Amari Cooper is expected to play in Week 13 at the Rams despite dealing with a rib injury, and hopefully he can get back in the good graces of Fantasy managers. It's been a rough two weeks, but Cooper is worth trusting again as a No. 2 Fantasy receiver in the majority of leagues.
For the past two games with Dorian-Thompson-Robinson under center, Cooper has been a disappointing Fantasy receiver. He combined for six catches for 50 yards and no touchdowns on 14 targets over that span against Pittsburgh and Denver, and he was injured against the Broncos.
But Cooper should rebound in Week 13 with the Browns expected to have Joe Flacco as the starting quarterback. Thompson-Robinson (concussion) is likely out, and Flacco will make his return to the NFL against the Rams.
Flacco spent last season with the Jets, and he did well in helping Garrett Wilson get plenty of targets, which bodes well for Cooper. In four starts with Flacco, Wilson had 50 targets and finished with 27 catches for 303 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 17.3 PPR points per game.
There's no guarantee Cooper does that well with Flacco, but Cooper has been a solid Fantasy option with Deshaun Watson and P.J. Walker this season. In eight games with Watson or Walker, Cooper has scored at least 14.8 PPR points six times.
He should be able to hit that total against the Rams, who have allowed four of the past five No. 1 receivers to score at least 14.8 PPR points. Elijah Moore is also worth a look in deeper leagues, and he has 25 targets in his past three games, with at least 12 PPR points in two of those outings. And David Njoku is a must-start tight end, and he has scored at least 11.8 PPR points in five games in a row.
Cooper will hopefully be considered a must-start receiver again soon, and Flacco could be what Cooper needs to get back on track. Despite a couple of bad games prior to Week 13, you should feel comfortable starting Cooper in all leagues against the Rams.
If you're looking for my Week 13 DFS plays, you can find my million-dollar contest tournament lineups for both DraftKings and FanDuel over at SportsLine.
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Week 13 Sleepers
Week 13 Preview
Sleepers
Sleeper QBs
Wilson comes into Week 13 with two consecutive games under 19 Fantasy points, but that was in tough matchups against the Vikings and Browns. But he also has one game with more than 200 passing yards in his past seven outings. Still, Denver has won five games in a row, and Wilson has multiple touchdowns in three of his past four contests. The Texans have allowed four quarterbacks in a row to score at least 23 Fantasy points, and Wilson is worth trusting as a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues in this matchup.
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There's a lot to like about Howell this week against the Dolphins. He's passed for at least 300 yards in four of his past five games. He's attempted at least 42 passes in six games in a row. And he's been below 19 Fantasy points just once in his past five outings, which was at Dallas on Thanksgiving. The Dolphins have only allowed three quarterbacks to score more than 19.8 Fantasy points this season, but Miami just lost one of its best pass rushers after Jaelen Phillips (Achilles) was hurt in Week 12 at the Jets. Howell should be considered a low-end No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues in this matchup.
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Minshew hasn't scored more than 18.8 Fantasy points since Week 7, and he's been below 15 Fantasy points in each of his past three games. But I like the setup for him in Week 13 at Tennessee. The Titans allow an average of 18.1 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, and two of the past three quarterbacks against Tennessee have scored at least 22.2 Fantasy points, with only the struggling Bryce Young below that mark. And with Jonathan Taylor (thumb) out, as much as I like Zack Moss, Minshew should do more heavy lifting to carry the Colts offense. He's worth trusting as a low-end starter in all leagues.
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Pickett is worth using as a starting Fantasy quarterback in deep, one-quarterback leagues against the Cardinals. Without Matt Canada, who was fired as the offensive coordinator prior to Week 12 against Cincinnati, Pittsburgh's offense actually looked good against the Bengals with 421 total yards. It was the first time the Steelers have topped 400 yards in 59 games -- the second-longest drought of the last 30 years. Pickett didn't have a big game against Cincinnati since he didn't throw a touchdown, but he did pass for a season-high 278 yards. Now, he just has to throw a touchdown for the first time since Week 9 -- and get multiple touchdowns for the first time since Week 3. The Cardinals are No. 5 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and Matthew Stafford just lit up Arizona for four passing touchdowns in Week 12. This could be a breakout game for Pickett.
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Sleeper RBs
Najee Harris is my Start of the Week for Week 13, but I like Warren as a No. 2 running back in all leagues as well. Both should have success against the Cardinals, who are No. 2 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs, and a running back has scored at least 12.7 PPR points against Arizona in every game this season. Warren scored at least 14.3 PPR points in three of his past four games, and Warren and Harris should both excel in Week 13. Last week, we saw two Rams running backs score at least 13.7 PPR points against the Cardinals with Kyren Williams and Royce Freeman, and hopefully Harris and Warren will follow suit.
