Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 13

The 2021 fantasy playoffs are just around the corner.  Benjamin (@FFRabbitDad) and Brendan (@obryanbren) are back with more players to take a look at when setting your fantasy football lineups. Check it all out here in our unique Start or Sit Faceoff, for this week with Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 13.

Brendan: I am not going to name names on what horrific pick I made to sit last week. It was quite possibly the worst pick of the season. Not going to do it. Just going to move on and worry about this next week. I also am going to give both Benjamin and myself some props. Not only are we amazing fantasy football start/sit pickers, but we also do a pretty bang-up job on making NFL picks as well. Benjamin finished in the top five this past week on Tallysight’s rankings! We also had our own Steve DeAngelo (@FantasySavvy) finish in fifth place as well. I personally have finished in the top five a few weeks so far this season. So not only use our site to set your lineups each week, use us as a tool to help make your bets! Check out all of our free NFL picks here.

Benjamin: I thought about calling you out here, Brendan, but I know the sting you feel from Justin Herbert the week prior. Even great minds miss once-in-a-while. We did nail our benched quarterbacks (Tannehill and Mayfield) last week. Our running back starts (Gordon/Williams and Gibson) should’ve made folks happy as well as some other picks we made. I, for one, absolutely love getting our picks, spreads, and over/under posted on Tallysight for people to easily digest week after week. With all the insight and tools we have on the Faceoff Sports Network, people are getting the best possible content that we can provide and enjoy. If I can help just one person each week make the correct choice for fantasy or sports betting, I feel pretty good about it. With that, let’s make some start/sit picks!

Quarterbacks

Start: Kirk Cousins – Derek Carr

Benjamin: An alumni of Michigan State, Kirk Cousins loves playing games in Detroit. Over his three starts against the Lions in Detroit as a member of the Vikings, Cousins has averaged 332 passing yards and 3.3 touchdowns per game. That’s just nuts! Not only that, but his career numbers against Detroit are a 74.09 completion percentage, 21 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 120.5 in eight games. With (likely) no Dalvin Cook this week, it’s not a stretch to say that Cousins could be the top quarterback in Week 13.

Brendan: Shh…Don’t say it too loud because I don’t think anyone is really aware of it, but Derek Carr is currently leading the league with 310.4 passing yards per game. This is with him losing some pivotal receiving threats with Henry Ruggs and now Darren Waller. His matchup this week is juicy in playing the Washington Football Team who is giving up a league-high 23.37 points per game to opposing quarterbacks and has allowed the most passing touchdowns in the league. Carr is a must-start this week.

Sit: Jimmy Garoppolo – Russell Wilson

Brendan: Looks like you might want to avoid all quarterbacks in the Seattle/San Francisco matchup this week! Jimmy Garoppolo has been pretty solid the last few weeks, and you can give him some of the credit for the 49ers’ recent run they have been on. However, Seattle is arguably the worst team in the league against the run, and everyone knows Kyle Shanahan loves to run the ball. Add to that, Garoppolo will be missing his primary target with Deebo Samuel this week. The 49ers should have their way with the Seattle defense, but it will be on the ground and not through the air.

Benjamin: We haven’t really seen the Russell Wilson we’re used to since he returned from injury in Week 10. He’s averaging just 205 passing yards in the last three games with only two passing scores. Those two passing scores came last week against Washington, a less-than-scary defense. San Francisco held Wilson to just 149 passing yards earlier this season and his fantasy day was saved by a rushing touchdown in the second quarter. Until I see him return to form, I wouldn’t start him for fantasy. In fact, I’d straight up drop Wilson and let someone else deal with him.

Running Backs

Start: Boston Scott – Javonte Williams

Brendan: All season long, you should have avoided the Eagles running backs like the plague, and for good reason! Jalen Hurts was the only gig in town and continues to be a decent quarterback start. However, the Eagles have started to get their running backs a bit more involved the last few weeks and Scott has been the primary beneficiary, leading the team with touches and getting targets as a receiver. Miles Sanders once again has some injury issues that he is dealing with, so Scott looks to be the starter against a favorable matchup in the Jets who are giving up a league-leading 35.51 points per game to running backs. If you’re in a bind, think about starting Scott this week.

Benjamin: I’m doubling down on Javonte Williams this week. Accumulating 111 scrimmage yards and a score on 17 touches, Williams made happy every fantasy manager who rolled with him in Week 12. With Melvin Gordon going another day missing practice, it’s quite possible he could sit out and leave nearly all of the touches to the rookie. With Kansas City up next, a high-scoring contest could ensue and they are giving up the fifth-highest D-PAC score to running backs. In the last two weeks, the Chiefs have allowed nine and eight receptions out of the backfield. Williams will have another great week for fantasy, so get him in your lineup!

