QBs
1.Tom Brady
2.Drew Brees
3.Aaron Rodgers
4.Andrew Luck
5.Russell Wilson
6.Kirk Cousins
7.Matt Ryan
8.Jameis Winston
9.Philip Rivers
10.Matthew Stafford
11.Derek Carr
12.Ben Roethlisberger
13.Dak Prescott
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14.Colin Kaepernick
15.Cam Newton
16.Eli Manning
17.Andy Dalton
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18.Carson Palmer
19.Tyrod Taylor
20.Marcus Mariota
Last week I continued to be down on Cam Newton versus the ESPN experts (ESPN #11, ME #16), but he wasn't one of my official picks. For the record, he did finish 18th though. For one more record, I'm down on him again (ESPN #9, ME #15). But I'll give you someone different, as I don't want to talk about the same QBs every week.
My official picks in Week 13 were Eli Manning (ESPN #18, ME #12) and Matthew Stafford (ESPN #6, ME #14). While Eli finished right about where the experts ranked him, he still finished better than Cam Newton...so THERE! As for Stafford, he was a top-5 fantasy QB against the Saints. So I was definitely wrong there.
I'm high on: Kirk Cousins (ESPN #11, ME #6)
I don't want to be high on my team's QB because it could make for double the sadness on Sunday, but I like Cousins a lot in this game. Opposing quarterbacks have been feasting on Philly's D of late, with each of the last 3 getting at least 22 fantasy points against them. And aside from Rodgers and Mariota, no fantasy QB has been hotter than Cousins in his last 4 or 5 games. I think 300+ passing yards and 2 or 3 TDs is in the cards against the Eagles, and I hope it comes with a W!
I'm down on: Ben Roethlisberger (ESPN #7, ME #12)
Big Ben's home and road splits are obviously different this year (hint: he's way better at home). He did have a pair of 3-TD performances in Washington and Indy, but he only has 2 touchdown passes in his other 4 road games COMBINED. This week, the Steelers play in Buffalo, where it might be 30 degrees and snowing on Sunday. This is not a great matchup for Roethlisberger, and even though he's been a top-10 fantasy QB since his Week 8 bye, I still don't see ranking him as highly as the ESPN experts did. |
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RBs |
1.David Johnson
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2.Le'Veon Bell
3.Ezekiel Elliott
4.LeSean McCoy
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5.DeMarco Murray
6.Devonta Freeman
7.Melvin Gordon
8.Matt Forte
9.Spencer Ware
10.Jordan Howard
11.Jeremy Hill
12.Latavius Murray
13.Lamar Miller
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14.Thomas Rawls
15.Jay Ajayi
16.Doug Martin
17.Carlos Hyde
18.Frank Gore
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19.Mark Ingram
20.Todd Gurley
21.LeGarrette Blount
22.Jonathan Stewart
23.Devontae Booker
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24.Theo Riddick
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25.Rob Kelley
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26.Rashad Jennings
27.Isaiah Crowell
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28.Tevin Coleman
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29.Jerick McKinnon
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30.Terrance West
31.Rex Burkhead
32.Kenneth Dixon
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33.Tim Hightower
34.Darren Sproles
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35.Bilal Powell
36.T.J. Yeldon
37.Dion Lewis
38.Mike Gillislee
39.Matt Asiata
40.Duke Johnson, Jr.
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Last week I was high on Doug Martin ( ESPN #14, ME #6) and down on LeGarrette Blount (ESPN #9, ME #19). As it turns out, both guys finished right next to each other in the top-15. So...another bad pair of picks. Moving on!
I'm high on: Rex Burkhead (ESPN #40, ME #31)
The Browns give up the second most fantasy points to RBs this season, so everyone loves Jeremy Hill this week, right? But Hill has a combined 51 rushing yards on 35 attempts in the last two weeks...so what about Burkhead? He gained 66 yards on just 12 touches last week against the Eagles, and I think he'll get plenty of chances against the Browns. I like him as a sneaky FLEX play this week.
I'm down on: Rob Kelley (ESPN #18, ME #25)
While I love Cousins and the passing game against Philly, I'm not as confident in the rushing attack. Since Fat Rob went off against Green Bay in Week 11, he's averaged around 5 fantasy points in his last two games. I hope I'm wrong here. I hope we destroy Philly, and I'm fine being wrong about Cousins and Kelley. But I think if we win (or lose for that matter), it'll be with a strong game in the air and not on the ground. |
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WRs
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1.Antonio Brown
2.Mike Evans
3.Odell Beckham, Jr.
