Fantasy Thoughts 2016 Week 13

By Chad Stapley
Chad Stapley Matthew Stafford didn’t wow anyone with his stat line this week by throwing for 232 yards and a TD but he did lead his team to a crucial victory over the Vikings.

That lone TD pass went to the never aging Anquan Boldin who caught seven passes for 69 yards and a TD. He seems to come up with a big catch whenever anyone needs him to.

Kirk Cousins is a stud. He has proven to be a top caliber fantasy football QB and this week he threw for 449 yards and three TDs.

How good is Jordan Reed? The athletic TE got injured, came back, and ended the game with 10 catches for 95 yards and two TDs. He has proven to be one of the most dominant TEs in the NFL and should be started on your fantasy football team weekly.

Dak Prescott is having a tremendous rookie season. This week he threw for 195 yards and a TD and he ran for 39 yards with an additional TD. He can beat you with his arm and his legs, at this rate he has proven worthy of being a weekly QB1 on any fantasy football team.

Ezekiel Elliott sure does make things easier for Prescott. The rookie sensation ran the ball 20 times for 97 yards and two TDs to lead his team to victory over Washington.

The Colts looked lost without Andrew Luck.

The Steelers on the other hand looked impressive. Especially Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. Big Ben threw three TD passes and they were all caught by Brown. Both guys are game changers in the NFL and on any fantasy football roster.

The Cardinals need to run the ball more than 14 times or they probably aren’t going to win many games.

When you have a stud at RB like David Johnson why wouldn’t you run the ball more often? In a down week Johnson still had 58 rushing yards to go with his eight catch 103 yard, one TD receiving performance.

Devonta Freeman proved how dangerous he could be this week. Freeman had 77 all-purpose yards and two TDs. He probably would have had another TD but Tevin Coleman finally came back from injury and continued his goal line duties. Coleman is a nice FLEX option through the playoff stretch of the fantasy football season.

Taylor Gabriel continues to get better each week and Matt Ryan is quickly getting more comfortable with throwing him the ball. Gabriel caught four passes for 75 yards and two TDs. He could be a sneaky good FLEX option or WR3 in larger fantasy leagues.

Blake Bortles needs some help on offense. In another narrow defeat Bortles threw for two TDs and he led all Jaguar rushers with 81 rushing yards. The Jaguars are far too young and talented for Bortles to have to do it all.

LeSean McCoy is quietly putting together quite a productive yet injury ridden season. McCoy ran for 103 yards with two TDs and he caught two passes for 31 yards. If the Bills are going to have any chance of making the playoffs it is going to be by riding McCoy and fantasy owners that are lucky enough to have McCoy should start him each week.

Marcus Mariota had another impressive outing throwing for 226 yards and two TDs while running for another 46 yards. He has proven weekly that he is a sure shot fantasy football starter in any league.

Rishard Matthews had another nice game caught three passes for 64 yards and a TD. He now has seven TDs on the season and the Titans offense looks like it is getting better each game.

Matt Barkley didn’t look awful running the Chicago offense. He ended up with 316 passing yards with three TDs and two INTs. He would have had potentially two more TDs had it not been for his WRs dropping passes.

Jordan Howard should be started each week as he has taken over the RB1 duties for Chicago and performed admirably. This week he ran for 84 yards and caught three passes for 43 yards.

Eli Manning had a pretty nice showing against the winless Browns by throwing for three TD passes. Manning is still more of a second tier fantasy football QB but he can light up bad defenses in a heartbeat.

Odell Beckham Jr. proved how dangerous he is this week by catching six passes for 96 yards and two TDs. He is easily a top 5 WR in the NFL and he is nearly impossible to defend man on man.

The evolution of Terrelle Pryor Sr. as a WR is one bright spot the Browns can look forward to. Pryor caught six passes for 131 yards against the Giants. He continues to get better each week and has proven to be worthy of starting at the FLEX position on your fantasy football team.

The Chargers are going to go out with a fight, especially with Phillip Rivers playing like he has been lately. Rivers threw for 242 yards and three TDs in a win over the Texans.

Tyrell Williams is having an impressive rookie season for the Chargers. This week he caught eight passes for 70 yards and a TD. He is worth a look at the FLEX position or WR3 if your league plays three WRs.

Colin Kaepernick proved he is still a pretty good QB and he is looking more and more like the right fit for the Chip Kelley offense. This week he threw for 296 yards and three TDs while also running for 113 yards. When the 49ers get some better WRs and a few offensive lineman this could be a dangerous team.

Ryan Tannehill continues to get better each week. This week he led the Dolphins to another victory by throwing for 285 yards and three TDs. Tannehill is still a second tier fantasy QB but he offers some significant upside as the season goes on.

Drew Brees made it look easy this week against the Rams by throwing for 310 yards and four TDs. He now has 30 TD passes on the season and he still has five games to play.

Michael Thomas continues to be the best rookie WR in his class. This week he caught nine passes for 108 yards and two TDs. He is absolutely starter worthy weekly for any fantasy football league.

Tom Brady is an absolute monster. He threw for 286 yards and two TDs this week to give him 18 TDs to just one INT this season.

Tyreek Hill is a playmaker. He scored a rushing TD, receiving TD, and return TD this week. He has the chance to score anytime the ball is in his hands and Kansas City seems to be trying to get him the ball as often as possible. He should be a starter at the FLEX position each week.