I feel like I haven't started my rankings off with injury news in a while, but Week 14 had a big one. Carson Wentz has arguably been the fantasy MVP this season, and he was lost for the season when he tore his ACL against the Rams. Obviously this is a huge blow to him and the Eagles, but it's also a tough break for
his fantasy owners as well as owners of his receivers. To a lesser extent, Alvin Kamara got knocked out early in the Thursday night game with a concussion. That likely had a big impact on a ton of fantasy owners in Week 14, and for those that managed to win basically without him last week (like me in my B league), we're just hoping he's back for Sunday's matchup against the Jets!
Speaking of my leagues, I won in both of them, and in my main league it was in large part due to Kareem Hunt and Jordan Howard coming back from the dead (not to mention Le'Veon Bell, who continues to steamroll defenses). I hope they all keep it up this week because it's semifinal time, and if you're reading this, then you're probably still in the playoffs yourself (woohoo!). But as you know, this is no time to celebrate because you still have a couple of weeks to go...
Let's get into my picks from last week versus the ESPN experts, and I'll start off by saying that if I learned anything from watching Bull Durham, it's that you don't mess with a winning(/hot) streak. That's exactly what Ben Roethlisberger is on right now, and I stayed high on him for the second week in a row versus the experts
(ESPN #15, ME #8). He was the #1 fantasy QB over the previous FOUR weeks (12 touchdowns in those games), and last week he threw for over 500 yards & a pair of TDs, finishing in the top-5. I moved Big Ben all the way to my top spot this week because he has now thrown for multiple touchdowns in each of his last 5 games, and no QB has more fantasy points over that time span. Ride the hot streak! I was down on Matthew Stafford (ESPN #3, ME #16) because I was worried about the injury to his throwing hand. And while I'm not entirely sure how much that hurt his game, his stats weren't great regardless. He threw for plenty of yards, but he had just one touchdown to his two interceptions and nearly finished outside of the top-20.
As for the running backs, I nailed both of my picks there too. I was high on Jamaal Williams (ESPN #27, ME #12), pointing out that the only three RBs with more fantasy points than him in the previous 4 weeks were Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram, and Le'Veon Bell. I said he'd have 100+ total yards and a score against the Browns. He got the yards, and he actually scored TWICE on his way to a top-10 finish. I was down on Christian McCaffery (ESPN #11, ME #26) because I was worried about the tough Viking run defense. Well, Jonathan Stewart didn't have much trouble running all over them, but McCaffery sure did. He finished with just 53 total yards and was not even a top-40 RB.
I was down on Doug Baldwin (ESPN #15, ME #26) because he was facing the Jags, but he actually still managed to have a productive fantasy day against that secondary and finished right where ESPN ranked him (15th). I was high on Marquise Goodwin though (ESPN #38, ME #25), and he has quickly become Jimmy G's go-to guy. I said to pick him up and plug him into your FLEX spot, and he got you double digit fantasy points if you did that. He caught 6 of 12 targets for 106 yards on his way to finishing right at #25 where I ranked him!
I continued to not rank Greg Olsen, but the experts couldn't help themselves (ESPN #10, ME NOT RANKED). Olsen played plenty of snaps against Minnesota, but he didn't catch one ball. I ranked 15 tight ends this week, and he still hasn't cracked my list. I was high on rookie Stephen Anderson
(ESPN #22, ME #11), but that didn't work out too well. He got the targets (6), but he only caught 2 of them for 16 yards and wasn't even a top-25 TE against the 49ers. I guess he might've been a one hit wonder, so feel free to put him on Ice, Ice, Baby!
I was 1 for 2 with my defenses in Week 14. The ESPN experts originally ranked the Packers 14th, but then they changed their consensus rankings to 8th by the time I wrote my article, but I still wrote about Green Bay
(ESPN #14 or 8, ME #5). I mean, they were playing the BROWNS! Can't lose, right? Well, Cleveland put up a decent fight, and the Packers weren't even a top-12 fantasy defense against them (but did come back to win the game in overtime...classic Browns). I was down on the Philadelphia Eagles (ESPN #9, ME NOT RANKED), who have had good games against bad teams and not so good games against better teams. That trend continued as they gave up 35 points to the Rams offense and finished well outside of the top-12. This week, they face a not-so-good team, so they're back in my rankings.
Speaking of which, let's get to 'em!
