QUARTERBACK
Philip Rivers - Indianapolis Colts
Ownership: 40%
FAAB: $0-1
Waiver Priority: No
I never thought I’d see the day where Philip Rivers presented himself as a viable weekly streamer in 2020, but here we are. By some stroke of luck, Uncle Phil has now logged either 285 passing yards or 3 tuddies in six of his last seven, failing to hit that threshold against a stout Ravens defense back in week nine. Over his last seven, he’s averaging over 290 passing yards and two TDs per game, and by the looks of his upcoming schedule, that production should look to continue. Not only are the Raiders on deck, a squad that just let the Falcons total a nice 43 burger against them, followed by a potential W that slipped through Gregg Williams’ cold, dead hands, the Colts also draw the Texans again in Week 15, the team Rivers just logged 285 and 2 against. He’s not flashy, he’s not going to pick up any yards on the ground, but he’s safe. I’d bet on him being a high-end QB2 over these next two weeks, which may not sound fantastic, but when you can be deeked into playing someone like Mitchell Trubisky as a “potential” QB1 that may or may not get benched by halftime, then the floor of a guy like Phil isn’t anything to be scoffed at.
Mitchell Trubisky - Chicago Bears
Ownership: 13%
FAAB: $0-1
Waiver Priority: No
Speaking of midwest Wentz, we have our next waiver QB. Listen, Trubisky isn’t great, he’s not even good, but for fantasy, there are a ton of worse options. Last week was bad for the kid, but it was also the first time all year he threw less than 2 tuddies in a game where he played the majority of the offensive snaps. I’m not saying he’s a lock to return to form, but it’s apparent that the Bears trust him enough to drop back and sling it 30+ times, and seeing as how he plays the Texans, Vikings, and Jaguars over his next three weeks, volume is all he’s going to need to produce. Even if he doesn’t do it with his arm, we have seen he can (potentially) save his day with some work on the ground, topping 20 rushing yards twice this year. Nothing to write home about, but it’s something. It’s certainly risky putting your trust in Mitch week one of the playoffs because, well, he’s Mitch, but to be honest, I’d feel a whole lot better about him due to his soft schedule than I would playing some other seemingly “locked-in” starters like Matt Ryan or Stafford. Trubisky, for fantasy, is a lot closer to Lamar Jackson than he is Daniel Jones, but the stigma of him sucking in real life clouds that realization. I’d treat him as a high-end QB2 option this week, and if he shows a glimpse of competence, could work his way into the QB1 discussion entering the home stretch.
Jalen Hurts - Philadelphia Eagles
Ownership: 3%
FAAB: $1-3
Waiver Priority: No
At the time of me writing this, we still don’t know who the starter in Philly is. It SHOULD be Hurts, but it’ll probably be Wentz. Because nothing is ironed out, and maybe won’t be until waivers pass, I’ll keep it short. Hurts looked good. Looking at the box score won’t tell the full story, as he was thrown in midway through the game facing a deficit against Aaron Rodgers. He had to sling it in his first ever (real) NFL action, and when taking that into consideration, he was actually quite impressive. He found Jalen Reagor deep down the field once, and capped off a drive with a 4th down dime to Greg Ward in the corner of the end zone. So, he can throw the ball, and we all know he can run like the wind, so for fantasy, he’s a gold mine. Pair that with the fact that he plays the Saints, Cardinals, and Cowboys to finish out the fantasy playoffs and you’ll come to realize he could be a real league-winner if handed the keys to the QB job. I wouldn’t feel all too comfortable playing him against the Saints, as their defense has looked rejuvenated as of late, but if he goes out there and dominates against a pass-funnel defense, then I’d have no qualms turning to him for the last two games of the fantasy season against a soft slate. I’d still spend a few bucks on him this week even if we don’t know he’s the guy in Philly just because the upside of grabbing him and having him produce outweighs the downside of losing $2 FAAB in week 14.
