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

Tua Tagovailoa (MIA)
Highest rank: QB10. Lowest Rank: QB27.
Tagovailoa has gone three straight weeks with at least 16 fantasy points, and this includes matchups against the Chiefs and Patriots defenses. It seems he has hit his groove. Now the Dolphins get a matchup against the Raiders depleted secondary who are allowing the 10th-most points to quarterbacks on the year. I also think the Dolphins’ defense will easily handle Marcus Mariota if he is under center as it is a few tiers above the Chargers in terms of efficiency.

Prediction: FEAST

Kirk Cousins (MIN)
Highest rank: QB14. Lowest Rank: QB26.
Cousins has been one of the most reliable quarterbacks on the market, scoring enough to get most fantasy owners by each week. Saints are allowing the fourth-fewest points to quarterbacks and while they are a pass-funnel defense, they are still one of the most stout defenses in the league. Forcing Cousins into passing situations under pressure has not been his bright spot, and I think we’ll see him give up a turnover or two.

Prediction: FAMINE

Running Backs

Mike Davis (CAR)
Highest rank: RB9. Lowest Rank: RB57.
CMC has already been ruled out and your season-long waiver wire savior comes to the rescue yet again in Davis. His work in the receiving game has fallen off a bit from earlier in the year, but his dual role is enough to give you a rather safe floor week to week. Washington also happens to be the second-highest run-funnel defense in the league. The detractor is the Vegas total for this game sits at a lowly 44, with Washington being the mild favorite. Even when McCaffrey was active after week 1, Davis has never scored less than six points. While not astonishing, it shows the Panthers are willing to use him no matter what. 

Prediction: FEAST

Honorable Mention Feast: Leonard Fournette (if Ronald Jones limited/out), Salvon Ahmed

JK Dobbins (BAL)
Highest rank: RB8. Lowest Rank: RB34.
Dobbins has been strictly reliant on having a touchdown to be fantasy relevant, scoring in each of his last four games. He has been able to score over seven points just one without a score on the year, and his recent games against Tennessee, Dallas, and Jacksonville were all notorious for giving up points to running backs. While the Giants are also generous, they aren’t as easy as the aforementioned. Playing Russian roulette in the fantasy playoffs based on a needed score for a meaningful output is a tough risk to bet, but the Ravens are 10 point favorites. Knowing who gets the score(s) in this one feels risky enough to avoid if you are better options as Lamar Jackson and Gus Edwards are just as capable of hitting paydirt. You must have a viable higher tier option to consider benching Dobbins, however.

Prediction: FAMINE

Honorable Mention Famine: Tony Pollard, Le’Veon Bell

Wide Receivers

Marvin Jones Jr. (DET)
Highest rank: WR10. Lowest Rank: WR29.
Jones has scored 22 points in two of the last three games and now gets a top-3 pass funnel defense in the Bucs. Calvin Ridley and Russel Gage went off for massive outings last week and considering their stout run defense, we should see a similar pass-heavy script from the Lions. Not only that, but Jones is averaging an outstanding 11 targets per game over the past month. That’s the perfect target for sleeper value based on volume alone. Fire him up this week!

Prediction: FEAST

Honorable Mention Feast: T.Y. Hilton, Michael Gallup

Rashard Higgins (CLE)
Highest rank: WR21. Lowest Rank: WR47.
I think Higgins has been a great player and will continue to excel in the league after this season. What I do have an issue with is the game script in this one. The Jets surprisingly shut down the Rams wide receivers last week in the upset no one expected. And as 9.5 point favorites, I’m expecting an extremely heavy dose of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt once again. While Baker Mayfield has been on fire of late, the Browns have still been one of the most effective teams in the league at running the ball. I think target volume will be a concern in this one.

Prediction: FAMINE

Honorable Mention Famine: Terry McLaurin, Robby Anderson

Tight Ends

Irv Smith Jr. (MIN)
Highest rank: TE10. Lowest Rank: TE30.
Outside of Travis Kelce last week, the Saints have not allowed a touchdown to a tight end in over eight weeks. I have historically been on team “start the healthy Vikings tight end,” but that changes this week. I similarly have Kirk Cousins ranked as a famine this week and think the offense as a whole struggles mightily. Good run defenses that can contain Dalvin Cook to an extent quickly put the Vikings’ offense under duress. I’m fading their offense, in general, this week. 

Prediction: FAMINE

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.