2017 Fantasy Football Week 13 Rankings

Anyone else ever leave 50 fantasy points on their bench from just a handful of players and then spend Sunday evening regretting those decisions?  Sure you have.  It happens.  But I'm not talking about choosing between Mike Evans & Nelson Agholor or Josh McCown over Cam Newton.  For the most part, you should absolutely start your studs and hope for the best.  I'm talking about my squad last week where I had some really close start/sit choices based on both my rankings as well as various expert rankings: Jared Cook vs Jack Doyle, Atlanta vs San Diego defense, and Jordan Howard vs Robby Anderson at my FLEX spot.  I made the wrong choice on ALL of those close calls, and a couple of them would've made the difference in my high-scoring matchup.  It's all good though because I'm in the playoffs regardless of what happens this week.  But that first round bye sure would've been nice...

Anyway, let's get into my recap from last week's picks starting with the QBs.  I was 2 for 2, but I missed on my "bonus pick", so I guess I was technically 2 for 3.  I was high on Andy Dalton (ESPN #17, ME #9), who has now thrown for multiple touchdowns in 7 of his last 9 games.  He finished right where I ranked him as the #9 QB in Week 12.  I was down on Marcus Mariota (ESPN #8, ME #18), who continued his poor play and ended up outside of the top-25 QBs.  Finishing just barely ahead of Mariota was my bonus pick: Joe Flacco (ESPN #24, ME #17).  Joe had zero touchdown passes and finished right around where ESPN ranked him.  That Raven offense looks rough, but their defense and special teams just might get them into the playoffs.  

As for the running backs, I wasn't really down on anyone versus the experts, but I talked up Rex Burkhead quite a bit (ESPN #46, ME #28).  I explained how he would get back to a 50/50 split with Dion Lewis (which he did), and I mentioned how Rex made for a great FLEX play against a terrible Miami defense.  It turns out I was right there too because Burkhead scored twice and finished as a top-5 RB!

I nailed both of my WR picks versus the ESPN experts, but I should've listened to my gut and benched Jordan Howard for Robby Anderson in my FLEX spot (ESPN #35, ME #17).  I guess I should've asked myself who was more likely to find the endzone because that was clearly Anderson.  He actually scored twice and finished as the #3 fantasy WR just behind Julio and AB.  It's going to be hard for me not to plug Anderson into my FLEX spot this week for Kareem Hunt (who has been so frustrating lately!).  That's going to be a tough choice to go along with my Jared Cook versus Jack Doyle dilemma.  Anyway, Jay Cutler was out with a concussion last week (as expected), and Matt Moore barely looked for the guy I was down on: DeVante Parker (ESPN #29, ME #45).  Parker only caught one ball for 5 yards and obviously finished well outside of the top-50 WRs last week.  Cutler is back this week and Aqib Talib is out, so I actually have Parker back up in my rankings.  Quarterbacks and corner matchups matter, people!

I obviously made the wrong tight end call on my own fantasy team (starting Cook over Doyle) but my picks versus the expert rankings were solid.  I was high on Charles Clay (ESPN #16, ME #10) who had 60 yards against the Chiefs in a low scoring game, and he finished in the top-12.  I was down on Greg Olsen (ESPN #6, ME #13) who I didn't think would be a top-10 TE in his first game back from the IR.  I said to wait a week and see how he looked, and I was right.  Not only was he on a snap count, but he reinjured his foot and only finished with one catch for 10 yards.  Also finishing with only one catch (other than Jared Cook, ugh!) was my TE bonus pick: Adam Shaheen (ESPN NOT RANKED, ME #15).  I don't really know what to say about the Bears in that game other than they were simply terrible...and no more bonus picks this week!

I don't really want to talk about my Defense pick in the Atlanta Falcons (ESPN #17, ME #11) because they did absolutely nothing against the Bucs, and it's a sore subject because I started them instead of the Chargers (who finished as the #1 fantasy defense in Week 12!).  That's not happening again though because I dropped the Falcons and will likely roll with the Bolts the rest of the season.  Between that defense and the Rivers to Keenan Allen connection, my fantasy team has a lot riding on the Chargers down the stretch.  We'll see how it all plays out, but I actually think that team could win the AFC West, especially with the way the Chiefs have been tanking lately...

