Who is a good quarterback to use? Jimmy Garoppolo
Earlier this season. A lot of us all jumped on the Sam Bradford bandwagon. I mean really jumped on it. He was in every piece of content we created. Sleepers. Waiver wire. QB streams. KOH KNOWS! That's what is happening this week with Jimmy G. We all love him this week. And why not? He was good in his start against the Bears. Piled up the yards, but didn't produce the touchdowns. But that's because the Bears have a good defense. I mean, yeesh, think of how bad the Bears would be this season if they didn't have a defense. But that's in the past. My pal Jimmy has the Texans this week, who have allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
Wait, but which one of his receivers? Marquise Goodwin
If you're like me, you play in leagues where you get that 100-yard bonus. And I'm still waiting for the stat correction to give him that extra yard. But eight receptions for 99 yards is a pretty good stat line. The Bears did have that strong defense working to keep him out of the end zone, but I do anticipate the 49ers taking a few chances to him deep this week. BTW, Goodwin was one of those players who offered his seat on the team bus to Jimmy G after the game. Which is apparently a huge deal.
Was Jameis Winston for real last week? He was.
Winston scored 18.60 fantasy points in his first game back after his shoulder injury. That was somewhat unexpected. And I'm a little chagrined because I didn't play him. Like the matchup this week against the Lions who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks in the last four weeks. The Lions have also allowed 245.3 passing yards this year, the sixth-most in the NFL.
Is there a running back out there I can roll with? Austin Ekeler
He's scored four touchdowns in his last six games. The Chargers have averaged 33.7 points the last three weeks, which is the most in the NFL. Washington has allowed the third-most points to running backs over the last four weeks. I know a lot of folk like to say he's like the new Danny Woodhead. But Woody does a lot of little things Ekeler hasn't picked up yet. But it does seem like they want to run the ball with him more than they do Melvin Gordon. And if you watch, then you'll understand why.
Can we trust Tarik Cohen? Yes.
Here's the thing. The Bears offense is maddening. And if you're in a league where you get points for touchdown returns, this is an absolute no-doubter. But he has scored double-digit fantasy points in two of his last three. The Bengals have allowed a lot of targets to running backs this year. And the Bears want to get the ball to Cohen in the air. So I'm a fan of this.
Remember when I asked you about Peyton Barber? Feel stupid now?
Yeah, the Bucs selected Barber as a surprise starter on Sunday morning. A lot of you kids on my Facebook Live feed on Sunday morning were begging to put him in the lineup. And he was good. More than 100 rushing yards. He caught the ball, too. That was the one thing I was really worried about. It was the receptions. But he looked great in the receiving game. So he's somebody you could start.
Are you sorry you doubted Josh Gordon? I am.
He was pretty impressive. The Browns targeted him a ton. He played on 76 percent of the snaps. And he's got a good matchup this week against the Packers, who have allowed 12.7 receptions per game to receiver this year, the fourth-most in the NFL. He looked great. I can't take that away from him. And against a pretty good defense, too.
I had Gronk. Is it as easy picking up Dwayne Allen? Sort of.
Let's be honest here, you're just not going to bench Gronk. You might be able to find Cameron Brate out in the world, too. I'm over that guy, though. You don't put up points all year, but then show up in Week 13 with a pair of touchdowns? That's just great. But Allen certainly is an option. The Dolphins have allowed the fourth-most points to tight ends this year. The Dolphins have also allowed eight receiving touchdowns to tight ends this year, too.
Hit me with that D: Packers D/ST
-- Follow Adam Rank on Twitter @adamrank
