| |  | | Tuesday, November 28, 2023 | Before we turn our attention to Week 13, a mea culpa: I whiffed on DJ Moore. | | Going back to the preseason, I just didn't think the upside was worth chasing, especially when he was going off the board with a third-round pick in many drafts. I thought the Bears wouldn't throw enough for him, and the quality of the targets he did see would be mediocre enough that I just didn't think he would live up to expectations. And early on in the season, I felt okay about it – he was producing, but, with just 15 targets through his first three games, he was having a decent start, but hardly one I felt bad about missing out on. | After catching 11 of 13 passes for 114 yards Monday, however, Moore now has at least 96 yards in four straight games with a healthy Justin Fields. He has at least nine targets in each game, and while Fields still has plenty of work to do as a passer overall, he's doing a good job of leaning on Moore and letting his hugely talented No. 1 WR do the heavy lifting. Moore saw a dip in production when Fields was out, but he's still already over 1,000 yards for the season, and his next touchdown will match his career high. He still has five games left this season to add to those numbers, too. | Of course, Moore will be of no use to you in Week 13, as the Bears are one of six teams on bye this week. They're joined by the Bills, Ravens, Vikings, Giants, and Raiders , so we're going to be playing without some pretty significant names this week. Today's newsletter is largely about overcoming those absences, first with Jamey Eisenberg's top waiver-wire targets for Week 13, and then with my rankings and biggest questions for quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. | | Here's how we're surviving the bye-mageddon. | | | | | | |  | | Here are Jamey's top-five targets for Week 13: | | Jamey Eisenberg's top targets | - Pat Freiermuth, TE, Steelers (53%) – Freiermuth isn't an elite athlete, even for the tight end position. He doesn't have a long track record of huge production at the NFL level – his career high in PPR scoring is 21.3, set in Week 9 of the 2021 season, when he happened to score touchdowns amid an otherwise ho-hum five-catch, 43-yard performance. And he's in an offense that just had its first 400-yard game since January of 2021. I point this all out to say that Freiermuth isn't a sure thing, even relative to the other tight end waiver-wire targets from this season like Sam LaPorta , Dalton Kincaid, and Trey McBride . But don't take that to mean I think he's a bad investment – he just had 12 targets, nine catches, and 120 yards (to lead the league at any position) in Week 12, in the first game with a new offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh. Unless you have a no-doubt-about-it starter, you should be making Freiermuth a big priority this week, ahead of any other needs.
- Roschon Johnson, RB, Bears – The Bears might have just turned things over to Johnson Monday night, as he was the clear lead back, playing 41 snaps while Khalil Herbert played just 12. I do think that might have been the result of an unusual game plan, as the Bears dropped back 44 times but barely had Justin Fields throwing the ball down the field, which is a script that suits Johnson's skill set a lot better than Herbert's. And, of course, there's the looming return of D'Onta Foreman after the bye to consider. But Johnson is a talented back in his own right, with legitimate three-down skills, and if he's just the lead back here down the stretch, he might be a top-20 RB coming out of the bye. If you have the luxury of affording a stash this week, Johnson should be a high priority – and Herbert might just be droppable if you need the roster space.
- Curtis Samuel, WR, Commanders – Samuel's last couple of seasons have followed a similar trend: He gets off to a good start and then just stops being effective around midseason. Coming into Week 12, Samuel hadn't topped 25 yards in a game since Week 6, though, to be fair, he had been slowed by a toe injury. Maybe he's finally healthy again, because he broke out in a big way in Week 12, catching nine passes for 100 passes on 12 targets. The Commanders have spread the ball around in a way that has made it hard to know who you can trust in any given week, but I don't want to ignore the upside Samuel showed here.
- Greg Dortch, WR, Cardinals – With Michael Wilson out, Dortch has become a big part of the Cardinals offense lately, with eight and nine targets over the past two games. He turned that into six catches for 76 yards in Week 11, and then found the end zone to make up for an otherwise kind of middling showing, with three catches for 27 yards. Dortch had two targets total on the season through Week 10, so he might not have much of a role again if Wilson comes back. But, for now at least, he looks useful in PPR formats.
- Gardner Minshew, QB, Colts – If Minshew could just play to his career touchdown rate (4.2%), rather than his current mark (2.7%), he'd be a pretty solid streaming option. The Colts have been willing to let him drop back to pass pretty regularly in the right matchups, but it's only resulted in two multi-touchdown games – he has just one passing touchdown over his past three games. The Titans have been vulnerable against the pass this season, and the Colts passed for 253 yards on just 26 attempts the last time these two teams faced off. With a little better luck on touchdowns, Minshew could be a very solid streamer this week, and he's got a solid matchup in Week 14 against the Bengals, too.