Mike Glennon - Jacksonville Jaguars
Ownership: 3%
FAAB: $0
Waiver Priority: No
For whatever reason, Mike Glennon isn’t even that bad. I don’t even know how he managed to snake his way around the NFL for this long, but lucky for us, he stayed the course long enough to become a viable streamer in Week 14. Again, it’s not pretty playing Glennon, let alone picking him up, but seeing as how he’s attempted 77 passes over these last two outings and gets a Titans defense that just allowed 629 yards and 6 TDs to the dynamic duo of Philip Rivers and Baker Mayfield over their previous 2, there are certainly worse options. Also, Luton was inactive this past week and the coaching staff already named Glennon the starter against Tennessee, so they have at least a sliver of confidence in the guy. I understand if you look elsewhere at the QB position this week because it’s hard to put your team’s destiny in the hands of the Toys R Us mascot, but would we be surprised if he finished the week as QB11? Probably not, but I can’t blame you for not wanting to risk the downside of a bottom 10 play.
RUNNING BACK
Cam Akers - Los Angeles Rams
Ownership: 53%
FAAB: $100
Waiver Priority: Yes
Well folks, it’s time. Cam Akers is now the man to own in Los Angeles, and I don’t mean that as he saw 37% of the snaps which typically would lead the team, I mean he not only DOMINATED snaps, but also opportunities. It was his second straight week scoring a tug, but more importantly, he toted the rock 21 times and totaled 94 yards. Along with this, he was on the field for 63% of the team’s offensive snaps while Malcolm Brown played a season low 16%. It may be a bit hasty to say it was a complete changing of the guard, as Darrell Henderson was forced out of the game for a period before returning and breaking off a long TD run, but it’s no secret that Akers has looked, and produced, like the best back in the rotation. What does this mean exactly? Well, if he’s going to continue seeing upwards of 15-20 touches a game, then he looks to be a rock-solid RB2. LAR’s schedule isn’t nearly as pristine on the ground as it is through the air with New England, the Jets, and Seattle on the horizon, but this offense should be able to move the ball fairly well in the last two games, which will help present touchdown upside for the former Seminole. The talent is there, and now that opportunity is following, he looks to be a real potential league-winner. Drop all you got on him.
J.D. Mckissic - Washington Football Team
Ownership: 48%
FAAB: $20-25 (depending on Gibson's health)
Waiver Priority: No
With Antonio Gibson going down early in the first quarter, it became the Barber and Mckissic show in Pittsburgh. Peyton Barber did his best Matt Asiata impression, averaging about 0 YPC but still managing to score, and Mckissic did his best Mckinnon impression, also running like shit but hauling in two handfuls of passes with awful efficiency. J.D.'s workload has taken a major step back as of late with Antonio Gibson turning up, but if he's set to miss any sort of time with his toe injury, then I'd expect JDM to evolve into a back-end RB2 option RoS. We have seen him garner a heavy dose of targets before, notably notching 29 over a two week span in early November, and even this last game, was targeted 10 times, hauling in all of them for 70 yards. He won't be any sort of TD threat, and has yet to show any true breakaway ability to take a dumpoff to the house, but what he is is a high-floor option that is likely to see 12-15 touches a game with 80% of those opportunities coming by way of the air. With Seattle and 49ers on the schedule up next, he should find success, as both teams are more pass-funnel defenses, boasting pretty solid front sevens. If AG misses these outings, expect some double digit target games from McKissic, which would then mean he's a priority add in all leagues, especially Full-PPR ones.
Rashaad Penny - Seattle Seahawks
Ownership: 4%
FAAB: $0
Waiver Priority: No
This is a speculative add. There’s not much to talk about here because Penny hasn’t played a snap in forever, but with news of Chris Carson still not being 100% and Carlos Hyde dealing with injuries of his own, then there’s still a sliver of a chance he finds his way onto the field and into a somewhat valuable role. It won’t take anything more than a $0 bid to get him, so if you have the space to do so, I’d say it’s a solid enough add to burn a bench spot on.
Ty Johnson - New York Jets
Ownership: 1%
FAAB: $5-10
Waiver Priority: No
Frank Gore went down early in this contest, and because of that, helped open the floodgates for Josh Adams and Ty Johnson. Both actually looked pretty good, but of the two, I’m more interested in Ty Johnson. Josh Adams was extremely efficient, picking up 74 yards on just eight carries, but TJ was trusted to carry the ball 22 times, turning those into 104 yards and a tug. Of course we should put everything into context, as the Jets played with a lead for possibly the first time all season and did so against a bottom of the barrel run defense, so the chances of any RB topping 20 totes for this squad again are in doubt. On top of this, it’s not like we haven’t seen a “workhorse” back in NY before, and what we got out of them in 2020 wasn’t much of anything. Whether it was Bell to start the year, or Gore, or Perine, nobody had any sort of chance at garnering fantasy relevance due to the incompetence of this offense and coaching staff. Because of the lack of scoring opportunities and negative gamescript, I’m not running to the wire to add the guy. Volume is cool and all, but when you play for a high school football team and face the likes of Seattle, the Rams, and Cleveland to end the year, it doesn’t mean anything.
