Some of you are in must-win situations tomorrow. And if you've been winning with Chiefs and Rams players, you're now (possibly) confronting the reality of starting a much-lesser-tier talent and hoping he can give you something -- anything. If any of this sounds familiar, here are about a dozen highly undervalued players to target this weekend.
At QB, Josh McCown was fantasy's worst starting QB Week 10 in his first start since last year's semi-miraculous campaign. Coming off the Jets' bye, he'll now get a more favorable opponent in the Patriots, while favorite receiver Robby Anderson is expected to return, albeit possibly in a limited role. In the belief New England will hang 30+ on the Jets, I think McCown (consensus 27th ranked Week 12 QB) collects 220+ yards and at least two scores. I'm also going out on a limb with Carson Wentz (7th), who I'm putting in the "must-start" realm in a rebound performance for the ages. Forget about last week's debacle. Wentz will go off against the Giants, single-handedly handing fantasy managers a W.
On the flip side, Aaron Rodgers (8th) will fall just short of expectations in Minnesota, while Baker Mayfield (15th) is coming off a solid four-week stretch where he's faced the mostly pass-defense-deficient collection of Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Atlanta. Cincinnati isn't that much better, but I like the home Bengals stepping up in an absolute must-win contest.
At RB, Josh Adams (34th) is too undervalued given his backfield role. While I'm still not buying him as an RB2, he's a solid streamer this week against the beatable Giants. I also like the high-usage Lamar Miller (25th) given his TD potential in a game Houston should somewhat comfortably win. On the flip side, David Johnson (7th) is pretty risky in a game Arizona will be trailing throughout, while Matt Breida (10th) is ranked way too high based on what he did last week against the Giants. In reality, when healthy he's been no better than an RB3 most weeks, and he shouldn't be counted on as a top-16 option this week.
At WR, Curtis Samuel (60th) is worth a flyer even if Torrey Smith returns. Kendrick Bourne (75th) has a fantastic matchup and has shown well in recent weeks. Demaryius Thomas (44th) won't be shut out in back-to-back contests; the game plan surely will call for at least 6-8 looks to Houston's key midseason acquisition. And Chris Godwin (38th) has a beautiful matchup, along with enough talent, to break out. On the flip side, Julian Edelman (12th) has been terrific since returning from his early-season suspension. That said, the Patriots are expected to be fully healthy (or at least, healthier than they've been in a while) on Sunday; Edelman is not a recommended back-end WR1, and he's not even on my top-16 radar.
At TE, Chris Herndon (17th) is earning just enough volume and/or TD opportunities to be a fantastic flyer if you don't have a TE1. And strangely (but not really), Eric Ebron's gone from Week 11's 3rd-ranked TE to Week 12's 13th-ranked TE. What changed? Ebron posted a bagel last week. So suddenly he's not a TE1. Makes sense if you chase points. Makes zero sense to me. Ebron leads all TEs in fantasy points inside the red zone: 64.7 points on eight receptions (seven of which found the end zone). He's one of the league's most dangerous options inside the 20, and that makes him a must-start option if you don't have a top-6 guy handy. On the flip side, why are experts continually overvaluing Jared Cook (9th)? If he doesn't score, he'll fall short of expectations. And he's not scoring this week in Baltimore.
At QB, Josh McCown was fantasy's worst starting QB Week 10 in his first start since last year's semi-miraculous campaign. Coming off the Jets' bye, he'll now get a more favorable opponent in the Patriots, while favorite receiver Robby Anderson is expected to return, albeit possibly in a limited role. In the belief New England will hang 30+ on the Jets, I think McCown (consensus 27th ranked Week 12 QB) collects 220+ yards and at least two scores. I'm also going out on a limb with Carson Wentz (7th), who I'm putting in the "must-start" realm in a rebound performance for the ages. Forget about last week's debacle. Wentz will go off against the Giants, single-handedly handing fantasy managers a W.
On the flip side, Aaron Rodgers (8th) will fall just short of expectations in Minnesota, while Baker Mayfield (15th) is coming off a solid four-week stretch where he's faced the mostly pass-defense-deficient collection of Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Atlanta. Cincinnati isn't that much better, but I like the home Bengals stepping up in an absolute must-win contest.
At RB, Josh Adams (34th) is too undervalued given his backfield role. While I'm still not buying him as an RB2, he's a solid streamer this week against the beatable Giants. I also like the high-usage Lamar Miller (25th) given his TD potential in a game Houston should somewhat comfortably win. On the flip side, David Johnson (7th) is pretty risky in a game Arizona will be trailing throughout, while Matt Breida (10th) is ranked way too high based on what he did last week against the Giants. In reality, when healthy he's been no better than an RB3 most weeks, and he shouldn't be counted on as a top-16 option this week.
At WR, Curtis Samuel (60th) is worth a flyer even if Torrey Smith returns. Kendrick Bourne (75th) has a fantastic matchup and has shown well in recent weeks. Demaryius Thomas (44th) won't be shut out in back-to-back contests; the game plan surely will call for at least 6-8 looks to Houston's key midseason acquisition. And Chris Godwin (38th) has a beautiful matchup, along with enough talent, to break out. On the flip side, Julian Edelman (12th) has been terrific since returning from his early-season suspension. That said, the Patriots are expected to be fully healthy (or at least, healthier than they've been in a while) on Sunday; Edelman is not a recommended back-end WR1, and he's not even on my top-16 radar.
At TE, Chris Herndon (17th) is earning just enough volume and/or TD opportunities to be a fantastic flyer if you don't have a TE1. And strangely (but not really), Eric Ebron's gone from Week 11's 3rd-ranked TE to Week 12's 13th-ranked TE. What changed? Ebron posted a bagel last week. So suddenly he's not a TE1. Makes sense if you chase points. Makes zero sense to me. Ebron leads all TEs in fantasy points inside the red zone: 64.7 points on eight receptions (seven of which found the end zone). He's one of the league's most dangerous options inside the 20, and that makes him a must-start option if you don't have a top-6 guy handy. On the flip side, why are experts continually overvaluing Jared Cook (9th)? If he doesn't score, he'll fall short of expectations. And he's not scoring this week in Baltimore.