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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Quarterbacks

Ben Roethlisberger (PIT)
Highest rank: QB8. Lowest Rank: QB21.
The Steelers are an absurd 12.5 favorites in Cincinnati this weekend. If that in itself isn’t telling enough, they remain the third pass-heavy team in the league with 40.4 attempts per game. And why wouldn’t they? The collection of receiving playmakers they have hardly allows all of them to be on the field at the same time, making any option a dangerous threat on any given play. Their running game has particularly fallen off the map lately as James Conner and Benny Snell are barely blips on the fantasy radar now. Everyone is expecting a major blowout with short fields against a Ryan Finley run Bengals offense. Let’s just hope the Steelers defense doesn’t take back too many to the house and allows Ben to get his points.

Prediction: FEAST

Tua Tagovailoa (MIA)
Highest rank: QB17. Lowest Rank: QB31.
The Dolphins are very much lacking a ground game due to a plethora of injuries and the Patriots are allowing the third-fewest points to quarterbacks this season as a run-funnel defense. This was on full display last week against the Rams as Cam Akers simply could not be stopped and they only had to resort to passing a handful of pass attempts. This game is boasting a horrifically low Vegas total of 41, which is also due to them both being in the bottom quartile of plays per game. Defensive, low-scoring, and slow, not a combination to put in their playoff spot.

Prediction: FAMINE

Running Backs

Gus Edwards (BAL)
Highest rank: RB24. Lowest Rank: RB60.
Mark Ingram has apparently faded into dust, as JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards step forward into the limelight. The duo was unstoppable against Cleveland last week, each scoring touchdowns and romping their way to large chunk gains. They now are 13 point favorites against a Jaguars’ defense that is allotting the fifth-most points to running backs. If Ingram is dusted, and Gus was the main man in a tight game last week, how much more should we expect to see of him now? Coming off his highest-scoring game of the year, I’m typically risk-averse to recency bias, but the matchup, game script, and snap usage all point to another strong outing from Gus Bus.

Prediction: FEAST

Honorable Mention Feast: Nyheim Hines, Jeff Wilson

Duke Johnson (HOU)
Highest rank: RB22. Lowest Rank: RB53.
Being seven point underdogs is typically not conducive to a high volume rushing attack. Sprinkle in that the Texans will likely start to ease back in David Johnson this week and it looks especially concerning for Duke’s outlook. Consider that Duke has not scored above seven points all year long without an accompanying touchdown, so his floor is dangerously low. The reduced snap share and negative game script confirms our fears, and that he likely should be on your bench if not simply dropped for the remainder of the season.

Prediction: FAMINE

Honorable Mention Famine: Devin Singletary, Clyde Edwards-Helaire

Be sure to check out all of our Week 15 NFL content

Wide Receivers

Terry McLaurin (WAS)
Highest rank: WR8. Lowest Rank: WR27.
Back to back stinker performances have fantasy owners timid at the prospects of continuing with McLaurin this week. Less than three points do not instill confidence even in the bravest of souls. Now Alex Smith is questionable to start leaving Dwayne Haskins as the remaining option. In four games to start the season with Haskins under center, McLaurin averaged nearly 15 points per game as the alpha dog. His year-long totals are outstanding, so I’m not letting two bad weeks shake him from my lineups. A very specific bonus is a matchup with the Seahawks who are still allowing the single highest points to wide receivers on the year. If ever there was a time for him to come through, it is this week. 

Prediction: FEAST

Honorable Mention Feast: Chris Godwin

Tyler Lockett (SEA)
Highest rank: WR9. Lowest Rank: WR31.
Lockett has scored over 10 points in a single game over the past seven games that he has played. He is an extremely volatile player that could go for over 20 or less than 10 with very little odds of in between. Metcalf is very clearly the number one option for Russell Wilson, and Washington’s defense has allowed the fourth-fewest points to wide receivers. Being ranked as the WR17 according to ECR feels outrageous to me. If you like to live dangerously, he might be your guy; otherwise, I would steer clear. 

Prediction: FAMINE

Honorable Mention Famine: Diontae Johnson, Cole Beasley

Tight Ends

Irv Smith Jr. (MIN)
Highest rank: TE10. Lowest Rank: TE30.
Interestingly enough, I have implemented the strategy of starting a Vikings tight end at any cost if the other one is out – referring to both Smith and Kyle Rudolph. It has only failed me once this year and the streak continued in week 14 as Smith 14 fantasy points in the absence of Rudolph. Rudolph is looking questionable yet again so I’m riding the momentum of the healthy Vikings tight end yet again hoping it continues to hold water. 

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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Whether you’re new to fantasy football or a seasoned pro, our Fantasy Football 101: Strategy Tips & Advice page is for you. You can get started with How to Manage Early-Season Injury Problems or head to more advanced strategy – like How to Effectively Assess the Quality of Your Team – to learn more.

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