Playoff spots are on the line in Fantasy football leagues all over the place in Week 13, and the wide reciever position has an awful lot of question marks right now. Not for those of you who have Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill, but for most of the other early-round WR, things look pretty complicated.
To start with, Michael Thomas has had one good game with Taysom Hill and one mediocre game. You're starting him, but it's not as a slam dunk No. 1 WR until Drew Brees gets back. Julio Jones is dealing with a hamstring injury that has his status up in the air after he missed Week 12, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans are on a bye -- not that you'd feel super-confident in either even if they were playing -- and Kenny Golladay's is no sure thing to return from his hip injury. DeAndre Hopkins hasn't been great lately, but at least he's healthy and playing with his usual starter!
Of course, the good news is, wide receiver has no shortage of options to choose from in any given week. Jamey Eisenberg's Start 'Em & Sit 'Em calls are here to make sure you're making the right decision no matter who you have.
More Week 13 help: Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: QB | Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: RB | Trade Values Chart | FFT Newsletter | RB Preview | QB Preview | WR Preview | TE Preview | Waiver Wire | Panic About Struggling Stars? | Winners and Losers | Believe It Or Not
START 'EM & SIT 'EM
Wide Receiver
Start 'Em
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Fantasy managers seemingly haven't been willing to trust Cooks based on his start percentage on CBS Sports. For example, despite the fact that he's scored at least 12 PPR points in six of his past seven games, he's still at 80 percent started as of Wednesday afternoon. Now, that number will change with Will Fuller (suspended) now out, and hopefully Cooks will continue to succeed as the No. 1 receiver for Deshaun Watson. I like Keke Coutee as a sleeper this week, but Cooks has top-10 upside. In the past two weeks, the No. 1 receiver against the Colts -- Davante Adams in Week 11 and A.J. Brown in Week 12 -- has at least 98 receiving yards and a touchdown and has scored at least 19 PPR points. I could see Cooks doing something similar this week.
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The Bengals have allowed nine receivers to score at least 12 PPR points in their past five games, with eight touchdowns scored over that span. This defense should allow Parker to have a good game, and it could be great if Ryan Fitzpatrick starts again for the injured Tua Tagovailoa (thumb). I would imagine Tagovailoa knows to feature Parker as much as possible, and he has at least seven targets in four games in a row. With Fitzpatrick, Parker is a borderline top-10 Fantasy receiver in all leagues, but he's still a quality starting option even if Tagovailoa does return for Miami.
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Good weather for the Browns finally led to good production for Landry in Week 12 at Jacksonville, and the weather report for Week 13 at Tennessee is favorable. After dealing with wind and rain for three games in Cleveland against Las Vegas, Houston and Philadelphia, Landry went to Florida and torched the Jaguars for eight catches, 143 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets. It was his best game since Odell Beckham (ACL) went down in Week 7 at Cincinnati, and Landry should finish the season strong. Against the Titans, in what could be a high-scoring affair, Landry should again have another strong performance.
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We'll see how Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk work together as the top options in the passing game for the 49ers now that Aiyuk is off the reserve/COVID-19 list. We haven't seen that pairing without George Kittle (foot), so this will hopefully work well. I'm confident in both, and both should be considered No. 2 Fantasy receivers this week. Samuel was awesome in Week 12 at the Rams with 11 catches for 133 yards on 13 targets, and he's scored at least 11 PPR points in three games in a row. And Aiyuk has scored at least 17 PPR points in his past three games. The Bills have allowed four touchdowns to receivers in their past three games, and it would be great if Samuel and Aiyuk both found the end zone. I like Samuel slightly better than Aiyuk this week, but both should be successful in this matchup.
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Johnson scored 12 PPR points in Week 12 against Baltimore, but he left a lot of production on the field in that game. He had 13 targets, but he only caught eight for 46 yards. He should improve this week against Washington, and Johnson has at least 10 targets in four games in a row. He also scored at least 14 PPR points in the three games prior to Week 12, and I'm expecting all of Pittsburgh's receivers to play well this week, including JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool. All of them have top 20 upside against the Washington Football Team.
