In a week when some notable fantasy players are looking doubtful for Sunday, the biggest news might be the possible starting role of Taysom Hill. Undrafted out of BYU, Hill ended up in a perfect situation in New Orleans, situationally filling in for Drew Brees and occasionally serving as a receiver. But some Friday reports suggest he'll start Sunday (though head coach Sean Payton denies it).
Either way, it says a lot that Jameis Winston hasn't been named the starter--that even with Brees sidelined for several weeks, the notable free-agent pickup might ride the bench in place of a guy who's thrown only 18 passes in three NFL seasons. This is a prime situation for Alvin Kamara and a good one for Latavius Murray, as Payton might not ask Hill (if he does start) to do too much with the ball. Michael Thomas has to get going eventually, so obviously he can't be benched. But beyond that, it's anyone's guess whether Hill throws downfield.
The notable news, of course, is that some leagues list Hill as a TE, meaning a 150/1 line with 60 rushing yards would give many of us our best TE fantasy performance of the season. It's rare that a TE1 falls from the sky this late in the year, but Hill just might mean the difference for some managers. As we wait and see what happens the next 24 hours, Hill is a must-add in all leagues where he qualifies at tight end.
Now for this week's bargains and busts:
At quarterback, Ben Packard will be happy to hear I've checked the weather forecasts, and there are no heavy winds expected--not even in Cleveland. So we might actually see Baker Mayfield (consensus 25th-ranked Week 11 QB) return to decency. In his last two games he's thrown for 254 total yards and zero scores. Expect, at minimum, acceptable streaming numbers. And Kirk Cousins (QB-17) will surprise against the anemic Cowboys. On the flip side, I was high on Carson Wentz earlier this year, but the last two weeks he's been atrocious. His QB-12 ranking is a bit too aggressive.
At running back, Devontae Booker (RB-46) and Alexander Mattison (RB-49) are worthwhile dart throws in games that might get out of hand. (In other words, we might see some heavy fourth-quarter usage from both of them, upping their floors and ceilings.) On the flip side, Derrick Henry (RB-4) has been contained the last two games (7 and 12 points). While always a candidate to bust out, I don't believe he'll be a top-10 option in Baltimore. The same goes for Aaron Jones (RB-5), who's been losing touches to Jamaal Williams, and who's facing a tough Colts D.
At wideout, Michael Pittman (WR-42) deserves more love as Philip Rivers' likely #1 receiver the rest of the way. And Jarvis Landry (WR-35) and Rashard Higgins (WR-53) finally have the right wind conditions to comfortably exceed expectations. On the flip side, I'm once again wary of A.J. Brown (WR-17).
At tight end, as always I'm not counting mid-week risers like Taysom Hill, since expert rankings haven't caught up to the latest rumors. So Kyle Rudolph (TE-20) and Jared Cook (TE-16) are my favorite undervalued tight ends this week. On the flip side, Rob Gronkowski (TE-9) remains overvalued because of--as always--too many quality receiving options.