QBs
1.Ben Roethlisberger
2.Russell Wilson
3.Tom Brady
4.Aaron Rodgers
5.Drew Brees
6.Cam Newton
7.Philip Rivers
8.Dak Prescott
9.Case Keenum
10.Jameis Winston
11.Matthew Stafford
12.Kirk Cousins
13.Alex Smith
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14.Jared Goff
15.Blake Bortles
16.Matt Ryan
17.Nick Foles
18.Derek Carr
19.DeShone Kizer
20.Tyrod Taylor
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I'm high on: Jameis Winston (ESPN #19, ME #10)
 If you look at the games when Jameis has been healthy(ish) this year, they're pretty damn good. While he's certainly prone to turnovers, he's also likely to throw for 300+ yards and have multiple touchdowns at home against Atlanta. Put me down for a top-10 performance this week as Jameis gives the fans something to cheer about in a lost season for the Bucs.
I'm down on: Jimmy Garoppolo (ESPN #15, ME NOT RANKED)
Forgive me if I'm not ready to dub Jimmy G the next Tom Brady. Let's give him a few more games, shall we? He's looked decent the last couple of weeks and has a nice matchup at home against the Titans, BUT he's still very unproven. I'd rather start someone like a Nick Foles or even DeShone Kizer over Garoppolo this week, and I don't trust Foles nearly as much as the experts do (I am higher on Kizer than the experts though)! As for Foles, at least he has more NFL snaps under his belt than Garoppolo. Starting Jimmy G in the fantasy playoffs feels a bit too risky to me.
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RBs |
1.Le'Veon Bell
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2.Alvin Kamara
3.Todd Gurley
4.LeSean McCoy
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5.Mark Ingram
6.Melvin Gordon
7.Leonard Fournette
8.Devonta Freeman
9.Kenyan Drake
10.Jamaal Williams
11.Jordan Howard
12.Alex Collins
13.Kareem Hunt
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14.Marshawn Lynch
15.Rex Burkhead
16.Mike Davis
17.Latavius Murray
18.Alfred Morris
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19.Carlos Hyde
20.Samaje Perine
21.Lamar Miller
22.Christian McCaffery
23.Kerwynn Williams
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24.Frank Gore
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25.Joe Mixon
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26.DeMarco Murray
27.Theo Riddick
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28.Jerick McKinnon
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29.C.J. Anderson
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30.Dion Lewis
31.Jay Ajayi
32.Jonathan Stewart
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33.Isaiah Crowell
34.Derrick Henry
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35.Duke Johnson
36.Tevin Coleman
37.Peyton Barber
38.Rod Smith
39.Wayne Gallman
40.Tarik Cohen
41.Bilal Powell
42.Doug Martin
43.Austin Ekeler
44.Marlon Mack
45.Orleans Darkwa
46.Tion Green
47.J.D. McKissic
48.Matt Forte
49.Danny Woodhead
50.James White
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I'm high on: Mike Davis (ESPN #29, ME #16)
 This is kind of ironic because I'm playing my friend, Mike Davis, in the semifinals of my A League. And I actually picked up Mike Davis after Mike Davis waived Mike Davis a couple of weeks ago. Confused yet? Good. Either way, my 3 RBs all played so well last week, I don't think I can bring myself to start Mike Davis against Mike Davis. But I do like Mike Davis to have a good game this week. He's averaging 65 rushing yards on 15 carries the last two weeks, and this week I say he finds the endzone against a Rams D that is giving up the second most fantasy points to RBs on the year.
I'm down on: Dion Lewis (ESPN #19, ME #30)
Maybe it's a little harsh dropping Lewis this far, but he didn't do much against the Dolphins on Monday night. He had been playing really well prior to that loss, but so has Rex Burkhead. And it's Burkhead's play that really has be down on Lewis this week. Rex seems to be getting more goal line carries lately, and he's just more involved in the offense. I think Lewis will fail to get double digit fantasy points for the third week in a row and finish outside of the RB2 conversation.
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WRs
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1.Antonio Brown
2.Julio Jones
3.Keenan Allen
4.Michael Thomas
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5.Adam Thielen
6.DeAndre Hopkins
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7.Devin Funchess
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8.A.J. Green
9.Brandin Cooks
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10.Doug Baldwin
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11.Jarvis Landry
12.Dez Bryant
13.Mike Evans
14.Tyreek Hill
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15.Larry Fitzgerald
16.Davante Adams
17.Josh Gordon
18.Michael Crabtree
19.Demaryius Thomas
20.Marvin Jones, Jr.
