We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This NFL season has continued to prove how crazy 2020 is. We saw the Denver Broncos have to face the New Orleans Saints without a quarterback, as every QB on the Broncos was listed as a Covid risk. We saw a Sunday Night Football game get delayed all the way to Wednesday afternoon. The hometown Giants are still winning, and their crosstown rival Jets are continuing to perfect their imperfect season with an 0-11 record. On the flipside, the Steelers have polished their perfect season to 11-0 following a win against the Lamar Jackson-less Ravens. Other than that, OT alumni Jordan Fuller snagged another interception against the 49ers, with a total of three for the season. Let’s dive straight into this week’s recommendations. 

Injuries:

11 Ravens Players – Yes, quite literally 11 players. When Lamar Jackson and Mark Ingram tested positive for Covid-19, their chances of winning football games were already incredibly slim- add in the fact that the Ravens now have at least 11 absences due to Covid-19, and now their chances of winning look nominal. This season was seen as the redemption season of Baltimore after a heartbreaking loss to the Titans in the playoffs. 2020 has proven to be far from that for the Ravens. Let’s see how this obstacle pans out. 

Daniel Jones (Giants, QB) – As the NFC East has continued their slow, but extremely close, playoff race, the Giants have been caught in the mix as one of the most likely teams to take it home this year. Adding onto their two-game winning streak with a win against Cincinnati, (I can’t believe it either), the Giants now sit at 4-7. Against the Bengals, starting QB Jones left the game for an apparent leg injury. Post game it was revealed that he injured his hamstring. Jones believes he can play, but only time will tell as the Giants travel to Seattle to play the Seahawks. 

Starts:

Derek Carr (Raiders, QB) – A matchup versus the Jets is the best thing for a quarterback who wants to bounce back after a bad game. New York has allowed the fifth-most Fantasy points to rival quarterbacks on the season (fourth-most in the past three weeks). Six of the past seven throwers to face the Jets have hit 22 or more Fantasy points. And since their secondary became depleted, the Jets are not capitalizing on quarterbacks’ mistakes — they have zero interceptions in five straight games.

David Montgomery (Bears, RB) – Sixteen-plus touches in six straight games. Five or more targets in six of his past seven games. Don’t ask about efficiency or touchdowns, but at the bare minimum, Montgomery is being given the chance to get things done. Last week saw his offensive line play a little bit better against a favorable matchup and he went off. Don’t be surprised to see the same thing happen this week as the Lions rank first in Fantasy points allowed to rival running backs.

Deebo Samuel (49ers, WR) – Try not to think of Samuel as a traditional wide receiver. He can be one, of course, but the 49ers have deployed him in a myriad of roles that have helped improve his Fantasy profile. Last week, for example, he caught six passes (three pop passes, two flares and one screen pass) either around or behind the line of scrimmage. The 49ers are doing this to take advantage of his unique ability to make plays after contact. 

Sits:

Jonnu Smith (Titans, TE) – How did Smith go from six targets in consecutive games to none? Two big factors: One, the Titans leaned plenty on the run in Week 12 against a depleted Colts defense. Two, Ryan Tannehill’s receivers were getting open faster than he was. And yeah, Geoff Swaim was too. You’d have to hope that the Titans keep Smith in mind in red-zone packages against a Browns defense that ranks fifth in Fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends on the season and first in Fantasy points allowed to tight ends over the past three weeks.

CeeDee Lamb (Cowboys, WR) – It’s tough to complain about Lamb’s targets, but what he’s done with them over the past two weeks is worth whining over. With seven throws going his way on Thanksgiving, Lamb averaged 4.2 yards per catch with a drop in the end zone. The week before he did score, but his receiving average was 8.5 yards per grab. Andy Dalton is now tasked with throwing behind a further-depleted offensive line, and in this case it’s against the Ravens with a very strong secondary.

Cam Newton (Patriots, QB) – Four straight quarterbacks- Derek Carr, Tua Tagovailoa, Joe Flacco and Josh Allen- were held to under 20 Fantasy points each by the Chargers. Even if we pencil in Newton for a rushing score (which he hasn’t done in the past two weeks), he would still need success in the passing game to come through. And in just digesting his weekly game log, he’s been above 20 Fantasy points just once since coming back from his illness seven weeks ago.

Waiver Wires:

Randall Cobbs (Texans, WR) – With WR1, William Fuller testing positive for PEDs and now being suspended for the rest of the season, a massive hole in the Texans WR core has opened up. Deshaun Watson is an excellent QB who can get the ball to anyone on the gridiron, but for now the call is to look for any Texans WRs you can find. Cobb appears to be the standout, but for all we know a player like Keke Coutee can flourish in this major opening. 

Nelson Agholor (Raiders, QB) – Following the Raiders’ embarrassing loss to the Falcons, we’re expecting Coach Jon Gruden to whack them back into shape this week. Agholor wasn’t exactly on his A-game against the Falcons as he hauled in five catches for 54 yards, however the Raiders play the Jets this week. The Jets are indeed still the Jets, so expect Agholor to flourish once again.