10-Team Leagues
Baker Mayfield (QB – Cleveland Browns; FAAB Bad: 25%) – Hopefully you aren’t too desperate for a QB after Monday’s events, but Baker Mayfield has been playing phenomenal since the departure of Hue Jackson. Over his last three games Mayfield has thrown nine touchdowns and just one interception. The schedule gets a little difficult going forward against Houston, Carolina, and Denver, but Cleveland’s rookie quarterback has been exceeding expectations as of late and can be played in shallower leagues if you’re in need of a quarterback.
Josh Adams (RB – Philadelphia Eagles; FAAB Bid: 60-70%) – It’s rare to have the opportunity to get the a lead running back from any particular team this late in the season, but when the chance presents itself to you, one must pay up. Reports started swirling around the internet and Twitterverse prior to Sunday’s divisional game against the Giants that the Eagles would feature Adams more and more. That was certainly true as he played 62% of the offensive snaps while Corey Clement played 37%. Adams also had 22 carries for 84 yards and a score while having a 52-yard touchdown called back due to offensive holding as you may have seen on Howard Bender’s timeline. Even if he is getting 15 carries per game rest of season he’s still worthy of being started as your RB2.
Austin Ekeler (RB – Los Angeles Chargers; FAAB Bid: 50%) – It’s entirely feasible that Ekeler may not be around in this shallow of a league. He’s owned in about 54.6% of ESPN leagues and he’s the obvious handcuff to Melvin Gordon . But his ownership had been waning in recent weeks as fantasy owners likely wanted to jump on Josh Adams , Marlon Mack , Tre’Quan Smith, etc. Heading into Week 12 it seemed doubtful that Gordon would even play on Sunday, but he convinced the coaching staff to let get in the game. He would go on to sprain his MCL and now he’s week-to-week. This now makes Ekeler a very intriguing flex option going forward. Ekeler totaled 57 rushing yards on seven carries and 68 receiving yards on ten catches. He’ll likely go into a 60/40 split with Justin Jackson , but Ekeler could have immense value in PPR formats as the fantasy playoffs begin.
Theo Riddick (RB – Detroit Lions; FAAB Bid: 25%) – Riddick isn’t as appealing in standard formats as he is in PPR leagues. He has four straight games with at least five receptions so he’s worth stashing for depth in PPR formats, but he’s not quite worth starting just yet. He hasn’t scored a touchdown either on the ground or in the passing game in 2018, but that could change next week against the Rams if the Lions are chasing points late in the game.
Josh Reynolds (WR – Los Angeles Rams; FAAB Bid: 18%) – With the Rams coming off their bye week Reynolds should be picked up with the hope that they keep him involved since Cooper Kupp is done for the season. In his last game he had six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. Reynolds and the Rams face off against the Lions next week. Coming into Week 12 the Lions secondary had given up multiple touchdowns to opposing wide receivers in five of their previous six games. The Rams have the kind of offense that could easily carve up the Detroit secondary so Reynolds has some flex appeal this week.
D/ST to Stream – The Broncos draw the Bengals on the road next week. Cincinnati is in rough shape with A.J. Green still fighting his injury, but the Bengals will be without Andy Dalton for the rest of the season after he was placed on IR Monday. Denver’s D/ST has a pretty decent floor and this stands to be a phenomenal matchup for them with the Bengals offense in shambles.
12-Team Leagues
Lamar Jackson (QB – Baltimore Ravens; FAAB Bid: 22%) – So Jackson proved that his first career start was no fluke by racking up rushing yards (and a score) in his second career start. Sure, he now has three interceptions over his last two games, but with the IR trip for Andy Dalton and Blake Bortles getting benched perhaps you’re in need of a new quarterback. Jackson has Top 12 quarterback potential over the next four weeks with phenomenal matchups: at Atlanta, at Kansas City, vs. Tampa Bay, at Los Angeles (Chargers). Now starting a rookie quarterback on the road is a gamble especially since he’s had two cupcake matchups at home. But Jackson is setting a solid floor for himself with his ability to run so he has Top 12 quarterback potential rest of season.
Nyheim Hines (RB – Indianapolis Colts; FAAB Bid: 20-30%) – Hines is more than likely available in 10-team leagues and there’s the possibility he’s available in 12-team leagues as well. With the emergence of Marlon Mack there was little reason to hang on to Hines, save for PPR formats. Fortunately for Hines, Mack suffered a concussion in Week 12 and he’s now questionable for a tough Week 13 matchup against the Jaguars. Hines has legitimate PPR upside if Mack is forced to miss this week’s game so if you pick him up you should give him some Flex consideration.
