Sit/Start Week 13: Reviewing All Fantasy Relevant Players In Every Single Game

Game Info

Kickoff: Sunday, December 4th,  3:05 PM ET

Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood California

Betting Odds: LAR +7.5, 41.5 total via oddshark.com

Network: FOX

Writer: Dustin Ludke (@TheDunit13 on Twitter)

Seattle Seahawks

Quarterback

Geno Smith (Start, QB2)

The Seattle Seahawks are in contention to win their division and make the playoffs. This is in huge part to the play of Geno Smith. Smith has only two games with less than two passing touchdowns on the season. He is completing 72.8% of his passes and has over 30 attempts in eight of his eleven games. He will need to be on top of his game against the Rams on Sunday. Despite the Rams’ offense is not great the defense is another situation. They are giving up the eleventh fewest points to quarterbacks and have two great cover corners in Jalen Ramsey and Troy Hill. I still think you can start Geno as a QB2. His defense can’t stop anyone which has led to him having to make plays to win games. He has been a QB2 or better in 8 games this season. It’s a magical season for the 10-year vet and that should continue in a crucial divisional game against the Rams.

Running Backs

Kenneth Walker (Start, RB2)

Ken Walker or is it Kenneth Walker? We can’t seem to decide on what name to use for him and he can’t seem to decide if he is going to be a fantasy RB1 or not. Since becoming the lead back for Seattle in Week 5 when he started seeing over 50% of the team’s snaps he has three weeks in the RB1 range and four in the RB2 range. Even this past week you were happy to see that he scored two touchdowns and got 14 carries but probably less excited that he only played on 71% of the team’s snaps and rushed for only 26 yards. He also only added one reception which doesn’t help when the team is usually playing from behind due to their defense being unable to stop anyone. Walker now gets the Rams who are giving up the 10th fewest fantasy points to running backs at 21.11. The former Michigan State Spartan should still be trusted as an RB2 as he hasn’t been under that threshold since taking over. He will need to be more efficient on his rushes. He has averaged under two yards per carry in his past two games.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

D.K. Metcalf (Start, WR2), Tyler Lockett (Start, WR2), Will Dissly (Sit), Noah Fant (Sit, TE2)

Tyler Lockett is on an amazing pace right now. He has scored in his last four games. He has paid big dividends to the fantasy managers that drafted him late. He hasn’t been the main passing weapon for the Seahawks but he still has 57 receptions and 708 yards. He has a tough matchup against the Rams. The Rams are giving up the ninth most points to wide receivers but Lockett will see coverage from Troy Hill who rates at 65.7 in coverage by PFF.com. He has played on over 80% of the team’s snaps in eight games this year so there is plenty of opportunity. You can trust him as a solid WR2 this week.

D.K. Metcalf has led the team in total snaps and targets on the season. He will be facing Jalen Ramsey who PFF.com rates at 77.8 in coverage. Despite all that he has been hit or miss this season. He has only five games where he has been a WR2 or better on the season. He only has four touchdowns on the season. He has a tough matchup against one of the top corners in the game. The good news is the Seahawks can’t seem to stop anyone from scoring and always seem to put up over 21 points. Metcalf is still startable. He should be a solid WR2 this week.

The tight ends for Seattle have been a rotation between Noah Fant and Will Dissly. Early in the season, it had been Dissly leading in snaps and targets. The past few weeks it looked as if Fant was starting to take over. Fant does lead the two in routes run on the season. The Rams are giving up the twelfth fewest points to the tight end position. I don’t think you can start Dissly unless you are making a glory play for a touchdown. Given the tough matchup, I don’t think you can start Fant but he should be in the TE2 range.

Los Angeles Rams

Quarterbacks

Bryce Perkins (Sit)

Bryce Perkins has been put in a challenging situation. He is filling in for a future hall of fame on a team coming off a Super Bowl win that hasn’t played anywhere close to that level. He is missing the top two weapons in the receiving game and they just cut the running back who started the season for them. They have a bad offensive line that has allowed 38 sacks on the year so far. He will have had two weeks in practice with the now-starting offense heading into a game against the Seahawks. The good news is the Seahawks are giving up the 11th most points to quarterbacks at 17.59. The defense as a whole has just not stopped anyone from scoring. They have only three games where they have held an opponent under 20 points and just let the Raiders hang 40 on them.  I still don’t want to start Perkins unless you are super, super desperate. He only had 100 yards passing on 23 attempts. He does have a rushing upside, scrambling for 44 yards on 9 carries in Week 12. He seems uncomfortable and unsure as the starting QB and even with the great matchup, he doesn’t have the weapons or the experience to truly capitalize on it this week. Sit him this week but monitor him. There is no reason for the Rams to play Matt Stafford again and if Perkins can improve he could be a good superflex option with his rushing upside.

Running Backs

Kyren Williams (Start, RB2), Cam Akers (Sit)

It seems like rookie Kyren Williams has fully taken over the backfield for the Rams. Since being activated in Week 10 his snap share has increased from 27% to 55 % to 70% this past week. This was the first week he has seen more carries than Cam Akers 11 to 8. Darrell Henderson has been cut and is now on the Jaguars. Williams will get to continue his maturation against the Seahawks in a home game. The Seahawks are giving up the third most points to running backs at 28.62. It’s a great matchup for Williams. He gets another week in practice as the starter. The offense is going through a redesign as they are now missing their top two wideouts and starting quarterback for possibly the rest of the season. Williams should be trusted as a solid RB2. He gets almost all of the passing work from the backfield and was second on the team in routes run in Week 12. Akers should be benched. He is worth rostering as a solid handcuff who has the experience and a history of being a solid fantasy running back but isn’t getting enough volume to be in your lineup.

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

Ben Skowronek (Sit), Allen Robinson (OUT), Van Jefferson (Start, Flex), Tyler Higbee (Start, TE2)

It was under the radar this past week that Allen Robinson will be out for the rest of the season and is getting surgery on his foot. It’s a blow to an offense already missing Cooper Kupp. It makes perfect sense that they are just looking at next year.

With no Kupp or Robinson, it will be Van Jefferson to carry the load and lead the team. He is the defacto veteran in the receiver room as he is in his third year in this offense and the only other wideout with more NFL experience is Brandon Powell. It’s not a great matchup. The Seahawks are giving up the eight fewest points to wide receivers. As the top receiver, he will probably draw coverage from Tariq Woolen who rates at 70.1 by PFF.com in coverage. With Perkins throwing the ball I’m not high on Jefferson this week. I think you can start him as a flex in hopes he gets enough targets and catches. He did lead the team in routes run with 28 and targets with 6.

Ben Skowronek has been playing all season and looked like he would see his snaps get cut once Jefferson returned but the injuries in front of him on the depth chart have kept Skowronek on the field. He saw only four targets in Week 12 and was third on the team in routes run with only 18. With the way, the offense is going it’s just low volume. When you add on the tough matchup I’m not starting Skowronek or Tutu Atwell or Lance McCutchen.

I’m sorry if you had Tyler Higbee in your lineup last week. He went into Week 12 having 8 targets in the previous two games. He played on 59% of the team’s snaps yet ran ZERO routes and thus saw no targets. His backup Brycen Hopkins played on 41% of the team’s snaps and ran 13 routes and saw two targets. This week they get the Seahawks who are giving up the second most points to tight ends at 18.22. If it wasn’t for the horrible showing last week I would say it’s a must-start for Higbee. The Seahawks have two good cover safety who could help shut down a tight end if needed. I will say that last week was an outlier for Higbee and say you can start him as a TE2.