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Hope that you had a good Thanksgiving whether you spent it with family, friends, or relaxing at home. I’m back again this week to bring you another updated ROS TE rankings. Don’t forget to check out the master spreadsheet *here* for more information including ROS schedule strengths. Of course, after Thanksgiving comes Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

 

Playstation 5

Kelce is the top TE and the PS5 (or the XBox Series X) are the top options this holiday season. Kelce has 65.8 more points on the season than the next TE, Darren Waller. Over the last 5 weeks, he has 36.1 more points than the next TE (Eric Ebron) despite having a bye week in that period. Kelce has a couple less than ideal match ups versus the Broncos and Dolphins the next 2 weeks, but then gets an average one vs. the Saints before a great one with the Falcons in your ‘ship week. BTW, yeah, I got a PS5 during one of the releases, YEAH BOY! 

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Its week 13 and in many leagues, this is either the final week of the regular season or the first week of the fantasy football playoffs. If you’re still reading this column that means you are likely still alive in your fantasy football leagues and hopefully I’ve helped you along the way with some valuable flex plays in these Sexy Flexies articles. That being said, let’s get you a couple of solid flex players to use in your lineup this week. That is exactly why I write this column, to help you make these tough decisions and win your weeks!

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It’s a tradition as old as wearing a facial covering while using the public crapper or washing your hands like an obsessive compulsive garbage man: Wednesday Afternoon Football! Since there’s no Thursday Night Football game for me to breakdown with my rankings this week, I’ve decided to nail two Ravens with one stone by recapping the Wednesday afternoon dumpster fire in this introduction for the week 13 rankings. 

Maybe it was the week long uncertainty of whether this game would actually be played, maybe it was the fantasy football gods punishing us all for the NFL’s blind greed, maybe it’s because you put your Christmas lights up 3 weeks before Thanksgiving. Whatever the reason, this was the most boring Wednesday Afternoon Football game in the history of Wednesday Afternoon Football.

Only one Raven player produced positive fantasy results as Marquise Brown (4 catches for 85 yards and his 3rd touchdown) posted the best game of his very disappointing season thanks to his 70 yard touchdown catch late in the 4th quarter. Maybe this kickstarts Hollywood with a much softer schedule on the horizon. The friendly schedule gives me cautious optimism on the entire Ravens offense, including Lamar JacksonJ.K. Dobbins and Mark Andrews, as they all return from the virus outbreak.

On the Steelers side, you could tell they came in expecting to sleepwalk their way to a win and, well, they pretty much did. Juju Smith-Schuster (8 catches for 37 yards and his 6th touchdown), or Shoo Shoo Schuster-Smeeth as they call him on NBC Espanol, was the only Steeler to find the end zone while the damage from their two other (more talented) receivers Diontae Johnson (8 catches for 46 yards) and Chase Claypool (6 catches for 52 yards) was minimized. Benny Snell (16 carries for 60 yards, 3 catches for 33 yards), who I judiciously invested all my FAAB in after week 2, did show some flashes while filling in for James Conner (COVID). Remember, Conner fell into the high COVID risk group as a cancer survivor (diabetic Mark Andrews fell into this category too); not sure if this will actually impact either of their recovery times or if they even experienced any symptoms, but Snell’s worth a roster spot regardless. Anyway, here’s my fantasy football rankings for week 13 which will be frequently updated until Sunday kickoff:

*If you’d like more robotic weekly rankings with projections, check out Rudy’s Pigskinonator which is available on a free trial and then only $5.99 for the rest of the season.

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Well, well, well. Week 12. Do I need to introduce what ended up being one of the weirdest weeks in NFL history? From a fantasy perspective, we watched Patrick Mahomes chase the Chiefs’ record for single-game passing yards (held by Elvis Grbac, you Trivial Pursuit maniac), while also watching Denver Broncos practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton make his NFL debut as a QB. One of those situations did not end well. On top of all of that, we’re looking forward to Tuesday Wednesday Night Football. In case you forgot, when Tuesday Night Football that happened earlier in the year wreaked havoc on stats providers who hadn’t prepared for “Y2K,” and some fantasy providers went weeks without accurate scoring. And now we’ve got a WNF, which is also the name of my favorite Korean boy-band. SEW (<- not a boy band). I’m giving you the best information that’s available at the time of writing, and hopefully Week 13 will be a bit easier to navigate. Next week will be the final installment of the rest of season QB rankings, so if you’re hoping to follow me here at Razzball, I’ll ask you to navigate over to the basketball section, where I’ll be doing a weekly player highlight column. 

