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Marcas Grant: Must start? Nah. Must own? Yeah. Don't fool yourself into thinking that Rawls will come back and suddenly own all of the backfield snaps. C.J. Prosise's big game on Sunday night assures that he'll be a significant part of the Seahawks' offensive game plan (which certainly made Christine Michael expendable). Where Rawls comes in is as a power runner who can pick up tough yards between the tackles and at the goal line -- something that Prosise did not do well against a suspect Patriots front in Week 11. This week's game against the Eagles projects to be more of a Prosise game. Philly isn't allowing a ton of rushing yards and has been more vulnerable to pass-catching running backs.
MG: The short answer is ... James Starks happened. The Ty Montgomery-as-workhorse-running back experiment was always destined to be a short-lived one. It's why the Packers went through the process of adding players like Knile Davis and Don Jackson. (It's also why the Twitter movement to give Montgomery RB eligibility was a short-sighted one.) The bigger surprise was that Montgomery saw nearly no work as a receiver with just two snaps played in the slot. With Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams producing -- and Randall Cobb getting healthier -- there doesn't look to be any room for Montgomery to continue thriving in the Green Bay offense.
M.G.: That sorta depends on what kind of receiver you're looking for. If what you're seeking is a WR1, then there's probably no way around having to sacrifice a lot. If you just need or want a WR2/flex type then there are plenty of options. Guys like Tyreek Hill, Rishard Matthews and Jamison Crowder have all been productive for extended stretches and have plenty of upside going into the final weeks of the season. If you're interested in more of a YOLO play off the waiver wire, Cameron Meredith will spark renewed interest with Alshon Jeffery suspended while Eli Rogers will start to see more action since the Steelers seem soured on Sammie Coates.
M.G.: Didn't you read what I just wrote? Just kidding. But seriously, I wanted to answer this question so I could continue to preach the gospel of Rishard Matthews. When Matthews signed with the Titans, the assumption is that he would be the top wide receiver target in the offense. Then we got distracted by Tajae Sharpe. Our bad. But as Marcus Mariota has turned things up a notch, many of the Titans pass-catchers have followed suit with Matthews among the team leaders. In the past four weeks, Matthews is playing 81 percent of the snaps and picking up 20 percent of the targets. Oh ... and he's scored six touchdowns in the past six games. I'm not sure what other endorsement I can give. And don't worry about Vontae Davis, who doesn't normally "travel" and is just as likely to line up against Sharpe as Matthews.
M.G.: I'm going to say this as clearly as possible. DO. NOT. GIVE. UP. EITHER. OF. THESE. RECEIVERS. You're sitting on a pair of top 20 fantasy wideouts who are trusted by their quality quarterbacks and have been consistently productive all year. Not to mention that both players have pretty good fantasy playoff schedules. Chances are if you have these two receivers, there's probably also a quality WR1 on your roster as well. Even if there isn't, this duo is good enough to allow you to compete for a fantasy championship.
M.G.: Anytime you have a chance to get fantasy's sixth-best receiver on your roster, you have to take it. It doesn't even matter to me that he's only scored two touchdowns this year. The greatest trick Amari Cooper ever pulled was convincing the world you can be a WR1 without red zone targets. Yes, I know I've used that line before. I'm just particularly proud of it. I also was re-watching The Usual Suspects again last week. Do not @ me. Also ... I'm okay if you drop Brandon Marshall. He hasn't offered much all season and the Jets offense is showing no signs of turning a corner. If you can corral Evans and Cooper, you likely won't feel any sadness about parting ways with Marshall.
M.G.: They will be once Dion Lewis gets back (hopefully this week). What we saw last season showed that both of those players can prosper in the Patriots offense. Lewis should see a larger slice of backfield work than James White did, but it shouldn't preclude Blount from remaining the closer at running back tasked with finishing games in the fourth quarter. I have very little fear of starting two teammates from the same skill position group if there's a reasonable expectation that both can be productive. Such is the case with New England's running backs.
M.G.: The first thing you do is stop listening to Doug Pederson about the status of the Eagles backfield rotation since he's led us astray all year long. My next suggestion would be to try and trade Mathews since it prevents you from the headache of trying to figure out when he's going to be productive. If you do decide to stick with Mathews, realize that you can't count on him to be more than a touchdown-dependent flex most weeks with the continued risk that Darren Sproles and Wendell Smallwood will eat into his opportunities.
M.G.: I'm giving the nod to DeMarco Murray here. With the exceptions of Ezekiel Elliott and David Johnson (and to a lesser extent, Devonta Freeman), that early round running back you drafted probably has disappointed or frustrated you at some point this season. But for people who waited and took a later round shot at Murray, you were able to presumably grab a productive player in the first couple of rounds while getting the guy who's been fantasy's biggest draft bargain. And since he's fourth in receptions among running backs, he's been equally as productive for fantasy managers in PPR leagues as well.
M.G.: The winner here is Philip Rivers. The Chargers quarterback has had an up-and-down season despite his standing as the QB9 through the first 10 weeks of the season. Yet this is a double-edged sword. Rivers gets to face the Panthers, Raiders and Browns in Weeks 14-16 which is great news. The bad news is that he's hit a rough patch, throwing eight of his 11 interceptions in the past four games. It's also not particularly encouraging that the Chargers are quickly falling out of playoff contention. Honorable mention goes out to Jameis Winston (v. NO, at DAL, at NO) and Derek Carr (at KC, at SD, v. IND)
Bonus question:
M.G.:Go crazy, people.
In the latest episode of the NFL Fantasy LIVE podcast, the crew plays fantasy "buy or sell" with the Packers struggling offense, before looking at the top options on the Week 7 waiver wire. Don't forget to subscribe to the show or download each episode HERE!
Marcas Grant is a fantasy editor for NFL.com and a man who knows that no one cares about your fantasy team as much as you do. Send him fantasy football questions or fantasy football love sonnets on Twitter @MarcasG or Snapchat at marcasg9.
