| | Tuesday, December 12, 2023 | We had another injury scare Monday night, when Tyreek Hill got tackled awkwardly early in Miami's game against the Titans, but we seem to have avoided a disastrous outcome, as Hill was able to come back despite suffering an ankle injury. | Of course, if you needed a big game from Hill or anyone else in the Dolphins passing game Monday night to have a chance to make the playoffs, you kind of had a disastrous outcome. Tua Tagovailoa had his first game without a touchdown, Hill had just 10.1 PPR points while going in and out of the game, while Jaylen Waddle only stepped up for 13.9 points despite Hill's injury. | The heroes from Monday's two games were DeAndre Hopkins (25.4 PPR points), Derrick Henry (18.1), Tyjae Spears (17.8), Raheem Mostert (23), Saquon Barkley (23.1), and Jayden Reed (20.5). Some of those guys were expected to have big games, surely, but I think it's fair to say that Monday night's results probably flipped quite a number of Fantasy pictures. | For my part, I'll still have something to play for in 10 of my 15 leagues. I had a chance to make it 12 Monday night, but the odds weren't in my favor. It's not my best Fantasy regular season ever, but it's not my worst either. And, given what a difficult season it's been as an analyst and player, I'm gonna go ahead and say two out of three ain't bad. | If you're still reading this, I assume that means you still have something to play for, and that's great news. You made it through the most challenging Fantasy season I can remember, and, given how wide open so many leagues have been this season, it truly feels like anyone has a chance. And, with injuries to the likes of Hill, Justin Jefferson, Josh Jacobs, Justin Herbert and more to worry about in Week 15, things could be even more wide open than before. | Our goal here is always to help you win a Fantasy championship, and we're turning our sights to the first round of the playoffs in most leagues this week. In the rest of today's newsletter, we've got Jamey Eisenberg's top waiver-wire targets for this week, plus the first look at my rankings for each position. | | | | | I wrote about all of the injuries from Week 14 Sunday night, but it's worth reiterating that, as of Monday night, we're still very much unclear about the immediate status of Justin Jefferson (chest), Nico Collins (calf), Josh Jacobs (knee), Alexander Mattison (ankle), C.J. Stroud (concussion), Justin Herbert (finger), and Tyreek Hill -- he played through the injury Monday night, but we'll see what things look like after he sleeps on it. Swelling and stiffness often get worse the day after with ankle injuries, so there could be real risk of the best player in Fantasy missing the first round of the playoffs. | Or, maybe they'll all be cleared to play this week. That seems unlikely, especially for Herbert and Jacobs, who play Thursday, but the point is, we just don't have as much information right now about those key names as we'd prefer. And that matters before waivers run. So, as I say every week, try to wait as long as possible before locking in your claims this week. That extra time could be valuable. | | | Jamey Eisenberg's top targets | - Ty Chandler, RB, Vikings (44%) – Chandler figures to see a significant role if Mattison is out, as he played 83% of the snaps after Mattison's injury. Chandler has shown some decent signs this season, and he might even be a better Fantasy option if Mattison is out than Mattison has been lately; Kene Nwangwu doesn't seem as likely to take as much worse from Chandler as Chandler had been. The matchup against the Bengals is a pretty solid one, and with the Vikings facing a QB decision after benching Joshua Dobbs last week, they might be inclined to lean on the run more than usual. Chandler could be a top-20 back this week.
- Antonio Gibson, RB, Commanders (63%) – Gibson could end up in that range too if Brian Robinson's hamstring injury lingered through the bye. We really haven't gotten any updates about Robinson's status since he left Week 13's game with a hamstring injury, so for all we know, he might be just fine. If not, Gibson figures to be the lead back for the Commanders. I've got him more or less splitting carries with Chris Rodriguez while handling nearly all of the passing work, but if we get some sign this week that Gibson is going to be a clear No. 1 back, I'll tilt things more Gibson's way. Or, Gibson could end up in the role that has made him a Fantasy afterthought for much of this season if Robinson is cleared. There's a wide range of possible outcomes here.
- Isaiah Likely, TE, Ravens (62%) – It was great to see Likely put together a strong showing in Week 14, because he really hadn't given us reason to be excited about him this season. He clearly isn't a one-for-one replacement for Mark Andrews , but with five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown Sunday, he now has 13 targets and nine catches over his past two games. He's not a sure thing, but Likely is clear of the touchdown-or-bust tier at TE, and is a solid starter moving forward.
- Odell Beckham, WR, Ravens (60%) – We're seeing glimpses of the guy Beckham once was, but I want to be clear that your expectation shouldn't be that Beckham can be a league winner. He's put up some big numbers lately, but it's been very big-play dependent – he just happens to have hit on a 40-plus-yard catch in three of his past four games. Beckham is a nice upside play as a WR3 – think what you were hoping Gabe Davis could be this season. He might have a one-catch game in a key playoff game, but he also could keep hitting on big plays and help you take down a trophy. It's a high-variance profile, but there's definitely upside here.
- Joe Flacco, QB, Browns (16%) – In my Week 15 QB rankings piece, I wrote about how your choice of streaming options if you need one this week isn't great. If Matthew Stafford (80%) is available in your league, he's the obvious plug-and-play choice; if he's not, things are pretty slim. Flacco is the only QB available in more than 50% of CBS Fantasy leagues who even ranks in my top 20 right now. He's attempted at least 40 passes in each of his first two games with the Browns and has a decent matchup coming against the Bears, so he might be the best choice you've got.
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