Catch the Mega Matchups Episode! 🎙️

Happy Wednesday! Make sure to tune in to today’s rankings special episode – Faraz and Zach cover everything you need to know for this week’s matchups for all four positions: QBs, RBs, WRs, and TEs!

ICYMI: Check out our full fantasy football takeaways from this past weekend’s action in Week 12!

• Lions RB David Montgomery logs limited practice Tuesday after not practicing Monday due to shoulder injury

  • A limited practice yesterday would suggest that HC Dan Campbell’s initial optimism about Montgomery’s status going into their Thanksgiving matchup against the Bears was well-founded. That being said, Montgomery will have just one more day of ‘recovery’ between now and tomorrow’s game, and there’s been no word regarding any potential limiting factors in the gameplan to account for his injury in Week 13. Considering that Montgomery is one of the league’s toughest backs, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him take on his usual workload –however, with the Lions sitting at 10-1 and eyeing a potential Super Bowl run, they might want to take things easy on Knuckles this week and give him the mini-bye to get all the way right for the home stretch. Any potential slack in the backfield would presumably be picked up by Gibbs (or Sonic, as they’ve been calling him) and add to an already sky-high ceiling considering his talent and the quality of Detroit’s offense. Gibbs is locked in as an RB1 start, but the truly astronomical upside he has given a full workload doesn’t appear likely to materialize this week with Montgomery making good on his promise to be available for Turkey Day.

• Chiefs OC Matt Nagy says that the workload split between RBs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt will be determined in-game

  • Well, that helps nobody. Kareem Hunt fell flat in what was supposed to be his glorious last stand as the Chiefs’ workhorse running back despite a fantastic matchup on the ground against the Panthers. With the Raiders on tap this week, the outlook is still quite bright – but the return of Isiah Pacheco promises to complicate things for fantasy managers who were hoping to have an idea of what to expect going into Black Friday. Pacheco was the unquestioned RB1 for Kansas City in his two healthy games earlier this season, and since then, Hunt has taken up that mantle with generally positive results. Given that Pacheco is much younger and more efficient, it would only make sense to project that he’ll receive the ‘majority’ of the work in the backfield – though there is a chance that the Chiefs slow-roll his return considering how capable Hunt has been while filling in. With the split yet to be determined, it’ll be a dice roll putting either of them in your lineup this week – but with a good matchup against the Raiders, both Pacheco and Hunt can be fired up as fringe RB2s with upside.

Detroit Lions vs Chicago Bears (12:30 PM ET)

• Quarterbacks: Both teams are bottom-5 matchups over the course of the season in fantasy points per game allowed to quarterbacks and bottom-8 over the past four games. Lions QB Jared Goff has had three finishes outside the top-15 over the past four games, while Bears QB Caleb Williams notched his first top-5 finish last week since before the Bears Week 7 bye. Once again, the Lions have the week’s highest implied total (29.5), meaning Goff should be in lineups once again as a fringe QB1, while Caleb Williams looks more the part of a boom/bust QB2 option in a game where Chicago could be chasing points.

• Running Backs: David Montgomery’s availability for Thanksgiving is still a question mark, and until he’s officially ruled in or out, Jahmyr Gibbs will have the potential to be ranked as a top-5 option at the position this week. Chicago is allowing the fifth-most fantasy points to running backs over the past four games, including the most rushing yards and the third-most rush touchdowns in that span. With an implied total just short of 30 points, Gibbs is a must start – especially if Montgomery is any kind of limited with his shoulder injury.

• Wide Receivers: Amon-Ra St. Brown has a tough matchup out of the slot against Kyler Gordon, but should be started regardless as a high-end WR1 given the scoring potential for this team. Jameson Williams is a boom/bust WR3, while D.J. Moore ranks as a solid WR2 after last week’s bounce back game. The Lions have allowed the 12th-most fantasy points to receivers on his side, while they’re tough in the slot and on the right side – meaning potentially quie

• Tight Ends: Neither Cole Kmet nor Sam LaPorta stand out in this matchup, but the Lions are allowing the fewest fantasy points to the position this season. Kmet earned 10 targets last week and he could see a similarly high workload in his new role under OC Thomas Brown, but the ceiling for the Bears offense remains relatively low. Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore, and Rome Odunze are all ahead of him in the target earning pecking order as well, making competition for targets hard to win. The same goes for LaPorta, who’s struggling himself to be a consistent producer in a loaded Lions offense. Both of them rank outside the top-12 options this week.

Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants (4:30 PM ET)

• Quarterbacks: There should hopefully be no reason to have either of Cooper Rush or Tommy Devito/Drew Lock in your lineup this week, especially with no teams on bye. Rush has shown that he can throw for plenty of yards, but with limited touchdown equity in the Cowboys offense, neither of these QBs crack the top-24.

• Running Backs: New layers could have been added to the Giants backfield last week with Tyrone Tracy struggling with fumbles once again. He’ll likely see the majority of carries once again, but it may not be a workhorse role for Tracy in what’s been a fantastic matchup for RBs this season (Dallas is allowing the 4th-most fantasy points and 2nd-most touchdowns to the position this year). Meanwhile, Rico Dowdle has locked down the lead role for the Cowboys, but the offense and run game are so anemic that he’s had limited upside all year. He’s a fringe-RB2 start at best even in a solid matchup against the Giants (who are allowing the 7th-most fantasy points to RBs this season).

• Wide Receivers: Ceedee Lamb and Malik Nabers have been relegated to nothing more than solid WR2s with their starting quarterbacks injured and released, respectively. It’ll be a volume game for both of them, and each pass catcher is perfectly capable of earning targets (Nabers - 30% target share on the year, Lamb - 27%). A touchdown would be enough to give both players the boost they need to break into WR1 territory, so they have the upside to get there – but in a game with the week’s lowest total (just 37.5), scores could be few and far between.

• Tight Ends: Both rooms are relatively barren wastelands at this point with the projections for each offense in the toilet, but Luke Schoonmaker has notched back-to-back top-10 finishes at the position with Jake Ferguson out of the lineup. A short week this week could force Ferguson to miss a second game with his concussion, which would open the door for Schoonmaker (16% target share, 13 PPR points per game) to have a shot at making it three straight. He’s in streaming consideration this week in the deepest leagues.

Green Bay Packers vs Miami Dolphins (8:20 PM ET)

• Quarterbacks: Jordan Love hasn’t finished inside the top-10 since Week 6, while Tua Tagovailoa has finished inside the top-10 in each of the past two weeks. That’s come with a 7:0 TD:INT ratio for Tua, but he now faces a tough Packers defense that’s allowed the 3rd-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks over the past four games and the 6th-fewest all year. Both signal callers are mid-QB2s.

• Running Backs: Josh Jacobs has ripped off back-to-back top-5 finishes and scored six touchdowns in the past four games, while De’Von Achane continues to be a force as a top-3 fantasy RB thanks to his dual-threat capability. With both teams being middle-of-the-pack against RBs this season in terms of fantasy points allowed, volume should be the driving factor in at Lambeau this Thursday. Jacobs is a top-10 option, while Achane currently sits as my overall RB3.

• Wide Receivers: Romeo Doubs is set to miss this game, opening the door for opportunity to finally meet talent for Dontayvion Wicks. His 26% target rate leads the team by a wide margin, and he’ll have a chance to come off the waiver wire and be inserted right into lineups as a solid WR3/flex play. Meanwhile, The Dolphins’ WR room continues to be overshadowed by TE Jonnu Smith and RB De’Von Achane even after Waddle’s bounce-back performance in Week 12. Both wide receivers are hovering as fringe WR2s in a tough matchup in Green Bay.

• Tight Ends: Tucker Kraft needed a touchdown to come through last week, but he’s had some target earning upside in previous weeks and could capitalize with increased opportunity now that Doubs is out of the lineup for this game. He’ll be a fringe TE1 start, while Jonnu Smith has cemented himself as a solid to high-end TE1 over the past six weeks (22% target share, 16 points per game).