Stars of Week 13
QB: Cam Newton, CAR:28-41, 331 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INTs (10 carries, 49 yards, 0 TDs)
RB: Thomas Rawls, SEA: 19 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD
WR: Allen Robinson, JAX: 10 catches, 153 yards, 3 TDs
TE: Richard Rodgers, GB: 8 catches, 146 yards, 1 TD
One of the key 2015 storylines has been the emergence of Cam Newton as an elite QB. Newton has a top TE in Greg Olsen, but otherwise has worked his magic with an underwhelming wide receiver group. His 49 yards rushing also play an important role in elevating Newton to beast level. Speaking of beast, the heir apparent to Beast Mode had a nice day against the Vikings. Thomas Rawls has shown that he’ll be ready to take over the Seahawks’ RB duties once Lynch retires or otherwise leaves the team. Allen Robinson is threatening the top 5 NFL receiver group. He’s a monster and will be going very high in drafts next season. I touted A-Rob in my draft guide, so nice work to those of you who took him. Richard Rodgers caught the hail mary pass from Aaron Rodgers last week to enable the Packers to beat the Lions in a soul crushing manner. We’ll take a closer look at Richard Rodgers below.
Week 13 Takeaways – A Closer Look
Each week we’ll take a closer look at a handful of performances and sort out what such performances mean going forward.
- Blake Bortles, QB – JAX: 24-36, 322 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs
Analysis: While the Jaguars continue to lose lots of games, the good news (for us) is that the team becomes more relevant for fantasy purposes each year. After a horrific rookie campaign by Bortles last season, it looks like the young Jaguars’ QB will be a fine NFL QB. He’s not afraid to sling the ball, and with weapons such as Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns and Julius Thomas, he’s got the tools to post strong numbers. Bortles is on pace for over 4,000 passing yards and mid-30s TD passes, so that’s low end QB1 material. Ideally you have a platoon partner to go with Bortles when he faces tough matchups, but if not, you could do worse than having Bortles as your starting QB. The team will be throwing often, so the numbers will be there.
- David Johnson, RB – ARZ: 22 carries, 99 yards, 0 TDs (2 catches, 21 yards, 1 TD)
Analysis: David Johnson was the top waiver wire pickup for last week, as he takes over the lead RB spot the rest of the way. Chris Johnson is out for the rest of the regular season, and while Andre Ellington will return soon, he’ll resume his role primarily as a pass catcher. Johnson looked the part against the Rams, falling just shy of 100 rushing yards. He did haul in a TD pass from Carson Palmer though, so he’ll get his points in multiple ways. Johnson actually has 4 receiving TDs to his name thus far. The rookie RB’s value comes from a well-rounded skill set and a golden opportunity. In the unlikely event that Johnson remains available in your league, snag him now. For those who own him, Johnson will straddle the low RB1/high RB2 line the rest of the way. He should be in starting lineups.
- Ameer Abdullah, RB – DET: 13 carries, 67 yards, 0 TDs
Analysis: Ameer Abdullah shot out of the preseason like a cannon, only to fall flat once the regular season began. Abdullah’s 2015 season serves as a friendly reminder that preseason stardom does not necessarily equal NFL success. The good news is that Abdullah has looked better in Jim Bob Cooter’s offense – as has every Lion actually. Abdullah has passed the 60 yard rushing plateau each of the past two games. While that’s not much to get excited about, at least he’s trending in the right direction. At this point the Lions are essentially knocked out of the playoff picture, so look to them to continue to feed Abdullah to see what they have in him. He’s an RB3 going forward, so he should be rostered in deeper leagues, but only started if you don’t have better options.
- Tyler Lockett, WR – SEA: 7 catches, 90 yards, 0 TD
Analysis: I received a lineup question from a twitter follower about Tyler Lockett this past week. I’m a huge fan of Lockett, but have felt that the Seahawks’ system holds down Lockett’s fantasy value, since the Hawks move the ball around to several targets from week to week. In any event, I went too low on Lockett last week, and he needs to be viewed as a more serious fantasy weapon going forward. On top of being an electric kick/punt returner, Lockett has excellent receiving skills. He runs good routes, makes tough catches and has a high football IQ. He should also be a sleeper target for 2016 drafts, so tuck his name away. But for the rest of 2015, Lockett should be viewed as a WR3/WR4 straddler, with upside. As long as the Seahawks give him the opportunity, he’ll eclipse expectations for your team.
