Stars of Week 13 

QB:      Ryan Fitzpatrick, HOU: 24-33, 358 yards, 6 TDs

RB:      Tre Mason, STL: 14 carries, 117 yards, 2 TDs (3 catches, 47 yards, 1 TD) 

WR:     DeAndre Hopkins, HOU: 9 catches, 238 yards, 2 TDs

TE:      Jordan Reed, WAS: 9 catches, 123 yards, 0 TDs

Big name stars have dominated the honor roll the past several weeks, but not this week. If your team started Ryan Fitzpatrick, then you were in a desperate situation. Do not overreact to this one performance against the swiss cheese Titans’ defense – Ryan Fitzpatrick will revert back to being Ryan Fitzpatrick next week. In other words, do not start him! His teammate DeAndre Hopkins though has a different outlook, as he has proven himself worthy of a weekly starting nod. Speaking of ascending players, Tre Mason has taken ahold of the starting RB duties for the Rams, and expect him to hold onto the starting gig for years to come. His presence is the precise reason why I downgraded Zac Stacy in my draft guide. Jordan Reed has been frustrating for his fantasy owners because of constant injuries. But his talent has never been in question, and he’ll perform when healthy. Note that Reed has developed into the favorite target for Colt McCoy. 

Week 13 Takeaways – A Closer Look

Each week we take a closer look at a handful of performances and sort out what such performances mean going forward.

- Johnny Manziel, QB – CLE: 5-8, 63 yards, 0 TDs (2 carries, 13 yards, 1 TD) 

Analysis:         Even if you were living in a cave with no connection of any kind with civilization, you still may have heard that Johnny Football found his way into the game against the Bills this past Sunday. I assumed that the Browns would do the sensible thing and give Manziel the start this week against the Colts, but I was wrong. That being said, Hoyer remains on a short leash, and if you want to stash a QB with upside for the last few weeks, Manziel could provide a sneaky value play for your playoffs – assuming he does finally get a chance to start. With Josh Gordon in his arsenal and a no fear approach, Manziel would likely populate both the TD and INT categories, with several yards thrown to boot. He’d be a wild card, there’s no question, but he could put up low end QB1 numbers.  Of course, he could also put up low end QB2 numbers, so there would be lots of risk. Anyways, he’s not starting this coming week, but if you have room on your bench and want to take a flier on Manziel, now’s the time to do so. 

- Joique Bell, RB – DET: 23 carries, 91 yards, 2 TDs

Analysis:         Surely you know by now that Joique Bell is a useful fantasy player, and a good one at that. Bell emerged on the fantasy radar last season, and has elevated his role in 2014. This review casts more of a long-term eye (most useful for keeper leagues and 2015 drafts), but everyone should note that Bell will continue to be the lead ball carrier for the Lions going forward, without regard to Reggie Bush’s status.  Bell provides a power runner for the Lions, capable of getting tough yards and with a nose for the end zone. In case there’s any question, Bell should be starting in all lineups for the remainder of the season (hopefully that means the playoffs for you). 

- Stedman Bailey, WR - STL: 5 catches, 100 yards, 0 TDs                                                           

Analysis:         Stedman Bailey has put together two solid weeks in a row for the Rams, with his first time topping 100 yards coming this past Sunday against the Raiders. Has the second year WR turned the corner? It’s too early to make a definitive proclamation, but at least there are positive signs. He is developing into Shaun Hill’s favorite target. So how should his fantasy owners view him? Despite the recent promise he has flashed, I can’t go higher than WR4 status on him because he just hasn’t shown the level of performance for long enough. In deeper leagues (14 teams or more), he’s fine to start. In 12 team leagues, he falls more onto the bubble, and he should probably be avoided in 10 team leagues. Just note that he’s a risky play, so if you do start him, you should have safer options in your other lineup spots. 

- Davante Adams, WR – GB: 6 catches, 121 yards, 0 TDs

Analysis:         While Davante Adams has been wildly inconsistent this season, forgive him as it’s his rookie campaign. Adams has had a nice season overall, and he has replaced Jarett Boykin as the Packers’ number 3 WR. With Randall Cobb possibly departing as a free agent this offseason, the door should open for Adams to take the next step (for those of you in keeper leagues). For the remainder of this season, Adams falls into the same category as Stedman Bailey – a risky, WR4 type. So in deep leagues, he’s fine to start as your last WR, but I would tread cautiously for those of you in 12 team leagues or less. Adams’ best days are ahead of him, but he’s risky this year. For every game like he had against the Patriots, he’ll have two clunkers.

