The Fantasy Footballers’ Starts of the Week for Week 13

The Fantasy Footballers brought their Week 13 to Thursday’s show. Andy, Mike, and Jason gave their picks and discussed why they selected those players. Below is a summary of who was chosen by each of the guys. If you haven’t listened to the podcast yet, you can find it here.  Also, give JoinTheFoot.com a visit as it provides a ton of additional resources exclusively for #FootClan members.  

Andy’s Starts

QB: Tom Brady @ ATL
Mike stated he would play Brady over his selection of Derek Carr, something he made clear at the beginning of Andy’s choice. Brady was Andy’s selection, despite not being one of the most surprising starts of the week. The three times Brady has taken on the Falcons, whom he faces this weekend, he averaged 355 passing yards and 3.7 passing touchdowns a game. This game has the highest implied point total for the week, making a Brady start a no-brainer.

RB: Alexander Mattison @ CHI
Detroit isn’t ready. This season, Mattison has been a top-10 running back in his two starts, filling in for an injured Dalvin Cook. In those two games, Mattison had 34 opportunities and 32 opportunities. Quarterback Kirk Cousins could cook in this game, but Mattison should see 20+ opportunities against a vulnerable Lions run defense. Cousins should check the ball down to Mattison, as the Minnesota quarterback has eight and seven times over the last two games.

WR: Chris Godwin @ ATL
Lately, Godwin has been a disappointment, putting up two single-digit games over the last three games. This week, Godwin faces the Falcons, a team allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. He has scored a touchdown in six straight games against Atlanta, dating back to 2018. Godwin averages 98 receptions, 1.5 touchdowns, and 21 fantasy points per game versus the Falcons.

TE: Pat Freiermuth vs. BAL
The number one rookie tight end in fantasy football is Andy’s start at tight end this week. Freiermuth faces Baltimore this week in a matchup that favors the TE. The Steelers know that the Falcons are terrible against the tight end, so they’ll look to take advantage of the defense this weekend. Freiermuth is a much-needed player for this offense, and with Eric Ebron out on Sunday, Freiermuth should see even more work. 

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Jason’s Starts

QB: Kirk Cousins @ CHI
Dalvin Cook being out over the last few games has helped Cousins’ fantasy production. Alexander Mattison, filling in for Cook, should see plenty of attempts, but Cousins will still be a great QB1 this week. Cousins has been excellent against the Lions, averaging 324 passing yards and 2.8 touchdowns per game when playing at Ford Field. Andy Dalton was a QB1 last week when facing Detroit, which tells you everything you need to know.

RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire vs. DEN
Before the bye week, Edwards-Helaire had 14 opportunities and scored via the ground against the Cowboys. He ended that week as RB11. Edwards-Helaire was eased back into the offense after injury but could see around 18 opportunities against Denver. The Broncos allow the fourth-highest rush success rate and the eighth-highest expected points per rush attempt in the league. This matchup is one where Kansas City is heavily favored, and Jason has CEH as RB15 in Week 13. CEH is a solid play this week.

WR: Chase Claypool vs. BAL
Jason loves starting Claypool this week, stating he thinks this is the week he blows up. He does not want Claypool blowing up on his bench. This season, the Steelers’ WR has eight endzone targets, only tallying one receiving touchdown. Claypool is on the field for 100% of the offensive snaps, seeing nine targets for 93 yards and eight targets for 82 yards in his last two games. The Ravens have allowed 51 plays of 20+ yards this season, the most in the league. Baltimore additionally gives up the most passing yards per game.

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TE: Dallas Goedert @ NYJ
Jason selected the Eagles’ TE as his start for Week 13. He pointed out that Goedert has been inconsistent and not all that great as of late, but he should turn that around this Sunday. In the last two weeks, Goedert has seen 97-percent and 95-percent of the Philadephia offensive snaps. This week, Goedert faces the New York Jets in a great matchup. The Jets give up the second-most expected points per pass attempt and the second-most yards per play in the NFL. Goedert looks to have an excellent game for fantasy purposes on Sunday.

Mike’s Picks

QB: Derek Carr vs. WAS
Bye week insanity is in full effect this week, and there is not as much available as you would like. Carr makes for a great start this week, though, as he faces Washington. Since Week 2 of the season, Washington has only two games where they have not given up top-12 quarterback production. Carr was excellent versus the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson is becoming a significant threat in the Raiders’ offense, helping boost Carr’s numbers. Carr has six top-12 performances on the season, as many as Aaron Rodgers and Josh Allen.

RB: Myles Gaskin vs. NYG
Is the Gasman heating up? In back-to-back games, Gaskin has been RB9. This weekend, Gaskin faces the Giants, a team that has allowed top-12 production to the RB position for four straight weeks as well as eight of 11 contests. NYG allows the second-highest yards before contact, something Gaskin could benefit from immensely. Gaskin has the second-worst yards per touch in the NFL this season but has recently found his way. The Miami running back is a goal-line guy, and there should be opportunities here for Gaskin to punch it in. Mike points out that if you have Gaskin in dynasty, now is the time to bail out as Miami will bail on him next season.

WR: DeVonta Smith @ NYJ
Mike thinks this will be a bounce-back performance for Smith. The New York Jets are giving up top-12 production to the wide receiver position in every game except for the blip versus Houston. Jalen Hurts will be better at quarterback this week. Hurts probably learned that throwing to Jalen Reagor does not need to happen to succeed. Throw to a hungry Smith, and the Eagles will have success.  

TE: Logan Thomas @ LV
This week, Thomas gets a juicy matchup, taking on the Raiders, who give up the second-most points per game to the tight end position. The Washington tight end came off of IR and played 81-percent of the offensive snaps right away. He also almost had a score towards the end of the game. Thomas is a needed player for the Washington offense, and he should continue to impress for the second half of the season. He was a player you could have probably gotten off the waiver wire, and he might still be there to pick up and start.