| | | | My Week 13 Rankings | | | | Biggest question: Who is the best streamer if I need one? | With Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joshua Dobbs and Justin Fields on bye, we've got four QBs who have been, at the very least, very solid starters out of the picture this week. That's going to lead to some unexpected names near the top of the rankings at QB this week. For me, that means guys like Sam Howell and Kyler Murray in the top 10, and, for the purposes of this question, Jordan Love is in my top 12. | Sure, he's got a tough matchup on the way against the Chiefs, but Love is playing very well right now and figures to be in a trail script (the Packers are 6.5-point underdogs), so we should see some decent volume. I've been very impressed with Love's play of late, with three straight multi-touchdown games to his credit. The Packers are starting to figure out how to take advantage of Love's strong arm and creativity as a passer, with a bevy of talented (but still raw) young wide receivers at his disposal. If you're in one of the 20% of CBS Fantasy leagues where Love is available, he's the top streamer for me. | If Love isn't available (and chances are he isn't), I'm looking for Minshew or Kenny Pickett. Neither is a sure thing, obviously, but Pickett especially could be a pretty interesting streamer after the Steelers offense looked so much better post-Matt Canada firing. I'm not a believer in Pickett's, but it's clear Canada was holding that offense back, and, in a week with so few options, I'll take my chances on him in a great matchup against the Cardinals. | | | | | | | Biggest Question: How many RBs would you take over Kyren Williams right now? | | I've had such a hard time figuring out how to value Williams. For Dynasty, I think he's a clear sell, for what it's worth – he's a fifth-round pick with poor athletic traits and a history of high-ankle sprains since entering the NFL. That is not a profile that historically turns into a long-term starter for Fantasy. | But … if you're playing in re-draft, or trying to win a title in Dynasty right now, how could you go away from him? I'm skeptical of Williams' talent, but it's hard to deny how well he has fit into this Rams offense and how much they clearly like him. He's rushed for 301 yards over the past two games, and sure, it's just the Cardinals, but it's not like every back is ripping off 150 yards against the Cardinals. And, with his role in the passing game (30 targets in seven games), there's not much to argue against with Williams. | Is he a top-12 RB the rest of the way? Honestly, yeah, he might be. He's the No. 2 RB in points per game right now in PPR, and while the Rams have tough matchups against the Browns and Ravens coming up in the next two weeks, injuries could make the Browns a much less scary proposition this week, and the Commanders, Saints , and Giants loom in the Fantasy playoffs to take advantage of. Williams is my RB9 for Week 13, and I'm not sure I'd rather have Josh Jacobs or Saquon Barkley (both on bye this week) than him. Yeah, I think he's top-12 the rest of the way. | | | | | | Biggest Question: Can you trust Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua right now? | | Weirdly, I might take Nacua over Kupp the rest of the way, though "trust" is not necessarily the word I would use to describe either. Kupp just doesn't seem like he's 100% after leaving the game two weeks ago with an ankle injury, though he did more or less play a full complement of snaps in Week 13. Nonetheless, he has had more than 48 yards in a game since Week 6, and just might not be the same guy he was before those hamstring injuries earlier in the year. | | I'm less concerned about Nacua, who isn't earning volume in the same way he did earlier in the season, but still nonetheless has seven targets or more in every game this season. He hasn't been turning them into big production lately, but the trust from his QB and coaching staff are still there, so I'll keep him in my lineups. | But that brings up another point that is especially relevant in a week with Stefon Diggs, Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams , and DJ Moore (among others) on bye: How many wide receivers do you really feel like you can trust right now? Sure, Nacua hasn't been great lately, but are we really ready to elevate Rashee Rice ahead of him? Do you really feel that much better about Ja'Marr Chase, who caught two of his four passes last week off deflections? Brandon Aiyuk is hardly a model of consistency; neither is Terry McLaurin; Adam Thielen just had one catch on three targets last week. I'm ranking those guys (besides Rice) ahead of Nacua and Kupp this week, but it's not with a ton of conviction, and I'm keeping them in the top 20. I believe in the talent, I believe in the offense, and I believe they'll get going. | | | | | | Biggest Question: Are there any TE besides Pat Freiermuth worth streaming? | | Okay, wait, so I can't just say Pat Freiermuith? | | Well, I don't have a lot of great answers for you, then. There's a reason I'm so intent on adding Freiermuth, even if I don't necessarily think he's a can't-miss option. The alternatives are just bleak. | Tyler Higbee just had a big game, becaue he scored two touchdowns on five targets; he hadn't scored on 46 targets before then, and had just 29 yards total in Week 12. Meh. Isaiah Likely got a lot of praise on the braodcast Sunday night for his ability to replace Mark Andrews, but had just four catches for 40 yards on six targets and is on a bye this week. Jonnu Smith has had his moments, Gerald Everett has too when healthy, and Juwan Johnson might still have some potential left to unlock, but … yeah, not a lot of great options. | | If I really need a tight end and Freiermuth was on a bye, I'd add Likely and keep him stashed on my bench and then hope Smith has one of his random big games. No, I'm not confident. | | | | |  | |  | | | | | CBS Sports Golazo Network, the first-of-its-kind, free, 24/7 channel dedicated exclusively to global soccer coverage is NOW STREAMING on the CBS Sports App, Pluto TV and Paramount+! Watch Live
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