If you drafted Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, or Cooper Kupp you probably thought you would be free of lineup decisions in at least one position this season. And honesty, after the way Adam Thielen played the first two months of the season, he gave off that same vibe. As we prepare for the Fantasy playoffs that doesn't appear to be the case.
None of the above are must-sit players (well besides Jefferson since he has a bye in Week 13) but none are surefire starters either. For me, Kupp is the riskiest. He has two good games all season and is playing through an ankle injury that was clearly hampering him on Sunday. He projects outside of my top-20 for Week 13 and if we see another single-digit performance, he may not be a top-30 wide receiver in Week 14.
While most people would expect Thielen to be the guy I'm most concerned about, I'm giving him at least one more week with a new regime. He's healthy and the QB has given him all of these targets is healthy, so I'm mostly ignoring last week's blip.
The guy I am surprisingly concerned about is Chase. No, I'm not benching him this week (unless you happen to have three of my top-10 wide receivers), but I'm watching him very closely. He only caught four passes in his first full game with Jake Browning and two of those bounced off of someone else's hands first. As bad as things were for Browning and Bengals in Week 12, they could have been much worse.
As for Jefferson, I don't expect him to be himself, but I will view him as a must-start in Week 14 when he returns and likely in Week 15 no matter what happens in that game. Joshua Dobbs was awful on Monday night, but he's a better passer than Bryce Young or Browning right now. Once Jefferson is healthy, he's in my lineup.
- Heath's Week 13 Previews: QB | RB | WR | TE
You can find more in my weekly projections over at SportsLine. Now here is the rest of the Week 13 WR Preview:
Week 13 WR Preview
Who's Out
Numbers to Know
Matchups That Matter
Waiver Wire Targets
DFS Plays
Projections
The following players are not being projected to play Week 13 at this time. Here's what it means:
WR Preview
Numbers to Know
- 149.9 -- Keenan Allen is on pace for 149.9 receptions this season. The NFL record is 149. The Chargers may not have much else to play for down the stretch.
- 21 -- Adam Thielen saw 21 targets in the two weeks before he saw three in Week 12. I'm going back to Thielen for at least one more game.
- 6.8 -- Cooper Kupp has not scored more than 6.8 PPR Fantasy points in a game since Week 6.
- 31.3% -- Rashee Rice's 31.3% target share was the highest of his career. He's trending towards must-start.
- 5 -- Jayden Reed has five rush attempts in his last two games. That gives him a little extra floor and upside.
- 2.58 -- Nico Collins' 2.58 YPRR is seventh amongst wide receivers, trailing only Tyreek Hill, Brandon Aiyuk, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown, and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
- 48% -- Calvin Ridley has been targeted on 48% of Trevor Lawrence's throws into the end zone. Only Courtland Sutton has a higher rate.
WR Preview
Matchups that matter
Projections powered by
Sportsline
WR Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 13 Adds (WR Preview)
Top DFS Play (WR Preview)
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Contrarian DFS Play (WR Preview)
Projections powered by
Sportsline
WR Preview
Heath's Projections
My full set of Week 13 Fantasy Football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 13. Projected stats for all starting quarterbacks are available at Sportsline.