Welcome to Feast or Famine! A weekly breakdown of the most variable player rankings by standard deviation from FantasyPros Weekly ECR.  

These players are ranked as either sensational hits or relative busts, and I’ll be giving my reasoning on why you should lean one side over the other. Having no clear group consensus means these are the decisions that could win or lose you your weekly matchup or DFS lineup. Knowledge is power in these situations, so let’s begin. 

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Quarterback

Tom Brady (TB)
Highest rank: QB5. Lowest Rank: QB12

The Vikings are giving up the second-most passing touchdowns to wide receivers in the league, and Brady and the Bucs boast one of the most dangerous receiving arsenals with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown. Brady has thrown for 300-plus yards and three touchdowns in two of his last three games. He also happens to have one of the best remaining schedules in fantasy with Minnesota, Atlanta, Detroit, and Atlanta again as his remaining games — all of which are fantasy-friendly defenses to quarterbacks. Fire him up with confidence as a top-six option against a young Vikings secondary.

Prediction: FEAST

Jalen Hurts (PHI)
Highest rank: QB16. Lowest Rank: QB27

Hurts is taking the fantasy community by storm after Philadelphia declared him the starter over Carson Wentz, but we could hardly imagine a worse first game. The Saints’ defense is allowing the fewest yards per game in the entire NFL and the fifth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. While his ability to run certainly adds some value, the rookie is going to be in for a rude awakening against one of the best defenses out there. Prior to Hurts taking over, the Eagles are seventh-worst in offensive scoring. Don’t get suckered into the hype unless you are desperate.

Prediction: FAMINE

Running Back

Melvin Gordon (DEN)
Highest rank: RB11. Lowest Rank: RB31.

As a Phillip Lindsay truther, this hurts to write, so you should know some deep thought went into it. After a midseason turning point where their snap counts were almost identical, Gordon is starting to pull away in both receptions and red-zone carries. The Broncos now get a Panthers team that could be without quite a few of their top offensive playmakers due to positive COVID tests and an injury setback for Christian McCaffrey. The result should be short fields to manage and quicker scoring for the Broncos’ offense.

We’ll need to keep an eye on this, but the plethora of players either not healthy or missing practice could flip this game script in favor of the Broncos quickly. The Panthers are also allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to running backs on the year. I like his potential game script and value usage in this one.

Prediction: FEAST

Honorable Mention Feast: J.K. Dobbins, Giovani Bernard, J.D. McKissic

Raheem Mostert (SF)
Highest rank: RB5. Lowest Rank: RB30.

The 49ers’ backfield is very difficult to predict. However, a Washington defense allowing the fifth-fewest points to the position — with every game being make or break — makes them a very dangerous team right now. They also just completely shut down the run game against the previously undefeated Steelers last week. Washington is playing far better football than many give them credit for. They are also allowing the third-fewest rushing touchdowns this year, only behind the Ravens and the Saints. This is a scary matchup, and Jeffrey Wilson, not Mostert, led San Francisco’s running backs in snaps last week.

Prediction: FAMINE

Honorable Mention Famine: Miles Sanders, Devontae Booker

Wide Receiver

Jamison Crowder (NYJ)
Highest rank: WR27. Lowest Rank: WR54.

Crowder is averaging nearly five more points per game when Sam Darnold is throwing the ball. The Jets also happen to be underdogs to a pass-funnel defense allowing the most points in the league to wide receivers in the Seahawks. He could propel managers into the playoffs or to the next round as a flex play. Still under the radar with a WR39 ECR, Crowder is my favorite sleeper play of the week. I have him in the low 20s. 

Jamison Crowder points per game w/ Sam Darnold vs w/o:

14.8 vs 10.5

Seattle's defense is allowing the most points to WRs in the league and Jets have no starting running back.

High volume floor this week.

— David Zach (@DavidZach16) December 9, 2020

Prediction: FEAST

Honorable Mention Feast: Chase Claypool, Mike Evans

Jarvis Landry (CLE)
Highest rank: WR21. Lowest Rank: WR44.

The Ravens’ defense is tough, allowing the second-fewest touchdowns to wide receivers. Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters will be a very different type of matchup than the Browns had last week, though I imagine they may be playing from behind enough to pass early and often. The kicker here is that both the Browns and Ravens implement a heavier run scheme, and as such have two of the slowest pace of plays in the league.

Not only does this game project to have the fewest snaps played of the week, but it is also below league average on the Vegas projected point total. Landry will need to pull through on game script to make an impact, which is not a risk I am willing to take.

Prediction: FAMINE

Honorable Mention Famine:  Robert Woods, T.Y. Hilton

Tight End

Rob Gronkowski (TB)
Highest rank: TE4. Lowest Rank: TE17.

If you couldn’t tell from listing both Brady and Evans earlier, I am very high on the Bucs’ passing offense this week. They have a projected Vegas total of 29 points, so there should be multiple touchdowns to go around. The Vikings are exploitable through the air and fall in the bottom 10 of almost every pass-defense category. Coming off an extra bye week of rest and planning, the Buccaneers run up the score in this one.

Prediction: FEAST

Thanks for reading, and stay golden! If you like what you learned, follow me @DavidZach16 for more interesting stats and tidbits throughout the year. 

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David Zach is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from David, check out his archive and follow him @DavidZach16.