Hot Fire Fantasy Football Questions: Week 13
Our “Hot Fire Fantasy Questions” series examines Week 13 following up recent news, fantasy performances, and implications for owners moving forward. Our Hot Fire contributors from our Fantasy Footballers writing staff includes Ryan Weisse (@TheFantasyFive) and Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg). Give them a follow on Twitter along with all of our Footballers accounts to get goodness like this:
So by my count the Cardinals have now fired Mike McCoy and Mike McCarthy! pic.twitter.com/edoFCQA5qa
— Andy Holloway (@andyholloway) December 3, 2018
1. Who disappointed owners the most in Week 13?
The last thing you want to think about the week before the playoffs are “there are so many disappointments to choose from” but that is what Week 13 gave us. Quite a few WRs killed us this week; including Mike Evans, Michael Thomas, and Julio Jones. But the person I would have to say I am most disappointed by Tyreek Hill. While not exactly a pushover, the Raiders defense should have been a solid match-up for Hill and honestly, he Mahomes have created a certain sort of expectations for themselves. The last thing we expected was a 1 reception-13 yard game, his worst performance of the season, in a week where we were fighting for our playoff lives. –Ryan Weisse (@TheFantasyFive)
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense somehow decided to sink even further into oblivion causing Mike McCarthyism to be scared off from Green Bay. Despite attempting 50(!) passes, Rodgers threw for a measly 233 yards at home against a Cardinals team that came in at 2-9 on the season. Aaron Jones saved his fantasy owners with a late TD but only had 1 more snap than Jamaal Williams. Maybe McCarthy wanted to go out in emphatic style but completely blowing a home game where they were 14 point favorites. If you invested in anyone outside of Davante Adams or held patience with Aaron Jones, you likely are majorly disappointed in the Pack. –Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg)
2. Which rookie QB would you rather have ROS: Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen or Baker Mayfield?
Right away, I’m going to eliminate Jackson. As crazy as it sounds, he may not even be the starter again in 2 weeks. So, while his Week 13 was rough, I’m sticking with Baker Mayfield. Even in this “down week” he led the AFC in passing yards and has a great schedule to end the year. The Panthers just got torched by Jameis, the Bengals are in shambles and just got torched by Baker, and Denver has given up 20+ fantasy points to QBs in 7 of their 12 games. Allen is entertaining but hasn’t earned the trust that Baker has going into the fantasy playoffs. –Ryan Weisse (@TheFantasyFive)
Of all these rookies, Allen has shown the highest ceiling with some truly elite fantasy games. On film, he still does lots of things that make you cringe. However, scoring 28 and 32 fantasy points the last two weeks despite only 26 total completions is nuts. He ranks 3rd among QBs with 394 rushing yards despite missing 4 games and not starting or finishing 2 others. As Ryan mentioned, Mayfield’s schedule and the Browns offensive improvement makes him the preferred start from a consistency standpoint. But if you’re shooting for the moon, Allen’s next two matchups (NYJ and DET) at home are enticing. He’s a fun 2QB start. –Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg)
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3. Which RB would you rather have: Phillip Lindsay or Tarik Cohen?
Without question for me, it’s Lindsay. I love what Cohen has done this season but he is never to going to get enough carries to be game-script proof. He has 4 games where he scored 5 or fewer fantasy points this season. Lindsay has cemented himself as “the guy” in Denver and looks like one of the most complete backs in the NFL. He has a floor of 9 fantasy points and a ceiling of best RB in the league in any given week. He has scored 5 TDs in the last 3 games and is playing like someone who will be drafted very early in 2019. –Ryan Weisse (@TheFantasyFive)
Lindsay has been nothing but money since Week 1. If you scooped him off the waiver wire, you got the RB10 for free. Not to be outdone, Cohen is the RB12 on the season so he’s in the same low-end RB1 category. The end of season schedule is what we need to look at. Lindsay gets a cakewalk with SF, CLE, and OAK. However, I still will say Cohen’s weekly ceiling is a bit higher given his elite involvement in the passing game. Cohen has the 5th most RB targets and receptions and 2nd most RB rec yards behind only Christian McCaffrey. He’s a big play waiting to happen everytime he touches the ball. When Mitch Trubisky returns, the entire Bears offense gets an upgrade. –Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg)
4. Give us one stat line to pay attention to.
BEWARE OF COREY DAVIS. Davis scored a late game TD against the Jets that may give you false confidence heading into your first playoff game. For 59 minutes and 30 seconds, Davis was held to 2 catches for 31 yards against a very beatable Jets secondary. In Week 14, Davis faces Jacksonville who, despite their shortcomings as a team, still eat WRs alive. The Jaguars have only allowed 4 WRs to cross the 100-yard mark this season and only 5 WRs have found the end-zone against them. Davis is not a guy you want to rest your dreams of a #FootClanTitle upon. –Ryan Weisse (@TheFantasyFive)
I’ll add in another Titans WR. Taywan Taylor had the 4th most WR yards in Week 13 at 104 yards. However, much of this was fluky in comeback mode for Marcus Mariota. Chalk this up to the Jets giving up a ton of fantasy points to the WR position as well as the 2nd most slot WR points in the league. Don’t go chasing this Titans offense heading into Week 14. –Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg)