Lucky Week 13: Draftstreet Plays of the Week
I’m not going to lie, Week 12 was a tough one for me. It seems like every decision that I made came back to haunt me on route to my worst week so far this season. I just hope that any of you that read my column decided to ignore my picks last week. I somehow managed to take out Beanie Wells, Victor Cruz, Wes Welker, and Deangelo Williams while leaving in guys like Michael Turner, Calvin Johnson, and Matt Hasselbeck. Let’s just say that last week was a friendly reminder to not get over confident when it comes to fantasy sports because no one can truly predict what is going to happen. But I feel like I’m ready for a bounce back week. Before I get into this week’s picks, let me quickly show you how bad my picks were from last week:
Week 12 Picks
| Player | Needed: | Scored: |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Hasselbeck: | 17.7 | 8.4 |
| Rashard Mendenhall | 18.1 | 7.7 |
| Michael Turner | 19.7 | 6.9 |
| Damian Williams | 7.9 | 10.8 |
| Marques Colston | 16.1 | 9.3 |
| Jacob Tamme | 7.1 | 2 |
I don’t think I could make much worse of picks if I tried. The only pick that actually covered his value was Damian Williams and that was thanks to a late TD catch. After last week’s performance, I wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to even look at these picks; I wouldn’t even blame you if you looked for me in leagues to try to play me. That’s how bad of a week it was. But I’m back this week with some great picks that I’m extremely confident in. In the spirit of the NBA being back, these picks are Guaran-Sheed!
QB – Dan Orlovsky ($3,774) – Let’s just say that you don’t want to be the guy that doesn’t take Orlovsky this week. A starting QB that costs under 4 grand that’s going against one of the league’s worst pass defenses is just too good to pass up. I mean to cover his value the big O only needs to score 5.5 points. I think a high school QB could score that many points against the Pats. If he can somehow manage to score 15, it will put you way ahead of any of your opponents that don’t take him. And it will leave you lots of money left over to stack the rest of your team.
QB – Eli Manning ($16,050) – Eli is quietly putting up one of his best years, but no one is noticing because the Giants can’t seem to find a way to win. Their biggest problem is that Bradshaw is still out, but this actually helps Eli’s stats. This week he gets to face the Packers defense who are known to give up a lot of points and a lot of yards. Hopefully Eli will finally have his triple-headed monster of Manningham, Nicks, and Cruz all playing together. If the Giants have any hope of winning this game, it’s going to come through the passing game.
RB – C.J. Spiller ($7,084) – Spiller was the popular pick last week but ran into a tough run D in the New York Jets. This week he should have a much better game going against the Titans at home. You won’t find too many RB’s that are 7 grand and that are guaranteed to get about 20 touches.
RB – Legarrette Blount ($13,128) – Say what you want about Blount being too expensive this week, but his matchup has too big of upside to pass him up. Blount is completely healthy and looked like he was back in old form last week against the Titans. He plays the Panthers this week who are dead last against the run. I’m expecting about 25 carries from Blount and a whole lot of yards.
WR – Johnny Knox ($6,543) – Earl Bennett was “Jay Cutler(player-profile)”:/players/Jay_Cutler-11606’s favorite target, but it looks like Caleb Hanie has his own favorite target in Knox. Last week Knox went for 145 yards and a TD. I don’t expect the Bears to pass the ball too often this week, but when they do, Knox should get plenty of targets.
TE – Antonio Gates ($10,221) – Monday Night Football should be an exciting one this week with two teams that are already out of the playoffs squaring off. Gates goes up against the Jaguars who are ranked 31st against opposing TE’s. If you want to enjoy the game Monday night, take Gates and watch him go for over 80 yards and a TD.
Like the picks? Hate em?
Let me know!
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About the Writer: Derek ‘Notorious’ Farnsworth has been playing fantasy sports ever since he could walk. He loves sports so much he swears his first words were “Michael Jordan.” He recently graduated with a Master’s degree from the University of Utah and is excited for their entrance into the PAC-12. He was introduced to daily fantasy sports last year by clicking on one of Draftstreet’s famous referee ads, and quickly climbed the RotoGrinders Rankings into the Top 25. He also loves betting on sports and the occasional craps table.