WIDE RECEIVER
T.Y. Hilton - Indianapolis Colts
Ownership: 44%
FAAB: $10
Waiver Priority: No
It took three months, but the people who drafted T.Y. Hilton in round five because he was good three years ago finally took their victory laps. Over the past two weeks, Hilton has put up a combined receiving line of (16) 12/191/2, looking every bit of his old self in the process. This is a hard one to gauge because he looked so bad this entire year, but he’s also been playing with a brand new QB. Is the chemistry finally developing? Was he dealing with a nagging injury all year that finally cleared up? Who’s to say, all I know is he’s been productive and now gets one of the more favorable schedules you could hope for down the stretch. The Raiders and Houston are garbage, so he has a chance to boom once more in those outings, and week 16, he gets the epitome of a pass funnel in the Pittsburgh Steelers. I’m not declaring him a league-winner - he’s far from it - but he’s someone I wouldn’t feel overly pessimistic about if he’s my 2nd FLEX option. I’d much rather stash a handcuff RB than him, but if you’re desperate for a wideout, then go for it.
Nelson Agholor - Las Vegas Raiders
Ownership: 40%
FAAB: $5
Waiver Priority: No
The Raiders’ defense is BAD, and because of that, Agholor is somewhat decent. He’s about as boom-bust as it gets, but over his last three games, has totaled 26 targets and is operating as the team’s #1 WR (but 2nd in receiving well behind Waller). His schedule isn’t all too favorable, getting Indy and Miami in two of his next three, but the game against the Chargers in week 15 is one I wouldn’t mind streaming him in. The last time these two AFC West powerhouses faced off, NA went for 2/55/1, putting his upside on display. Again, the WR pool is fairly dry on waivers, so I’m not suggesting you drop some big bucks on these guys just because that’s all that’s available at the position, but if you’re desperate for W’s with a depleting roster, you can do worse.
Keke Coutee - Houston Texans
Ownership: 27%
FAAB: $10-15
Waiver Priority: No
In a surprising turn of events, Keke Coutee wasn’t half bad. In fact, he was quite good. My assumptions of him being a dink and dunk slot receiver were debunked Sunday, as Keke found his way onto the end of a few deep balls, helping bring his receiving total to 141 yards on the day. His nine targets were one more than Brandin Cooks saw, and his yardage more than doubled BC’s output. I’m not saying Coutee is the superior play from here on out, but I do think the gap is a bit closer than we may have expected. With the Texans showing time and time again that they’re incapable of running, and with fielding a defense that can’t stop anyone, the volume should be there on a weekly basis for the receiving core, and KC should be second in the pecking order. Playing the Bears and Colts over the next two weeks may not seem too great, but Chicago has been ruined as of late by both Stafford and Rodgers, and Coutee just went for a buck forty against Indy, so it’s not complete shit. I’d treat Keke as a low-end WR3 play over these next few weeks, and if you do make it to the championship, you’ll be rewarded with a game against the Bengals.
Tim Patrick - Denver Broncos
Ownership: 21%
FAAB: $10-15
Waiver Priority: No
For as much as I hate the Broncos, I can admit that Tim Patrick is legit. He’s the new Corey Davis, who was the new DeVante Parker, and due to the week of Kendall Hinton, he was forgotten. If we remove that game, which I think is fair given they didn’t have a QB on the field, and look at Patrick’s receiving numbers for the year, you’ll see that he’s on pace for a 64/971/8 receiving line, which are legit WR3 numbers. He’s logged 60 yards or a tug in seven of his last nine games, only failing to do so in that Hinton start and against the Chiefs in their first duel, which is pretty impressive considering the QB woes Denver has dealt with aside from went down in Week 12. Now he finishes the year Carolina, Buffalo, and the Chargers, none of which being great matchups, but being the WR1 on a team content letting their gunslinger drop back 30+ times a game means he’ll likely find his way on the other end of some more WR2/3 days.
