Week 13 has come to a close and arguably a top 5 RB in the NFL is out of a job, the Colts and red hot Andrew Luck got shut down, and the Steelers do not know what offsides is. There is a lot to talk about, so we are going to jump right with who to start, sit, and pick up off the wire this week. Point totals are done in standard ESPN PPR scoring format.

Start:

Philip Rivers- Quarterback- Los Angeles Chargers- Rivers is one of, if not the, hottest player in football, and now has possibly the best matchup in all of football this week. They take on the Bengals who has the worst secondary vs QBs in all of football. They have allowed the most total QB fantasy PPG and are tied for third in the most passing TDs allowed to QBs as well. Melvin Gordon is out which should open up more passing attempts for Rivers this week too. Rivers is an extremely elite play.

Gus Edwards- Running Back- Baltimore Ravens- Lamar Jackson is at QB which means Edwards is always a solid play. The one-two punch of Jackson and Edwards is deadly and it’s shown as the Ravens are 3-0 since that combo took over. This week the Ravens take on a weak Chiefs rush defense who have allowed the second most fantasy PPG and the second most total yards per game to RBs. Not to mention they are tied for allowing the most reception TDs to RBs this year as well, so Edwards has great potential this week with so many different ways to potentially make points both on the ground and through the air.

Adam Humphries- Wide Receiver- Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Humphries is on fire right now. He has five TDs in his last five games and has put up double digit points in his last three games. The Buccaneers take on a Saints team that has been extremely generous to WR all season. The Saints have allowed the most total fantasy PPG to WR and the most completions to WR as well. Humphries won’t have to deal with the Saints CB1, Marshon Lattimore, as he will have his hands full with Mike Evans. Humphries is an elite play as he will have to just deal with the Saints CB2/3 this week.

Sit:

Russell Wilson- Quarterback- Seattle Seahawks- I’m never going to say bench Russell Wilson 100%, but if you do end up starting him lower your expectations heavily. Wilson has next to no weapons and this week they take on a Vikings team that has been great at containing QBs in fantasy. They have allowed the sixth most total fantasy PPG to QBs all season and have allowed the fewest number of passing TDs to QBs as well (15). This Viking defense is stout and I can’t see the few weapons Wilson has on the outside being able to get open against this Viking secondary. Not to mention, the Seahawks are a power running team, so that will remove Wilson’s passing ability from the equation for a lot of the game.

Corey Davis- Wide Receiver- Tennessee Titans- He’s having a nice little stretch right now has he has put up over 20 points in two of his last three games, but I think he is about to hit a brick wall right now. The Titans take on the Jags on Thursday night which means a short week and that is never good for fantasy purposes. The Jags, even on a bad overall year, still is a top tier pass defense. They have allowed the least amount of total fantasy PPG to WR and the least amount of reception TDs to wide outs as well. Also, the Jags are coming off a great performance shutting out the red hot Andrew

Austin Hooper- Tight End- Atlanta Falcons- Hooper is having a fantastic season as he is a top six TE in fantasy point totals, but I have a hard time seeing him be successful this week. The Falcons play the Packers who have been great against TEs all year. They have allowed the third lowest total PPG to TEs and have only allowed one reception TD to TEs all season as well. The Packers also have allowed under 43 YPG to TEs too, so Hooper will have a tough time finding ways to rack up points through this Packer TE defense.

Waiver Wire Pickups

Jaylen Samuels- Running Back- Pittsburgh Steelers- Look what James Connor was able to do when gifted the Steelers RB1 role. Now, Connor is out. That means it is now Jaylen Samuels time to shine. I would pick him up in a heartbeat. He is a free RB1 on the waiver wire, so I would pick up as soon as possible. He is only owned in 3.4% of ESPN leagues so make sure to jump on him quickly.

Adam Humphries- Wide Receiver-Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Humphries is red hot and hasn’t showed any signs of closing down. My start em’ pick from early is nicely hidden behind Mike Evans and does not receive CB1 coverage. In his last five games he has recorded five TDs and is only owned 39% of ESPN leagues. I picked him up in number of leagues and is a very solid WR2 for the time being.

Jeff Wilson Jr.- Running Back- San Francisco 49ers- Who? Yeah that was everyone’s reaction when he dropped 19 points last week in Brieda’s absence. Brieda is ruled out once again this week, so if you are need of a RB or FLEX go ahead and pick up Wilson Jr. He should receive a heavy workload and with Brieda’s timetable up in the air you could have found a solid FLEX/RB2 option for a couple weeks. He is owned in less that 1% of ESPN leagues, so go ahead and jump on him right away.