Fantasy Football Week 13: Which Running Quarterback Can You Trust?

Its the ultimate fantasy football dilemma. Two star quarterbacks who were once reliable and one forgotten player reborn. Who’d you rather in Fantasy Football Week 13?

This is the beginning of the fantasy football playoffs for many leagues (those of which that use two-week playoff matchups and skip Week 17 scoring). For the rest of leagues, this is the home stretch of the regular season. With so much on the line, which quarterback with wheels would you trust to run you to a Week 13 victory: Russell Wilson, Cam Newton or Colin Kaepernick?

We’re going there, throwing the ultimate fantasy football dilemma in your face this week. Wilson and Newton once dominated, while Kaepernick is reviving his fantasy relevance. Who’d you rather in Fantasy Football Week 13?

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem discuss Fantasy Football Week 13 in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

It wasn’t too long ago that this trio made up the future of the NFL at the quarterback position. Kaepernick’s career took a drastic downward turn since then, but he has rebounded into fantasy relevance once again with the season he is having. He has a 10-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio and, more importantly, is averaging more than 60 rushing yards per game. Those are six extra points per week he gains over the average QB1, which is why he ranks as a top-10 player at his position this week. But do you really trust him, even if he is facing the Chicago Bears?

Ironically, both Wilson and Newton have caused owners to have trust issues this season. Wilson had been battling through injuries all year before putting together a flawless performance against New England. Then, just two games later, he was pretty awful against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, causing owners to wonder, once again, if they can trust him. Perhaps most worrisome is the fact that he doesn’t run anymore. That Tampa game was the first time all year he topped 20 yards on the ground.

As for Newton, he ranks just outside the top 12 at quarterback this week going against Wilson’s Seahawks, but he still has the highest ceiling. Like Wilson, he isn’t running much this year, though he doesn’t have the injury to point to like Wilson did. With Newton, his 2016 is more of a mystery. He’s only topped 275 yards passing twice this year; he has zero games of 60 yards rushing, which is the figure Kaepernick is averaging.

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As crazy as it would have sounded at the beginning of the year, or even just a few weeks ago, I would prefer to have Kaepernick out of this group of three. He is the only one who is consistently running. He is also set to face the worst opponent. Even through their struggles, both Seattle and Carolina grade out as top-10 defenses this season. What were the odds that fantasy playoff wins would fall on the shoulders of Kaepernick when he began the season as Blaine Gabbert‘s backup?

Dan Salem:

Its like you read my mind, because the quarterback position has been causing me fits all season. Personally I’ve been able to rely upon Matt Ryan, except for those two weeks I couldn’t and it cost me dearly. In Week 12, it was Andy Dalton who came up small and hurt my team. So which running quarterback can actually be trusted here in fantasy football Week 13?

In order to make such a difficult decision I look at two things. First, I truly assess each player’s matchup on the field. Then I look at how they performed last week and what the win here in Week 13 means for their team. Simply considering matchups allows you to easily pick Kaepernick as your starter. That’s the safe play, the one you can feel reasonably good about. Chicago stinks and Kaepernick has been consistent. But he’s not my first choice of this group of three quarterbacks.

The 49ers have nothing to play for outside of pride. Furthermore, its better for the team that they lose to the Bears, rather than relinquish the higher draft slot with a win. Obviously Kaepernick will not be playing with any of this in mind, but you can bet the play calling will be more conservative for it. On the other hand, both Carolina and Seattle need to win. The Panthers are clinging to their playoff lives, while the Seahawks need a victory to keep pace for the top NFC seed and secure their division title. The game means a lot to both teams.

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This makes Russell Wilson the best play of our three running quarterbacks. He had a bad game last week and is the type of player that you can count on to bounce back, especially in a must win situation down the stretch run of the season. While Seattle’s defense has been formidable, I haven’t felt that way about Carolina’s unit this season. They may rank high, but the team is losing a lot and giving up a lot of points in the process. Wilson will be able to exploit them and rebound nicely from a forgettable game in Week 12.

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