Christmas comes a day early Sunday with championship fantasy football matchups. If you are looking for an edge, I’ve got some plays that may just get you over the top for that trophy. I’ll give you eight predictions that the general public would give 10 to 1 odds of happening. Shoot me your bold predictions on twitter and I’ll let you know what I think!
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#8 The Chicago Bears will be a top 2 DST
Not only do the bears have 9 sacks and 4 forced turnovers in their last three games with just 42 points allowed, but they have been getting it done all season, believe it or not. Chicago has multiple sacks in every game except one this year and they have recovered an NFL leading 13 fumbles. Add in DeShone Kizer and you’ve got to love their chances to help fantasy owners get that championship this weekend.
Final Prediction: 4 sacks, 3 INT, 1 FR, 1 TD, 13 pts
#7 C.J. Anderson will be a top 10 RB
At this point, Anderson’s ECR is at RB #18, but that is still too low. He has gone from 5 to 19 touches, then 24 to 30 in the past two weeks. The Broncos’ new offensive coordinator is building their offense around him and while he may not see 30 touches again, 20+ seems like a virtual lock against the Redskins this weekend. If he sneaks into the end-zone once, he should have enough yards to get into RB1 range.
Final Prediction: 26 carries, 98 yards, 1 TD, 2 receptions, 11 yards
#6 Alex Collins will outscore Todd Gurley, LeSean McCoy, Leonard Fournette and Kareem Hunt
Some of this has to do with the fact that Gurley has a rough matchup against the Titans, Fournette is playing banged up, and neither McCoy or Hunt are the epitome of consistency. A large part, however, is that Collins has been superb all season except last week. After compiling 65 standard league fantasy points over the previous four weeks, the Browns, who have a tremendous run defense, if you can believe it, held him to just 42 yards on 17 carries. The matter of the fact is that he has at least 17 touches now in 5 straight weeks since the bye and should be able to take advantage of a cake matchup against the Colts this weekend.
Final Prediction: 21 carries, 108 yards, 2 TD
#5 Martavis Bryant will be a top 10 WR
If you watched last week’s game, you don’t need me to tell you that Bryant looked spectacular, snagging a one-handed touchdown and laying out on the sideline for a deep ball. He was playing with confidence and saw 6 targets for the fourth straight week. With Antonio Brown out this entire game and a matchup against Houston, who is the easiest secondary in football, Bryant could be in line for his top performance of the season.
Final Prediction: 5 receptions, 88 yards, 1 TD
#4 Keelan Cole will be a top 20 WR
You wouldn’t know it from his minimal ownership, but Cole has been a top 20 wideout three consecutive weeks now. He has 337 yards and 3 scores in that time, and now that Marqise Lee is out, Cole should see a bump in snap count and could see another 9 targets like last week. San Francisco has been getting torched through the air of late so don’t hesitate to ride the hot streak and play Cole in your flex this week.
Final Prediction: 4 receptions, 62 yards, 1 TD
#3 Devin Funchess will be a top 5 WR
I have received more twitter start/sit questions on Funchess than any other receiver in football this week. So let me get this straight, for the five weeks following the Kelvin Benjamin trade, Funchess was at least a WR2 every single week. hauled in over 400 receiving yards and was second in football with 4 receiving touchdowns, but you are considering sitting him because he had one tough week? A.J. Green has had a handful of tough weeks this year. Julio Jones hasn’t exactly been consistent either. Are you thinking about sitting them? Think of Funchess is a similar light because he is indeed a WR1 and a must-start against Tampa.
Final Prediction: 7 receptions, 110 yards, 1 TD
#2 Cameron Brate will be a top 5 TE
This may be the easiest call all season. O.J. Howard has been competing with Brate all season for snaps, and after Week 8, he finally passed Brate up. Now that Howard is out for the season, it may help to look at what Brate did while he was the lead-tight end with Jameis Winston. He was 4th in receiving yards behind Rob Gronkowski, Zach Ertz and Travis Kelce. He was 4th in touchdowns behind Gronk, Ertz and Kelce. He was a top 12 tight end 5 of 7 weeks, which wouldn’t you know, was also 4th best at the position. With Howard out, you can expect more of the same.
Final Prediction: 6 receptions, 74 yards, 1 TD
#1 Jameis Winston will be a top 5 QB
My co-host, Mike Tagliere has been persistent that I am wrong on this call, but I said it last week as well and he posted 25 points. No, Winston’s game isn’t pretty, but I’m a firm believer in results over process for fantasy football, and Winston’s results have been quite good this season. Outside of the two games he was injured and the game he played with 40 MPH wind gusts, he has posted 18, 26, 18, 26, 20, 18 and 25 fantasy points since Week 3. Why would anyone assume he would put up fewer than 18 this weekend against a struggling Panthers’ secondary? I can’t figure it out.
Final Prediction: 328 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 2 rushes, 11 yards
**Bonus Super Duper Bold Prediction**
Elijhaa Penny will be a top 12 RB — Kerwynn Williams left last week’s game with a quad injury and has been missing practice since as a result. If he is absent from the game, the Cardinals made it clear in Week 15’s second half that Penny would become a workhorse running back. The 240-pound tank may not have big-play making upside, but with near 20 touches against the hapless Giants, he could rack up 80+ yards and a score or two.
Thanks for reading and happy football season!
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