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Sleepers
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Throw out last week against New Orleans when the Broncos quarterback situation was a mess. Drew Lock is expected to return this week against the Chiefs, and he should continue to lean on Patrick, who has at least six targets in five of his past six games prior to Week 12. I'm expecting the Broncos to be chasing points at Kansas City, and the Chiefs have allowed five receivers to score at least 15 PPR points in their past three games.
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Pittman has at least seven targets in three of his past four games, and he has a great matchup in Week 13 at the Texans, who just lost standout cornerback Bradley Roby (suspension). The Texans are also among the league leaders with 15 touchdowns allowed to receivers this year.
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Lazard scored a touchdown in Week 12 against Chicago and hopefully that momentum carries over to Week 13 against the Eagles. He now has at least 12 PPR points in three of the five games he's played this year.
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Perriman, Denzel Mims and Jamison Crowder are all in play this week against the Raiders, who have allowed eight touchdowns to receivers in their past six games. Seven receivers have at least 13 PPR points against Las Vegas over that span, and Perriman has scored at least 11 PPR points in three games in a row.
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Davis has done well as the No. 2 receiver for the Titans opposite A.J. Brown, and both of them have a great matchup in Week 13 against the Browns. Cleveland is down Denzel Ward (calf) and Ronnie Harrison (shoulder) in their secondary, and the Browns are among the league leaders with 13 touchdowns allowed to receivers. Davis has scored at least 11 PPR points in seven of the nine games he's played this season.
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Sit 'Em
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Kirk will hopefully turn things around soon, but it's hard to trust him after the way he's played the past three games. He has 19 PPR points over that span on 18 targets, 11 catches, 96 yards and no touchdowns. Prior to that, Kirk scored at least 12 PPR points in four games in a row, but I'm expecting another down game in this matchup with the Rams, who allow the fewest Fantasy points to opposing receivers this season.
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Slayton seemingly has a great matchup against the Seahawks, but you can't start him with Colt McCoy under center for the injured Daniel Jones (hamstring). Slayton just had no catches on two targets in Week 12 at Cincinnati, and it's hard to expect many downfield throws for McCoy to Slayton. And while Seattle is No. 1 in Fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers, the Seahawks haven't allowed a receiver to score in three games in a row against the Rams, Cardinals and Eagles.
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We'll see what the Ravens defense looks like after Wednesday's game against the Steelers, but I expect Baltimore to make things uncomfortable for the Cowboys passing game. And the only receiver I like this week is Amari Cooper. Lamb does have 13 targets in the past two games with Andy Dalton back, and he scored in Week 11 at Minnesota. But he only has nine catches for 55 yards in those outings, and I don't want to count on Lamb finding the end zone this week, especially since Baltimore has allowed the fewest touchdowns to receivers this year with five.
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Meyers has slowed down the past two games against Houston and Arizona following a three-game stretch where he scored at least 13 PPR points. He only has 16 PPR points against the Texans and Cardinals with eight catches for 90 yards on nine targets. He's still looking for his first career touchdown catch, and I'm not counting on that happening this week. With Chris Harris and Casey Hayward, this Chargers secondary should make things tough on Meyers, and he's only worth using as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in deeper leagues.
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The first game without Joe Burrow (ACL) was bad for Boyd in Week 12 against the Giants with three catches for 15 yards on six targets. We hope Brandon Allen continues to lean on Boyd, but it's hard to trust him going against the Dolphins, who have a standout secondary led by cornerback Xavien Howard. I don't trust Tee Higgins either even though he scored against the Giants, and you can't start A.J. Green. At best, Boyd and Higgins are No. 3 Fantasy receivers in most leagues on the road.
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Bust Alert
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Jones will be the No. 1 receiver again for the Lions with Kenny Golladay (hip) likely out, and we've seen some good things from Jones in that role. But over the past two games against Carolina and Houston, Jones has averaged 9.5 PPR points on 18 targets, 10 catches, 99 yards and no touchdowns. Jones doesn't have a good track record against the Bears with 18 catches for 312 yards and a touchdown in his past five meetings with Chicago, and I would only use Jones as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver at best this week in the majority of leagues.
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