by Will Overton
We’ve made it to week 13 and the playoffs are looming large, maybe even as soon as next week. The wide receiver position came through last week largely unscathed by injuries so there are still a lot of strong options to consider and a lot of tough decision to be made. Hopefully my breakdown of the Top 50 will help:
- DeAndre Hopkins – Houston Texans @ Buffalo
- Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay
- Antonio Brown – Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis
- Odell Bekcham Jr – New York Giants vs. NY Jets
- Brandon Marshall – New York Jets @ NY Giants
- Allen Robinson – Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee
- Calvin Johnson – Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay
- Alshon Jeffrey – Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco
- Mike Evans – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta
- A.J. Green – Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland
- Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona Cardinals @ St. Louis
- Jarvis Landry – Miami Dolphins vs. Baltimore
- Demaryius Thomas – Denver Broncos @ San Diego
- T.Y. Hilton – Indianapolis Colts @ Pittsburgh
- Randall Cobb – Green Bay Packers @ Detroit
- Amari Cooper – Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City
- Eric Decker – New York Jets @ NY Giants
- Martavis Bryant – Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis
- Dez Bryant – Dallas Cowboys @ Washington
- Jeremy Maclin – Kansas City Chiefs @ Oakland
- Emmanuel Sanders – Denver Broncos @ San Diego
- Michael Crabtree – Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City
- Kamar Aiken – Baltimore Ravens @ Miami
- Travis Benjamin – Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati
- Sammy Watkins – Buffalo Bills vs. Houston
- Desean Jackson – Washington Redskins vs. Dallas
- Anquan Boldin – San Francisco 49ers @ Chicago
- Donte Moncrief – Indianapolis Colts @ Pittsburgh
- Danny Amendola – New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia
- Brandin Cooks – New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina
- Allen Hurns – Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee
- Jordan Matthews – Philadelphia Eagles @ New England
- Brandon LaFell – New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia
- Vincent Jackson – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta
- DaVante Adams – Green Bay Packers @ Detroit
- Stefon Diggs – Minnesota Vikings vs. Seattle
- Stevie Johnson – San Diego Chargers vs. Denver
- John Brown – Arizona Cardinals @ St. Louis
- Golden Tate – Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay
- James Jones – Green Bay Packers @ Detroit
- Marvin Jones – Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland
- Doug Baldwin – Seattle Seahawks @ Minnesota
- Tavon Austin – St. Louis Rams vs. Arizona
- Devin Funchess – Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans
- Pierre Garcon – Washington Redskins vs. Dallas
- Kendall Wright – Tennessee Titans vs. Jacksonville
- Reuben Randle – New York Giants vs. NY Jets
- Ted Ginn – Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans
- DeVante Parker – Miami Dolphins vs. Baltimore
- Cecil Shorts – Houston Texans @ Buffalo
Thoughts:
- Last week was a nice breakout performance from A.J. Green after three straight weeks being held in single digits for fantasy points. He has been consistent this season in that he’ll get you 6–8 points every week and doesn’t need to find the end zone to produce them. However the big games are kind of hit or miss, which keeps him as a fringe Top 10 option who you would never think of benching, but if you’re down 12 points and counting on him to get it you’re sweating.
- Even with a strong matchup against Washington I can’t rank Dez Bryant any higher on this list, and in fact I might still be too high. He has one big game out of five since coming back from injury and one other game he salvaged with a TD score. You almost wonder if he’s really 100% healthy, but even if he is now that Tony Romo is hurt and Matt “Checkdown” Cassel is back under center Bryant’s value takes a hit. The talent is too strong to put him below WR2 range, but he’s not completely above benching depending on what you have.
- There is a temptation to bump Sammy Watkins further up this list based on the kind of game he had last week. The problem is he’s all or nothing. Watkins has some really big games, but he has some absolute duds too. The Texans defense has shown a lot of improvement lately so I am more apt to roll with someone I feel is a little bit safer (even if it means risking the upside).
- I assume I am probably a little bit higher on Anquan Boldin than most are, but he’s been clicking well with Blaine Gabbert the last two weeks (even against a tough Seattle Seahawks defense). If you take out the two weeks in which Boldin was injured he’s had at least 90 yards or more receiving in four of five games. Now he gets a favorable matchup with the Chicago Bears and he easily could make it five out of six games with 90+ yards.
- At this point the two defenses that give me the most pause when it comes to receivers is the Broncos and Panthers, which means this week I don’t know that any Chargers or Saints receivers are must starts. The guy from those teams I have ranked the highest is Brandin Cooks. Recently he has been riding a bit of a hot streak, but Josh Norman is one of the scariest shutdown corners in the league and I think Cooks is going to find the going a bit rough i(like Dez Bryant did last week). Cooks still comes in as a lower end WR3/FLEX play, but he’s far from a must start.
