Week 13 is here and there are only a few weeks left in the fantasy regular season. Each week this column will analyze a player at each position rostered in 50 percent of Yahoo leagues or less. This group of players is basically a dream stream team. For reference, the threshold used for Wins and Losses in this article will be if the quarterbacks can score at least 17 points, if the tight ends can score at least eight PPR points, and if the rest can score at least 10 PPR points. Here is the Week 13 stream team.
Week 13 Stream Team: Alexander Mattison, Van Jefferson, and More
Week 12 Recap
Quarterback
- Tyrod Taylor (HOU) v NYJ – 16.32 points – Loss
- Daniel Jones (NYG) v PHI – 15.08 points – Loss
- Tua Tagovailoa (MIA) @ NYJ – 13.20 points – Loss
- Totals – Week: 0-3 / Year: 16-20
Running Back
- Ty Johnson (NYJ) @ HOU – 4.20 points – Loss
- Tevin Coleman (NYJ) @ HOU – 9.00 points – Loss
- Boston Scott (PHI) @ NYG – 13.20 points – Win
- Totals – Week: 1-2 / Year: 12-24
Wide Receiver
- Laviska Shenault Jr. (JAX) v ATL – 8.30 points – Loss
- Van Jefferson (LAR) @ GB – 18.30 points – Win
- Jamison Crowder (NYJ) @ HOU – 1.50 points – Loss
- Totals – Week: 1-2 / Year: 20-16
Tight End
- Cole Kmet (CHI) @ DET – 14.50 points – Win
- Tyler Conklin (MIN) @ SF – 4.50 points – Loss
- Dan Arnold (JAX) v ATL – 1.90 points – Loss
- Totals – Week: 1-2 / Year: 20-16
- Grand Totals – Week: 3-9 / Year: 68-76
Week 13 Stream Team
Quarterback – Taylor Heinicke (WFT – 35%) @ LV
Taylor Heinicke has been a surprisingly good fantasy quarterback this year. He’s scored double-digit fantasy points in every game this season. Heinicke has also topped the 20-point mark in five different games this year. He sits just outside the top 12 (QB14) averaging 17.90 fantasy points per game. While there are certainly questions about Heinicke from a real-life standpoint, he’s a good fantasy option for two reasons. The first is that he’s not scared to push the ball down the field and take chances. The second, and most important for fantasy, is that he’s a sneaky runner. He’s very much like Daniel Jones in these aspects and coincidentally, Jones is one of just five quarterbacks with more rushing yards than Heinicke on the season. This week’s matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders is a good one. The Raiders defense has been rough lately. This game also has a 48.5-point combined total and will be played in a dome. The Washington Football Team are currently 2.5-point underdogs so the game script should be in Heinicke’s favor as well. The overall game environment looks ripe for Heinicke to have another nice performance.
Honorable Mentions – Daniel Jones (NYG – 28%) @ MIA, Tua Tagovailoa (MIA – 33%) v CAR
Running Back – Alexander Mattison (MIN – 50%) @ DET
This recommendation rides completely on whether or not Dalvin Cook plays. As of this writing, that doesn’t seem promising. Cook left on a cart and in tears with a shoulder injury that could force him to miss some time. If that’s the case, Alexander Mattison will step into a large workload just like he has in the past. Mattison has already piled up over 150 total yards in two games earlier this year that Cook missed. One of those was against these same Detroit Lions. In that game, Mattison handled 25 carries and seven receptions on his way to 153 total yards and a score. He finished with 29.30 fantasy points in that one. The Lions are still just as bad on defense. They have allowed the third-most fantasy points to running backs this year. This game currently has a 47.5-point combined total with the Minnesota Vikings as seven-point road favorites. Everything is lining up for Mattison to be a great play this week and depending on how long Cook is out, he could end up being a huge factor in the fantasy playoffs.
Alexander Mattison has started two games in place of Dalvin Cook this season:
Week 3: 26 carries, 112 yards, 6 catches, 59 yards. RB7 with 23.1 fantasy points.
Week 5: 25 carries, 113 yards, 7 catches, 40 yards, TD. RB6 with 26.3 fantasy points.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 29, 2021
Honorable Mentions – Jamaal Williams (DET – 39%) v MIN, Tevin Coleman (NYJ – 18%) v PHI
Wide Receiver – Van Jefferson (LAR – 48%) v JAX
Van Jefferson is having a very good sophomore season. One year after being mostly invisible, he’s been an integral part of this Los Angeles Rams offense this year. That’s been even more evident over the past five games. Over that span, Jefferson has seen at least six targets in all five games and has seen at least seven targets in four of those games. This Rams offense has been one of the highest-scoring units in the NFL this year. Anytime you’re running this many routes and seeing a good amount of targets in a high-powered offense, there’s going to be some fantasy upside here. This week’s matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars is a juicy one. The Rams are 13.5-point home favorites in a game with a 48-point combined total. That means the Rams are projected to score more than 30 in this one. The Jaguars defense is horrible and has allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to wide receivers this year. Should this game go as expected, Jefferson has a great chance at having another nice game in this one.
Honorable Mentions – Kadarius Toney (NYG – 47%) @ MIA, Russell Gage (ATL – 32%) v PHI
Tight End – Cole Kmet (CHI – 24%) v ARI
It was so nice we’ll do it twice. Cole Kmet was the featured tight end last week and he came through in a big way. One week after a stinker, Kmet saw a career-high 11 targets. He turned them into eight receptions for 65 yards. The eight receptions were also a career-high and the 65 yards were the second-most of his career. Kmet has now seen at least six targets in four of his last five games. He’s becoming a featured piece of this Chicago Bears offense. It’s not necessarily an offense that inspires much confidence, but when running this many routes and seeing this many targets, it’s more than most tight ends. This week’s matchup against the Arizona Cardinals has a decent combined total of 46.5 points right now. The Bears are seven-point underdogs as well which should help the game script to be in Kmet’s favor.
Routes run by Bears TEs yesterday. On 45 Andy Dalton dropbacks:
Cole Kmet 38
Jesse James 7
Jimmy Graham 4
JP Holtz 0— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) November 26, 2021
Honorable Mentions – Tyler Conklin (MIN – 33%) @ DET, Jared Cook (LAC – 48%) @ CIN
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Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