21.Marquise Goodwin
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22.Jordy Nelson
23.Golden Tate
24.Jamison Crowder
25.Stefon Diggs
26.Chris Hogan
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27.Marqise Lee
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28.Robert Woods
29.Sterling Shepard
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30.Mohamed Sanu
31.Alshon Jeffery
32.T.Y. Hilton
33.Amari Cooper
34.Robby Anderson
35.Rishard Matthews
36.Cooper Kupp
37.JuJu Smith-Schuster
38.Dede Westbrook
39.Corey Coleman
40.Mike Wallace
41.Ted Ginn, Jr.
42.Randall Cobb
43.DeSean Jackson
44.Paul Richardson
45.Emmanuel Sanders
46.Sammy Watkins
47.Jermaine Kearse
48.Nelson Agholor
49.Jeremy Maclin
50.Josh Doctson
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 I'm high on: Devin Funchess (ESPN #17, ME #7)
I'm not sure why more of the experts didn't rank Funchess in the top-10 this week. He's been a top-10 fantasy WR since Week 9, and he's scored double digit fantasy points in each of his last 4 games (standard scoring). This week he faces a Green Bay defense that is giving up the third most fantasy points to WRs this season, and with Aaron Rodgers back, the Panthers might need to throw more to keep up with the Packer offense. I like for Funchess to have 100 yards and a TD, and he should finish well into the top-10 if he does that.
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I'm down on: Alshon Jeffery (ESPN #16, ME #31)
I guess the ESPN experts have complete and total faith in Nick Foles,
but I don't. I felt the need to drop Jeffery down a peg (or fifteen) with Wentz being out. He just didn't feel right in the top-20 or so. Maybe
Foles will do just fine, and it is a good matchup. I'd just trust several
other options ahead of Alshon this week.
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TEs
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1.Rob Gronkowski
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2.Travis Kelce
3.Zach Ertz
4.Jimmy Graham
5.Evan Engram
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6.Delanie Walker
7.Jack Doyle
8.Hunter Henry
9.Jared Cook
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10.Vernon Davis
11.Jason Witten
12.Eric Ebron
13.Ricky Seals-Jones
14.Benjamin Watson
15.Charles Clay
I'm high on: Eric Ebron (ESPN #22, ME #12)
 If you're still in the playoffs and want to make sure you get some points from your tight end this week, Ebron seems like a safe bet. Since Detroit's Week 7 bye, Ebron hasn't had fewer than 34 receiving yards in a game. He also has just one touchdown during that time, and he's only eclipsed the 60 yard mark once. However, that one time was last week when he hauled in 10 of 11 targets for 94 yards (ALL season highs). While he doesn't have the biggest ceiling, the Lion tight end feels like he has a safe floor, which could be what you want out of the position if you just need some points this week!
I'm down on: Greg Olsen (ESPN #12, ME NOT RANKED)
I've been down on him ever since he returned from his injury, but ESPN continues to rank him like he'll finish as a TE1. I can't do it. Olsen has 4 catches for 38 yards on the season. And sure, that's in just 4 games, but still. What has he done to make you think he's healthy and will perform well?!?
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DEF
1.Jaguars
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2.Saints
3.Ravens
4.Eagles
5.Vikings
6.Broncos
7.Chargers
8.Bills
9.Lions
10.Titans
11.Redskins
12.Seahawks
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 I'm high on: New Orleans Saints (ESPN #5, ME #2)
With Josh McCown lost to a broken hand against the Broncos (who shut out the Jets last week by the way), it'll be Bryce Petty leading the team across from the New Orleans defense. Sign me up. The ESPN experts originally had the Saints as a consensus #7, but that climbed to #5 by the time I posted these rankings. Either way, I think they should be right there at the top this week with the Jags, and I'm a bit upset I wasn't able to claim the Saints off the waiver wire in my Yahoo! because someone (BILLY!) had a higher priority than me.
I'm down on: LA Rams (ESPN #8, ME NOT RANKED)
Seattle's offensive line is rather porous, but Russell Wilson makes up for it. I think the Seahawks will put up plenty of points in this game, and I'm not sure the Rams D will get many fantasy points in what I think will be a shootout. That is all.
Good luck to everyone in Week 15!
(Except you, Mike Davis...not the football player...and you too, Courtney!)
Cheers,
Bart
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