decided that hoarding defenses was a better strategy. (I've since waived both Buffalo and St. Louis, so I guess I should have picked up Parker after all...) He finished the game against Baltimore with 3 catches for 63 yards and a TD, which was nearly all of Tannehill's production and good enough for a top-20 finish. As for Davante Adams (ESPN #35, ME NOT RANKED), he only managed 21 yards on 7 targets from Aaron Rodgers. And while he did find the endzone to save what would have been a miserable game, he finished outside of the top-35 fantasy WRs.
 I'm high on: Vincent Jackson (ESPN #35, ME #24)
This week I'm high on pretty much all of the Buccaneers, as they're facing a Saints defense that gives up a ton of points to basically every position on offense. Vincent Jackson is no different, and he's been a top-25 fantasy WR in the last 3 weeks anyway (since returning from injury). I'm thinking he'll have about 70 yards and a touchdown, which could even land him inside the top-20. I hope I'm right because I'm starting him in my money league. I may be out of the playoffs there, but the winner of the consolation bracket gets more bingo balls for the 2016 draft lottery!
I'm down on: Michael Crabtree (ESPN #25, ME #34)
He hasn't had more than 55 receiving yards in a game since Week 9, but he has found the endzone in each of his last two games to finish with respectable fantasy numbers. I don't think that happens this week against a Denver secondary giving up the fewest fantasy points to WR this season.
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TEs
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1.Greg Olsen
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2.Tyler Eifert
3.Travis Kelce
4.Delanie Walker
5.Scott Chandler
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6.Julius Thomas
7.Jordan Reed
8.Austin Sefarian-Jenkins
9.Gary Barnidge
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10.Antonio Gates
Last week my top-10 TEs continued to be virtually the same as ESPN's, so I didn't have any comparisons. But this week I have a couple of big differences up there...
I'm high on: Austin Sefarian-Jenkins (ESPN #18, ME #8)
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| How much do you trust Barnidge without McCown...? |
Like I said, I'm high on the Bucs this week. ASJ saw his first action last week since Week 2 when he got injured in...New Orleans. Now he faces the Saints again and has a chance for redemption against the defense giving up the most fantasy points to the TE position.
I'm down on: Gary Barnidge (ESPN #5, ME #9)
The only tight ends with more fantasy points this season than Barnidge are Gronk, Olsen, and Eifert. Pretty good company. But he has cooled off a bit as of late and only has one double-digit fantasy performance in his last 4 games. He also did much better with Josh McCown under center, but in case you hadn't heard, the Browns are starting Johnny Manziel against the 49ers this week. I'm not sure Barnidge will have the same success with Manziel down the stretch, and I definitely don't feel confident enough to rank him as a top-5 fantasy TE this week. |
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DEF
1.Chiefs
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2.Seahawks
3.Broncos
4.Panthers
5.Cardinals
6.Packers
7.Jets
8.Patriots
9.Bears
10.Lions
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I was wrong on my defense picks last week as Buffalo (ESPN #15, ME #8) finished well outside of the top-15 and Seattle (ESPN #5, ME NOT RANKED) held the Vikings to just 7 points and finished as a top-10 fantasy defense. The Seahawks are playing like everyone thought they would all season, and there is no one more dangerous in the NFC right now. They're back near the top this week and likely will stay there for the rest of the season.
I'm high on: Chicago Bears (ESPN #13, ME #9)
The Bears have been a top-10 fantasy defense in their last 4 games, and now they welcome my Redskins to the windy city. Chicago is actually only 1-5 at home this year, so I'm feeling hopeful that my boys could squeak out a win. But I just see this game as being ugly and probably low scoring. There's even rain in the forecast for Sunday, which could make for sloppy conditions (and even sloppier football). I like for Da Bears to hold Washington to under 20 points, have plenty of sacks, and force a couple of turnovers. That should make for a top-10 finish.
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| This was Ben in Week 8... |
I'm down on: Cincinnati Bengals (ESPN #10, ME NOT RANKED)
I realize it seems nit-picky near the bottom of my rankings, but I didn't really think about ranking the Bengals this week. If I ranked 15 defenses, I'm not sure I'd rank them. They've been a top-5 fantasy defense this season, and they've looked amazing the last couple of weeks against teams like the Rams and Browns. But in Week 11, they gave up 34 points to a good team (Arizona). Pittsburgh is also a good team, and they're putting up a lot of points with Big Ben back under center. Cincy was able to face Roethlisberger in his first game back from injury in Week 8, and boy was he rusty! If you take out that game and the Week 3 matchup when Ben got hurt, the Steelers are averaging nearly 35 points in his other 6 starts. I think this game will be much higher scoring than the 16-10 Week 8 contest, and I don't think the Bengals will be anywhere close to a top-10 fantasy defense this week.
Good luck to everyone in Week 14!
(Except you, Andrew...)
Cheers,
Bart
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