TIGHT END
Logan Thomas - Washington Football Team
Ownership: 40%
FAAB: $10-15
Waiver Priority: No
The man we wanted Logan Thomas to be to start the year has finally come to fruition. Since week six, the former VT QB has averaged over 5 targets per game, turning them into a respectable 4.1/45.7/0.6 receiving line. Sure, that doesn't look great, but paced out to a full 16, it works out to 66/731/9, which I'd bet you'd be more than happy with at your TE spot on a weekly basis. He's been up and down, as any tight end typically is, but his usage last night against the Steelers showed just how big of a part of this team he truly is. With Terry McLaurin seeing two men most of the night, Smith turned to Thomas in big situations, both as a safety blanket underneath, as well as a deep option on broken coverage. It was easily his best game of the year, getting targeted nine times, the most since his week two outing against the Cardinals, and topped his receiving yardage high that he set a few weeks back (66). Now, the reason I'm intrigued by LT isn't necessarily because of this one game, but it's because the WFT will find them in very similar situations in the future to what they were up against on MNF. In Weeks 15 and 16, Ron Rivera's boys will face two more pass-funnels in the 49ers and Seahawks, which should bode well for all their pass catchers, most notably Thomas. Defenses focus so heavily on Terry that the tight end finds himself open underneath routinely, and this should be no different facing a couple of teams with decent fronts and a weaker back line. Because of this, I'm more than fine relying on LT as a back-end TE1 both next week and from here on out. With this being the case, combined with the fact that the season is coming to a close, I'm more than fine dropping more than the suggested FAAB amount if you're in desperate need of a TE to round out your championship push.
Anthony Firkser - Tennessee Titans
Ownership: 9%
FAAB: $0-1
Waiver Priority: No
Firkser was a disappointment for most of the day, as you would have expected a whole lot more out of him with Jonnu sidelined and the Titans playing from behind all game, but in the end, it wasn’t a complete let down. He finished with 51 yards on 5 receptions, but almost all of that came on the final few drives in garbage time. As it seems to be the case every week, we find ourselves in a situation where we have a tight end that MAY get some volume, but the lack of talent turns that potential opportunity into nothingness (i.e Jordan Akins). If you’re extremely desperate, then sure, go for it, but I’m not considering starting Firkser over any legit tight end option going forward, and by “legit”, I mean like 10-15 guys, even if they haven’t done shit all year, because neither has Firkser.
Cole Kmet - Chicago Bears
Ownership: 1%
FAAB: $5-10
Waiver Priority: No
The good news: Cole Kmet seems to have overtaken Jimmy Graham as the TE1 in Chicago. The bad news: Cole Kmet is the TE1 in Chicago. As we saw all year, Jimmy Graham mustered up value by way of red zone scores, as the incompetent QB play did nothing but make for inconsitent yardage totals despite pretty solid volume. Well, with Mitch back under center, these woes are still of concern, as Kmet’s 7 targets only turned into 37 yards. His day was saved by a tug, which is the case for basically every tight end, but I will say, the usage is enticing. Not many tight ends see that many looks on a weekly basis, and although, as I said before, Graham didn’t do much of anything with similar volume, I’ll bet on Kmet having a little more juice than JG at this point of their respective careers. That, plus the Bears get the Texans, Vikings, and Jaguars to close out the year. If he can’t put up at least one TE1 performance in that stretch, then he has to retire. I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them.
D/ST
Just like last week, there are no real streaming options that fall below the 60% ownership threshold (Seattle is now owned in over 80% of leagues). I touted the Lions D/ST in week 13, which worked out horribly to say the least, so take what I'm about to write with a grain of salt...My D/ST streamer for y'all this week is the New York Giants. Unlike the Lions, the G-Men are actually fielding a good defense, and good may be an understatement. They now go up against a turnover prone QB in Kyler Murray, who is coming off a game where he completed just 53.9% of his passes, with one of his misses going back for six. The only defenses he has yet to turn the ball over against this year are the Seahawks and the Cowboys, which, as we all know, are soft as dog shit. Obviously, there's always the chance Kyler throws three 70 yard TDs and gets your defense into negative territory, but since his shoulder injury, he just hasn't looked the same. Despite this, he's still chucking and has a bad o-line, so what better team to target than the Cardinals? There will be plenty of opportunities for sacks and turnovers, so even though, on paper, Arizona is a team that may put fear in your heart, I'm more than comfortable taking my chances with the boys in blue.