FantasyScore Week 13 Questions
1. Matt Forte, Charcandrick West and Todd Gurley are all around the same price point ($7100-7200) and all have had issues over the past month. Which of these three are the best bet for production in the coming week?
Chad Parsons: I continually double-down on top talents after a poor game. Gurley would be my choice. Spencer Ware and Jeremy Langford have played well enough in the starter's absence Forte and West have some shine taken away as opposed to Gurley's concrete lead back status.
Mark Wimer: West is the guy I prefer of this group - his hamstring is healed up and he is the better fit for the "Jamaal Charles" role in the K.C. offense. Spencer Ware ($6,800) may vulture a few touches from West, but West should see the bulk of the touches on the football. Forte has a much more significant challenge from Jeremy Langford ($4,500) - I think that may be a 50-50 workshare going forwards, even if the FantasyScore pricing doesn't agree with me. Gurley is burdened with a horrifically-bad passing game that forces him to face stacked boxes down after down and he may be hitting the rookie wall.
Andrew Garda: I like Wimer’s catchphrase: West is the Best. I like Gurley as well but the defense he goes against is much tougher than Oakland. I think at some point Gurley starts producing yards again, but this isn’t that week. Which means your betting on a touchdown and while I do think he has been super consistent in that regard this season, I don’t want to hang my hat on that when West has a shot at yards and touchdowns.
Gurley is more of a play in GPPs because of the touchdown factor, though again I think West is the better play.
Forte and Jeremy Langford look like they will be an RBBC so I am staying far away.
Maurile Tremblay: I'm not a big fan of any of them this week. Forte and West appear to be in RBBC situations now, the Rams are in a tough matchup against the Cardinals, and there are cheaper running backs that I expect to outscore all of them (Darren McFadden at $6,300, David Johnson at $6,300, Johnathan Stewart at $5,900...)
2. Rob Gronkowski may not play this weekend and Jimmy Graham is done for the season. Who is the best of the upper-tier tight ends this weekend?
Parsons: Greg Olsen is a top tight end play this week. New Orleans struggles across the board on defense, Cam Newton is playing well, and Carolina does not have a dominant wide receiver. Olsen is a prime combination at a typically uncertain position.
Wimer: Greg Olsen ($7,500) against the comically inept Saints' defense. Olsen by a mile.
Garda: I’ve been rolling with Greg Olsen for a long time, so despite the $7500 price tag, I’ll probably go with him. I don’t like Tyler Eifert’s prospects this week but not at $7700. Same with Jordan Reed at $7600 – not enough return.
Tremblay: Greg Olsen is the answer here. I think a case can be made for Delanie Walker, Jordan Reed, or Travis Kelce as well, but I really love Olsen's matchup against the Saints.
3. Emmanuel Sanders finally got back on track last week, but you do buy into him this week at $7500?
Parsons: I have bet on Demaryius Thomas to turn it around (especially with touchdowns) of late over Sanders. I would be fading Sanders after strong games.
Wimer: No, I am not a Sanders believer as he bounced back on a day when Demaryius Thomas struggled mightily (I can't remember a worse outing from Thomas than his one-for-13 game last week). The Broncos have their running game going, and have two solid tight ends for Osweiler to throw at - Sanders is not in position to repeat his big numbers in my opinion, and I'm not going to risk $7,500 on him in that scenario.
Garda: No, for any number of reasons. I don’t think he will see nearly as many targets as he did in a shootout against New England. The Denver plan is to run the ball, so we’ll see more of that this weekend. As it’s the Chargers, I don’t expect the Broncos to have to play from behind the same way they did against New England so again, less throwing.
The only hesitation is that Demaryius Thomas looks like a train wreck. If Osweiler has to throw, Thomas has not been reliable. So Sanders will get some of those targets.
At the end of the day though, I don’t think it’s going to be enough to warrant that price.
Tremblay: In a word, no. He's the same price as Alshon Jeffery, and he's more expensive than Allen Robinson, Eric Decker, and Amari Cooper, all of whom I like better.
4. If you’re not spending money on the top quarterbacks, which ones are you looking at for value this weekend?
Parsons: I really like Alex Smith and Matt Hasselbeck to save 3k off the top quarterbacks this week. I would not go with Austin Davis, a bottom of the barrel salary, against Cincinnati to try and save more cap space.
Wimer: Matt Hasselbeck ($5,900) vs. the Steelers' poorly-performing secondary, stacked with T.Y. Hilton ($7,600) perhaps; Ryan Fitzpatrick ($6,600) in the Subway rivalry game (that looks like a probable shoot-out to me), and Blake Bortles ($7,000) for perhaps a super-stack with Allen Robinson ($7,300) /Julius Thomas ($5,600) now that Allen Hurns is likely out due to his concussion woes.
Garda: I agree with Wimer on Fitz and Hass. Both are facing shaky secondaries and have some nice weapons (and if you don’t think Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker are solid weapons, go look at their production).
I would also consider Alex Smith at $5500 against Oakland. I expect a lot of running, but he does have some weapons and could produce some decent points without being over-owned.
Tremblay: There are a bunch of discount options at quarterback this week. Alex Smith is $5,500 against the Raiders, and I think his rushing production is often underappreciated. Matt Hasselbeck at $5,900 has been surprisingly productive for the Colts, and the game against the Steelers could be a shootout. Matt Schaub at $5,000 is worth a flyer in GPPs.
