Some fantasy football leagues will commence with the playoffs starting next week while others are in the twilight of their regular season. Either way, many teams are still competing for the last available spots in the postseason. Whatever the case is for your league, here are some of the names who could potentially spell the difference between your team getting eliminated and making the cut.
10. Peyton Barber – Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB (0.2% owned in ESPN Leagues)
Doug Martin sustained a concussion in Tampa Bay’s Week 12 34-20 road loss to the Atlanta Falcons, which means there’s a probability that he’ll get sidelined at least for next Sunday’s matchup with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Jacquizz Rodgers is the priority fantasy pickup among free agent Bucs, but if he’s already taken, Petyon Barber could be a worthwhile addition to your bench. Petyon Barber gave the Bucs’ offense a nice trim when Martin left the game, as the former Auburn Tiger rushed for two short-yard touchdowns on five carries.
9. Cordarelle Patterson – Oakland Raiders WR (0.6% owned in ESPN Leagues)
There’s a possibility that the Raiders will not have both Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper for Week 13 for different reasons. Crabtree could be suspended for his role in an on-field fracas in last Sunday’s win over the Denver Broncos, while Cooper suffered a concussion and an ankle injury during the same game.
This could mean Patterson will be the go-to-guy downfield next Sunday against the New York Giants, but in that case, he’ll also be attracting much of the focus of the Big Blue’s defense. Patterson caught all three passes in the second half of the Denver game when Crabtree and Cooper were taken out off the field. He finished with a season-high 72 receiving yards.
8. Ricky Seals-Jones — Arizona Cardinals TE (1.5% owned in ESPN Leagues)
Seals-Jones got our attention in Week 12 when he scored two touchdowns on three receptions and had 54 receiving yards. Those were his first catches and scores of the season, so we didn’t really read too much into it.
Last Sunday, however, Seals-Jones caught another touchdown and had 74 receiving yards on four receptions. He’s trending upwards and perhaps deserves more than 1.5 percent of ownership in ESPN leagues as of the moment.
Expect him to slow down against the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday, but games against the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins, who are first and fourth worst, respectively, in fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends, near the end of the season could spell success for owners in the playoffs.
7. Jacquizz Rodgers – Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB (6.0% owned in ESPN Leagues)
As mentioned earlier, Rodgers should be picked up following the news of Doug Martin’s concussion. Rodgers was the Bucs’ featured running back when Martin was serving a four-game suspension to start the season, and could reprise that role should Martin need time to recover.
Barber could see an increase of touches, too, but he only had five carries for seven yards versus Denver, so it’s safe to say that Rodgers is going to handle most of the load in the backfield in case Martin gets sidelined.
Rodgers had seven carries for 33 yards against the Broncos and is starting in a good matchup against the Green Bay Packers’ soft run defense in Week 13.
6. Dede Westbrook – Philadelphia Eagles WR (8.9% owned in ESPN Leagues)
After missing the first 10 weeks of the season, Dede Westbrook has turned plenty of heads in among fantasy circles for relatively productive outings.
The rookie made his regular season debut against the Cleveland Browns in Week 11 and caught three passes for 35 yards on six targets. He followed that up the following week by reeling in six catches for 41 receiving yards on 10 targets against the Arizona Cardinals.
The volume of passes coming his way this early in his return is telling of the big role he has in Jacksonville’s passing game going forward. Westbrook has a favorable matchup ahead against the flimsy pass defense of the Indianapolis Colts, who are 30th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game.
5. Zay Jones – Buffalo Bills WR (10.5% owned in ESPN Leagues)
Similar to the aforementioned Westbrook, Zay Jones is a rookie who has been getting a steady and healthy amount of targets of late.
Jones has gotten 24 targets in his last three games, including the 10 launched towards his direction against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12. That said, he only had three receptions, which he converted for just 33 yards, but made up for the inefficiency with a touchdown — his second in three games.
Games against the New England Patriots and the Colts look like terrific opportunities for Zay Jones to pad his stats. In turn, owners in 12-team leagues should be able to find a spot for the wide receiver out of East Carolina.
4. O.J. Howard – Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE (11.8% owned in ESPN Leagues)
Cameron Brate has fallen back to fantasy irrelevancy, as evidenced during his string of four games in which he only had a catch to show.
At this point, it’s ideal to invest on Howard, as the rookie tight end has stitched together two consecutive games with at least three receptions and 54 receiving yards. Those are not numbers to drive owners crazy, but it’s the first time in Howard’s young NFL career in which he had at least three catches in back-to-back games.
Plus, as an added bonus, it seems that the Bucs are intent on making him the No. 1 tight end.
3. Rod Smith – Dallas Cowboys RB (20.5% owned in ESPN Leagues)
The Cowboys cut Darren McFadden, essentially boosting the stock of Rod Smith.
Smith is making a strong case to be Dallas’ top running back. He had as many carries (9) as Alfred Morris’ in Week 12’s 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, finishing with a team-high 41 rushing yards and with Dallas’ lone touchdown of the day.
Temper your expectations for Rod Smith, however, as the Cowboys’ offense is struggling this late in the season, which probably could limit the former Ohio State Buckeye’s production.
2. Devontae Booker – Denver Broncos RB (25.2% owned in ESPN Leagues)
Booker didn’t have a solid Sunday, as he carried the ball for six times and generated just 11 rushing yards. That being said, he continues to see an ample amount of snaps.
A week after appearing in 48 snaps, Booker saw action in 26 snaps in the loss to the Raiders in Week 12, but that was the second most he’s had this season. He could be in line for a bounce-back performance in Week 13 opposite the Miami Dolphins’ defense that is surrendering the fourth-most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs.
1. Rex Burkhead – New England Patriots RB (43.6% owned in ESPN Leagues)
After a letdown performance in Week 11, in which he only had five carries for 16 rushing yards in a 33-8 win over the Raiders, Rex Burkhead grabbed everyone’s attention again by rushing 13 times for 50 yards with a touchdown in last Sunday’s 35-17 win over Miami.
The fifth-year running back also caught a touchdown to give his owners a rich haul of fantasy points. Dion Lewis figures to be the top running back in New England, but Burkhead brings tremendous upside every week for him to just be left wandering on the waiver wire.
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