4.Julio Jones
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5.Dez Bryant
6.Jordy Nelson
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7.T.Y. Hilton
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8.Doug Baldwin
9.Julian Edelman
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10.Amari Cooper
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11.Jamison Crowder
12.Tyrell Williams
13.Brandin Cooks
14.Michael Crabtree
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15.Donte Moncrief
16.Michael Thomas
17.Golden Tate
18.Demaryius Thomas
19.Terrelle Pryor, Sr.
20.Larry Fitzgerald
21.DeAndre Hopkins
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22.Davante Adams
23.Emmanuel Sanders
24.Malcolm Mitchell
25.Kenny Britt
26.Kelvin Benjamin
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27.Brandon Marshall
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28.Jordan Matthews
29.DeSean Jackson
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30.Stefon Diggs
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31.Rishard Matthews
34.Allen Robinson
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36.Sammy Watkins
37.Steve Smith, Sr.
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38.DeVante Parker
39.Dontrelle Inman
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40.Sterling Shephard
41.Randall Cobb
42.Jarvis Landry
43.Tyler Boyd
44.Mike Wallace
45.Taylor Gabriel
46.Pierre Garcon
47.Willie Snead
48.Anquan Boldin
49.Ted Ginn, Jr.
50.Cole Beasley
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My picks were just rough all around last week, and WR was no different really. I was high on Tyler Boyd (ESPN #41, ME #26), but he finished right around where ESPN ranked him. As it turned out, Brandon LaFell was the only WR who caught a TD pass from Dalton against Philly. I did say for Boyd that he had the potential for around 80 yards and a TD, and his floor was probably something like 50 yards and no TD. He finished just a little higher than that floor. As for Jarvis Landry (ESPN #32, ME #42), I continued to be down on him. He still hasn't scored double-digit fantasy points since Week 3 against the Browns, but he did have 87 receiving yards in this game and squeaked inside the top-25 WRs in Week 13. I'm not moving him up though. Sorry...
 I'm high on: Tyler Lockett (ESPN #52, ME #33)
Maybe I'm overreacting to one big game for Lockett, but I think you need to jump on his bandwagon before it's too late. He finally looked healthy the other night, and I'm not sure there's a more explosive playmaker in the entire NFL (sorry, channeling my inner Chris Collinsworth there). This week he gets to face a Green Bay secondary that should be called a tertiary (yes, working on my dad jokes). I don't see how the ESPN guys almost completely ignored Lockett this week against the Packers. Russell Wilson should light up that defense, and Lockett will be a big part of the game plan.
I'm down on: Larry Fitzgerald (ESPN #9, ME #20)
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I think the last time I was down on Fitz, he went off for 2 TDs on Thursday night football...with Drew Stanton at quarterback! We'll see if I do better this time around, as Larry has really only had one decent game since that big Week 5 game against the 49ers. The volume is there, but he typically is getting like 6 or 7 fantasy points. In fact, in his 7 games since Week 5, he has fewer than 8 fantasy points in six of them! To me, that's not a top-10 fantasy WR.
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TEs
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1.Jimmy Graham
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2.Tyler Eifert
3.Travis Kelce
4.Delanie Walker
5.Cameron Brate
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6.Zach Ertz
7.Greg Olsen
8.Antonio Gates
9.Ladarius Green
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10.Eric Ebron
11.Kyle Rudolph
12.Vernon Davis
13.Martellus Bennett
14.C.J. Fiedorowicz
15.Coby Fleener
16.Jason Witten
17.Vance McDonald
18.Dwayne Allen
19.Dennis Pitta
20.Jermaine Gresham
 Last week I was high on Coby Fleener (ESPN #17, ME #8) and down on Jason Witten (ESPN #11, ME NOT RANKED). Fleener finished as the # 8 TE, and Witten had ZERO fantasy points! So yeah, I nailed the TE picks. Speaking of nailing a pick, good job, ESPN! You finally did it with Pitta! It only took him 13 weeks to have a big game and nearly finish as the top TE for the week. Your record with ranking Pitta is now 1-11 on the year. Let's give em a round of applause...and to celebrate, I'm going to sneak him into my top-20.
