Every Saturday morning, I'll take a quick look at all the week's games, offering my own brief take on what I think will happen, as well as touching on significant injury news since our Weekly came out. I'll check in over the course of the day to answer questions, too.
The official rankings are the ones in the Weekly. Those take precedence. But sometimes players are very close, and in those cases I'm glad to offer opinions on how I'd approach those situations. Sometimes I like certain players more or less than Ian, and sometimes I have different risk tolerance with injuries etc.
Chargers at Falcons: No J.K. Dobbins of course. Gus Edwards will be the main back, but because he's Edwards I'm lukewarm on him and the passing game should do more. If you start Edwards, you're reliant on a touchdown, period. After being burned by Quentin Johnston last week, hard to recommend him. Ladd, Herbert, Dissly, sure. Atlanta skill guys look OK, they're home, game played indoors. Wouldn't want to mess around with injured/struggling Younghoe Koo.
Steelers at Bengals: It will be cold, but otherwise weather looks OK. Bengals defense is bad, their offense is great, so skill guys from both teams tend to grade out well.
Texans at Jaguars: Sounds like Trevor Lawrence will be playing through a shoulder injury. Not certain, and most will have a better quarterback option. But it's a good thing for Evan Engram and Brian Thomas. Running back committee probably and Texans better defending it. For Houston, uh, all the guys you'd normally start look really good against a lousy Jacksonville defense.
Cardinals at Vikings: Vikings tough on the run, hence the coolness on James Conner, but he'll catch some balls. I'm using/betting on Marvin Harrison and of course Trey McBride. Cardinals D has been kind of up and down, but their players ranked mostly favorably. Big game last week for Jordan Addison, but that was a defensive thing where everyone was blanketing Justin Jefferson; not sure that will happen again. Again, indoors games look a little better for points this time of year.
Colts at Patriots: Games with a pair of iffy defenses also look good for points this time of year. Colts have some banged-up wideouts, no Josh Downs and other guys questionable, making it tricky to recommend people. Michael Pittman sure and Adonai Mitchell a deep-league flier. For the Pats, DeMario and Hunter and Drake all viable against a defense that gives up quite a bit. Rhamdondre low because they're not running it well and Antonio Gibson has been on the field as much. But the matchup is fine.
Seahawks at Jets: Another cold and windy game, no precipitation is expected. Seahawks defense playing better of late, and with the Jets, you know, motivation and focus seems to be lacking. You start the top wideouts because you have to, and Breece Hall for his all-around game (seems to be healthy enough), but hard to feel good putting Jets into lineups. I like Kenneth Walker this week. Smith-Njigba should catch the most passes, DK Metcalf apparently healthy, but Jets are tougher to pass against, so he's ranked low (but if I had Metcalf, I'm probably taking my chances and hoping for the best).
Titans at Commanders: So Brian Robinson is playing. It's a little worrying because he seems to leave with injury fairly often, but he also scores a lot when he's available. Titans defense has played well and Washington's offense isn't producing as it was early on, but Jayden Daniels and of course Terry McLaurin and also Zach Ertz (PPR) are options. For the Titans, Ridley and Pollard seem to be it.
Bucs at Panthers: I'm a Bucky Irving fan, particularly this week. It's a committee, but there should be a lot of production by the Bucs offense. For Carolina, well, Bucs are leaky against the pass, giving the main wideouts (Legette-Thielen-Moore) some appeal, but no go-to and a lesser passing game. Chuba Hubbard has a tougher matchup but no arguing against him, he keeps getting his numbers. For the Bucs it's really just Mayfield, Otton and Evans, but Carolina bad against the pass too.
Rams at Saints: Seems like we haven't seen the Saints in forever. Alvin Kamara for sure, Marquez Valdes-Scantling the No. 1 wideout (but he's hit or miss). Similarly with Taysom Hill, I think if you have him and can start him at TE you probably are, but a wide range of outcomes. For the Rams, Kyren and the main cogs of the passing game look good. Game should be higher-scoring. Both teams in playoff mix in competitive/mediocre divisions.
Eagles at Ravens: Super Bowl preview? Eh maybe. Eagles can certainly get there. Ravens, we need to see them perform well in playoffs before believing it. But this is a good game, with star power and lots of it on both sides. I'm not chancing DeVonta Smith, who's questionable. Nobody needs help to start the stars on both sides. Weather looks OK for this one.
49ers at Bills: Snow is a possibility for this one, and the possibility also that San Francisco's offense does very little, with Brock Purdy playing hurt (if he plays) and Buffalo having a good defense. I like James Cook, I think you have to use Josh Allen and hope he runs some and the weather not too bad. No Dalton Kincaid, not like anyone is building lineups around him anyway.
Browns at Broncos: I didn't think much of the Browns entering their last game against Pittsburgh, which didn't work out, but I'm doubling down here. On the road, facing a very good defense, not the same intangibles of playing a division rival. I like Denver's offense, sadly just can't recommend anyone in the committee backfield. Bo Nix, Courtland Sutton, these guys are regular starters right now. Maybe Jameis Winston and Jerry Jeudy and David Njoku come up with some late production. But I'll definitely pass on Nick Chubb.
Enjoy the games.