Fantasy Football GPP Plays - Week 13
These fantasy football GPP plays highlight some great under-the-radar plays!
Last weeks plays featured some great performances from a few diamonds in the rough, as well as some big letdowns. Jarvis Landry had a huge 7/50/2 game that was good for 24 FP, outscoring the likes of T.Y Hilton and Emmanuel Sanders. Steven Jackson turned in a valiant effort with 13.10 FP. Brian Hoyer tried to single-handedly destroy the Browns’ chances of a win en route to an astounding 11.08 FP. Let’s get back at it for Week 13!
Disclaimer: First off, these plays are meant to be considered as tournament-only options. Second, these are boom-or-bust plays, who could end up putting up a complete dud of a game, or being the guy who explodes for 30 fantasy points and carries you to a GPP victory. Third, use these plays with caution, because they have do have inherent risk. Along with their high ceiling and point potential, there is also a low floor and lack of consistency. Alright, enough disclaimers! These are the players I believe can be the difference between your lineups minimum cashing in a GPP or winning the whole damn thing.
Quarterback
Colt McCoy ($9,500) at Indianapolis- The Colts have struggled against the run this season, sitting at 28th in the NFL according to Football Outsiders (FO).On paper, this looks like a terrible matchup for Colt, with with Colts ranked 9th against the pass. However, with a new, albeit veteran QB under center, I anticipate that the Colts will stack the box and force McCoy to throw the ball. McCoy has been a solid game-manager throughout his career. He never put up gaudy numbers, but he rarely made big mistakes. He has plenty of weapons at his disposal, including DeSean Jackson, who McCoy hooked up with to the tune of 6/136 in his last start against Dallas. I’m not expecting a huge performance, but McCoy could certainly post 15-20 FP at under 10K.
Shaun Hill ($7,500) vs Oakland- As Josh and I alluded to on the podcast, Hill actually had a solid game against San Diego last week. Much like McCoy, he is not much more than a game manager, but if the INT he threw in the end zone inside of the final minute goes for a score, his 7.92 points looks more like 14. He is bare minimum priced, and you don’t need much to pay off this tag. You can pair either one of these value quarterbacks with an elite option, or roster both and load up at the skill positions. The entire key to playing a cheap QB is to afford yourself roster flexibility. These guys are the best of the best in this regard for Week 13.
Running Back
Joe Banyard ($4,000) vs Carolina - If you haven’t had the displeasure of seeing this Carolina defense in action, tune in on Sunday for about ten seconds and you’ll see what I mean. FO has the Panthers ranked at 24th against the run, and 20th against the pass. Jerick McKinnon said he will NOT play on Sunday, and the Vikings mess of a backfield picture becomes murky once again. Newly-acquired Ben Tate didn’t play a single snap last week, and Matt Asiata has been one of the least effective backs in the league. Enter Banyard. He had 5 carries for 26 yards as well as 3 catches on 3 targets for 19 yards against the Packers last week. He is bare minimum salary, and while other are targeting Latavius Murray around this price, you can swerve onto Banyard as your single-bullet min-priced RB in a better matchup.
Pierre Thomas ($9,250) at Pittsburgh - Mark Ingram has looked more and more like his former self over the past few weeks, and Thomas returned from injury to step right back in to his previous role. Ingram sits at $2.950 more than Thomas, and posted 6.20 points last week to Thomas’ 11.60. Thomas saw 8 targets in the passing game, and hauled in six of them for 37 yards against Baltimore. The Steelers’ front seven has struggled all year with elusive players in the open field, and Thomas fits in quite nicely into that role. Drew Brees loves looking to him on check-downs, especially on the road. Pittsburgh ranks 23rd against pass-catching RB this season according to FO, and Pierre is the perfect swerve play to exploit that matchup and help you win a GPP.
Wide Receiver
Tavon Austin ($5,100) vs Oakland- After what seemed like an eternity, Austin is finally being featured in the Rams’ offense. He played 50 snaps last week, rushing for 27 yards, catching 3 balls for 11 yards and even finding the end zone. The Rams are looking to be creative on the offensive side of the ball, and Austin is the beneficiary. He is a speedster who can hurt teams in many ways. I’m encouraged by what I saw last week, and will be targeting Austin over his teammate Stedman Bailey, who may be a slightly more popular GPP play this week.
Robert Woods ($6,300) vs Cleveland - Woods had a tremendous day last week against a porous Jets secondary, roasting them to the tune of 9/118/1. FO has the Browns at 7th against the pass this season, but much of that ranking is due to their terrible run defense and Joe Haden shutting down #1 wideouts more often than not. Sammy Watkins is the clear cut #1, and will have to deal with Haden all day long. Woods will have the distinction of flying under the radar, and Kyle Orton sure looked comfortable with Woods last week, targeting him 11 times. I’m willing to give him a shot this week at $6,300..
Tight End
Delanie Walker ($9,550) at Houston - Zack Mettenberger targeted his big tight end 9 times last week, and while he only hauled in 5 of those passes, he led all tight ends with 155 yards. That sort of performance is rare, but it is actually the second time Walker has reached the century mark this season (142 vs Dallas Week 2). The Texans allow the second-most passing yards of any team in the NFL this season, and Walker’s price tag will likely keep him under the radar. He is a perfect swerve from Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski with a good amount of upside built in.
As always, you can find me on Twitter @BigItaly42. I’d love to discuss these plays or any you are considering for this week!