I'm not really too high or low on many TEs versus the ESPN experts this week, but I will say that if you own Jordan Reed, you better have a Plan B. He's back at practice, but I really don't think he plays this week. I think it's kind of crappy for all of the ESPN experts to rank him like a top-5 fantasy TE when I think he's probably 50/50 to play at best. I'd at least pick up Vernon Davis or a guy like Ladarius Green, if available in your league. Don't count on Reed being back this week.
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DEF
1.Vikings
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2.Bengals
3.Broncos
4.Lions
5.Patriots
6.Chiefs
7.Cardinals
8.Falcons
9.Dolphins
10.Seahawks
11.Steelers
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12.Ravens
13.Bucs
14.Chargers
15.Titans
I stayed high on the Chiefs last week (ESPN #20, ME #10), even though they were playing in Atlanta. Kansas City is basically fully healthy now on the defensive side of the ball, and no one is playing better than them right now on defense. They finished as a top-10 fantasy defense in Week 13, and I'd roll them out there tomorrow night, even against a red hot Raider squad. I think the Chiefs will win this game at home, and I don't see why they wouldn't rack up a handful of sacks and maybe even another TD in this one.
I was down on the Colts (ESPN #12, ME NOT RANKED), which is just not a good defensive unit. But the Jets give up the most fantasy points to opposing defenses, and Monday night was no different. In fact, it might've been even better for Indy, who got to face Bryce Petty most of the night. Whether it was him or The Amish Rifle, it didn't matter. The Jets couldn't do anything in this game, and it was downright embarrassing. The Colts were a top-5 fantasy defense, and I was flat out wrong about this one.
 I'm high on: Kansas City Chiefs (ESPN #16, ME #6)
I don't know why any of the experts would rank the Chiefs outside of their top-10. They put up numbers last week in Atlanta, and they'll put up numbers tomorrow night against the Raiders. Start em!
I'm down on: New York Jets (ESPN #11, ME NOT RANKED)
The Jets are a bottom-5 fantasy defense on the year, and they looked absolutely terrible against the Colts on Monday night. I think Kaepernick has a bounce back game at home against this bad defense, and I wouldn't feel comfortable starting them if this was my fantasy playoffs.
I was 9-7 against the point spreads in Week 12 and 8-7 last week. Let's see if I can do a little better in Week 14! My picks are in parentheses, and I put the right picks in BOLD.
Week 13 results: 8-7
DAL @ MIN (DAL -3.5)
KC @ ATL (KC + 3.5)
DET @ NO (NO -5.5)
LA @ NE (NE -14)
DEN @ JAC (DEN -4.5)
HOU @ GB (GB -5.5)
PHI @ CIN (PHI -1.5)
MIA @ BAL (MIA +3.5)
SF @ CHI (SF +2.5)
BUF @ OAK (OAK -3)
NYG @ PIT (NYG +6)
WAS @ ARI (ARI -2.5)
TB @ SD (TB +4)
CAR @ SEA (SEA -6.5)
IND @ NYJ (NYJ +1)
Week 14 picks
OAK @ KC (KC -3)
PIT @ BUF (PIT -2)
DEN @ TEN (DEN +1)
WAS @ PHI (WAS even)
ARI @ MIA (ARI +1)
MIN @ JAC (MIN -3.5)
HOU @ IND (HOU +6.5)
SD @ CAR (CAR -1)
CIN @ CLE (CLE +6)
CHI @ DET (DET -8)
NYJ @ SF (SF -2.5)
NO @ TB (TB -2.5)
ATL @ LA (ATL -6)
SEA @ GB (GB +3)
DAL @ NYG (DAL -3)
BAL @ NE (NE -7)
Good luck to everyone in Week 14!
(Yes, everyone...What? I have a bye in the consolation bracket.)
Cheers,
Bart
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There are a lot of "IFs" and "BUTs" in fantasy football, but I really could've used more than 2 points from Kaepernick on Sunday. That could've like, you know, GOTTEN ME INTO THE PLAYOFFS!!! I guess he was protesting my fantasy team. Oh well. Like I said last week, I'll now have to live vicariously through my wife's fantasy team and see if she can bring home a championship this year.
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