To the rankings!

QBs 1.Tom Brady 2.Russell Wilson  3.Kirk Cousins   4.Carson Wentz   5.Philip Rivers 6.Ben Roethlisberger  7.Cam Newton  8.Jared Goff  9.Drew Brees      10.Case Keenum  11.Tyrod Taylor 12.Matt Ryan   13.Josh McCown  14.Derek Carr 15.Marcus Mariota      16.Dak Prescott  17.Matthew Stafford  18.Alex Smith  19.Andy Dalton   20.Jameis Winston I'm high on: Ben Roethlisberger (ESPN #11, ME #6) I know everyone wants to fade Big Ben based on his home/road splits, but I just can't ignore the fact that he's been the #1 fantasy QB over the last three weeks.  He's thrown 8 touchdowns in those 3 games, and I feel like he's a lock for multiple touchdowns on Monday Night Football.  Ride the hot streak. I'm not really down on any QBs versus the ESPN experts, so let's move onto the running backs! RBs 1.Le'Veon Bell  2.Todd Gurley  3.Alvin Kamara 4.Leonard Fournette  5.LeSean McCoy  6.Mark Ingram 7.Jordan Howard  8.Melvin Gordon 9.Carlos Hyde  10.Marshawn Lynch  11.Samaje Perine 12.Dion Lewis  13.Kareem Hunt   14.Jamaal Williams  15.Lamar Miller   16.Latavius Murray  17.Christian McCaffery    18.Devonta Freeman 19.Joe Mixon  20.Adrian Peterson  21.Kenyan Drake 22.Alex Collins  23.Rex Burkhead   24.Alfred Morris  25.Isaiah Crowell  26.DeMarco Murray  27.Jacquizz Rodgers 28.Orleans Darkwa  29.Tevin Coleman 30.Frank Gore  31.Ameer Adbullah  32.Jerick McKinnon    33.Duke Johnson  34.Austin Ekeler  35.Devontae Booker   36.Bilal Powell   37.LeGarrette Blount   38.Jonathan Stewart 39.Derrick Henry     40.C.J. Anderson   41.Jay Ajayi    42.Theo Riddick   43.Rod Smith 44.Tarik Cohen    45.J.D. McKissic  46.Danny Woodhead   47.Wayne Gallman 48.Marlon Mack  49.Matt Forte 50.Peyton Barber I'm high on: Austin Ekeler (ESPN #49, ME #34) ESPN barely ranked Ekeler in their top-50, but I actually think he could be considered as a FLEX play this week against the Browns.  While I realize it's an extremely small sample size, Ekeler has actually been a top-12 RB in his last 3 games.  Obviously that doesn't have me ranking him in my top-12 because Melvin Gordon is still getting the vast majority of carries in the Charger backfield, but the undrafted rookie has earned some touches as a change-of-pace back.  The Chargers have won their last two games by an average of 26 points, and they could keep that going against Cleveland this weekend.  If that happens, look for Gordon to sit in the fourth quarter and Ekeler to rack up some yardage. I'm down on: Danny Woodhead (ESPN #30, ME #46) One could look at Woodhead's production leap from Week 11 to Week 12 as a positive, but we're talking about 23 total yards to 45 total yards.  Alex Collins has established himself as the lead back (or as much of one as Baltimore is going to have this season), and as long as he's healthy I'm not sure Little Danny Woodhead is getting enough snaps to warrant a top-30 ranking just yet.  Both Woodhead and Buck Allen were both in the mix against the Texans behind Collins, and I think that continues this week against Detroit. WRs 1.Antonio Brown  2.Julio Jones  3.DeAndre Hopkins  4.Mike Evans  5.Keenan Allen   6.Adam Thielen 7.Brandin Cooks  8.A.J. Green    9.Michael Thomas  10.Doug Baldwin   11.Davante Adams 12.Devin Funchess 13.Alshon Jeffery  14.Larry Fitzgerald   15.Robby Anderson     16.Jamison Crowder   17.Tyreek Hill  18.Jarvis Landry 19.Demaryius Thomas   20.Stefon Diggs  21.Cooper Kupp 22.Marvin Jones, Jr.   23.Dez Bryant 24.Golden Tate   25.DeSean Jackson  26.Sterling Shepard 27.Josh Doctson  28.Ted Ginn, Jr.  29.Mohamed Sanu  30.Marqise Lee 31.Martavis Bryant 32.Emmanuel Sanders   33.Corey Davis   34.T.Y. Hilton  35.DeVante Parker 36.Nelson Agholor    37.Jermaine Kearse     38.Josh Reynolds 39.Corey Coleman   40.Seth Roberts  41.Dontrelle Inman 42.Marquise Goodwin  43.Jeremy Maclin 44.Cordarrelle Patterson  45.Sammy Watkins  46.Bruce Ellington  47.Zay Jones    48.Dede Westbrook       49.Paul Richardson 50.Randall Cobb   I'm high on: Josh Reynolds (ESPN NOT RANKED, ME #38) I'm going to give you somewhat of a long shot who virtually ZERO experts are ranking this week.  