STUDS

1. Brock Bowers (Written By Brandon Furtado)

It has not been talked about at all, but Bowers should be considered for Offensive Rookie of the Year alongside Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels. He has 84 catches for 884 yards and four touchdowns on the year and it is only Week 13. This week he compiled ten catches for 140 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort against the Kansas City Chiefs. All these numbers are incredible considering the Raiders are one of the worst teams in football. He will finish with top tight end numbers in a year where tight end production has been down across the board in real life and fantasy.

Unfortunately, since the Raiders are so bad, Bowers is the only shiny beacon of light in that sea of despair. He has outshined every tight end this season and leads the entire position in receptions, targets, and yards. Fantasy owners should be pleased and Raiders fans have found a silver lining in this lost season. Coming out of Georgia, it was universally understood that Bowers was not just the best tight end in college, but could be a top three tight end in the NFL. In just 13 games into his career, he has delivered on that promise and then some.

2. Rico Dowdle

Rico Dowdle was a bright spot in what was an absolutely frustrating game to watch on Thanksgiving between the Giants and the Cowboys. Mike McCarthy and his offensive coaching staff have also exhausted fantasy managers with some of their decisions this year. Nothing can perhaps be worse for fantasy managers than the fact that Rico Dowdle was in a timeshare with Ezekiel Elliott to begin the season, as Elliott is not the same player he once was in a Cowboys uniform. It’s just frustrating that a potential solid RB2 all season was taken away from us in a year where the position has had a plethora of injuries.  That said, Dowdle is finding success at the right time heading into the fantasy playoffs, as he’ll be a nice RB2 option against Cincinnati next week and will be a must-play against one of the worst teams in the league in the Carolina Panthers in Week 15. 

3. Jonnu Smith

Back to the craziness that is the fantasy tight end room with Jonnu Smith. In the last three weeks, he has cemented himself as a TE 1. From Week 11 to Week 13, he has produced an impressive run of PPR Fantasy games with 28.1, 23.7, and 21.3, respectively. Even more impressive is that these performances are coming with three touchdown catches during this stretch as Smith continues to be a successful fantasy player in the red zone. Continue rolling with him in a divisional matchup against the Jets next week and in the fantasy playoffs.

DUDS

1.  Patrick Mahomes

 At this point, it may seem sacrilegious to say this for Fantasy managers, but Patrick Mahomes just continues to look like a guy you can drop in all standard formats. Ignoring the hype of Mahomes being one of this generation’s best players. He has continued to disappoint fantasy managers with his performances, and he seems more like someone who would pick up out the waiver wire in a bye-week scenario than a full-on QB1 weekly fantasy starter. The season-long statistics back this up, as he is averaging 16.97  fantasy points per game.  That is simply not enough at the quarterback position. You can move on to better options. 

2. Chiefs Running Back Room

Isiah Pacheco only got 44 yards on seven carries, while his counterpart Kareem Hunt also had seven carries but only had 15 yards on Black Friday. Stating the obvious this is not enough for any fantasy managers to trust. Maybe it’s just a product of Pacheco’s first game back on the field since a fractured fibula sidelined him for nine weeks. Unfortunately, even with the talent of both Pacheco and Hunt, it’s best just to ignore this running back room until we see someone push themselves to a clear RB1 role In Kansas City. The worrying part, though, is that that just may not happen quickly enough for us to use it in the fantasy playoffs.