| |
|
| Sunday, December 13, 2020 |
| If you're feeling stressed, you're not alone. The Sunday morning before the playoffs begin always give me a little anxiety, and if it makes you feel better, I've got six playoff matchups to stress out about today -- and yes, that is a humble brag. Please clap. |
| One nice thing about this week is there aren't that many injury situations we're waiting on to be settled. Most of the biggest names on the injury report are active, and the ones who aren't -- Julio Jones, Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, Brandin Cooks chief among them -- have already been settled. For the most part, we know who is in and who is out for Week 14, and that included one surprise name Sunday morning: Leonard Fournette is a healthy scratch for the Buccaneers. Bruce Arians talked about needing to give Ronald Jones more work during the bye week, and he's backing that up with actions. Sure, Jones could run the wrong route or wear the wrong gloves and wind up in Arians dog house again, but this the closest we're ever going to get to Arians lighting up a big neon sign that says, "START RONALD JONES." Jones is an RB1 for the Fantasy playoffs. |
| If you have any other lineup questions, make sure you keep up with everything the Fantasy Football Today team is doing Sunday morning. In today's newsletter, I've got the latest on all of the injuries and replacements you need to know about for Week 14 and our expert consensus rankings for each position to help you make those lineup calls. Then you need to tune in to Fantasy Football Today live on CBS Sports HQ until kickoff for the latest news and analysis for today. We're also answering your questions on our Twitch stream starting at noon and going until kickoff — and you can always drop your questions on Twitter using the hashtag "#AskFFT" because the whole team is answering questions this morning. |
| More Week 14: Start 'Em & Hit 'Em | PPR Cheat Sheet | Non-PPR Cheat Sheet | Starts & Sits, Sleepers & Bustss | Game Previews | Matchup Notes | QB Preview | RB Preview | WR Preview | TE Preview | Week 13 Winners | Losers | Believe It Or Not |
| |
| Week 14 Injury Updates |
| |
| Here are the key injury situations we're watching out for Sunday, along with some potential fill-in options if you need help: |
| Quarterback |
| In: Matthew Stafford (thumb), Daniel Jones (hamstring), Brandon Allen (chest) |
| Well, that's easy enough. Moving on. |
| Running back |
| In: Kenyan Drake (hip), Ezekiel Elliott (calf), James Conner (COVID-19), D'Andre Swift (illness), Frank Gore (concussion), DeAndre Washington (hamstring) Expected to be in: Josh Jacobs (ankle), Justin Jackson (knee) Out: Christian McCaffrey (thigh), Myles Gaskin (COVID-19), David Johnson (COVID-19), Antonio Gibson (toe), Travis Homer (wrist/thumb/knee), Alexander Mattison (appendix) |
| Most of the big names on the injury report are active or expected to be, but obviously the absences of McCaffrey, Gaskin, and Johnson will be felt. Mike Davis is a solid RB2, while Duke Johnson and DeAndre Washington are more like flex plays. I would lean toward starting Johnson if I had to choose, given the absence of so many pass-catching options in the Texans offense. |
| The key thing I want to see this week is Swift's usage. He made the leap into the starting lineup and seemingly to must-start status for Fantasy with 147 total yards and a touchdown in Week 10, but we haven't seen him since. He's been dealing with pretty bad headaches over the last few weeks, apparently, and it's not clear how much the concussion he was diagnosed with played a part in that -- in fact, the Lions don't seem to be totally sure he actually suffered a concussion. It feels like there's some real risk of a setback in-game here, but there's also huge potential with a good matchup against the Packers. I'm starting him. |
| Potential fill-ins: Frank Gore (39%) vs. SEA, Brian Hill (25%) @LAC, Ito Smith (5%) @LAC, DeAndre Washington (17%) |
| |
| Wide receiver |
| In: DeAndre Hopkins (neck/back), Tee Higgins (hamstring), Keke Coutee (knee), Larry Fitzgerald (COVID-19) Questionable: Jamison Crowder (calf) Out: Brandin Cooks (foot/neck), Julio Jones (hamstring), D.J. Moore (COVID-19/ankle), Kenny Golladay (hip), Equanimeous St. Brown (concussion), Denzel Mims (personal) |
| Cooks is probably the only real surprise here, and it's a potentially big blow. Deshaun Watson is playing without his top two receivers with Will Fuller also suspended for the season, and it's fair to wonder if he'll be adversely affected by the ongoing talent drain. On the other hand, he made Keke Coutee and Chad Hansen look like stars last week. Coutee is a worthwhile No. 2 WR for Fantasy, while Hansen is a deep flex play -- and a solid DFS sleeper. |