In the first game without injured Robert Woods last week, Josh Reynolds hauled in 4 of 6 targets for 37 yards and a touchdown.  While that might not seem like a lot, consider the matchup for the rookie this week against Arizona.  Sammy Watkins will likely be smothered/covered by Patrick Peterson like he's a side dish at a Waffle House, and that could mean more targets for Reynolds.  Cooper Kupp will certainly get peppered by Jared Cook as well, but I like Reynolds to have a decent game.  In fact, I even have him ranked higher than Watkins!  If you're desperate for a FLEX play this week, the Texas A&M rookie is certainly hanging out there on your waiver wire.  I'm down on: Josh Gordon (ESPN #39, ME NOT RANKED) When I saw Josh Gordon's name in the rankings when he hasn't played in a game since 2014, I had one thought: "Come on, man!"  He's supposed to be making his return this week, but that doesn't mean you immediately plug him into your FLEX spot...after a 3 year hiatus!!!  Gordon's consensus Non-PPR ranking is even ahead of teammate Corey Coleman, which just doesn't make any sense to me. TEs 1.Rob Gronkowski 2.Zach Ertz  3.Travis Kelce 4.Jimmy Graham 5.Delanie Walker 6.Jared Cook  7.Jack Doyle  8.Evan Engram  9.Kyle Rudolph 10.Hunter Henry   11.Charles Clay  12.Julius Thomas 13.Vernon Davis 14.Austin Sefarian-Jenkins  15.Ricky Seals-Jones I'm high on: Julius Thomas (ESPN #18, ME #12) I definitely didn't think I'd rank Julius Thomas in my top-12 this season, but here we are.  The fact is, he's been a top-5 fantasy tight end the last 4 weeks.  And while a lot of those points came in one game against Oakland, he's averaging nearly 6 targets in those last 4 games too.  He's facing his old team this week as the Broncos come to town, and they give up a ton of fantasy points to tight ends (as long as your name isn't Jared Cook).  Revenge game!   I'm down on: Greg Olsen...again! (ESPN #9, ME NOT RANKED) I really hate to be a broken record, but what's the deal here?!?  Olsen isn't even a sure thing to play this week after re-injuring his foot in his first game back since Week 2.  On top of that, he only has 4 catches for 38 yards in the 3 games he's played this season.  I don't know why ESPN thinks he'll be a top-10 tight end this week, but I'm not buying it. DEF 1.Jaguars  2.Chargers  3.Ravens     4.Steelers 5.Titans  6.Rams 7.Patriots 8.Eagles  9.Bears 10.Broncos 11.Chiefs 12.Raiders I'm not really high/low on many defenses versus the ESPN experts this week, but I will say that you might want to think twice about that Seattle defense against Philly.  ESPN has them dangerously close to the top-12, and they've lost a lot of key players to injury on the defensive side of the ball.  Oh, and the Eagles are scoring a ton of points and not turning the ball over.  Check out the waiver wire because there are some good matchups out there this week (like the Titans, Bears, and now even the Raiders against Geno Smith!).  Good luck to everyone in Week 13! (Except you, Tommy.....and anyone else ahead of me in the standings.....and Trey in my other league!) Cheers, Bart