Tua has the matchup of his life this week! 🐬

I know Aaron Rodgers HATES conspiracy theories, but there’s no way he’s practicing already if he actually tore his achilles.

- Me, a couch doctor who knows nothing about achilles injuries

What’s in store:

• It’s showtime for a second time for Zach Charbonnet 😎. Kenneth Walker is doubtful for tonights game.

• Is it Joe Flacco’s time to shine in Cleveland? He was just announced as DTR’s backup, who is in the concussion protocol.

• Tua Tagovailoa has the matchup of his life this week 🐬. See why he and a few other quarterbacks are shooting up Faraz’s rankings.

• Trey McBride is a weapon. ⚔️ He’s among the league’s best pass catchers over the past few weeks.

• Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III trending towards missing tonight’s Thursday Night Football game vs Cowboys

  • It would be Walker’s second straight game missed with an oblique injury including last Thursday’s Thanksgiving game against the 49ers. NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport said that he doesn’t expect Walker to play, which would open the door once again for Zach Charbonnet to lead Seattle’s backfield for the second time in as many weeks. Despite receiving a heavy workload against San Francisco, Charbonnet was inefficient on his touches and failed to break 10 PPR points on the game. A similar game script could await him against the Cowboys, who are allowing just 12.0 points per game to visiting opponents this season while also averaging 39.0 points per game themselves. There hasn’t been a game in Dallas yet where the Cowboys didn’t beat their opponent by 20+ points, but Seattle is easily the stiffest competition they’ve faced so far this year. If the Seahawks can keep things close, Charbonnet should be able to come through as a low-RB2 in Week 13.

• Browns rookie QB Dorian Thompson Robinson misses practice Wednesday with concussion, Joe Flacco named backup

  • DTR left last Sunday’s game with a concussion and didn’t return, later being placed in the concussion protocol ahead of the Browns’ Week 13 tilt against the Rams. A move from the mobile and athletic 5th-round rookie to the 39-year old Joe Flacco would obviously change the way the Cleveland offense operates this Sunday, and the hope is that DTR can either clear the concussion protocol later this week or miss at most just this one game on Sunday. Being forced to start Joe Flacco after going weeks with DTR under center would be like being forced to change your mode of transportation from a racecar to a pogo stick, but HC Kevin Stefanski has, in fact, named Flacco as the backup for DTR this week if he’s unable to play. Chances are you weren’t planning on starting either of these guys anyway this week, but a Flacco start would add yet another heaping helping of uncertainty to the fantasy prospects of WRs Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore, and David Njoku this week.

• Texans WR Noah Brown returns to practice Wednesday, has shot to play in Week 13

  • After missing the past two games with a hamstring injury, Brown looks primed to rejoin a Texans wide receiver room that is brimming with potential thanks to the stellar play of rookie QB C.J. Stroud. The last time we saw Brown on the field was back in Week 10 in his second of two straight games with over 6 receptions and 150 receiving yards. While Nico Collins and Tank Dell are likely to lead Houston’s passing attack as the No. 1 and 2 options for Stroud, Brown showed that he can be a reliable deep threat for Stroud while averaging 25 yards per reception in Weeks 9-10. The Texans take on a Broncos defense that’s toughened as of late during their five-game win streak, but they remain a neutral-difficulty matchup in terms of fantasy points allowed to wide receivers. The over/under for the game is also set at 47 points total between the two teams, indicating a potential shootout this week - which would, in turn, suggest that Noah Brown could have an opportunity to contribute even if he’s playing behind Collins and Dell.

Quarterbacks

• A few good matchups at QB - Tua’s got Washington this week, and QBs have just eaten against this team - Dak last week with 4 passing TDs, Tommy Devito threw 3 TDs the week before… even Geno Smith got in on the action with a huge game the week prior. Tyrod Taylor and Desmond Ridder also had big days, I mean look at these names - Tua should have a big week.

• I have CJ Stroud ahead of Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes in my rankings this week as the QB4… he has a better matchup than both of them. Justin Herbert should get it done but his matchup isn’t as good going into New England - it’s tough putting Stroud over him, but I think I will this week.

