This has been one of the most unpredictable seasons for fantasy football. It seems like every week a player comes out of nowhere and nobody sees it coming. But the upside of that is that every week, we learn something new. That’s the only way to get better at fantasy football. You need to learn from your mistakes.
If you are playing daily and you keep throwing out the same type of lineups every week and getting mediocre results at best, it’s time to try something new. There are five more weeks of the regular season—let’s end them on a high note!
Here are my plays for Week 13. As usual, prices listed are from DraftKings. Good luck everyone!
Quarterbacks
Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers ($7,000)
Rivers has seven passing touchdowns over the last three weeks and now he gets to face a beatable Cleveland Browns secondary. Rivers will get us between 18-to-24 fantasy points and both he and Keenan Allen, who has 80 DK points over the last two weeks, have been on fire. The Browns are a bottom-three team against tight ends, so I will be double-stacking Rivers with Allen and Hunter Henry.
Case Keenum, Minnesota Vikings ($6,000)
Over the last three weeks, Keenum has been playing the best football of his career. He has scored 29, 17 and 27 DK points and has thrown for seven touchdowns. The game is indoors so weather won’t be a factor and when I play Keenum, I will double-stack him with Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. The Falcons also struggle with pass-catching running backs. If you’re feeling crazy, you can add Jerick McKinnon to that stack.
Other plays I like: Blake Bortles ($5,400), Trevor Siemian ($4,800)
Running Backs
Dion Lewis, New England Patriots ($5,500)–
In Week 12, Lewis rushed for 112 yards on 15 carries. This week he gets to go against a bottom-three Buffalo rush defense and there is no reason why he can’t get us double-digit fantasy points. Over the last three weeks, he has scored 18, 15 and 17 DK points. He goes low owned because the Pats use multiple running backs, but they are now featuring Lewis as the lead back. He is a safe play at a good price in a good matchup. All three of those factors lead to fantasy success.
Marshawn Lynch, Oakland Raiders ($4,800)
Oakland will be without Michael Crabtree and it’s looking like Amari Cooper will miss this game against the New York Giants as well. The Raiders will lean on Marshawn this week to get their offense going. Last week he got 26 carries to go with three receptions and he scored a season-high 20 DK points. He is still low-priced and when the Raiders get close, they will give Lynch the ball. The Giants are a team that has given up and this could be the week that “Beast Mode” is unleashed.
Other plays I like: LeSean McCoy ($7,600), Jordan Howard ($6,500) and Duke Johnson ($4,800)
Wide Receivers
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($7,100)
Jameis Winston looks like he will play this week and that is great news for Evans, who hasn’t scored a touchdown since Winston went down. I am predicting that he scores one this week. He’s been consistent, reaching double-digit DK points in every game but two. Tampa Bay can’t run the ball and this week, Evans, who should be a building block for your lineup, will break out.
Bruce Ellington, Houston Texans ($4,000)
I am going back to playing wide receivers against the Tennessee Titans. Ellington has 24 targets over the last three weeks and he has the potential to take every catch he makes to the end zone. This is the type of player you need in your tournament lineups because when he goes off, he will be lower owned and can win you a GPP.
Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos ($4,900)
Sanders has had his most success over the past couple of seasons when Trevor Siemian is throwing him the ball. The Miami Dolphins defense is one of the worst units in football and I am expecting a big week from the Broncos passing attack. He will go low owned but his upside with Siemian is real—he scored 24 points in Week 2. At this price and with his upside, he is a must in your tournament lineups.
Other plays I like: Brandin Cooks ($7,700), Tyreek Hill ($6,700) and Davante Adams ($6,500)
Tight Ends
Jared Cook, Oakland Raiders ($5,400)
There are two reasons why I am recommending Cook. First, he might be the only healthy pass catcher for the Raiders this weekend. Second, the Giants have been the worst team against tight ends this year. If you play him, just realize that he has the same chance to get you zero points as he does 15.
Hunter Henry, Los Angeles Rams ($4,700)
I mentioned Henry earlier but he is in a great spot this week. The hard part about playing Henry is that some weeks, the Chargers decide to ignore him and throw to Antonio Gates instead. But he is worth the risk this week because of his upside and the fact that Rivers has targeted him 10 times over the past two weeks. He won’t catch a ton of passes but he should find the end zone.
Other plays I like: Travis Kelce ($7,000) or Austin Seferian-Jenkins ($4,000)
Defenses
Jacksonville Jaguars ($4,500)
Jacksonville’s defense has been the NFL’s best, you can play them every single week.
Los Angeles Chargers ($4,000)
The Chargers have the best pass rush in the league and they have scored over 25 DK points twice in the last five weeks.
Baltimore Ravens ($3,100)
Matthew Stafford is banged up and he tends to not play as well outdoors in December. Good upside in this play.
