Fantasy studs and duds: Vereen, Green set to produce
The fantasy football playoffs start within the next few weeks, meaning every matchup moving forward is crucial. Stop blindly throwing big names into your lineup even if they're facing a tough opponent.
STUDS
RB Shane Vereen, New England Patriots: Sure, you're entering this maddening fantasy minefield, but running backs who can catch the ball have tormented the Indianapolis Colts all year. Vereen is New England's best option there. For his up-and-down production, he still has notched four receptions in four games this year, including two of his last three.
WR A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals: Green's recent failures are heavily a result of recovering from his bum toe. QB Andy Dalton won't be as overwhelmed in this one, and the New Orleans Saints have been a top-10 fantasy matchup for wide receivers. This should be Green's big rebound contest.
WR DeSean Jackson, Washington Redskins: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of two teams to have allowed a league-high 14 scores to wideouts. They also have allowed the second most points in point-per-reception formats this year. Robert Griffin III is back under center and coming off a bye. Jackson, who leads the league with 9 catches of 40-plus yards (second place: 5), should break off at least one big grab.
TE Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers: Davis has been relegated to heavy blocking duty but should find more room to roam as a receiver this weekend. He hasn't scored since planting two in the end zone in the opener, but the Giants have yielded the second most fantasy points per game (22.9) to tight ends in PPR. All six of the TDs scored on them by this position also have come in the last five games.
QB Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears: Cutler hasn't topped 272 passing yards in his last three games. Also, the Vikings have been stingy against quarterbacks lately. But those names have included Kyle Orton and Mike Glennon. As long as Brandon Marshall (ankle) can go, Cutler should revisit the 290 yards and 3 touchdowns he posted against them in Week 2 last year.
DUDS
QB Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks: The Kansas City Chiefs have not allowed three touchdown passes in a game since Week 2 (Peyton Manning), and though he could easily continue Seattle's ground awakening from last week, Wilson also faces one of the toughest run defenses.
RB Lamar Miller, Miami Dolphins: Miller is still hampered by his ailing shoulder and faces one of the worst statistical fantasy matchups for his position. Against one of the league's best defensive lines in their Week 2 meeting, Miller mustered just 53 total yards.
WR Andre Johnson, Houston Texans: Our guess is that the Cleveland Browns put top cornerback Joe Haden on Johnson, which will enable them to deploy double coverage on the more explosive DeAndre Hopkins. Quarterback Ryan Mallett will be making his first NFL start, so don't expect him to be precise enough to connect frequently with the veteran wideout.
QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons: Time to avoid him on the road again. The Carolina Panthers have been a relatively easy matchup for opposing quarterbacks, but they've been slightly better at home. Six of Ryan's eight interceptions have come on the road, and his yards-per-attempt average is more than 3 yards lower away from Atlanta.
SLEEPERS
WR Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota Vikings: The Chicago Bears'defensive woes make this a fine week to start Patterson, especially if tight end Kyle Rudolph returns to spread out the defense. The Vikes are coming off their bye and probably chatted about how to make Flash useful, too.
RB Trent Richardson, Indianapolis Colts: Indianapolis should deploy a healthy dose of its running backs against the New England Patriots, who have been one of the most favorable fantasy matchups for running backs all year. (More so without linebacker Jerod Mayo.) Quietly, Richardson has caught at least four passes three times this year and averaged 5.2 yards per carry in his last two games.
QB Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers: The New York Giants have given up the fourth most points per game to QBs this year. Kap was betrayed by his receivers Sunday (six drops) and could plague the G-Men on the ground the way fellow mobile QB Russell Wilson did last weekend.
WR Malcom Floyd, San Diego Chargers: The Oakland Raiders secondary can't catch a break. They were bombed by Peyton Manning (340 yards, 5 touchdowns) and now must deal with Philip Rivers, who had 313 and 3 against them in Week 6. Floyd (18.9 yards per grab, one of the league's best) has the big-play ability to make the Raiders pay.
WR Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers: Adams only had two targets in Green Bay's Week 10 blowout. They didn't need him. The Philadelphia Eagles remain one of the biggest fantasy doormats for wideouts, so expect Adams to see considerably more action this week.