| The toughest situation to figure out here is Crowder's. He missed practice Friday after suffering the injury Thursday, but we haven't heard much about his chances to play. With a late start Sunday, lean toward sitting him unless you've got a good alternative you can pivot to when the inactives for 4 p.m. games come out; Breshad Perriman would be a good option if you have him, while Braxton Berrios is an intriguing deep-league option -- he has 22 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns in the four games where he has played at least 70% of the snaps. He can fill the Crowder role well enough. |
| Potential fill-ins: Tim Patrick (69%) @CAR, Sterling Shepard (58%) vs. ARI, Russell Gage (22%) @LAC, Collin Johnson (6%) vs. TEN |
| Tight end |
In: Mark Andrews (Reserve/COVID-19), Jonnu Smith (knee), Irv Smith (back), Ian Thomas (knee)
Out: Kyle Rudolph (foot), Jace Sternberger (concussion) Questionable: Austin Hooper (neck), Tyler Eifert (shoulder) |
| Andrews belongs back in your lineup for Monday's game against the Browns, and hopefully he'll be able to avoid any complications from his bout with COVID-19 and can finish the season strong. He was coming on strong before the illness, with 157 yards on 12 catches with a touchdown in his last two games. |
| Beyond Andrews, Jonnu and Irv Smith are both just low-end options you're hoping to get a touchdown from. Jonnu is the much better play of the two given the matchup against the Jaguars, but he hasn't had more than 40 yards in a game since Week 3, so he's no sure thing. |
| It probably isn't worth the risk of seeing whether Hooper will play Monday, because if he doesn't, you're likely stuck choosing between Harrison Bryant and David Njoku, and neither is a sure thing. If you do have to choose between them, Bryant seems like the safer bet, as he played more snaps and had better stats in the two games Hooper missed following his appendectomy. He had 81 yards on seven catches with a touchdown in those two games, so he's just a touchdown-or-bust guy. |
| |
Expert Consensus Rankings
|
| As of 12 p.m. EST from Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, and Heath Cummings: |
| QB Rankings |
| Patrick Mahomes Aaron Rodgers Russell Wilson Josh Allen Tom Brady Ryan Tannehill Lamar Jackson Justin Herbert Deshaun Watson Kyler Murray Taysom Hill Ben Roethlisberger Matthew Stafford Derek Carr Kirk Cousins Philip Rivers Matt Ryan Mitchell Trubisky Tua Tagovailoa Jared Goff Baker Mayfield Teddy Bridgewater Nick Mullens Cam Newton |
| RB Rankings |
| Derrick Henry Dalvin Cook James Robinson Austin Ekeler Aaron Jones Nick Chubb Alvin Kamara Chris Carson David Montgomery Mike Davis Jonathan Taylor Ezekiel Elliott Ronald Jones D'Andre Swift J.D. McKissic Wayne Gallman James Conner Kenyan Drake Clyde Edwards-Helaire Josh Jacobs Giovani Bernard Melvin Gordon Raheem Mostert Cam Akers J.K. Dobbins Nyheim Hines Kareem Hunt Miles Sanders DeAndre Washington Duke Johnson Chase Edmonds Devin Singletary Damien Harris Todd Gurley Frank Gore Jamaal Williams Latavius Murray Jeff Wilson Peyton Barber Adrian Peterson James White Phillip Lindsay Zack Moss Darrell Henderson Tony Pollard Ty Johnson Gus Edwards |
| WR Rankings |
| Davante Adams Tyreek Hill Stefon Diggs DK Metcalf Keenan Allen Allen Robinson A.J. Brown Calvin Ridley Mike Evans Michael Thomas DeAndre Hopkins Justin Jefferson Diontae Johnson Adam Thielen Amari Cooper Tyler Lockett Corey Davis Chris Godwin Terry McLaurin Robert Woods Robby Anderson Cooper Kupp Marvin Jones Jarvis Landry Brandon Aiyuk Cole Beasley Deebo Samuel Keke Coutee JuJu Smith-Schuster DeVante Parker Curtis Samuel T.Y. Hilton Tim Patrick CeeDee Lamb Jamison Crowder Chase Claypool D.J. Chark Tyler Boyd Antonio Brown Sterling Shepard Allen Lazard Marquise Brown Tee Higgins Nelson Agholor Michael Pittman Breshad Perriman Chad Hansen Rashard Higgins |
| TE Rankings |
| Travis Kelce Darren Waller T.J. Hockenson Mark Andrews Dallas Goedert Evan Engram Rob Gronkowski Mike Gesicki Robert Tonyan Eric Ebron Hayden Hurst Hunter Henry Logan Thomas Noah Fant Dalton Schultz Jonnu Smith Tyler Eifert Jordan Akins Cole Kmet Jordan Reed Austin Hooper Will Dissly Zach Ertz Jared Cook |
| K Rankings |
| Harrison Butker Younghoe Koo Wil Lutz Justin Tucker Rodrigo Blankenship Jason Myers Jason Sanders Mason Crosby Ka'imi Fairbairn Robbie Gould Matt Prater Greg Zuerlein Tyler Bass Ryan Succop Daniel Carlson Nick Folk Joey Slye Mike Badgley Dan Bailey Brandon McManus Dustin Hopkins Graham Gano Chris Boswell Cody Parkey |
| DST Rankings |
| Saints Seahawks Rams Ravens Football Team Packers 49ers Buccaneers Steelers Colts Chiefs Giants Patriots Cardinals Titans Cowboys Panthers Bears Texans Broncos Bills Chargers Vikings Dolphins |
| |
| |
| |
| |
