NFL Notebook, Week 12: NFC’s elite, Jason Garrett’s future, fantasy sleepers and more
By Zach Cohen
Fantasy Focus
As the season rolls on, it’s only appropriate that every week I discuss a little about America’s new favorite past-time: Fantasy Football.
It’s almost playoff time in fantasy football! If you’ve clinched a spot, congrats. If you’re still fighting for a chance, good luck. If your team bombed, go check out daily fantasy. For the first two options, these running backs can be league winners if the dominoes fall their way.
Alexander Mattison: The backup to Dalvin Cook has flashed Cook-level talent before. Keep in mind that Cook has yet to play a full season, too. With Green Bay in the division, Minnesota will likely go full-speed ahead and not rest their starters, so the only way Mattison will have real value is with an injury to Cook. The Vikings run the ball on nearly 50 percent of their plays, the third-highest rate in the league, so Mattison can become a late-season savant if handed the opportunity.
Rashaad Penny: The former first-round pick led the Seattle backfield on Sunday as starter Chris Carson dealt with fumbles again. It was Penny’s highest usage of the season, which could spell more volume in the coming weeks. If Carson were to keep fumbling or to get injured, Penny would be in line for a massive workload because Seattle runs the ball at the fifth-highest rate in the league.
Gus Edwards: Edwards has already ripped off a few nice runs this season, and considering that Baltimore is running away with a playoff bye, it would make sense that they might use Mark Ingram less. On top of that, Baltimore runs the ball more than any other team (54 percent), so Edwards should have ample chances to make a dent on the field and on your fantasy roster.