Our own Pat Fitzmaurice has been among the most accurate fantasy football experts in the industry over the last several years. Fitz was THE most accurate in-season ranker in 2020. What better way to prepare for your fantasy football start/sit lineup decisions than by reviewing his rankings? You can do just that below.
You can also find our expert consensus fantasy football rankings for the week here. And you can sync your fantasy football league for free using our My Playbook tool for custom advice, rankings, and analysis.
Fantasy Football Rankings
Fitz’s Fantasy Football Takes
This might be the first time all season I’m above consensus with my ranking of Sam Howell (QB9). I’m still not convinced Howell is good, but he’s been throwing like crazy. Howell has exceeded 40 pass attempts in five of his last six games. He’s averaged 42.3 pass attempts and 300 passing yards a game over that stretch. And the thing is, there’s little chance that Howell’s passing volume normalizes. The Commanders’ defense is a sieve (29th in defensive DVOA), so Howell is going to be forced into a bunch of O.K. Corral-type shootouts, and Washington is averaging a meager 90.1 rushing yards per game. Keep playing this young Wyatt Earp.
I’m not ready to hit the panic button on James Cook after he no-showed against the Bengals last week (6-20-0 rushing, 4-19-0 receiving). Cook had averaged 15 touches in Buffalo’s three previous games. He’s averaging 14.4 touches a game for the season, and there’s only been one game in which he didn’t get double-digit touches. It’s fair to wonder what Cook’s role will be once recent signee Leonard Fournette gets settled in with the Bills, but I don’t think Fournette (or Latavius Murray) will pull the rug out from under Cook this week in Buffalo’s matchup against Denver.
George Pickens‘ per-game averages in the four games Diontae Johnson has missed this season: 8.3 targets, 4.3 receptions, 89.3 receiving yards, 0.5 touchdowns. Pickens’ per-game averages in the four games Johnson has played this season: 6.3 targets, 3.3 receptions, 41.0 receiving yards, 0.25 touchdowns. Pickens is a big-play artist with extraordinary ball skills. Where he’s less impressive is with his route running and his ability to be a consistent target earner. I have Pickens ranked WR26 because of his big-play ability, and I’m well above consensus on him. Admittedly, the low end of Pickens’ range of outcomes is dungeon-level when Diontae Johnson is healthy.
Taysom Hill is a must-start at this point, isn’t he? Since Week 6, Hill is TE1 in fantasy points per game (0.5 PPR) with 16.0. Travis Kelce has averaged 14.6 fantasy points over that stretch. Over his last four games, Hill has 135 rushing yards, 126 receiving yards, 51 passing yards, three touchdown runs, a touchdown catch, and a touchdown pass. Scoff at his TE eligibility if you must, but Hill’s fantasy value is undeniable.
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