It's Christmas Weekend!

The fantasy playoffs are in full swing! We’ve got a lot going on the next few days, with games on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

But it’s Christmas weekend and I have an announcement! ❄️ Because of all the festivities surrounding Christmas and time with family, and with Monday as my usual “sit down and write” time, I won’t be sending out a newsletter on Tuesday.

🚗 I will also be traveling to visit family after Christmas, so my newsletters may be delayed. It’s a crazy time with the holidays, but it’s a fun one!

All in all, enjoy the Christmas weekend. 🎄 Enjoy time with family and friends. Thank you all for checking in to this newsletter twice a week every week this season. It’s been fun to write this and without you, it wouldn’t be the same.

Partially because that means I’m not writing to anyone. That’d be weird. Anyway, let’s dive into our Spousal Showdown! 🎁 

I won Thursday by a country mile, what can I say? Could I have done better? Sure. Put Puka in the captain spot over Kyren and potentially play Shaheed, A.T. Perry, or Juwan Johnson? Yep. But I still cashed despite two of my players combining for 2.3 points.

Monday was a different story. I had expected the Eagles to roll over Seattle and played minimal Seahawks, siding with a Devonta Smith, Jalen Hurts, and AJ Brown stack. And it was working for quite a while. I was in the money until about the fourth quarter even with the Eagles surprisingly struggling to move the ball.

My wife threw together a lineup featuring Dk Metcalf, Drew Lock, Hurts, Dallas Goedert, Jason Myers, and Zach Charbonnet. She won by ten points thanks to the touchdown by Lock and the extra point kick of Myers. The score by Lock meant my Eagles DST had points deducted as well. Ugh.

I’m 13-8 on the season, trying to finish strong! And I’m sure she is too, but you know, I’m trying to keep my pride here.

Thursday Night Fantasy Recap

Puka Nacua put on a show for the Rams. I cannot wait to dive into his rookie year during the quiet in the off-season. My findings will be on here if I do! Cooper Kupp was a disappointment, it seems one cannot have a good game without the other suffering. Kyren Williams even had a bit of a letdown but a touchdown can do wonders for fantasy manager’s mental health. What’s crazy is that not only was Kyren not targeted, but only four Rams caught a pass. More Rams registered a rush attempt than caught a pass on Thursday. Crazy.

The Saints really couldn’t get anything going until late. Chris Olave had a great game and Rashid Shaheed caught a long bomb touchdown but that was about it until the final few minutes. Juwan Johnson scored a touchdown, and rookie A.T. Perry caught a 35-yard score on his only reception. Alvin Kamara had a gross game any way you slice it, standard, PPR, half-PPR, it was just bad compared to what we all hoped for. Derek Carr is showing signs of life though, having thrown at least two touchdowns in each of his past three games. He’s back on the streaming radar if you’re in need of a quarterback for championship week. But tread carefully.

Things to look out for in Week 16

• 🏹 Rashee Rice is the WR6 in half-PPR formats since Week 11. He’s been targeted on 28% of his routes this season, that’s up there with Justin Jefferson, Stefon Diggs, and Mike Evans. His yards per route run is in a similar range as well. In other words, he’s very good. I’m not ready to crown him the franchise WR1 in Kansas City just yet, but a Tee Higgins to someone’s Ja’Marr Chase? That I can get behind.

• 🐆 In case you haven’t listened to JJ Zachariason’s “Sleeper Show” as part of his Late Round Podcast, you should. Credit to him for pointing out this week that Parker Washington could be a nice play against Tampa. I had to see the numbers for myself and man he is in a smash spot for season-long and DFS if Trevor Lawrence plays. As a slot receiver and with Zay Jones potentially out, he could see an uptick in work against a Tampa secondary giving up the 2nd most points to slot receivers. We’ll take that all day.

• 🐅 Speaking of slot plays, whoever mans the slot for the Bengals will have a nice matchup. The Steelers have been one of the toughest matchups for receivers lined up out wide, but they are the 5th best matchup for slot players. I’d bet it’s a mix of Tyler Boyd, the Bengals’ primary slot receiver, and Trenton Irwin, who also has frequented the slot.

• And of course, how could we forget about Tanner Hudson? He’ll likely see a slight bump in work, but nothing significant. The Steelers are a middle of the pack matchup for tight ends, so this doesn’t scare me off of starting him should I need to.

• 🐻 I wish I could tell you which of the Bears running backs gets a nice workload this Sunday. My gut tells me Roschon Johnson, but it could be Herbert or Foreman. Arizona is the friendliest matchup for running backs on the season, and if you need a play in a deeper league, take the shot on a Bears running back. Watch beat and team reporters as they may be helpful in figuring out who’s getting the run this week.

• 🧀 I like Aaron Jones against the Panthers this week. He’s not been his usual efficient self in 2023, but it’s a great spot against a defense that leads the league in rushing touchdowns allowed.

• 🐦️ Jaxon Smith-Ngjiba has not been quite the rookie phenom we all wanted him to be, but that doesn’t mean he’s been bad. It’s not been a Rashee Rice or Puka Nacua-type season, but he’s still been good and he also has a bit of target competition in Seattle. The Titans represent another opportunity for JSN to shine, having allowed the sixth most points to the position this year.

• 🏙️ Darius Slayton and Wan’Dale Robinson present two interesting options against the Eagles on Monday, especially with the Eagles’ struggles in the secondary.

• 🐬 Good teams can usually work around the defense they are facing. That’s the approach I took last week with James Cook and it paid off big time in DFS. I’m taking the same approach with Raheem Mostert this week against Dallas. He’s been a touchdown machine this year, and I think that the implied total, combined with Mostert’s nose for the endzone, puts him in starter territory. De’Von Achane is startable as well, but I’m tempering expectations for him. His usage as a receiver is a bonus, but Dallas has allowed the fewest receptions to running backs this season.

• It might not be pretty, but if you’re in a pinch I think you can start the reincarnation of Jakobi Meyers, aka Demario Douglas, this week against the Broncos. The Broncos are a little more generous to players out of the slot than out wide, and Douglas has played the majority of his snaps in the slot. What can I say? JJ inspired me to look at slot matchups this week.

• If Zach Wilson doesn’t start, and even if he does (though the ceiling is lower), I’d start the Washington defense this week.

• Another DST I’m willing to start because the opposing QB is down is Cleveland against the Texans with Stroud out.

• 🐶 🟠 Speaking of the Texans, they have allowed the fourth most points to the tight end position this season and now they face David Njoku. Njoku has put up monster games the past two weeks and has been hyper-targeted for most of the season regardless of who is behind center.

• Trey McBride is in a position to feast this week against the Bears. The matchup is great, Hollywood is dealing with an injury, and Michael Wilson is working his way back from one. If you have him, start him.

That’s all for this week!