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There are no byes this week so we have a much larger player pool to choose from on Sunday. Here is our guide to who we think you should and shouldn’t pick in your teams this week.
Quarterbacks
PICK – Ben Rothlisberger (Steelers) – $6,600
The matchup is favourable against the Bengals 26th ranked pass defense against the pass. The Steelers finally look to be getting some consistency in their play as they push for a playoff spot. Big Ben is usually really good in December and he will feast on the Bengals on Sunday.
PICK – Derek Carr (Raiders) – $6,300
Coming off his worst game of the season in Kansas City I can see Carr bouncing back on Sunday. He had a big game in the first meeting between the two teams and San Diego may be missing DE Joey Bosa amongst others. If Carr is given time and his finger has healed he could be in for a 300+ yard day. The Raiders win and they are playoff bound.
AVOID – Tom Brady (Patriots) – $6,700
The Patriots will win on the ground against Denver. That is the weak spot of the Denver defense. Look for the pass-rush and lack of TE big plays to hurt the NE passing game. I think Brady will be efficient here but not a top 5-7 player.
AVOID – Andrew Luck (Colts) – $6,400
Luck is questionable for the game with Minnesota as he recovers from injury. Even healthy this is a tough matchup with the Vikings number 3 rated pass defence. The Vikings don’t give up a lot of big plays and control the TEs fairly well.
Running Backs
PICK – DeMarco Murray (Titans) – $6,900
Murray is second in the NFL in rushing and has more than 10 touchdowns. Last week the Chiefs gave up more than 100 yards to Raiders RB Latavius Murray. The Titans are a run first offense and have the second best OL in the AFC after the Raiders. This looks positive for the Titans Murray to have a big game too.
PICK –Carlos Hyde (49ers) – $5,900
Last week Hyde showed some life with well over 100 yards rushing. The 49ers play the Atlanta Falcons this week with their woeful rushing defense (31st ranking). A lot of Hyde’s yards came on runs off right tackle. OLB Vic Beasley, the Falcons best pass rusher plays that side of the field. Whilst he rushes the passer well he is poor against the run. Look for the 49ers to run the ball at him to nullify his pass rush. I can see 90+ yards a score for Hyde here.
PICK – Jeremy Hill (Bengals) – $5,600
The Steelers struggle against running backs and Hill scores touchdowns from inside the 10 yard line. I think the Steelers will win this game with ease but the Bengals best chance to stay in the game is to feed Hill. They have the OL to create some holes. A short yardage TD would help his value.
PICK – Tevin Coleman (Falcons) – $5,000
The matchup couldn’t be better for Coleman against the 32nd ranked 49ers defence. Coleman catches the ball well too so has extra value here.
AVOID – Lamar Miller (Texans) – $5,400
Miller is questionable to play on Sunday but will almost definitely feature as the Texans look to get to the playoffs. They play the Jaguars in a divisional game on Sunday and whilst the Jags have been poor it is their defence that has been their best unit. The Jags have been able to force a lot of fumbles and this could carry over against a RB carrying an injury on Sunday.
AVOID – Mark Ingram (Saints) – $4,700
The last time I had Ingram as an avoid he had a 75 yard touchdown run! I’m more confident this week for two reasons – one he is carrying an injury and two he plays the Cardinals number 1 ranked defense against RBs.
Wide Receivers
PICK – Mike Evans (Bucs) – $8,300
Yes, he is a lot of money. BUT – he plays a Cowboys defence that gets burnt by true Number One WRs and he is QB Jameis Winstons favoured target. The Bucs are playing for a playoff spot so I expect them to give Dallas some problems in this game.
PICK – Jordy Nelson (Packers) – $7,300
Nelson is properly back to full speed now and has 12 touchdowns on the season. His numbers have spiked with the re-emergence of the real Aaron Rodgers. The Packers play the Bears on Sunday. The Bears defence is top 10 but they have struggled historically against Nelson.
PICK – Stefon Diggs (Vikings) – $6,200
Diggs doesn’t often get deep but he racks up a lot catches and yards in the short and intermediate passing game. He could do well on Sunday against a middle of the pack Colts pass defense.
PICK – Tyreek Hill (Chiefs) – $5,700
He scores on catches, runs and returns. In the open field he is practically unstoppable. Whats not to like against the Titans 32nd ranked pass defense?
AVOID – T.Y. Hilton (Colts) – $7,200
Hilton is 2nd in the NFL in receiving yards but faces a really tough Vikings defense on Sunday. The Vikes are ranked number 2 against the pass and their big physical corners will be tough matchups for Hilton.
AVOID – Golden Tate (Lions) – $6,500
Tate is one of those players that can have big games but they come along at about a 1 in 10 ratio. The Lions play a ball control offense so this eliminates the big deep play pass that would give lots of fantasy points. The Lions play one of the Giants on Sunday. The Giants pass rush will be a factor and is they can disrupt Matt Stafford I see little value in Tate.
Tight Ends
PICK – Travis Kelce (Chiefs) – $5,900
Kelce has been the best TE in the NFL this season. He is going for an NFL record 5th straight 100 yard game for a TE on Sunday against the Titans. The Titans are not great defending against TE’s. The Chiefs know they must win to stay ahead of the Raiders in the AFC West and to pressure New England for the number one playoff seed. Look for Kelce to be heavily involved on Sunday.
PICK – LaDarius Green (Steelers) – $3,700
We won’t take too much from Green’s stats from week 14 where the snow in Buffalo was a huge factor in either teams ability to throw the ball. The previous week against the Giants Green had career highs with an 11-110-1 TD line. I doubt he will reach those figures again but he is now the third target in the Steelers passing game. That means a decent amount of targets and fantasy potential.
AVOID – Eric Ebron (Lions) – $3,700
Like Tate above, Ebron flatters to deceive. He is injured and questionable on Sunday. The matchup is decent as the Giants have struggled against TEs this season. The thing is he doesn’t get many targets right now in the Lions passing attack (17 in the last 4 weeks) so his value is low.
Defences
PICK – Ravens – $3,100
The Ravens play the Eagles on Sunday and face rookie QB Carson Wentz. I like the Ravens to mix up their coverage schemes and blitz packages to confuse Wentz throughout the game. Wentz was better in week 14 than he has been for a while but the Ravens defense is better than the Redskins.
PICK – Raiders – $2,700
This is a risky call. The Raiders have struggled against Chargers QB Phillip Rivers and TE Antonio Gates for years. Oakland gets its second best DE Mario Edwards back in this game whilst the Chargers might be missing RB Melvin Gordon (another injury). Oakland knows a win in this game guarantees them a playoff spot. Look for them to come out with fire and try to keep Phillip Rivers throwing interceptions.
AVOID – Bengals – $2,800
The Steelers offense is starting to get everything together as the playoffs approach. The Bengals defense has been a strength all season and they have great penetration from their DTs. They have played Pittsburgh tough in recent years but I’m not sure the Bengals can score enough to keep the Steelers offense off the field. A tired defense against Pittsburgh = trouble.
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