- Richard Rodgers, TE – GB: 8 catches, 146 yards, 1 TD
Analysis: Richard Rodgers has quietly had a nice season for the Packers, especially in terms of finding the end zone. Rodgers sits with 6 TDs. The Packers have struggled offensively in recent weeks, as the receivers have had trouble gaining separation from their defenders, among other issues. As for Rodgers, even if you were to subtract the 61 yard hail mary TD, he still had a nice week. That being said, Rodgers’ other performances have been dependent upon TDs being caught. Coming into last week’s game, Rodgers had posted no more than 45 yards in any other game. With all of this in mind, Rodgers should be viewed as a high-end TE2 (think top 15 overall). If you start him, that’s fine, but he’s ideally only started based on favorable matchups. But his arrow points up, so keep an eye on him to see if he can string together consistent good weeks.
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: Marcus Mariota, TEN
RB: Ryan Mathews, PHI
RB: Karlos Williams, BUF
WR: Devante Parker, MIA
WR: Kendall Wright, TEN
TE: Jacob Tamme, ATL
Week 14 Rankings
Quarterbacks
1. Cam Newton
2. Russell Wilson
3. Carson Palmer
4. Aaron Rodgers
5. Tom Brady
6. Blake Bortles
7. Tyrod Taylor
8. Ben Roethlisberger
9. Drew Brees
10. Andy Dalton
11. Eli Manning
12. Jameis Winston
13. Ryan Tannehill
14. Ryan Fitzpatrick
15. Marcus Mariota
16. Brian Hoyer
17. Matthew Stafford
18. Philip Rivers
19. Derek Carr
20. Alex Smith
Running Backs
1. Doug Martin
2. Adrian Peterson
3. LeSean McCoy
4. Thomas Rawls
5. Jonathan Stewart
6. DeAngelo Williams
7. David Johnson
8. Devonta Freeman
9. Todd Gurley
10. Mark Ingram
11. Matt Forte
12. Lamar Miller
13. Charcandrick West
14. T.J. Yeldon
15. Chris Ivory
16. Darren McFadden
17. Javorius Allen
18. Shaun Draughn
19. LeGarrette Blount
20. Latavius Murray
21. Frank Gore
22. C.J. Anderson
23. Ronnie Hillman
24. Jeremy Hill
25. Eddie Lacy
26. DeMarco Murray
27. Spencer Ware
28. Jeremy Langford
29. Giovani Bernard
30. Matt Jones
31. Danny Woodhead
32. Antonio Andrews
33. Darren Sproles
34. Melvin Gordon
35. Ameer Abdullah
Wide Receivers
1. Odell Beckham Jr.
2. Antonio Brown
3. DeAndre Hopkins
4. A.J. Green
5. Allen Robinson
6. Brandon Marshall
7. Calvin Johnson
8. Julio Jones
9. Alshon Jeffery
10. Larry Fitzgerald
11. Sammy Watkins
12. Mike Evans
13. Martavis Bryant
14. Jarvis Landry
15. Demaryius Thomas
16. Eric Decker
17. Brandin Cooks
18. Danny Amendola
19. T.Y. Hilton
20. Doug Baldwin
21. Jeremy Maclin
22. Dez Bryant
23. John Brown
24. Allen Hurns
25. Amari Cooper
26. Emmanuel Sanders
27. Randall Cobb
28. DeSean Jackson
29. Michael Crabtree
30. Travis Benjamin
31. Jordan Matthews
32. Kamar Aiken
33. Brandon LaFell
34. Vincent Jackson
35. Michael Floyd
Tight Ends
1. Greg Olsen
2. Tyler Eifert
3. Travis Kelce
4. Gary Barnidge
5. Delanie Walker
6. Jordan Reed
7. Julius Thomas
8. Scott Chandler
9. Richard Rodgers
10. Antonio Gates
11. Benjamin Watson
12. Jacob Tamme
13. Zach Miller
14. Heath Miller
15. Zach Ertz