Week 13 had the chance to be a separation week for a lot of playoff contenders, but instead has created a logjam that will likely have an inordinate number of teams still in contention as the season winds down.
In the AFC, only three teams (New York Jets, Tennessee and New England) aren’t either in a playoff spot or within two games of a berth. Four teams are 7-5, three are 6-6, and two are 5-7. In the NFC, only three teams aren’t within two games of a playoff spot (Washington, Arizona and Carolina) with five teams at 6-6, two at 5-7, and two at 4-8.
The good news for those looking to nail down a fantasy championship, a lot more teams than usual will have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs and will continue putting their best foot forward until they’re mathematically eliminated.
Fantasy football risers
Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride – When you don’t have one of the small handful of tight ends who are weekly must-plays regardless of opponent, you look for players with a significant role in their offenses. McBride fits that criterion. In the four games since Kyler Murray returned, no other Cardinal has more than 10 receptions. McBride has caught 28 passes for 323 yards and a touchdown. With weekly PPR league totals of 21.1, 9.3, 13.0 and 22.9 over the last four games, it’s hard not to start him every week.
Carolina Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard – The Panthers aren’t having people lining up to put them in their fantasy lineups, but Hubbard is making a case. Expected to be second fiddle (again) when the Panthers signed Miles Sanders, Hubbard has consistently been the more impressive back. Over the last three games, Hubbard has 49 carries for 206 yards and three touchdowns. It will require a bit of desperation to play him, but the Panthers post fantasy numbers just like everyone else.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Rachaad White – White has been frustrating because of his inconsistency, but he’s the entire show in Tampa Bay’s running game. He has 176 carries – no other running back has more than 24 – and has been his best over the last month. In his last five games, he has 20 carries three times, has rushed 84 times for 361 yards, caught 17 passes for 153 yards and scored five touchdowns. He’s getting the entire RB workload, and it is finally starting to pay off, which makes it more difficult not to put him in fantasy lineups and keep him there.
Tennessee Titans RB Tajae Sharpe – When you back up Derrick Henry, opportunities in the running game are limited – so much so the Titans only have two running backs on their active roster. Henry had 21 carries Sunday before taking a vicious head shot that knocked him out of the game in the second half. Henry managed to avoid a concussion. The Titans saddled up Spears, who hadn’t had more than eight carries in a game since Week 2 and tallied five or fewer carries in eight of the last nine. Spears responded with 16 carries for 75 yards. He may be worth stashing if you can carry over players, because Henry is a free agent after this season, and the Titans won’t keep paying him.
Green Bay Packers WR Christian Watson – Watson has never lived up to his hype due to injuries that have sidelined him. He tweaked a hamstring late in Sunday’s game, so you may need to use caution given Watson’s hamstring history, but he has been coming on strong after a slow start to the season. He has caught four touchdowns in his last three games. In the last two – wins over the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs – Watson caught 12 passes for 165 yards and three TDs. If he can ever stay healthy, he has the skill and speed to be a playmaker in this offense. If his injury is serious, consider rookie Dontayvion Wicks.
Fantasy football fallers
Los Angeles Chargers RB Austin Ekeler – Universally viewed as the No. 1 or 2 pick in fantasy drafts, Ekeler was the most dynamic dual-threat running back in 2021-22 – rushing for more than 1,800 yards, catching 177 passes for 1,400 yards and scoring 32 touchdowns in 33 games. Since missing three games early in the season, in his eight games back, he has averaged just 41 rushing yards, 3.4 receptions for 31 yards and has scored just four touchdowns. He can’t be benched because of the investment made in him, but the thud heard from his fall has been thunderous.
Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp – Like Ekeler, Kupp started the season hurt and, after two strong games upon returning, his weekly point totals in PPR over the last six games have been 4.9, 6.1, 6.8, 2.1, 4.8 and 15.9. He has been outscored by rookie Puka Nacua in five of six games and outpointed by Tutu Atwell three times. Those who invested heavily in Kupp will likely go down with the ship before benching him, but drowning seems likely given his consistent lack of production.
New York Jets RB Breece Hall – Hopes were off the charts for Hall with the arrival of Aaron Rodgers, but Hall has been reduced to being more of a receiver than a runner in the Jets’ awful post-Rodgers offense. While he has 44 receptions and two receiving touchdowns, Hall’s rushing numbers have crumbled. He hasn’t run for more than 50 yards in his last seven games, has rushed for fewer than 30 yards in his last four games as well as five of his last six, and hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown since Week 6.
Cleveland Browns WR Amari Cooper – Cooper is known for having swings of production – from a run of a greatness over several weeks to a disappearing act. After being the main threat with Deshaun Watson at the wheel of the offense, in the three games since Watson went down, Cooper has been targeted 19 times but caught just nine passes for 84 yards and no touchdowns. When you string together weekly point totals of 7.4, 3.6 and 6.8, you don’t stay in lineups for long.
Denver Broncos RB Javonte Williams – Williams was a player with high expectations pinned to him this season, but it hasn’t materialized. He has averaged 14 carries for 53 yards and has yet to score a rushing touchdown. As a receiver, he has averaged fewer than three receptions a game for 14 yards and has two touchdowns. A season-long average of 10 points hurts a fantasy roster more than it helps – much less for a running back who had a lot of steam behind him heading into the season.