Sit: Devonta Freeman – Tevin Coleman

Benjamin: With 13 or more touches in each of the last four weeks, Devonta Freeman has struggled to gain yards. His only fantasy-viable weeks have come when he’s crossed the goal line. It is difficult, to say the least, to predict touchdowns. Freeman has also been averaging 3.24 YPC across the last three games. The D-PAC score for Pittsburgh is also lower than most teams at 22nd overall, making them a less-than-ideal matchup for runners. With Lamar Jackson always a threat to monopolize attempts, there just isn’t enough work out of the backfield for Freeman to be anything better than a desperation play this week.

Brendan: I don’t think anyone knows what is really going on with the Jets backfield. It just seemed like Michael Carter was taking the lead when he was put on IR. Now you cannot trust any of the Jets’ running backs. Coleman might suddenly appear to be the lead back, but this late into the playoff push, you cannot trust that outcome. The Eagles have been decent against the run with a middle-of-the-road 10.82 D-PAC score and allowing 25.29 points per game to running backs. However, this is not the time to get cute with Coleman.

Wide Receiver

Start: Marquise Brown – Hunter Renfrow

Brendan: Lamar Jackson did not look good last week. He was off-target, looked nervous, and was making bad throws and bad decisions. This obviously trickled down to all the skill position performances. Brown was back for his first game since a thigh injury and was targeted 10 times with eight catches for 51 yards. This isn’t a horrible fantasy performance, but with that many targets and receptions, you would hope for more points. While it’s a division game, the Steelers have not been that great against the pass this season giving up 35 points per game to receivers. I expect a solid showing from Brown this week.

Benjamin: Hunter Renfrow exploded on Thanksgiving with eight catches for 134 yards, the fourth time in the last five games where he has hauled in at least seven of his targets. It seems almost a guarantee that Darren Waller will miss the next game making Renfrow the main man in the receiving game. Las Vegas will next face off against Washington who has allowed a league-leading 26 receiving touchdowns this season. Do what you need to do to get Renfrow into your starting lineup this week and roll with him while he’s hot.

[pickup_prop id=”16252″]

Sit: Cole Beasley – Courtland Sutton

Brendan: Cole Beasley has been dealing with a pretty significant rib injury the past few weeks. He’s been showing he’s a tough guy and gutting it out to play, but has not been putting up any numbers. He’s been missing quite a few practices this week, so there might be a slight possibility he even sits this next game against the Patriots. When he’s healthy, the Bills use Beasley as an extension of the running game, which could be huge against the Patriots. However, until fully healthy, I don’t see his numbers going back up much.

Benjamin: With Jerry Jeudy active, Courtland Sutton hasn’t seen more than four targets or caught more than two passes in a game this season. It’s unfortunate for a player with so much talent that he’s not being utilized to his full potential. Even against the Kansas City defense that allows 33.2 fantasy points to wide receivers, there will probably not be enough opportunity for Sutton to succeed. It’s sad to say, but you can’t use Sutton in your lineup as long as Jeudy is healthy.

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Tight Ends

Start: Logan Thomas – Pat Freiermuth

Benjamin: Here are two tight ends that I absolutely love this week! I’m going to focus on Logan Thomas this time. After returning from a seven-week hiatus, Thomas was in for 79% of offensive snaps and caught three of six targets. He had another potential catch for a score called back in the fourth quarter which would have completely changed his fantasy day. We saw what Thomas was capable of in 2020 when he caught 72 out of 110 targets and he’ll fall into that role now that he’s back. Las Vegas has allowed a touchdown or more than 110 yards to four different tight ends in their last three games and they’re up next for Washington. Whether you held him through the injury or scooped him off of the waiver wire, this is the week you’ve been waiting for to start Thomas again.

Brendan: Can we start Taysom Hill as a tight end this season? Oh, wait…Nevermind. It looks like Freiermuth is going to play this weekend after a concussion against the Bengals. He fully participated in practice on Thursday, which is usually a very good sign to play on Sunday. Freiermuth has had five touchdowns over the last five weeks and has been in double-digit scoring over the same time frame. He has quickly become a dependable target for Ben Roethlisberger, who has had a hard time throwing deep in his old age. The Ravens have not been strong against the tight end this season having a 5th league highest D-PAC score of 6.1 and allowing tight ends to score 16.57 points per game. I’m starting Freiermuth this week and you should too.

Sit: Hunter Henry – Tyler Higbee

Brendan: The Bills are going to try to force Mac Jones to throw it deeper than 10 yards this week. They are good at forcing that issue, and also good at shutting down opposing tight ends. They are only allowing 8.64 points per game to opposing tight ends this season. Could he find the end zone? Of course and that would be his primary source of points, as it has been all year, but overall I think his production is going to be minimal.

Benjamin: To start, Tyler Higbee has only managed 23 yards on four receptions in the last two games since Odell Beckham joined the team. The season-long domination of Cooper Kupp and the recent increase of targets to Van Jefferson makes Higbee’s piece of the pie a bit smaller. On top of that, no tight end has accumulated more than 34 receiving yards since week six and just one tight end has scored since Week 5 against the Jaguars. There are too many mouths to feed on the Rams offense for anyone to rely on Higbee for fantasy production.

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