Rex Burkhead (RB – New England Patriots; FAAB Bid: 12-15%) – There is obviously hesitancy with this suggestion. He was mentioned a week or two ago as a waiver wire addition, but now he should probably be picked up in deeper leagues because he was activated off IR on Monday. Currently with Sony Michel running the ball effectively and James White utilized in the passing game, Burkhead might struggle to get reacquainted with the offense. But Michel has been hobbled a bit with a knee injury, but he’s playing through it. Burkhead’s a mere stash at this point, but he has massive upside if White or Michel go down with injury.
Adam Humphries (WR – Tampa Bay Buccaneers; FAAB Bid: 15-18%) – Humphries should be picked up and probably more owned than teammate Chris Godwin at this point. Over his last four games Humphries has 19 catches for 249 yards, but he does have four touchdowns over that span. He has 41 targets over his last six games and looks to be fairly involved in the offense. He gets a pretty good matchup next week against the Carolina Panthers. You can consider him to be an okay flex play.
Jonnu Smith (TE – Tennessee Titans; FAAB Bid: 10-12%) – Since coming off Tennessee’s bye week, Smith has scored double-digit fantasy points in four straight games. He has a tough matchup on a short week of prep this coming Sunday against the Jets. They’ve given up just four touchdowns to opposing tight ends all season, but Smith has been rolling lately and has been a touchdown machine. If Mariota can avoid getting hurt then Smith is in play to score each week.
D/ST to Stream – The Green Bay Packers host the Cardinals in Lambeau Field next week, which means Josh Rosen is going to have to play a football game in Wisconsin in December and it could be cold and rainy this Sunday. Rosen has 11 turnovers in his last five games and he has just one game this season with over 250 passing yards. He’s still a rookie and could improve next year, but for now this is certainly a matchup you want to target. Expect Green Bay to be quite popular this week. If the Packers are unavailable in your 10-team or 12-team league then consider the Bills D/ST who face off against the Dolphins in Miami. Ryan Tannehill could be in line for a few turnovers.
Deeper League Options
Colt McCoy (QB – Washington Redskins; FAAB Bid: 12%) – If you’re in need of a quarterback who can help you get 15-18 points then McCoy could be a deep league play for you this weekend. He did throw three picks on Thanksgiving against Dallas, but he finished with a pair of touchdowns and over 250 passing yards while also being pretty active as a runner. He gets a very good divisional matchup this weekend against the Eagles who are dealing with a pretty banged up secondary. Eli Manning couldn’t quite take advantage of the good matchup against the Eagles, but at least he came close to throwing for 300 yards last week.
Justin Jackson (RB – Los Angeles Chargers; FAAB Bid: 15-20%) – Kudos to Adam Schefter for predicting Jackson as being an under-the-radar player on Sunday. Jackson’s upside came at the expense of a crucial injury to Melvin Gordon so in the short-term Jackson possesses some upside. Jackson only touched the ball seven times on Sunday, but he did collect 57 rushing yards in the Chargers blowout win over Arizona. It is worth mentioning the work came in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand, but he still looked pretty solid. He’s still behind Ekeler on the depth chart, but if he can somehow get 8-10 touches over the next couple weeks then he may be worth flexing in deeper leagues.
Josh Doctson /Trey Quinn (WR – Washington Redskins; FAAB Bid: 10-13%) – You know how I feel about wide receiver depth and that you shouldn’t have to pay up too much for it in deeper leagues. But with Colt McCoy now under center for Washington, these two have reaped the benefits so far under McCoy’s watch. Doctson has 15 targets from McCoy over his last two games and on Thanksgiving he finished with six catches for 66 yards. Trey Quinn has nine catches for 75 yards and a touchdown over his last two games and the rookie wideout has some nice upside after being activated off IR prior to Week 11. Both Washington pass catchers can be used for depth in deeper leagues.
Chris Herndon (TE – New York Jets; FAAB Bid: 12%) – Herndon has cooled off a bit from his three-game stretch a few weeks back where he scored a touchdown in each contest. However, he’s still maintained some appeal in PPR leagues. This past Sunday against New England he caught seven of his eight targets for 57 yards. He’s still young, but the rookie has been reliable in 12-team leagues and deeper formats. He has a tough matchup in Week 13 against Tennessee who, coming into Monday night’s contest against Houston, had not given up a touchdown to opposing tight ends.