It’s here folks.  Fantasy playoffs.  Do or die time.  No more messing around.  Up until now, we’ve been looking for potential stashes, breakouts, trends.  Now only one thing matters - who can you trust or not with the season on the line? Here’s what I’m looking for. 

*All times below are Eastern Standard Time*

 

Chiefs @ Chargers - Thursday 8:20 PM (Recap)

Chiefs - This game essentially confirmed what we already know. On this team you start Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire and no one else can be trusted.

Chargers -  One thing you never want to see is any sort of split that didn’t exist in previous weeks.  Austin Ekeler was likely being eased in from an injury so hopefully we can blame it on that but it’s at least mildly concerning that Justin Jackson got one more carry than Ekeler and he ran well at 6.6 yards per carry.
 

Patriots @ Colts - Saturday 8:00 PM

Patriots - Indianapolis is one of the worst teams in the league vs. the tight end making this a high upside play for Hunter Henry.  But he oddly only played 15 snaps in the prior week which creates some downside.  We’d like to chalk that up to the run-heavy approach but it is a scary situation.  If Henry goes off this week, you might want to use him again week 17 vs. the Jaguars.

Colts -  Since returning from injury, TY Hilton has only played between 41 and 61% of the snaps in those games.  Meanwhile Zach Pascal has played a large snap share but he’s done very little with it.  You can’t trust TY given his performance so far but maybe coming out of the bye they can get him going.
 

Cowboys @ Giants - Sunday 1:00 PM

Cowboys - Last week we saw the Cowboys revert to something they did in pretty much all of 2020 - Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup played the two WR sets while CeeDee Lamb played slot in three wide but was out for two wide.  Lamb had been playing 40 snaps per game out wide and this week he played 7.  He’s a guy you start where you have him but we don’t like to see that - he ran fewer routes than Amari and Gallup.

Giants - Honestly, it’s tough to start any of these dudes - even Saquon Barkley.  I’m holding onto Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram (likely on the bench) but I’m dropping them if I don’t see anything this week.  It’s just too late in the season to be taking chances.
 

Cardinals @ Lions - Sunday 1:00 PM

Cardinals - DeAndre Hopkins is done for the season which is a bummer but it also creates opportunity for the remaining players.  A.J. Green, Zach Ertz, and Christian Kirk were the main beneficiaries last time he was out.  Antoine Wesley oddly played more snaps which held back Rondale Moore though.  This week is a big one to see who becomes the focal point.

Lions - Remember how we mentioned CeeDee Lamb playing a ton of slot as a rookie.  That was Amon-Ra St. Brown for the first 11 weeks.  But over the last three, he has played 15, 22, and 17 snaps out wide to go with his slot duty.  And his projection has jumped.  Very intriguing. 

 

Jets @ Dolphins - Sunday 1:00 PM

Jets -  By far the most intriguing name here is Michael Carter.  The word surrounding the team is that he will be returning this week to a feature role.  In an environment like that, a three down back on any team would be huge.

Dolphins - All year we’ve worried about what would happen to Mike Gesicki when they had three healthy WRs.  Well guess what? It still hasn’t happened.  Will Fuller might never join the team and this week there’s no Jaylen Waddle either.  It’s wheels up for Mike Gesicki and DeVante Parker vs. the Jets.
 

Panthers @ Bills - Sunday 1:00 PM

Panthers - We got a pretty good idea of what they want to do with Christian McCaffrey out - it looks like Chuba Hubbard will get the running down work and Ameer Abdullah will get the passing down work.  The only remaining question is - can we trust either for fantasy football? The Bills will be an interesting test this week.

Bills - Last year when John Brown got hurt, Gabriel Davis’s snap share skyrocketed and he was a decent contributor in fantasy.  Well, now Emmanuel Sanders is hurt creating a similar situation.  Can Gabriel Davis step up again for us and be fantasy relevant?


Texans @ Jaguars - Sunday 1:00 PM

Texans - We’ve been waiting all year for someone to potentially emerge outside of Brandin Cooks.  The rookies as of late have been giving us a little something - Nico Collins got 10 targets last week and Brevin Jordan has two touchdowns in recent weeks.  But is it enough for us to trust in playoffs?  Not quite yet. 

Jaguars - Does this team materially change now that Urban Meyer is gone?  Would be an awesome narrative if they went out and kicked ass.  With the run heavy Darrell Bevell in charge it’s probably a good thing for James Robinson but it’s a different James that I have my eye on for fantasy - James O’Shaughnessy.

