Commentary

Fantasy Football 2016: Week 13 starts & sits

For many of us, Week 13 marks the end of the fantasy season. Some people may be glad to put an end to their fantasy misery this week. Others are ready to push for the championship. Here’s some advice to get you there:

Starts

Colin Kaepernick, QB, San Francisco – If you haven’t been paying attention, Colin Kaepernick has been on an absolute fantasy tear in recent weeks. He’s had multiple touchdowns in each of his last four games and crossed 400 total yards in two of them. The 49ers take on Chicago Bears in the NFL’s version of the Sacko Bowl this week. Kaepernick should put up massive numbers against the Bears and is a legitimate QB1 this week.

DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston – This isn’t betting on Hopkins as much as it is betting against Green Bay. Their passing defense has been a joke this season, giving up the third most points to opposing wide receivers. This has to be the matchup that Hopkins finally delivers on. He’s too talented to be held back yet again, especially against a defense as poor as the Packers.

Taylor Gabriel, WR, Atlanta – Taylor Gabriel hasn’t seen enough targets this season to justify fantasy consideration, yet he has put up solid touchdown dependent numbers. But at what point do we bet on a touchdown rather than bench a guy when points are needed? Gabriel has scored in each of his past four games and his role in the offense should only continue to increase. Gabriel is a player on the rise and a sneaky good fantasy play in Week 13.

Eric Ebron, TE, Detroit – Owners still in the playoff hunt should be smart enough to understand that goose eggs happen. Eric Ebron didn’t record a single catch on Thanksgiving last week, but it seems like it should be an anomaly on an otherwise stellar season. He had three straight games of at least 70 yards before last week, and we should expect numbers like that moving forward.

Brandin Cooks, WR, New Orleans – Cooks is another guy coming off a no reception game. For whatever reason, the Rams chose to gameplan around Brandin Cooks and take him completely out of the game. Seeing as they gave up 49 points and over 500 yards, it probably wasn’t the best of ideas. There should be enough to go around in the Saints offense even with the emergence of Michael Thomas and the reemergence of Mark Ingram. Cooks just has too much upside to leave on the bench.

Sits

All Chicago Bears not named Jordan Howard – Last week Matt Barkley looked decent and had a solid rapport with Marquess Wilson in the passing game, but neither of them should even be considered as fantasy options this week unless the situation is at DEFCON 5. Wilson may prove to become a decent rest of season fantasy option, but we thought the same thing about Cameron Meredith a few weeks ago and look how that turned out. This offense will most likely just feed Jordan Howard and feed him some more for the rest of the year.

Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Carolina – A touchdown last week saved Kelvin Benjamin from emerging onto the fantasy bust radar. But Benjamin owners know how brutal he’s been this season. Last week was his first game with 10 points in non PPR leagues since Week 4. Even in PPR leagues, he has just five receptions over the past two games. Something is off with the entire Carolina offense this season, and Benjamin has been a casualty of it. If you can afford it, bench him in a crucial fantasy week against a tough Seattle defense on the road.

Thomas Rawls, RB, Seattle – Rawls may see plenty of volume in Week 13, but will it even pay off? Rawls is averaging just 2.7 yards per rush this season, and the Seattle offense has become more and more pass heavy. Rawls will certainly see enough volume and potentially red zone touches to justify starting him this week. Yet for people like me who have other options, maybe wait and see on Rawls. He just hasn’t been that good this season, and he’s got a tough matchup against Carolina this week.

TJ Yeldon, RB, Jacksonville – TJ Yeldon seems like a great option in theory with Chris Ivory being sidelined, but I’m staying far away from Yeldon this week. He’s likely to see limited snaps, and even if he ends up handling the bulk of the work, Yeldon has been abysmal this season. He’s crossed the 50 yard mark just once on the year. Neither Yeldon nor backup Denard Robinson should be played this week.

Los Angeles Defense – One game is normally not enough to justify completely abandoning a fantasy player, but in the case of the Rams defense, abandon ship immediately. They just got absolutely shelled by the New Orleans Saints and it isn’t going to get any easier. The Rams face the New England Patriots this week and the Falcons and Seahawks in the coming weeks. Even their championship week matchup against the 49ers is looking less and less enticing. Is this a defense that’s going to give up 50 points a game? Absolutely not. But they face three hot offenses in their next three games and aren’t even worth rostering anymore.

Steve Rebeiro is a staff writer and podcast host for Rams Talk. He graduated from Marquette University in 2016. For more of his opinions, follow him on Twitter here.

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