Fantasy Football 2018: Start or sit for Week 13

Start

LeSean McCoy at Miami- While McCoy wasn’t the deciding factor in Buffalo’s upset over Jacksonville last week, he still managed to garner 17 attempts on the ground. McCoy’s 2018 campaign has seen its ups and downs, yet his production and usage his last few outings suggest that Shady could turn into a RB2 against a Dolphins run defense that allows nearly 140 rushing yards per game on 4.8 yards per carry.

With opposing teams rushing the ball against Miami an average of 29 times per game, the path to success remains clear for the opposition: running the football. With Buffalo far from confident in Josh Allen’s arm to win them games, the Bills are all but set to continue the recent trend of putting the offense on the back of McCoy. Should he get the workload that’s so heavily expected, we may see Shady return to his vintage running days.

Gus Edwards at Atlanta- If I’m riding the rookie Ravens train, I might as well add the running back position to this week’s article. Edwards emerged on the scene with a 17-carry, 115-yard performance and one score against the Bengals before following it up with a 23-carry, 118-yard performance last week. The 40 carries the past two weeks suggest Baltimore likes him, and Edwards appears to be the Ravens feature back alongside Lamar Jackson until further notice.

Edwards finds himself opposite of a Falcons run defense that has allowed 123.7 yards per game on the ground. With only four teams in the league with more rushing attempts on the season than Baltimore, the Ravens figure to keep pace against what has clearly been a fantasy friendly defense. While Edwards doesn’t possess the dual-threat abilities to catch the ball out of the backfield, Edwards’ usage (92 snaps the previous two weeks according to FantasyPros.com, next highest snap count is 37) suggests opportunities will be plentiful in week 13.

Sit

Carlos Hyde vs. Indianapolis- With the suspension of Leonard Fournette, the Jaguars backfield duties will be upon Carlos Hyde and T.J. Yeldon to carry the workload during Fournette’s one game absence. While there is no clear picture of the game-plan/workload for either back this upcoming Sunday, Yeldon is expected to earn majority of the workload.

Hyde might be limited in this match-up for two reasons. The first reason being the lack of presence in the passing game, as he has yet to register a single catch as a Jaguar. Secondly, if Andrew Luck should continue his monster performances through the year, Jacksonville will need to play catch-up through the air early. With Hyde ranking second in the pecking order to Yeldon, being limited to only one facet of the offense and game-flow potentially eliminating his role early, Hyde is the lesser of the two backs to love in this match-up.

Marlon Mack at Jacksonville- I’ll keep the running back sit-section strictly in this AFC South meeting, this time fending off potential owners of starting Marlon Mack. Mack, who suffered a concussion in Week 12, was a full participant in practice Thursday but his game-day availability is to be seen. Should Mack be ready, he’ll take on a Jaguars defensive front that remains one of the toughest to run against in the league.

Per Hyde’s reasoning, game-flow may dictate Andrew Luck throwing another 40+ times. Should Indianapolis opt to move the ball through their backs, Nyheim Hines serves as the change of pace back for the Colts and is expected to take between 5-10 touches away from Mack. Even if Mack gets full control of the RB stable in Week 13, the Jaguars allow the least amount of fantasy points to opposing running backs. Don’t start Mack unless it is a necessity.