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

Rams@Cardinals

 

Game Info

Kickoff: Sunday, December 1st at 4:05 pm EST

Location: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ

Betting Odds: LAR -3, 47.5 Total via Oddsshark

Network: FOX

Sleeper Spotlight: Tyler Higbee

Los Angeles Rams

 

Quarterback:

• Jared Goff (Start/QB1)

 

I can just picture Jared Goff owners (or previous owners) cringing at seeing their nemesis listed as a start. This is all about the matchup for me and if Goff can’t get it done against the team that’s allowed the most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this year, then so be it. It’s also significant to me that Goff finally has his full arsenal of weapons this week and will get a full weeks worth of practice with them. I’m starting Goff as a backend QB1 this week.

 

Running Backs:

• Todd Gurley (Start/RB2)

• Malcolm Brown (Sit)

 

 

Todd Gurley, as well as the rest of the Rams, is coming off a performance to forget as they were manhandled by Lamar Jackson and the Ravens defense on Monday night. For the game, Gurley carved out just 25 yards on nine touches, in what was easily his lowest workload and output of the year. The tiny silver lining to Gurley’s struggles is that he was on the field for 96% of the Rams’ offensive snaps on Monday. I expect Gurley to have a nice bounce-back game against the Cardinals’ defense that has allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to running backs this year. Since his return from injury, Malcolm Brown has passed Darrell Henderson for the number two back on the Rams. However, that means nothing about his relevance in fantasy.

 

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends:

• Cooper Kupp (Start/WR1)

• Robert Woods (Start/Flex)

• Brandin Cooks (Start/Flex)

• Gerald Everett (Start/TE1*)

• Tyler Higbee (Start/TE1*)

• Josh Reynolds (Sit)

 

One of the reasons that I’m so high on Goff is because of his plethora of pass-catchers and after not having Brandin Cooks or Robert Woods for various reasons, Goff finally gets them all back on the field for this incredible matchup. With Cooks and Woods out of the lineup, defenses were able to focus their efforts on stopping Cooper Kupp, as he saw just seven targets in Weeks 10 and 11. However, in Week 12, Kupp went back to his big, double-digit target workload against the Ravens. I expect more of the same against the Cardinals, who have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to wideouts this year. Over his last two games, Robert Woods has seen 20 targets while catching 13 balls for 196 yards. The only thing that has been lacking is Woods has yet to find the end zone this year. However, if that workload remains consistent, he should find paydirt in the near future. Brandin Cooks returned to the lineup after missing time due to a concussion sustained in the Rams’ Week 8 game against the Bengals. Cooks played on 78% of the Rams’ snaps but saw just four targets. I don’t mind Cooks as a flex play in a good matchup, but if you have a comparable option, I’d probably roll with door number two. Gerald Everett was all set to get the super-awesome matchup of tight ends against the Cardinals this week and then he went and hyperextended his knee Monday against the Ravens. He’s currently considered day-to-day and if he’s able to go, I like him as a TE1 due to the matchup. If he’s not able to go, Tyler Higbee becomes a sneaky little start as he saw six targets against the Ravens with Everett out. With all of the pass-catchers back, Josh Reynolds took a back seat, seeing just 56% of the snaps after seeing 95% over the last two weeks. He can return to the bench for fantasy purposes.

 

Arizona Cardinals

 

Quarterback:

• Kyler Murray (Start/QB1)

 

Kyler Murray has really come into form over the last three weeks, with two of those games being against the vaunted 49ers defense. In those three weeks, he’s put up 23, 26.8, and 26.7 fantasy points, respectively, and has turned the ball over just once. For the season, the Rams rank in the middle of the pack in allowing fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, but as we all just saw on Monday night, they can be carved up. The only thing to worry about in this matchup is the Rams pass rush, but that should lead to Murray using his legs and picking up extra yards on the ground.

 

Running Backs:

• Kenyan Drake (Start/Flex)

• David Johnson (Sit)

• Chase Edmonds (Sit)

 

Just how much of a mess is this backfield? In Week 11, Kenyan Drake played on 88% of the snaps and handled 22 touches for 80 total yards, while David Johnson did not touch the ball. To me this indicates that Johnson is legitimately hurt and with Chase Edmonds potentially returning this week, we might see Johnson inactive. Due to that workload, I could see firing up Drake as a flex play this week as the Rams are middle of the pack in terms of fantasy points allowed to running backs. 

 

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends:

• Christian Kirk (Start/WR2)

• Larry Fitzgerald (Sit)

• Pharoh Cooper (Sit)

 

Over Christian Kirk’s last two games, we’ve seen him shine as Murray’s favorite target. In that time, he saw 19 targets with an aDOT of 12.7. The next closest pass catcher in terms of targets was Larry Fitzgerald with 13, but those came with an aDOT of just 5.4. Kirk is seeing the higher upside targets, while Fitzgerald sees the short, safe targets. Kirk should see some Jalen Ramsey this week, but this version of Ramsey isn’t as scary as the version we’ve seen in the past. As for Fitzgerald, I could see starting him as a flex in a PPR league if you need him, but that low aDOT essentially makes him the Cole Beasley of Arizona. Over the Cardinals’ past two games, Pharoh Cooper has received the third-most non-running back targets with nine and has a healthy 20.2 aDOT in that time. Cooper is a big-play waiting to happen, but for season-long, he’s not startable. 

 

-Rich Holman