• I got a lot of shit for putting Herbert so low in my rankings last week at QB12, and he finished as the QB13… this week he’s my QB5. Stroud’s been getting it done since his bye, and that’s made it really hard to keep him out of lineups.

• After Stroud, I think I might have to start Purdy over Mahomes this week. Purdy’s going up against Philly, who are giving up the 2nd most fantasy points to the QB position on the season…. I think I have to do it, Purdy at 6, Mahomes at 7.

• Trevor Lawrence has had two straight solid fantasy performances, and now he gets the Bengals at home this week on Monday night. I think this is a Travis Etienne game, but I also think Lawrence is back in the Top-10 for me with his last two performances. The fact that he has high enough of a floor, and the matchup also isn’t too bad this week makes him a relatively comfortable start.

• There aren’t a ton of streaming options I like this week - I like Russell Wilson this week in Houston, he’s been quietly getting it done, I like Gardner Minshew in Tennessee, and Derek Carr at home in a great matchup against Detroit, but he’s missing a lot of weapons so I’m a little weary of putting him in my lineup if I have other options. When I look at guys like Jordan Love, Baker Mayfield, Matthew Stafford, Geno Smith… they all have tough matchups this week, so there’s a chacne that Derek Carr ends up ahead of them by default anyway.

Running Backs

• The Saints could be without Chris Olave, they’re already out Michael Thomas, Rashid Shaheed is likely out… it might be all Alvin Kamara this week for the Saints. Tough matchup against the Lions, they’re allowing the fewest receptions per game to RBs… but hey, I think Kamara racks up those receptions regardless. This is where the opportunity most likely will trump the bad matchup.

• Rachaad White is set up nicely this week… didn’t see the targets this past week that he’s used to getting but I’m expecting that bounce back. The other thing is that he has a chance of being efficient in the run game for a second straight week given the Panthers are bottom 5 in yards per carry given up to RBs this year… they’ve been good at limiting opposing RBs in the receiving game, limiting them to the 2nd fewest yards per reception, but White has been good enough this year to be able to put it all together in a good matchup this week.

• I have Joe Mixon ranked really low this week; I don’t want to play him. He’s on a bad offense, he averaged 2 yards per carry last week, Jacksonville’s allowing the 5th fewest yards per carry to RBs, and he had one 39 yard catch that put him to 44 yards receiving on 2 targets for the day. Unless the Bengals can move the ball through the air and then Mixon can get some work near the goal line, I don’t see how his fantasy day becomes a good one. I think the chances of that happening are pretty low, so he’ll be on my bench this week.

Despite substantial turnover at the most important position on offense in Arizona this season and a routine struggle on a weekly basis to put up points on offense, Cardinals TE Trey McBride has defied his circumstances this season since being named the full-time starter with Zach Ertz going down with injury. Since Week 8, McBride has established himself as not only one of the top target earners on his team, but also as one of the top target earners at the tight end position – and league-wide, for that matter.

Over the past five weeks, Trey McBride has earned the 9th-highest target share of any pass catcher in the NFL. This includes all wide receivers and tight ends in that span, and the numbers are even more impressive exclusively among tight ends: he’s behind just T.J. Hockenson in terms of target share since Week 8, and his 14.8 PPR fantasy points per game ranks third behind only Hockenson and George Kittle. Those number are ahead of both Travis Kelce and Sam LaPorta since Week 8, but what’s even more impressive is how McBride has earned his targets.

Since Week 8, the Cardinals have started 3 different quarterbacks (Josh Dobbs, Clayton Tune, and Kyler Murray). In that same stretch of games, they’ve gone 1-4 and averaged just 15.8 points per game as a team. Despite the lack of continuity at quarterback and being part of an objectively bad offense, McBride has posted weekly target shares of 40%, 28%, 30%, 25%, and 20% and is the TE3 in fantasy points per game in that same time frame. He’s emerged as a top fantasy tight end in the middle of the 2023 season, and he should continue to produce at this elite clip given his current status as the de facto No. 1 target in Arizona. While Marquise Brown did see an uptick in his target after two very quiet outings in Kyler Murray’s first two games, it seems like McBride is here to stay as a weapon in Arizona’s passing offense.