Thanksgiving weekend, also known as Week 13 in the NFL, was friendly to many fantasy owners at the quarterback position. Of course, there are always some disappoints (Kirk Cousins apparently doesn’t care about me in my Superflex league), but with 14 quarterbacks right around or above the 19-point mark, many signal-callers left fantasy owners with more than enough to have a shot at a win this week. That’s not overly surprising considering there were no bye weeks, but even in a week where all teams played, there is still some valuable info we can take from the quarterbacks that still hover around the streaming world. Week 14 is the second round of byemeggadon (six teams on bye), not the greatest timing, with many of us needing a win in what is the last week of the fantasy regular season in most leagues. For those who will be without Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, and even Bo Nix next week, let’s find some reliable replacements who can help you get in the playoffs, improve your playoff seeding, or lock down that first-round bye. As always, we keep these names to players rostered in under 70% of Yahoo leagues.
Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers (36% rostered):
Heading into Monday night, the recently turned 36-year-old paced all quarterbacks in passing yards in Week 13 with 414. Wilson and the Steelers offense, which has experienced its share of sluggishness at times, took full advantage of a porous Bengals defense, helping Russ to have his signature performance in a Steelers uniform so far. According to NextGen stats, 270 of Wilson’s passing yards came after the catch, the highest amount of yards after the catch by any team this year. At the same time, his air yards/attempt was the second-lowest of the week at just 5.1 (both stats courtesy of Lindsay Rhodes of Sumer Sports). While these aren’t ringing endorsements of Russ as a real-life quarterback, from a fantasy perspective, it’s exactly what we want. Russ has the weaponry around him to dump the ball off for easy completions that can turn into big gains, and that means easy fantasy points. Sure, the deep balls to George Pickens are fun, but quick throws that let Pickens show off his YAC ability are good opportunities for Wilson to fill up the stat sheet. The Steelers face the Browns at home in Week 14, who are a middle-of-the-pack defense in terms of fantasy points allowed against quarterbacks both throughout the season and over the last four weeks. The matchup isn’t overly attractive, but Wilson and the Steelers offense looks like it’s heating up at the right time.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (54% rostered):
The #1 overall pick in this past year’s draft seems to improve each and every week, despite the clock management disaster at the end of their Thanksgiving matchup with the Lions. Detroit allows the second-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks over the past four weeks, yet Caleb was able to put up the QB4 performance of Week 13 heading into Monday night, totaling over 26 fantasy points. According to JJ Zachariason of lateroundqb.com, the DC native is averaging over 23 fantasy points since the Bears moved on from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, while he was averaging just 13 points with Waldron. Williams also has at least 33 rushing yards over the last three games, with a 70-yard game in the middle of that stretch helping to give Caleb a nice fantasy floor. Oh yeah, remember when all Summer we heard how Caleb has the greatest supporting cast any first overall pick has had? That’s finally coming to fruition as his rapports with veteran receivers DJ Moore and Keenan Allen continue to improve. Moore’s been averaging over 7 catches and 88 yards throughout the past three games, while Keenan Allen has three touchdowns over the past two games, along with 23 targets. The Bears travel out west to face the 49ers in Week 14, which is not necessarily a plus matchup.
Will Levis, Tennessee Titans (12% rostered)
Possibly a surprising name on the Week 14 list, Levis has played well enough to get himself into the streaming conversation, especially during a week with six teams off. The 2023 second-round pick has thrown for at least 212 yards, along with multiple touchdown passes in three of the past four games since returning from injury. Maybe that’s not overly impressive, but it’s resulted in him having at least 15.6 fantasy points in each of the past four games. His fantasy floor is growing each week, showing he can be a guy who can be relied on in a spot start, perfect for a week with so many teams off. Levis has also been taking care of the ball a bit better compared to earlier in the season. He has just two interceptions over the past four games, while he threw seven picks in the first five games of the season. The most appealing aspect of Lrvis is his matchup in Week 14, as the 2-10 Jaguars come to Nashville. Jacksonville has given up the most fantasy points to quarterbacks over the past four weeks, as well as the entire season, giving Levis arguably the best matchup a quarterback could face. Looking ahead a bit, Levis faces the Bengals in week 15 (first-round of fantasy playoffs), who we know are an advantageous matchup, and gets the Jaguars again in Week 17. You might be thinking I’m crazy to even mention starting Levis fantasy football championship weekend, but if your quarterback gets injured or you’re in a Superflex or 2QB league, Levis could be your best option at that point.
Feature image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on Twitter) / Photography by Jordon Kelly / Icon Sportswire