Week 13 is upon us and I'm sure all of you seasonal players are leaning into those win-and-in games, or maybe you're angling for a first round bye. Sadly, there is a third group. Some of us have been eliminated at this point, so we're looking for other ways of participating in this very exciting Sunday slate. I've got a few ideas for you.
Just a quick word on this week's slate as a whole. It's chock full of good options, so be careful with the FOMO (fear of missing out) because it could lead you into temptation and a scenario where you lose focus--making too many lineups and opening yourself up for losses. My advice is to focus on narrowing down your field of options as much as you can before getting deep into your lineup construction.
I'm focusing this week's WEEI recommendations on value.
Looking for seasonal advice instead? It's a huge week for seasonal purposes so you probably are. For my take on every relevant skill player for Week 13 fantasy purposes, check out my lineup rankings at Rotobahn.com. It's completely free. No registration. No signing in. Just follow the link and enjoy. They get updated on Saturday afternoon.
All pricing in this article was sourced from DraftKings.
Nick Foles, Jaguars vs. Bucs, $5,700
The obvious plays at quarterback this week are Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, but in large field tournaments, I like some differentiation. Foles has been running bad lately, but that's part of our opportunity here. Both teams should play relatively fast in this game. Tampa does this most of the time and the Jaguars have been playing faster with Foles as the QB than they did with Gardner Minshew under center. This makes a shootout possible. The conditions are there. And, let's look at the Bucs defensive makeup. As I've been saying all year, the Bucs are what we DFS folks call a "pass funnel", which means they stuff the run and are weak versus the pass. Foles is a nice contrarian play for the bold, and there are a lot of great ways to stack him. You can put one of or both of the Tampa receivers on the other side, and all of Foles' receivers are well-priced and very "stackable."
- D.J. Chark, $6,600
- Dede Westbrook, $5,000
- Chris Conley, 4,500
Chark is the obvious play, but it's worth pointing out that there are a ton of great options at his price point and one of them is on the other side of the field.
- Mike Evans, $6,900
- D.J. Moore, $6,800
- Davante Adams, $7,000
So while playing Chark makes a ton of sense, so does fading him for one of those pivots (or perhaps one of your own) and using either Conley, Westbrook or both in a contrarian stack. If you want to take a little risk this week, this is a smart way to do it. If the game breaks to Conley or Westbrook, you are in great shape. If this stack interests you, listen to tomorrow's show, where Jim and I will break it down even further.
Miles Sanders, Eagles at Dolphins, $5,400
Running back is not an easy position this week, unless you want to pay up in a big way. While I'd love to roster both Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley this week, it's going to cost you a lot in other areas. The guy I really want to "jam in" is McCaffrey, but his $10,500 salary is obviously daunting. Enter Sanders, who has been a big disappointment over the last two weeks in terms of output, but the playing time has most definitely been there. And, while it's easy to blame the player here, we should at least consider the matchups over those two games. He's faced the Patriots, which is obviously tough, and if you go watch that game, Sanders was the guy that New England opted to take out. They were all over him. Then Philadelphia faced a Seattle team that simply cleaned their collective clock. Carson Wentz got beat up and the offense was dysfunctional. Now let's talk about this week's opponent, the Dolphins, who have been as charitable to opposing RBs as just about anybody in the game. According to Evan Silva of ETR, the Dolphins have yielded 171.6 yards per game to opposing running backs. That's a stunning number, and I am looking harder at that than I am at Sanders' immediate past. And, in case any of you are wondering, Jordan Howard (shoulder) has already been ruled out for Week 13.
Tyler Higbee, Rams at Cardinals, $2,500
The hardcore DFS players will be on this, so I wanted my readers to be on it as well. There are reasons to consider fading Higbee, because he may end up being hugely owned, but he is easily the most effective way to save money at the tight end position this week. And, there are very compelling reasons to save, like getting Christian McCaffrey or Lamar Jackson or even both into our lineups. I love Higbee as a full-time option with Gerald Everett out this week. And, you have to like the Cardinals matchup for all the reasons I've given you over the course of this season. Still, there's more. I also like this game on the whole, because the pace of play is likely to be very fast. Both teams are playing fast according to ETR's Pat Thorman, so, for Higbee, we have the playing time, the matchup and game conditions tilted towards fast play. There's a lot to like here, so consider the little-known Higbee when you are looking to pay down this week. And, as I mentioned, if you like any of the other players in this game, the projected pace should be one more reason to get involved!
Lastly, please remember to play within your own comfort level. You can have loads of fun playing DFS without spending more than a few bucks a week, so please play responsibly.
For an even deeper look at this week's slate, check out Rotobahn's Week 13 DFS Podcast, which will be released later today. Additionally, Jimmy Hackett and I will get into some lineup construction and all of our favorite Week 13 plays on the Fantasy Football Hour, live on 93.7 at 8 a.m. on Sundays. Join us!
