Fantasy sit-start: Lineup advice for every Week 13 game
Chiefs vs. Jets: Start Tyreek Hill, who’s averaged 89.2 yards and scored all five of his touchdowns on the road this year (for whatever that’s worth), and the Jets have allowed 20 passing TDs.
Start Josh McCown, who continues to be a DFS bargain. He’s coming off a game in which he shredded a solid Carolina defense for 307 yards (8.7 YPA) with three touchdowns and no picks. McCown has a higher Passer Rating than Russell Wilson and is on pace to throw for 3,700 yards and total 29 touchdowns. He ranks No. 3 among all QBs in Player Profiler’s “Production Premium” stat, is at home (where he’s gotten 8.1 YPA) and up against a suspect Chiefs defense this week.
Lions vs. Ravens: Sit Matthew Stafford, who’s played well of late (9:2 TD:INT ratio over last four games) but gets a Baltimore defense that’s allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
Start Jeremy Maclin, who should bounce back from last week’s disappearing act with Detroit’s best corner Darius Slay likely covering Mike Wallace most of the game (Maclin lines up in the slot, where Slay rarely goes).
49ers vs. Bears: Start Jordan Howard, who’s gotten 4.8 YPC with four touchdowns over six home games and gets a vulnerable 49ers defense.
Start Carlos Hyde, who remains affordable in DFS despite seeing a ton of volume. He’s averaged 8.8 targets over the past five games and has totaled more looks this year (73) than he has over his previous three seasons combined (64). It’s unclear if Jimmy Garoppolo will dump it off as much, but getting a major upgrade at QB should help the running back’s numbers overall.
[Week 13 fantasy rankings: Overall | PPR | QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | FLEX | DST | Ks]
Vikings vs. Falcons: Start Case Keenum, who’s gotten 8.9 YPA with an 8:2 TD:turnover ratio while completing 71.1 percent of his passes over the past three games. He hasn’t fumbled all season long and plays in a dome this week in a game that could turn into a shootout.
Sit Tevin Coleman, who returns to a backseat role with Devonta Freeman back in action and is facing a Minnesota front seven that’s yielded the fewest fantasy points to running backs. I’d also fade Julio Jones in DFS, as his ownership will likely see a boost coming off such a huge performance last week, but he’ll be shadowed by Xavier Rhodes.
Patriots vs. Bills: Start Dion Lewis, who continues to have a reasonable DFS price tag despite regularly seeing 15+ touches on one of the league’s best offenses. The Bills have the No. 27 ranked run defense DVOA and have only gotten worse of late.
Despite no Kelvin Benjamin and with Jordan Matthews and Charles Clay both banged up, sit Zay Jones. New England hasn’t allowed more than 17 points in a game since Week 4 and employs tough outside corners.
Broncos vs. Dolphins: Start Devontae Booker, who led all Denver backs in snaps (albeit with a modest 26) last week and should get even more work on a Broncos team that’s lost seven straight and needs to look toward the future. Miami sports the No. 31 ranked defense DVOA.
Start DeVante Parker. Jay Cutler is back and has locked onto Parker before, which should especially be the case Sunday with slot corner Chris Harris matched up against Jarvis Landry (and Aqib Talib suspended).
Texans vs. Titans: Pay up for DeAndre Hopkins in DFS. He’s seen 12.0 targets per game since Tom Savage took over at QB, even racking up 125 yards in a tough Baltimore environment last week. Hopkins is on pace to score 13 touchdowns this season and gets a highly favorable matchup this week.
Start the Titans defense. Hopkins should get his, but the rest of the Texans offense is a complete mess. Tennessee is cheap in DFS and is touchdown favorites at home against a quarterback who’s gotten 6.1 YPA with 12 turnovers and 14 sacks over five starts.
Colts vs. Jaguars: Sit T.Y. Hilton, who has fewer than 30 yards receiving in five of his past six games and gets the NFL’s toughest secondary, with Jalen Ramsey (and/or A.J. Bouye) presenting a tough task Sunday.
Start Marqise Lee, who had been targeted 32 times over the previous three games before being shadowed by Patrick Peterson last week. The Colts sport the No. 28 pass defense DVOA and are without Vontae Davis and Rashaan Melvin, so Dede Westbrook is also a nice cheap alternative…And if you’re concerned about game script here (the Jags shut out the Colts in Indy the last time these teams met), then making Leonard Fournette the foundation of your DFS lineup this week makes sense.
Buccaneers vs. Packers: Start DeSean Jackson, as the Packers have been getting smoked by outside receivers lately, and there’s sneaky shootout potential in this game. Sit Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard, as it’s unclear if Jameis Winston’s return will lead to a change in the TE hierarchy, and Green Bay has ceded the fewest fantasy points to the position.
Start Jamaal Williams, who’s averaged 22.7 touches over the past three games and gets a Tampa Bay defense that’s bottom-three in the league. Aaron Jones could possibly return, but he sprained his MCL just a few weeks back…Davante Adams should also be treated as a top-10 WR start this week.
Panthers vs. Saints: Sit Greg Olsen, who returned to practice Friday but is in the midst of a lost season and is playing nowhere close to full strength against a New Orleans defense that’s defended tight ends well.
Start Michael Thomas, who hasn’t scored over his past seven games (and has yet to reach the end zone at home this season) but continues to see a bunch of targets and faces a Panthers defense that ranks No. 24 in DVOA against No. 1 wide receivers.
Browns vs. Chargers: Sit Josh Gordon. He reportedly ran a 4.35 forty while training for his return, and there’s undeniable upside here despite Cleveland’s QB situation. But it’s best to take a wait-and-see approach given the long layoff and the Chargers’ tough cornerbacks.
Start Hunter Henry, whose targets remain frustrating (he hasn’t seen more than five in a game since Week 6) but scored last week and gets a Cleveland defense that continuously gets beat by tight ends.
Rams vs. Cardinals: Sit Sammy Watkins, who was productive last week with Robert Woods sidelined but should mostly be lined up against Patrick Peterson this week. Play Cooper Kupp with confidence.
Start Ricky Seals-Jones. He’s obviously tough to trust considering how off the radar he was as recent as three weeks ago, but he’s scored three touchdowns over the past two games and remains cheap in DFS.
Giants vs. Raiders: Sit Orleans Darkwa, who played just 19 snaps last week, his lowest since Week 3. It’s a plus matchup, but the Giants are 8.5-point underdogs on the road and starting Geno Smith at quarterback.
Start Seth Roberts, who scored 10 touchdowns over the past two years despite acting as a third WR and should step into a much larger role Sunday with Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper out against a shaky Giants defense now missing Janoris Jenkins…Jared Cook is also primed for a big game.
Eagles vs. Seahawks: Sit Jay Ajayi, who’s now totaled just 20 carries over three games since getting traded to Philadelphia, including bottoming out with only five last week. Seattle remains tough against the run.
Start Russell Wilson, who’s accounted for 25 of Seattle’s 26 touchdowns this season and has been unstoppable at home, where he’s averaged 353.0 yards from scrimmage with 13 scores over five games. The Eagles should be able to put up points, so this could easily turn into a high-scoring affair during a game in which the Seahawks are more than three-point underdogs at home for the first time since 2012.
Steelers vs. Bengals: Sit Ben Roethlisberger, who’s played better than usual on the road this season but still sports a modest 8:5 TD:INT ratio over six games and gets a Cincinnati secondary that’s allowed 6.4 YPA (third lowest in the NFL).
Target A.J. Green in DFS, as the Steelers’ defense has been gashed for big games against No. 1 wide receivers since Joe Haden has been out.