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Your WR top 80 13.0 is here!  Even though week 12 hasn’t ended yet, we’re on to the final countdown. If you’re 7-5 or better you can probably coast but a playoff seed may be on the line. If you’re rolling at 6-6 or in some leagues maybe even 5-7 this is do or die. Obviously “rest of season” doesn’t really mean much with one game left in the regular season but this is still a relative ranking of the best WRs in our game. As a rule, injuries will always bump guys down. I am generally pessimistic that players will return on time at full strength without a setback. 

This list is not league or format specific, but it is based on 2020 rest-of-season projection only. When thinking through tiers and rankings I asked myself simply – “all things considered who would I rather have on my roster?”

Read all of the QB, RB and TE Razzball Rest of Season Positional Rankings now!

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In a casual conversation with my future mother-in-law this past week, she adamantly described Derrick Henry as “sexy.” Now, I’m no expert on the perceived attractiveness of 6-foot-3, 250-pound behemoth running backs, but I do know one thing: there’s only one. There’s only one Derrick Henry, and as he approaches a fantasy playoff schedule as easy as hiding a piece of Thanksgiving stuffing in Matt Patricia’s beard at the end of No-Shave November, we’re likely to see history repeat itself yet again. Remember, Henry averaged 24.2 half-PPR points in his final five games of 2019, which was only slightly better than the 23.1 points he averaged across the final five games of 2018. Historically, Henry is stretch-run hero — a fantasy playoff superman in a class all his own. Even if Henry hadn’t erupted for 37.5 half-PPR points in Week 12, he would likely enter the Week 13 rankings as the RB1 overall, as an upcoming matchup with the Browns is the only thing that stands between him and a remaining schedule against the Jaguars, Lions, Packers and Texans. No matter how your league is structured, those matchups scream league-winning upside, and there’s no doubt in my mind Henry will again have a high ownership percentage on championship rosters. But, since Henry did pop off in Week 12, let’s unpack it: 27 carries, 178 yards, three rushing touchdowns; two receptions (four targets), seven yards. All three of Henry’s rushing touchdowns came in first half, as he legitimately provided three healthy weeks of fantasy value in a single half. Now I understand the “sexy” part. 

While Henry is up to RB1 this week, there’s a lot of other movement on the top-60 list and, as always, an overwhelming amount of injury updates to digest. So, before we get to the rankings, let’s take a quick trip around the league.

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If you’re familiar with the backstory of Donkey Kong then you know that Mario is the villain of the series. Mario’s an abusive owner in the game and tries to keep Donkey Kong caged up. I always knew there was something off about that Mario dude. On Monday night, Darius Slay was cast in the role of Mario, attempting to lockdown D.K. Metcalf. But the beast could not be contained, going off for 10 catches and 177 yards as he demolished Philly. D.K. didn’t find the end zone, but could easily have finished with three scores if it weren’t for a misfire from Russ, a tackle at the one yard line and a drop. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy football:

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If you’re reading this, something has gone terribly, terribly wrong. But, but, but….you are reading this, so that means you’re still in contention for the chip/ship (I’m a chip guy but understand the ship stance). It’s Week 13 and it’s the start of fantasy playoffs for most leagues, but there are two teams on bye, so Teddy Bridgewater and Tom Brady owners need another signal caller if they didn’t stash one. There’s also the whole Covid thing going around, which can decimate a depth chart from the drop of one cough. On Sunday, the Giants lost their signal caller, Daniel Jones, to a severe hamstring injury. Enter another backup quarterback into the pool. Can you spray and pray with Colt McCoy or is the chamber empty and best left on the table?

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As the Titans team bus cruised from the Indy airport to the team hotel, Afroman’s Greatest Hits blared through the vehicle’s sound system. Derrick Henry was tucked in the back row nodding along, “Colt 45 and two Zig Zags, baby that’s all we need.” It was then that Henry set his goal of scoring 45 PPR fantasy points against the Indianapolis Colts in his week 12 matchup. The big man was well on his way in 2nd quarter when he punched in his third touchdown of the first half. But the Colt 45 wasn’t meant to be as Henry finished the day with only 27 carries for 178 yards, 2 catches for 7 yards and his 10th, 11th and 12 touchdowns. If only Ryan Tannehill (13/22 for 221 yards, 2 carries for 3 yards, 1 passing touchdown and 1 rushing touchdown) hadn’t vultured that 4th touchdown, oh what might have been. Henry would be at the park after dark, smoking that tumbleweed. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday for fantasy football:

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I hope everyone’s hands and feet are as swollen as mine after two straight days of binging on sodium laced food. Wait, did I really just type that? I am now old? No, it’s the children who are old. Please forgive my stuffing delirium. I promise the stats will be better.

