Week 13 is coming quickly and the fantasy playoffs are right around the corner, which means fortifying your lineups with good matchups to help with the playoff push is the main focus from here on out. The following list will highlight one player that should have a great matchup this upcoming weekend and one additional player that may still be on waivers in case the highlighted player is not on your roster. This list is for standard scoring leagues.
Quarterback
Russell Wilson- Wilson has been playing out of his mind this season and with the Seahawks defense seemingly losing a player or two every week, it’s on Wilson to keep the Seahawks in the playoff hunt and this week against Philly’s potent offense he should put up massive numbers in a back and forth game.
Upside play – Jameis Winston
Winston has been out the last 3 weeks nursing a nagging shoulder injury that has plagued him throughout the season. Finally healthy, Winston has a great matchup going to Green Bay with backup quarterback Brett Hundley helming the opposing offense. Having Winston back in the lineup gives a nice bump to targets WR Mike Evans and TE Cameron Brate as well.
Running Back-Leveon Bell
This is a no-brainer pick. Sometimes though the low hanging fruit are the ones you should reach for. Ben Roethlisberger’s home/road splits are well documented and Cincinnati’s defense actually isn’t bad. Bell should get another huge workload and in a divisional battle look for Pittsburgh to lean on the talented back.
Upside play-Marshawn Lynch
Beast Mode is looking like a great back-half of the season pick as he got a huge workload last week. This week should be no different. With the Giants looking like they are quickly imploding and the Raiders should get up early in this game. Lynch should keep the tempo and gain good yardage while probably hitting pay-dirt once or twice.
Wide Receiver- Deandre Hopkins
Hopkins doesn’t care who throws him the ball, he will catch it. Whether Watson or Savage is behind center, Hopkins is the 1st option every time. And, in the world of fantasy football volume is king, and the king of volume is named Deandre. Not only does he get the catches but against the Titans horrible secondary, he should be peppered even more on Sunday.
Upside Play- Cooper Kupp
Kupp has become the defacto number one receiver. Especially since Robert Woods injury sidelined him for a couple of weeks. Kupp got over 100 yards last week and should provide a nice security blanket for Jared Goff once again this week. Kupp should also have the fortune to not be shadowed by shutdown corner Patrick Peterson, who doesn’t usually go into the slot much. Watkins should be shadowed by Peterson leaving Kupp to soak up short to intermediate passes all day.
Tight End- Rob Gronkowski
Gronkowski goes absolutely nuclear every time he plays Buffalo and this time should not be any different. His last 5 lines at Buffalo look like this- 5-109-1,7-113-1,7-94-0,5-104-1,7-109-2. Gronk will go Gronk this weekend, it’s that simple.
Upside Play- Jared Cook
Cook has been a nice target for Carr this season, especially when Carr’s receivers aren’t always reliable. This weekend against the Giants, just like Marshawn Lynch, Cook should be heavily involved while Crabtree (suspension) and Cooper (concussion) will both be out. Never mind the fact the Giants are horrible against tight ends but Cook will be the number one option for Carr on Sunday.
