Fantasy Football: Start ‘em, sit ‘em for Week 13

Typically we see quarterbacks take most of the top spots, but Week 12 turned out to be a big week for receivers, as three of the top six fantasy scorers were pass-catchers.

Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin had a massive week, continuing his magical season, while Titans QB Ryan Tannehill came out of nowhere to put up big points on the Jaguars.

Let’s check out who had big fantasy performances in Week 12 (standard format):

1) WR Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 33.90 points

2) RB Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars | 32.40 points

3) QB Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans | 32.36 points

4) WR Jarvis Landry, Cleveland Browns | 31.80 points

Here’s who you should start and sit, along with their projected points.

Who to start

1) QB Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Miami Dolphins) | 20.20 points

What do we make of Carson Wentz? Is he elite? Is he kinda good? Underwhelming? It’s hard to tell, especially when the Eagles are playing mediocre football.

However, this week could be a big one for Wentz as he’ll go up against a terrible Dolphins defense giving up an average of 22 fantasy points every week to opposing quarterbacks, good for fifth-worst in the NFL.

2) DJ Chark Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers) | 13.85 points

DJ Chark Jr. got off to a red-hot start in the beginning of the season, but came back down to earth recently with a few normal games. Even with that he still sits fourth among all wide receivers in fantasy scoring with 163.40 points. Only Michael Thomas, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans have scored more points than Chark Jr.

This week Chark Jr. will go up against the Buccaneers, who give up the most fantasy points to opposing WRs.

3) RB David Montgomery, Chicago Bears (vs. Detroit Lions) | 8.31 points

Montgomery has struggled of late and he plays on one of the worst offenses in football. His quarterback is straight up awful this year.

Luckily, he’ll go up against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, the team that gives up the most fantasy points to opposing running backs in the entire NFL. As well, Montgomery has carried the ball at least 14 times in each of the last four games.

Note: this could also be a smart start for fellow Bears RB Tarik Cohen.

Who to sit

1) QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (vs. New Orleans) | 15.58 points

I think it’s time to confront the fact that Matt Ryan isn’t going to turn around the Falcons season. It just hasn’t worked out well for him. He hasn’t hit the 17 point mark over his past four games. In two of those games he mustered just 3.65 and 8.64 points.

New Orleans isn’t particularly intimidating to opposing quarterbacks, but I wouldn’t bet on Ryan this week.

2) WR Will Fuller V, Houston Texans (vs. New England) | 9.61 points

Will Fuller blew up in week 12 with a big 17.50 point game, but I don’t see this week going the same way. Fuller and the Texans receivers go up against the Patriots, who give up the fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. DeAndre Hopkins will get prime time targets, but beyond him it’ll be tough to predict big points for other pass-catchers.

3) RB Carlos Hyde, Houston Texans (vs. New England) | 7.07 points

Another guy going up against the Patriots defense that you want no part of. Don’t even touch it. The Pats give up the least fantasy points to opposing running backs along with receivers.

Hyde is having a fine season at 836 yards and a respectable 4.8 yards per carry, but this time around will be very tough. Best to avoid Mr. Hyde.

Let’s see how my picks did last week (actual fantasy points):

Start

1) QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers) | 8.64 points

2) WR Calvin Ridley, Atlanta Falcons (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers) | 19.00 points

3) RB Derrius Guice, Washington Redskins (vs. Detroit Lions) | 4.30 points

Sit

1) RB Brian Hill, Atlanta Falcons (vs. Tampa Bay) | 4.20 points

2) WR John Brown, Buffalo Bills (vs. Denver) | 10.90 points

3) QB Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams (vs. Baltimore) | ??.?? points