- Earlier this week I touted Doug Baldwin as my favorite add from the waiver wire among wide receivers. I gave him that title because he’s clearly started to separate himself from the pack of receivers as Russell Wilson’s go to guy. Still, despite my growing admiration he doesn’t make much of a jump in these rankings because of the tough matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. Baldwin is still likely to lead the Seahawks in targets, but I think Seattle leans more on Thomas Rawls and the run game this week then last week.
- If you’re looking for a sneaky pickup and play your guy might be Devin Funchess. The New Orleans Saints can’t seem to be able to stop anyone on defense and I assume Carolina will keep that trend going. Funches has shown glimmers of potential here and there, but nothing consistent enough to make this not a risky play. Still, there is a lot of potential reward given how bad the Saints are. You could roll with Ted Ginn too in this matchup, but I think Funchess is actually the guy more likely to find the end zone.
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Make sure to check out all of our Week 13 rankings:
Quarterbacks |
Running Backs |
Wide Receivers |
Tight Ends |
Kickers |
Defenses |
I have Amari Cooper, Cobb, Desean Jackson —- I’m suprised Desean is not higher while Cobb continues to be ranked high week in and week out (if his name wasn’t Cobb would he be still be in top20)? Is it just because of targets?
Having trouble deciding who to start in my final week of the seaseon. It’s make or break so i’m looking for the best chance to win.
Start 2 standard league: Dez, Evans, Amendola or Cooks?
Eric – Dallas is actually among the teams giving up the fewest points per week to opposing WR. It has to be taken into account.
Joe – Amendola (assuming he’s healthy)/Bryant
(though he’s a tough sell)
Hi Professor,
I have Dez Bryant, Brandin Cook, Allen Hurns, Davante Adam, Willie Snead.
I am thinking droping Davante Adam or Willie Sneed to pick up Anquan Boldin
Willie Snead >> Car, @TB, Det*, Jax*, @Atl*
Look like Willie can be used in Playoff week 15-17 because he play with Det and Jax; While Adam is not great.
Anquan Boldin >> @Chi, @Cle, Cin*, @Det*, Stl*
Kamar Aiken >> Mia, Sea, KC*, Pitt*, @Cin*
Devante Parker >> Bal, NYG, @SD*, Indy*, NE*
DeSean Jackson >> Dal, @Chi, Buff*, @Phi*, @Dal*
What will you do? Thanks.
Golden Tate or Maclin
Andy – Snead is also banged up a bit and would you even play any of them? That said, if Boldin is on waivers I’d stream and pick up what you need.
Joel – For this week? Maclin
Decker or Hilton this week?
Inman or Diggs. Who would you keep for WR.
Better flex option Allen Robinson or gurley
Gman – I’d say Hilton is the safer choice, but really is a coinflip
Heggy – Long-term I still like Diggs, but short-term Inman
justin – It’s only close because of Gurley’s matchup. I’d still lean him, as he has a higher upside, but Robinson is “safer”
What if Gurley is added to the list for a flex spot in a PPR league? Gurley or Decker?
Gurley, evcen with the matchup
.5 PPR; need WR2 and Flex from this group. I currently am rolling with M. Bryant and Landry. Thanks for the feedback.
– Martavis Bryan
– Jarvis Landry
– Sammy Watkins
– Jeremy Hill
– T.J. Yeldin
– Jeremy Langford
Landry is the lock.
I’d probably go with Hill, but it’s close
Can you rank these receivers? .5 pt PPR and I can start two
Fitz, Landry, Decker, Hilton, and Aiken
Also, would you start the Bears D or the Redskins D this week?
I’m leaning the skins because Dallas turns the ball over a lot.
Thanks!
Fitzgerald
Hilton
Landry
Decker (only because he’s the clear #2 on his team)
Aiken
I’d still go Chicago, but it’s close
Thanks Prof!
Can you rank all these Defenses for this week only?
Bears
Redskins
Steelers
Vikings
Giants
Dolphins
Bucs
Bears would be my top choice, followed by Washington/Tampa Bay
Prof: would to start Stevie Johnson versus a tough Denver D or the emerging Devante Parker versus a hapless Balty secondary? Rishard Matthews is out and Kenny Stills tweaked his ankle in practice. I am leaning towards starting Parker over Stevie J this week. Any thoughts? Thanks.
Need to pick a wide receiver out of Aiken / John Brown / Moncrief. Need a win to get in the playoffs and have Carson Palmer at quarterback.
Sheldon – Parker is the higher risk, but higher reward so it really depends on your situation. I’d probably roll the dice, though
Dale M – Brown is the “safest”, though Moncreif has the most appealing matchup and the lack of a running game (more or less). If you want to gamble, I’d go Moncreif. If you want to play it safer, pair Palmer/Brown and cross your fingers