Honorable mention Start: Josh Allen (BUF), C.J. Stroud (HOU), Patrick Mahomes (KC)
Honorable mention Sit: Aaron Rodgers (NYJ). Cooper Rush (DAL), Will Levis (TEN)
Start: Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers
Russell Wilson hasn’t been especially fantastic this season, but he looked pretty damn good in the snow last Thursday. I’m willing to bet on that against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, especially considering the big-time O/U Vegas has on this game. Pickens is an obvious beneficiary, but Calvin Austin III has home run ability on each touch, and I guess that plays this week. It won’t be a fifty-sammich, but it’ll be top 12 for sure.
Start: Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mike Evans was back last week and Baker turned in a top 10 finish. Coincidence? Methinks not. After a couple of shaky performances, Mayfield is back in the top tier and can be trusted weekly. Oh, and the ROS schedule is tasty. I hate throwing the term “league winner” around willy-nilly, but he really could be. His remaining schedule is 4/5 soft matchups – Carolina (twice), Las Vegas, and Dallas. Carolina’s numbers these past four weeks are smoke and mirrors – two good games against Derek Carr (15.8) and Daniel Jones (14.1) and sandwiched between Jayden Daniels (26.95), Bo Nix (32.6) and Patrick Mahomes (31.45) – this defense is terrible against good quarterbacks. Giddy up.
Sit: Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns
Jameis Winston is doing what Jameis Winston has historically done – erratic as hell, inconsistent, and untrustworthy. His last four finishes were 23.6 (QB10), 13.1 (QB21), 26.6 (QB6), 14.5 (QB18). Those two top 10s were against shoddy defenses (Baltimore and New Orleans). Admittedly, against suspect defenses, Winston is a name I count on. This week it’s the Broncos, who are damn good against the position; just once have they allowed an opposing signal caller to surpass 20 points (Lamar Jackson, in case you were wondering). Quoting Michael Scott – “Nope. Don’t like that.”
Sit: Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
First off, kudos to Bryce here. That he’s graduated to consideration for me each week is truly something. The final stat line wasn’t super impressive (16.5 points, QB14), but for the first time in his professional career (literally), he looked like an NFL QB. And it was a big-time matchup, and they very nearly handed Kansas City their second loss in a row as a result. Patrick Mahomes gave this kid his flowers, and he’s reportedly gaining the respect of the locker room as well. All that said, let’s not go all in just yet, even in a game where his opponent is very generous to the position. Carolina still lacks effective offensive weapons outside of Chubba, and I expect a big dose of him in this one. He needs to do it more than once for me to buy, so let’s see it again and go from there.