Daily Newsletter: NFL Week 13 Sleepers & Busts (Nov. 30th)
Welcome to our daily newsletter! As we head into Week 13 of the fantasy football season, we’ve got you covered with the latest insights on who to start and who to avoid. From rising stars like Bucky Irving and Adonai Mitchell to players facing tough matchups like Zay Flowers and Kirk Cousins, we’re here to help you make the best decisions for your lineup. Let’s dive in!
Sleepers
Bucky Irving
Irving isn’t really a sleeper at this point, but continues towards his status as a fantasy football league winner heading down the stretch of the season. Irving is coming off a huge game against the Giants in which he ran for over 80 yards and a touchdown while adding 6-64 through the air. Keep in mind, he was tackled at the one yard line twice as well and easily could have had three touchdowns on the day. Now he draws the Panthers defense who has struggled all season especially against the run. I fully expect Irving’s role to continue to grow as the season comes to a close and will be heavily invested in him moving forward.
Adonai Mitchell
Mitchell is someone I’ve been high on all season due to his elite metrics when it comes to gaining separation, and I’ve simply been waiting for him to see an expanded opportunity. He was awarded with one due to injuries a few weeks ago against the Bills turning in a 6-71 receiving line. Now, the Colts will be missing Josh Downs this week which should allow Mitchell to run more routes. Alec Pierce was listed questionable for this game, but is likely to play despite not being 100%. Anthony Richardson has just missed Mitchell on multiple long TDs this season, and it feels like only a matter of time before they connect on one. New England plays very heavy man-coverage and I’m willing to buy stock in Mitchell given his ability to get open in what should be an expanded role on Sunday.
Dallas Goedert
Goedert is coming off a 4-19 line against the Los Angeles Rams, but that doesn’t tell the full story. He was the first read on over 30% of Jalen Hurts drop-backs, which makes sense considering DeVonta Smith missed the game due to injury. Goedert can eat over the middle of the field against this Ravens secondary that has been much worse against the pass than the run this season. Smith is listed as a GTD for this game, and I like Goedert even if he suits in what is expected to be a shootout in Baltimore.
Busts
Zay Flowers
I was all-in on Flowers last week vs the Chargers, and he responded with a pretty average game. Even though this contest vs the Eagles features a huge 51 point total, I don’t think it’s a spot to fire up Zay. SInce the Eagles bye week, they have played elite defense and gone extremely run-heavy on offense given that they’ve held leads in quite a few of their games. They allow just the second-fewest fantasy PPG to opposing WRs coming into this week and I won’t be targeting many WRs vs them the rest of the way.
Marv Harrison Jr
Marv is another player I was very high on coming into last week, expecting a post-bye rookie bump. He was ruled just out by a toe on a touchdown catch, but other than that he really didn’t affect the game. Minnesota has been completely disruptive on defense this season, and plays heavy zone-coverage which Harrison Jr struggles against. His success against press-coverage is why I liked him vs Seattle last week – and I won’t be targeting him vs this Vikings defense that could give Kyler Murray fits on Sunday.
Kirk Cousins
I love Kirk Cousins and think he is an underrated NFL QB, but this isn’t the type of spot I want to target him. Atlanta has carved up some poor defenses this season, and struggled vs above-average ones. I would place the Chargers in the latter category. They’ve allowed the fifth-fewest passing yards and have really only been hurt by rushing QBs not named Joe Burrow. Atlanta is coming off their bye week, while the Chargers have to travel cross-country for an early start time but I think any Falcons success will come through Bijan Robinson more so than Cousins in Week 13.
Written by Ben Hossler