- Donte Moncrief, WR – IND: 3 catches, 134 yards, 2 TDs

Analysis:         Not to be repetitive, but Moncrief falls into the same category as Stedman Bailey and Davante Adams – a WR4 with promise. Moncrief has surpassed Hakeen Nicks as the Colts number 3 WR, and his future looks bright with Luck, Hilton and the rest of the Horseshoe crew. Moncrief was targeted by Luck four times in each of the past two games, but only one time in the two games before that - although 12 times in the game before that! This shows the point I’m getting at – week to week inconsistency remains an issue here as well.  If you had to pin me on how to rank these three WRs, I’d lean Bailey, Moncrief and Adams in that order. But they’re all in the same neighborhood – WR4s. 

Rapid Fire Pickups 

Each week we’ll throw out potential free agent pickups from each position for deeper leagues, in each case 1) someone who has NOT been referenced above, and 2) a player available in most leagues.

QB:                  Shaun Hill, STL

RB:                  Marion Grice, ARZ

RB:                  Roy Helu, WAS                      

WR:                 Marquise Lee, JAC

WR:                 Robert Woods, BUF

TE:                  Tony Moeaki, SEA

Week 14 Rankings

Quarterbacks

1. Aaron Rodgers

2. Andrew Luck

3. Drew Brees

4. Peyton Manning

5. Tom Brady

6. Jay Cutler

7. Tony Romo

8. Russell Wilson

9. Matthew Stafford

10. Ben Roethlisberger

11. Ryan Tannehill

12. Philip Rivers

13. Cam Newton

14. Mark Sanchez

15. Matt Ryan

16. Colin Kaepernick

17. Colt McCoy

18. Andy Dalton

19. Eli Manning

20. Shaun Hill

Running Backs

1. DeMarco Murray

2. Le'Veon Bell

3. Arian Foster

4. Eddie Lacy

5. C.J. Anderson

6. Marshawn Lynch

7. Matt Forte

8. Rashad Jennings

9. LeSean McCoy

10. Jamaal Charles

11. Mark Ingram

12. Joique Bell

13. Justin Forsett

14. Tre Mason

15. Alfred Morris

16. Isaiah Crowell

17. Jeremy Hill

18. Daniel Herron

19. Andre Ellington

20. Ryan Mathews

21. Denard Robinson

22. Fred Jackson

23. LeGarrette Blount

24. Frank Gore

25. Chris Ivory

26. Bishop Sankey

27. Shane Vereen

28. Lamar Miller

29. Darren Sproles

30. Trent Richardson

31. Reggie Bush

32. Carlos Hyde

33. Latavius Murray

34. Jonathan Stewart

35. Steven Jackson

Wide Receivers

1. Demaryius Thomas

2. Calvin Johnson

3. Dez Bryant

4. Jordy Nelson

5. Josh Gordon

6. Antonio Brown

7. Emmanuel Sanders

8. Randall Cobb

9. Odell Beckham Jr.

10. A.J. Green

11. Julio Jones

12. T.Y. Hilton

13. Alshon Jeffery

14. DeAndre Hopkins

15. Brandon Marshall

16. Kelvin Benjamin

17. Jeremy Maclin

18. Mike Evans

19. Golden Tate

20. Kenny Stills

21. Keenan Allen

22. Jordan Matthews

23. Brandon LaFell

24. DeSean Jackson

25. Jarvis Landry

26. Anquan Boldin

27. Andre Johnson

28. Julian Edelman

29. Torrey Smith

30. Sammy Watkins

31. Mohamed Sanu

32. Roddy White

33. Marques Colston

34. Steve Smith Sr.

35. Martavis Bryant

Tight Ends

1. Rob Gronkowski

2. Jimmy Graham

3. Julius Thomas

4. Martellus Benentt

5. Greg Olsen

6. Jordan Reed

7. Delanie Walker

8. Antonio Gates

9. Jason Witten

10. Coby Fleener

11. Larry Donnell

12. Travis Kelce

13. Jordan Cameron

14. Dwayne Allen

15. Kyle Rudolph

- Neema Hodjat is the fantasy sports expert for RealGM.  He can be reached via email at nhodjat@gmail.com and followed on twitter at @NeemaHodjat.