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Fantasy Football Week 13: Rounding Up Top 50 Player Rankings

Fantasy Football
December 1, 2015

Sure things don’t exist in fantasy football. As a pivotal Week 13 approaches, most managers have learned this lesson repeatedly this season.

DeAndre Hopkins, a pass-catching monster facing one of the worst passing defenses ever, produced 36 yards against the New Orleans Saints during Week 12. Kicker Dustin Hopkins offered more fantasy points. 

An elite player given an elite matchup made the Houston Texans player Week 12’s top flex play, but tight end Ryan Griffin stole his glory with his first touchdown of the season. Drew Brees, Todd Gurley, Lamar Miller and Demaryius Thomas round out an All-Star team of colossal duds.

With the playoffs right around the corner, owners must regroup and trust their studs to rebound. At the very least, they’ll hope days of matchup research pay off instead of losing to Marcus Wheaton and Graham Gano. Let’s not waste any time firing up Week 13’s top-50 flex rankings for standard and point-per-reception (PPR) scoring. 

 

Sometimes fantasy football simply makes no sense. It didn’t take any deep-diving to identify DeAngelo Williams as a terrific Week 10 play against the Cleveland Browns, who then ranked last in rushing defense. But a week after gaining 225 yards, the Pittsburgh Steelers running back stumbled for 58 yards against a vulnerable adversary.

When pitted against the Seattle Seahawks, who have surrendered the second-fewest fantasy points to the position behind Pittsburgh, he went wild. Uninterested in challenging a defense yielding 3.8 yards per run, the Steelers instead aired it out 59 times while affording Williams eight carries. It still didn’t hinder his afternoon.

The 32-year-old back instead factored heavily into the aerial assault, corralling all seven of his targets for 88 yards while adding a six-yard rushing score. As noted by NFL.com’s Matt Harmon, playing for the league’s No. 4 offense has certainly boosted Williams’ fantasy appeal:

In five games without Le’Veon Bell, Williams has registered 635 total yards and six touchdowns. This weekend, he’ll get another chance to make good on a golden matchup. The Indianapolis Colts rank No. 24 in rushing defense and allow 4.2 yards per run. 

While the Cleveland dud dampened his top-tier status, no player is immune to off days. Trust him as an upper-echelon option this week.

Dez Bryant hardly had any time to reconnect with Tony Romo. In just his second game back from a seven-game absence, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback again injured his collarbone, this time requiring season-ending surgery

Now the top wideout again must settle for Matt Cassel. Aside from a touchdown grab on a jump ball in heavy traffic against the Philadelphia Eagles, the pairing hasn’t made much magic through three games together:

In true Jerry Jones fashion, the Cowboys owner said a bunch of things that made no sense. Although the team is 3-8 and without its starting quarterback, he insisted to the Dallas Morning News‘ Jon Machota that Bryant will benefit by playing out the season through pain:

You can have the greatest talent in the world, but if you don’t practice it and hone it, then it’s not going to be at the level that it can be. Make no mistake about it, the [Jason] Wittens or any of these guys that are really, really talented, very few of them can walk out there, if any, and play at the level they’re capable of. That’s what’s happening to Dez. He just missed a lot of time here this year and he’s not at his complete apex of his A-game.

Perhaps Jones drafted Bryant on his fantasy team. If that’s the case, he’ll join a crowded group of disappointed managers who hoped the star receiver would heat up in time for the fantasy playoffs. 

Washington would present a mouthwatering matchup if Romo and Bryant were fully healthy. The improbable NFC East leaders have allowed 7.7 yards per pass attempt and the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing wideouts. As Bryant proved against the Eagles, he has the skills to make his own good fortune, especially in the right matchup.

Because of his talent and years of elite production, he’ll remain in starting lineups for anyone not playing in a four-team league. Yet Cassel drains Bryant’s upside and lowers his floor, downgrading him to a low-end No. 2 wideout.  

Then again, losing a starting quarterback doesn’t always have to be a death sentence. Ask the Indianapolis Colts, who continue to win behind 40-year-old reserve Matt Hasselbeck. Along with beating the Atlanta Falcons, the veteran passer helped out T.Y. Hilton owners waiting for another big outing.

Following his 150-yard, two-touchdown outburst a month ago against New Orleans, Hilton accrued eight catches and 118 yards through the next three games. Just as antsy managers started to search for alternatives, he burned Atlanta for 95 yards and two scores on a dozen targets.

In four Hasselbeck starts, the 26-year-old receiver has recorded 271 receiving yards. Inconsistency has always plagued him regardless the starter, but two of his slowest games with Andrew Luck came against Darrelle Revis and Josh Norman.

For this weekend, at least, Hilton works his way back into prominent territory. Only the Saints and New York Giants have submitted more passing yards to Pittsburgh, who has coughed up an NFL-high 169 receptions to wideouts. Against a typically tame Seattle Seahawks passing game, the Steelers surrendered five touchdowns through the air, including three to No. 1 receiver Doug Baldwin.

As long as Hasselbeck keeps holding his own in the pocket, Hilton (and Donte Moncrief) are alluring plays against a struggling Steelers secondary.

 

Fantasy scoring information obtained from NFL.com.

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