 

Titans @ Steelers - Sunday 1:00 PM

Titans - There’s one glaring name here - Julio Jones.  We’ve seen him be amazing, including earlier this year, but he’s still dealing with a hamstring issue.  I’m not sure he’ll ever fall back into the trust group but can he at least be a dart throw with all these COVID issues?

Steelers - Chase Claypool found his way into the doghouse last week with some boneheaded plays and some attitude issues.  With other targets like Diontae Johnson, Pat Freiermuth, and Najee Harris, you really can’t be spending any time on the bench while still expecting the be consistent. 

 

Bengals @ Broncos - Sunday 4:05 PM

Bengals - Over the last three games, Tee Higgins has been the third best WR in fantasy football.  Can he keep that momentum going?  The Broncos are a tough pass defense which is always risky on a team that has so many decent pass catchers to spread the ball around.

Broncos - What is going on with Courtland Sutton? At this point you really can’t be slotting him into your lineups.  The question this week is whether you even need to keep him on your teams.   
 

Falcons @ 49ers - Sunday 4:05 PM

Falcons - Kyle. Pitts.  He’s kept you just barely afloat on volume alone so far.  But he gets a big test this week in the 49ers which are one of the better defenses vs. the TE.  How he responds here will tell us everything we need to know because his schedule doesn’t get much better.

49ers - Trent Williams has an argument for offensive player of the year.  His blocking along with the rest of that offensive line creates a tantalizing upside at running back.  A healthy Elijah Mitchell would be that guy but he’s been ruled out so maybe Jeff Wilson or maybe they just used Deebo Samuel at RB.
 

Packers @ Ravens - Sunday 4:25 PM

Packers - Last week the question was whether Marquez Valdes-Scantling was finally going to be the second guy after Davante Adams.  So of course Allen Lazard had the better game.  Can’t trust them.  This week we look to the running backs to see if AJ Dillon is going to split the snaps with Aaron Jones again.  Because that sure would be annoying. 

Ravens - This continues to be a strange offense.  Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown at least play pretty much all the snaps but no one else does.  Can we please get more Rashod Bateman?

 

Saints @ Buccaneers - Sunday 8:20 PM

Saints - Nick Vannett has quietly assimilated his way into the offense to the point that he actually played more snaps than any other pass catchers.  We liked Adam Trautman before he got hurt - can he be some semblance of that?

Buccaneers - This offense is pretty much settled except for one thing - who plays the Antonio Brown role? One week it was Tyler Johnson, then Breshad Perriman, then Tyler Johnson again.  They are really only relevant in DFS but still - figure it out.
 

Raiders @ Browns - Monday 5:00 PM

Raiders - Remember we said Tee Higgins was the WR3 over the last 3 weeks? Everyone knows Cooper Kupp is the WR1 but the WR2 over that period is actually Hunter Renfrow.  Can he keep this momentum going?

Browns - Honestly, is this team even going to have enough players to play this game, even with it being postponed? Hard to trust anyone from these teams.  David Njoku will be interesting if Austin Hooper can’t make it back (assuming they have someone that can play QB). 

 

Vikings @ Bears - Monday 8:15 PM

Vikings - If Adam Thielen is out, we really want to know if one of KJ Osborn or Tyler Conklin can step up and be an asset. This isn’t a good matchup for Conklin so we lean Osborn.

Bears - It’s crazy to say it, but as fantasy gamers we kind of want Andy Dalton back.  At least he was throwing the short passes and consolidating targets among guys like Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney, and David Montgomery.  Bears fans might not agree but mobile QBs that aren’t prolific passers as well can sap the fantasy potential.
 

Seahawks @ Rams - Tuesday 7:00 PM

Seahawks - Ah yes, another classic edition of Tuesday night football.  With Tyler Lockett out, we’ll get a rare glimpse of this team with either Gerald Everett or Freddie Swain as the second pass catcher.  Exciting? Perhaps. 

Rams - The most interesting thing here for me is the RB situation.  Sony Michel looked great filling in for Darrell Henderson.  Did he do enough to earn a split? Or does he go back to the bench. 
 

Football Team @ Eagles - Tuesday 7:00 PM

Football Team - There is no better tight end schedule than Eagles, Cowboys, Eagles.  But Ricky Seals-Jones did not even play close to the full snap share we hoped.  Can he come in clutch for us down the stretch? 

Eagles - Gardner Minshew was set to be the quarterback which would likely have been better for the fantasy football weapons on this team as he wouldn’t be running the ball a ton like Jalen Hurts.  But with the game delayed, it might be Hurts.  Makes it difficult to figure out what to do for fantasy.