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I'm expecting the Commanders to be chasing points this week against the Dolphins, and that should mean more of Gibson and less of Brian Robinson Jr. That's what happened in Week 12 at Dallas when Gibson had more playing time than Robinson. While Gibson didn't have a big game against the Cowboys with six carries for 21 yards, along with three catches for 16 yards on four targets, he had at least five catches in three games in a row prior to missing Week 11 against the Giants with a toe injury. In PPR, Gibson can be a flex in Week 13, and Miami just allowed Breece Hall to catch seven passes for 24 yards on nine targets in Week 12.
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I'm expecting this to be a high-scoring matchup between the Broncos and Texans, and we could see Denver using Perine a lot in the passing game. Houston has allowed six running backs to catch at least four passes in a game this season, and Perine has 16 receptions on 17 targets in his past five games. He's also scored at least 13.6 PPR points in consecutive games against the Vikings and Browns coming into this matchup. Javonte Williams remains a low-end No. 2 running back in all leagues for Week 13, but I also like Perine as a flex in PPR.
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Sleeper WRs
Downs only had five catches for 35 yards in Week 12 against Tampa Bay, but he got a whopping 13 targets, which is fantastic. He should continue to be a go-to option for Gardner Minshew in Week 13 against the Titans, and the passing game for the Colts might get more of an emphasis moving forward with Jonathan Taylor (thumb) out. Downs already beat up the Tennessee defense in Week 5 with six catches for 97 yards on six targets, and the Titans are No. 6 in most Fantasy points allowed to receivers. Downs is a must-start option in three-receiver leagues and a borderline starter in all formats in Week 13.
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I'm expecting a lot of passing from the Commanders in Week 13 against Miami, which is pretty much the norm anyway. Sam Howell has six games in a row with at least 42 pass attempts, and he tends to spread the ball around to most of his guys. But Samuel is coming off his best game of the season in Week 12 at Dallas with nine catches for 100 yards on 12 targets for 19 PPR points, and he should continue to be a reliable target for Howell against the Dolphins. I like him as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in this matchup, with Terry McLaurin as a No. 2 option, but Samuel should perform better than Jahan Dotson. At least one receiver has scored at least 12.6 PPR points against the Dolphins in three of the past four games.
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As of Friday afternoon, we're waiting to find out the status of Chris Olave (concussion), but it appears like Rashid Shaheed (quadriceps) will be out in Week 13 against Detroit. That should help Perry and Keith Kirkwood get additional targets, making both sleepers. I'd lean toward Perry since he has more upside, and he had two catches for 38 yards and a touchdown on four targets in Week 10 at Minnesota. This is a great matchup against the Lions, who are No. 7 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers. If Olave and Shaheed are out, then Perry could be a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in deeper formats.
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Michael Wilson (shoulder) isn't expected to play in Week 13 at Pittsburgh, which means Dortch is again worth using as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in all leagues. In the past two games without Wilson, Dortch has 17 targets for nine catches, 103 yards and a touchdown, and he scored at least 11.7 PPR points in each outing. Going back to last year, this is now nine games where Dortch had at least four targets, and he scored at least 11.7 PPR points in seven of those contests. The matchup against the Steelers is tough, but Dortch's history when he's involved is worth trusting if Wilson is out again.
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Sleeper TEs
Hill and Juwan Johnson are both worth starting as No. 1 Fantasy tight ends this week if Chris Olave (concussion) and Rashid Shaheed (quadriceps) are out against the Lions. I'll start Hill even if both receivers play, and he scored at least 12.3 PPR points in four of his past six games. He could be fantastic if his role in the passing game increases, and that would happen if Olave and Shaheed are out. And against the Falcons in Week 12 when Olave and Shaheed were hurt, Johnson had a season-high seven targets for four catches and 45 yards. He has top-10 upside if Olave and Shaheed can't play against the Lions.
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Otton faces the Panthers in Week 13, and six tight ends against Carolina have scored at least 8.1 PPR points this season. That bodes well for Otton, who has scored at least 8.5 PPR points in five of his past six games. He's only scored double digits in PPR three times this season, so keep that in mind, but anything over eight PPR points this week should put Otton in contention to be a top-10 Fantasy tight end.
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Dalton Schultz (hamstring) isn't expected to play in Week 13 against Denver, which should give Jordan the chance to start in a great matchup since the Broncos are No. 1 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends. A tight end has scored at least 10.7 PPR points in seven of the past eight games against Denver, and a tight end has scored a touchdown against the Broncos in three games in a row. Jordan has only appeared in eight games this season and has just six catches for 60 yards and one touchdown. But in deeper leagues, Jordan could be useful given the matchup.
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Defense/Special Teams
- Jets (vs. ATL)
- Falcons (at NYJ)
- Rams (vs. CLE)
- Buccaneers (vs. CAR)
- Chargers (at NE)
Kickers
- Blake Grupe (vs. DET)
- Brandon McManus (vs. CIN)
- Chris Boswell (vs. ARI)
