GameDay Playbook Live Week 13: Fantasy Football Start-Sits, NFL Injury Updates & NFL DFS Top Picks
Published: Dec 03, 2023
Jon Impemba and Andrew Cooper break down NFL Week 13 and answer your fantasy football Start-Sit questions, bring you NFL injury news updates, and take a look at the NFL DFS slate.
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Titans coach Brian Callahan said “I think we can do a better job managing that load so they both play a little more evenly” when asked about Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears.
Even when Spears was healthy last year, Callahan used him as more of a third-down back. Through two years, Spears has played on 253 running plays (blocking 63 times) and 626 passing plays (blocking 119 times) per PFF. Callahan also seems to always preface this with something along the lines of “in a perfect world,” as he did in both this quote and in one we blurbed earlier in May. It’s not completely out of the range of outcomes that Tony Pollard loses major snaps and carries this year — losing a few carries should be the expectation given how many games last year he played as essentially the only back Callahan trusted to run the ball. But we’re not completely sold on the idea of Spears as a 1B just yet. Spears is going to have to show more in camp or Callahan is going to have to actually give him a real snap share as a runner with Pollard active before this becomes more than offseason talk.
ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime believes Christian Kirk “looked like a potential safety blanket” for C.J. Stroud in OTAs and minicamp.
That’s the smell of a PPR scam in development. Kirk, who has been called the “slot demon” by Texans defenders in the early offseason camp, looks like a clear No. 2 behind Nico Collins in the Texans pecking order coming into the season. It remains to be seen if Jayden Higgins or Jaylin Noel can make a real push for targets early in the season, and Kirk’s experience figures to make him at least a big part of the early-season plan for the Texans.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Bengals and Trey Hendrickson have “resumed talks” in recent weeks.
Hendrickson “wants more long-term security” from the Bengals per Fowler, who also notes that Hendrickson is “dug in” and “prepared to miss time.” It’s good news for Bengals fans that the sides are at least talking again, but it sure sounds like the Bengals are going to have to give Hendrickson more than their recent offers have been to get him into training camp.
The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy believes a Jameson Williams trade “could be on the horizon in 2026" if the sides can’t agree on an extension.
This subplot had a brief little surge ahead of the draft that led nowhere, but the Lions did trade up to take Isaac TeSlaa in the third round of the draft. While the team has publicly prioritized extensions for Aidan Hutchinson and Kerby Joseph, GM Brad Holmes has been more muted while talking about Williams. Williams is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract ahead of his fifth-year option. The actions here are speaking loudly to the idea of dealing Williams after getting one more productive year out of him. It should be said, none of this speculation impacts Williams’ fantasy value this season, and coaches have raved about him all offseason in John Morton’s more downfield-focused attack. But the Lions have not appeared to prioritize a Williams extension and this could shape up to be the last dance for him in Detroit.
The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo believes Cordarrelle Patterson “could find himself on the outside looking in” for a roster spot in 2025.
“The Steelers’ backfield is full with rookie Kaleb Johnson and offseason signing Kenneth Gainwell joining Jaylen Warren. It remains to be seen if OC Arthur Smith will lobby for the hybrid RB/WR to remain on the roster as a Swiss Army knife,” DeFabo continues. Patterson only had 32 carries for 135 yards last year, but it would be a little surprising for the Steelers to cut bait with one of the greatest kickoff returners in NFL history. Entering his age-34 season, Patterson will need to keep impressing in camp to retain his spot on the roster.
The Athletic’s Zac Jackson believes that Jerome Ford is “the starter for now” and will “still play and probably start early in the season.”
“How many opportunities — and how soon they come — will probably be decided by how Judkins plays and progresses this summer,” writes Jackson in discerning that rookie back Quinshon Judkins is the player to watch for the Browns in training camp. It shouldn’t surprise anybody given his offseason paycut that Ford is on borrowed time, but this report is at least a little optimistic about him holding some fantasy value in 2025. If Ford can start for a month or so then hang on as the team’s main third-down back, he’ll have some runouts where he’s a worthwhile RB3 this year.