  • The Jakobi Meyers (no relation to BDon) hype train got derailed last week with Damiere Byrd going off and N’keal Harry back. Meyers only caught 3 balls on 3 targets. The encouraging thing is that he still played 99% of snaps. There’s possible value on Meyers this week given that Byrd’s high involvement may be a one-off.
  • I think Mike Williams is back. He looked explosive while garnering 122 air yards and producing 4-72-1. There’s always going to be a good amount of boom and bust to Big Mike’s game. With Justin Hebert coming into his own there may be more booms in the coming weeks.
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Shadow Coverage Tracker
WR Finish Total
1 15
2 8
3 8
4+ 25
Grand Total 56

Team: Arizona Cardinals

Opponent: New England

WR1: DeAndre Hopkins

WR2: Christian Kirk

Shadow Coverage Matchup: Stephon Gilmore

                                                  J.C. Jackson

DeAndre Hopkins vs. Shadow Coverage
Opponent Games Rec Yards TDs PPG
All Other Opponents 27 7.4 96.3 0.4 16
Vs. Shadow Coverage 17 6.5 76.2 0.6 14.4
vs. Stephon Gilmore 3 6.7 72.7 0 10.6

Historical Production vs. Shadow Coverage

According to PFF this season DeAndre Hopkins has yet to face any shadow coverage in 2020. This comes after back to back seasons where he saw shadow coverage in 50% of his games.  This “softer” cornerback schedule has led to a solid season so far in 2020 as Hopkins is the WR7 in PPG. Overall, throughout his career Hopkins has been solid vs. shadow coverage as his 14.4 PPG is still borderline WR1 numbers.

As for Christian Kirk he has never seen shadow coverage in his career, but that doesn’t stop the Patriots from using shadow coverage on multiple players. In weeks 9 and 11 of 2020 the Patriots used multiple CBs to shadow the opposing teams WRs and in 2019 used Stephon Gilmore and J.C. Jackson in similar roles down the stretch.

Week 12 Recommendation DeAndre Hopkins – WR3/Flex

                                   Christian Kirk – SIT

Hopkins’ 10.6 vs. Stephon Gilmore doesn’t make him a sit, but tempering expectations on the road vs. the Patriots isn’t a bad idea. Hopkins has yet to score a TD or top 80 yards receiving in any of the games vs. Gilmore since he joined the Patriots back in 2017. These numbers leave Hopkins as solid WR2/flex in week 12.

As for Christian Kirk J.C. Jackson has been playing at a very high level slowing down a white-hot Will Fuller (6-80) while leading the NFL in interceptions so far in 2020. This season the Patriots have yet to allow a team to have multiple WRs hit double digit fantasy points in .5 PPR at home in 2020.

DFS Recommendation – DeAndre Hopkins Price FD $8,500 / DK $8,100

                                           Christian Kirk Price FD $6,100 / DK $5,800

Hopkins vs. Gilmore doesn’t equal DFS success as his 10 PPG will not justify his cost on both sites. At this price point you can pay up for Tyreek Hill in a game which should be a shootout in TB. As for Christian Kirk his price point on both sites is between WR 24-30, and with not a lot of WR success overall when the Patriots play at home its best to pivot. Players I would use over Kirk include DeVante Parker vs. NYJ and Curtis Samuel vs. MIN.

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Alright everyone, it’s a hectic week with the holidays, so I could only find time to get you the rankings with no write ups this week. Apologies, and the write ups will be back next week. In lieu of write ups, here’s another big stat sheet including upcoming schedules and the points allowed vs TE.

Stuffing

Rank Players Season Last 5 Last 3  
Prev Rank Rank Name Team G PPR Rec Yds TD PPR/GM PPR PPR ROS Rank vs TE
1 1 Travis Kelce KC 10 195.8 66.0 896.0 7 19.6 83.8 52.8 11

Stuffing is awesome. It’s elite and you only get it once or twice a year. 

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