Week 13 fantasy football preview: The Brandin Cooks Effect, another big bye week and more

Welcome back, my friends, to Week 13. And an even more special welcome back to all my fellow Kyren Williams managers!! Boy did we miss you, Kyren!

Sean McVay wasted no time inserting Williams back into his early season bell-cow role; he had 16 carries for 143 rushing yards and chipped in 6 catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns — good for 38.3 PPR points and the stuff of which fantasy daydreams are made. We have our RB1 Top 6 bell-cow back … just in time for the playoff run.

Speaking of bell-cow backs, the big news this week is the loss of Jonathan Taylor, which came really out of nowhere on Tuesday, to a thumb injury that requires surgery — putting him on the shelf for an estimated 2-3 weeks. These are a mighty big three weeks coming up to lose Taylor. Hopefully you’ve already clinched a playoff spot and his timetable is, in fact, on the low end of two weeks, allowing you to welcome your stud RB1 back into your fantasy lineup for Round 1 of the fantasy playoffs in Week 15.

Now, if you are one of the lucky ones (yes, you, my fellow Zack Moss-ers) — hello, Top 12 running back! At least for as long as JT is out. We got our preview earlier this season of what Moss can do in this offense with all the touches, and it was sad to see a good thing come to an end once JT came back, but fantasy has a funny way of playing out, doesn’t it? The next three games for the Colts and Moss feature the Titans, Bengals and Steelers — so enjoy your Zack Moss while you can before Jonathan “Scrooge” Taylor comes back to ruin Christmas for us!

The Dallas Cowboys kick off Week 13 on Thursday (again), this time against the Seattle Seahawks in at least a pretty good game on paper — but we all know that anything can happen when it comes to Thursday night football. Maybe this game will be different, since both teams have had seven days to get ready.

The Dallas offense is humming right now, and as much as people will point to CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott (and sure they deserve the headlines), the emergence of a legit second weapon in the passing game in Brandin Cooks is really what has taken this offense to a new level. Teams have to respect the weapon that Cooks is — and the speed he has — and that’s keeping defenses honest and allowing Dak to carve them up. Teams can no longer just worry about shutting Lamb down, because Cooks will burn them.

Sure, the schedule has been kind to the Cowboys lately — and when they face elite competition they usually crumble — but this offense is different than it was earlier in season. Prescott is up to QB3 on the season and other than Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen and C.J. Stroud, I don’t know if there is any other fantasy QB I want taking me into the fantasy playoffs.

How absolutely dumb is it that six(!!) teams are on a Week 13 bye, with some real fantasy heavy hitters not available? Does the NFL schedule maker not care about us? Apparently not … but this is insane, and even though we knew this week was on the horizon, it still hurts. And while we fight for division wins or playoff spots, it stinks trying to do so without some of our best fantasy players.

Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson managers have to be feeling this the most (I know) because of the huge downgrades they most likely have to turn to as fill-ins. And good luck if you have to hit the wire for a QB at this point of the season with the way the fantasy landscape has played out the last month, with injuries and bad QB play on a lot of teams. You probably didn’t carry a backup QB all year, but now that Week 13 is here, you’re heading to the wire … and staring at what is out there is a pretty scary proposition with so much at stake. In a few home leagues my answer is Gardner Minshew against the Titans. Here’s hoping for a little Minshew magic.

The NFC Game of the year — and most likely future NFC Championship game — takes place this week in Philadelphia with the 49ers traveling to the Linc. I’m pumped for this one. The Eagles, fresh off their game of the year vs. the Bills, are in the middle of one of the most brutal stretches of an NFL schedule I can remember. There was the comeback victory on a Monday night in KC, where they were outplayed, followed the come-from-behind win vs. the Bills in a game that saw Buffalo run 93(!!) offensive plays.

It may sound crazy to you because I’m saying it off of a 37-point game, but this Eagles offense doesn’t look right lately. I think it’s because of them missing Dallas Goedert and a reliable third option in the passing game (mixed in with some offensive linemen banged up). It all comes to a head this weekend (yes, I’m fully prepared for all the hate in the comments) but the 49ers are heading into Philadelphia and walking out with the win this week. I think the 49ers’ d-line is catching the Eagles at the right time and I’m worried about what Hurts is going to be able to produce in this game, fantasy-wise.

The Eagles won’t be able to run on the 49ers, and unless Hurts gets the ball out quickly, I think he is in for a long day. This is the game where you will see how much Goedert is missed.

On the 49ers side, this looks like a big George Kittle game over the middle, and I expect the 49ers passing game to have a lot of success. Add that the 49ers had an extra three days of rest to prepare and .. sorry Eagles fans: 49ers, 27-17, in round 1.

The perfect Week 13 lineup

QB1: Tua Tagovailoa (Hasn’t been great lately and we all expected better numbers from him after a big early start to the season, but this is a get right spot. 325 yards and 3 or 4 TDs.)

RB1: Rhamondre Stevenson (Starting to come on late in the season and the Chargers coming to the east coast for a 1 p.m. game; they aren’t going to be thrilled trying to stop him 20 times.)

RB2: Alvin Kamara (This spot sets up nicely for him with a banged up receiver group and a team I expect to put some points on the board and have the Saints playing catch-up all day. 8 catch day in store for Kamara.)

WR1: Jaylen Waddle (Sure it could be Tyreek but that’s too easy. Waddle looked back to full strength with the Fins headed into their bye, and he dropped an 8/114 line on a tough Jets secondary. This week he sees the end zone two times as Tyreek rests up.)

WR2: Chris Olave (Assuming he clears concussion protocol — Carr was looking his way early and often last week to the tune of 7/114 in the first half! This week he does more than that with a full game.)

WR3: George Pickens (Gut call here. The monster game is coming in this new Steelers offense that produced 400+ yards of offense. Pickett taking shots down field. Pickens goes 6/125/TD vs. this Cards secondary.)

TE1: Gerald Everett (Yes, I will go down swinging on Everett this year. Every time I’m about to throw in the towel on him or he gets hurt, he does something to bring me back. I just see a scenario where Bill Belichick does everything to try to take Keenan Allen out of the passing game and there’s not anything left for Justin Herbert to work with. Everett, at least for this week, steps up and delivers a 6/75/TD game.)

Finally, as always, I leave you with…

10 thoughts as we enter Week 13

I knew I couldn’t trust you in a big spot last week, Jared Goff!
I’ve been talking about him for weeks here, but I’m really excited for what Keaton Mitchell’s role might expand to after the Ravens bye week.
Did the Jags offense really need Zay Jones this badly to unlock their potential and save our Calvin Ridley shares? Hey, I’ll buy it.
Austin Ekeler does not look like Austin Ekeler.
Is there a more boom or bust fantasy player than Gabe Davis? Playing him is like the game show “Press Your Luck” and trying not to land on a Whammy.
Rashee Rice is now an auto play every week going forward. The time has arrived.
Can Chris Godwin please get some of the love that Mike Evans is getting from you, Baker Mayfield? Every week is a let down.
Tank Dell: Top 12 WR1 R.O.S. What a time to be alive.
Isaiah Likely looked good Sunday night. If he’s still on the wire and with a bye week coming, I would pick him up now and play after the bye. Top 10 TE every week the rest of the way. Also, Zay Flowers is going to win leagues for people in December.
Imagine what Bijan Robinson would do if Arthur Smith didn’t give 18 touches to Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson!