Hello friends! And welcome back to the world's greatest Start/Sit column, where John Laghezza and Gene Clemons dig deep into our fantasy football bag of tricks with non-obvious, outside-the-box lineup advice. John's a numbers guy (who writes our newsletter), Gene is a literal football coach (who is on both our Tuesday LG show and Sunday morning SiriusXM program) — what more could you ask for?

Let's jump in.

Laghezza's Week 13 RBs To Feast

  1. Buccaneers (at Panthers) — Hat tip to Bucs’ offensive coordinator Liam Coen for keeping the pirate ship afloat through rough injury waters. Granted, Tampa dropped four straight heading into the bye but it wasn't the offense's fault — TB’s one of only a handful of teams to average +6.0 yards/play on the season. The ground game in particular has leveled up since undergoing a true backfield flippening — bringing us to this week’s RB “Start of the Week” Bucky Irving. Tampa Bay’s fourth-round rookie is one of only two RBs in the NFL with +90 carries and +3.75 yards after contact/rush. Carolina’s not tackling well, ranking 30th or worse in EPA/carry, defensive rush success rate, rush yards/game, yards before contact/rush, and fantasy points to RBs. And even though he’s currently holding the short end of the stick I’m even buying a bounceback on Rachaad White as a FLEX option in a high-scoring affair.
  2. Cowboys (vs Giants) — Apologies to the Cooper Rush-led Cowboys, I thought they’d get run right out of Washington — but was dead wrong. Listen, Dallas still stinks. But they also continue to show slight growth and a semblance of viability as long as CeeDee Lamb’s out there. DAL underwent their own backfield shift, finally vaulting fourth-round rookie Rico Dowdle into a deserved featured role. He dominated touch share last week and will generally come with an inherent ceiling. A ceiling, however, that could be made of glass on Sunday. The Giants simply cannot stop the run. Since Week 7 they’re the NFL’s stone-cold worst defense in terms of  EPA/rush, rushing yards/game, success rate, yards/rush, yards after contact/rush, and +20-yard carries. New York’s inability to do anything on either side of the ball should keep the game script intact to reach Dowdle's fantasy ceiling. BONUS DEEP NAME: Without any teams on bye, the desperation meter’s at its lowest. So I wouldn’t call it a start recommendation but it could be worth a long-game look at Hunter Luepke in the deepest formats.

Laghezza's Week 13 QBs/WRs/TEs To Feast

  1. Panthers (vs Buccaneers) — Holidays are about hope, right? Shhhh, listen carefully. You just might hear Panthers fans start to wonder whether or not they still need to draft another first-round QB next year. I know, right? Carolina looked functional at worst on Sunday against a very capable Chiefs defense. Bryce Young (263-1-0; 3-20-0) also posted his best game of the year and second-best of his career by any objective measure. Can the Panthers blow on the ember and get a little fire going? The odds for success this weekend look better on paper than they did against KC. Sure, Tampa’s secondary just got their first real stop — but unfortunately for them, it was against one of the only passing attacks worse than Carolina. Even baking in Sunday’s Tommy DeVito debacle, TB’s still bottom-5 in EPA/dropback, completions, and completion rate allowed this month. Xavier Legette’s a must-start and great fantasy addition going forward where available. Same could be said in sicko leagues for Adam Thielen and even David Moore. If the Panthers are going to trail every week as touchdown underdogs, there could be some gross hidden PPR value in their WR room.
  2. Texans (vs Jaguars) — Who else couldn’t wait any longer for the Jaguars’ return from bye just to attack them again? Don’t be shy, it’s ok. Rolling out your fantasy pass catchers versus Jacksonville this year’s been the ultimate easy button. Last we saw them, Jared Goff was walking off the field as the week’s QB1. The Jags now sit dead last on the season in EPA/dropback, opposer passer rating, +20-yard completions, and fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. If you were juggling C.J. Stroud, now’s the time to get him in there. Nico Collins continues to reach peak powers following his hamstring injury, with a real chance at the overall WR1 as my start of the week. So start ‘em if you got ‘em — Tank Dell, Dalton Schultz. Even John Metchie III or Cade Stover if you’re in one of Dwain’s skank leagues…

Gene’s Thanksgiving Bold Prediction: Start Wan’Dale Robinson WR, Giants… and Homemade Cranberry Sauce

First, cranberry sauce has a bad rep, through no fault of its own. In fact, cranberry sauce has been done a great disservice by people passing off cranberry-flavored gel in a can as real sauce. Adding sliced cranberry discs once all the heavy cooking is completed is lazy and disrespectful to cranberries everywhere. Homemade cranberry sauce can be an integral part of any Thanksgiving game plan when it is given the same respect as the other foods being served. Give homemade cranberry sauce a start this Thanksgiving. 

Wan’Dale Robinson has the chance to have a sneaky good game this Thanksgiving against the Cowboys. I know that the mere thought of playing any New York Giants receiver not named Malik Nabers creates fear for most fantasy managers. This is the time of year to take educated chances on players who may pay positive dividends on your roster — even if it comes from the most unlikely places. With the way the Giants have performed, this is an unlikely place.

Robinson has been consistently targeted all season and when he has room to make something happen after the catch, he takes advantage. Even with the short week, all of the perceived dysfunction in the locker room, and questionable quarterback play, Robinson has remained constant as one of the building blocks for the future. In the Week 4 matchup with Dallas, Robinson had his best game of the season, with 11 receptions for 71 yards. Tommy DeVito is in line for his second start of the season and hopefully that results in better play from the second-year quarterback. He could be in store for another quality game against the Cowboys. 

Laghezza's Leftovers, Week 13 RBs To Sit

  1. Bears (at Lions) — The four ugliest, most hateful, and depraved words in the fantasy language — running back by committee. Ugh. Gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. Things were already rough enough as is for D’Andre Swift in fantasy circles. He’s running behind a porous O-line while constantly trailing in negative game scripts. Then the Chicago brass replaced Shane Waldron with Thomas Brown, who clearly likes Roschon Johnson more than the previous playcallers. Since the new sheriff hit town, Johnson’s out-snapped Swift on passing downs and dominated goal-line carries. Without two-minute hurry-up fantasy points or the majority of TD equity on a league-average offense it’s over for Swifties. And all that fails to mention Detroit’s run-stopping unit ranking top-5 on the season in EPA/rush, defensive success rate, and rushing yards/game. If the Bears get down as the double-digit spread suggests, Swift’s fantasy day could be over before it starts.
  2. Raiders (at Chiefs) — Mr. Ameer Abdullah, we thank you for your service. Las Vegas’ third stringer proved once again that even on a bad team the dominant commodity in this game of ours is opportunity. Now fast forward to Week 13. Both Alexander Mattison and Zamir White carry questionable tags and track to play. No matter how it shakes out by percentage, a shared workload feels inevitable at this point.  Then you have to travel to Kansas City as a double-digit underdog, against the league’s leading defense in fantasy points allowed to RBs. In fact, through twelve weeks, not a single back’s gone over +60 rushing yards in a game. Impressive stuff. Keep your eyes on the injury report out of Vegas but if all three RBs are active I’d rather start a different clear backup on a higher total team.

Laghezza's Leftovers, Week 13 QBs and WR/TEs To Sit

  1. Commanders (vs Titans) — Outside a couple isolated hiccups against DET and BUF, Tennessee’s played excellent defense all season. Leading the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (169.2), only Josh Allen’s eclipsed +250 passing yards through eleven games. Not too shabby. And if it weren’t for Will Levis taking constant sacks and throwing TDs to the other team, they’d be even better. On the flipside, Washington’s offense “coincidentally” hit the skids when Jayden Daniels suffered a chest injury. The rookie’s a true baller, deserving of all the credit in the world — but it’s becoming hard to argue he doesn’t look a little off. The boxscore syncs up perfectly with the injury, as well. Daniels averaged just over 200 yards/game this month because of the 87-yard miracle-that-wasn’t to Terry McLaurin. That catch helped McLaurin finish as the WR5 but shouldn’t total cover up five straight weeks without a single Washington WR landing inside the top-15 at the position. Sit any Commanders pass catchers for sure.
  2. Bears (at Lions) — Someone’s going to look like a turkey at the end of this and for once it may not be me (yea, right). Chicago moved on from their offensive coordinator and despite losing both contests since, at least managed to score multiple touchdowns in each. I’d call it objective progress, even culminating in a few superstar-level “ooooh”-inspiring throws to Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze. Caleb Williams’ future’s bright but this is fantasy football, baby — it’s about instant gratification. I’m not sold on the chance for consistency behind that Bears’ offensive line. Even amidst his breakout performance, Caleb held the ball too long at times. I worry that’ll come back to haunt him against a Lions secondary ranking third or better on EPA/dropback, opposer passer rating, completion rate, yards after catch per reception, blitz rate, and QB hurries per game. Dan Campbell’s going to throw the kitchen sink with a chunk of the wall attached at Williams Sunday. It’s going to be difficult after last weekend but I’m buckling my holiday belt and benching da Bears.

Gene’s Thanksgiving Bold Prediction: Sit Jaylen Waddle WR, Dolphins — and Turkey 

Let’s just be honest about it, most people do not know how to properly cook a turkey. They can make it look golden brown on the outside but more often than not, the product under the surface is subpar. Dry turkey is the bane of Thanksgiving's existence. It is the reason for the rise of stuffing and why cranberry sauce can be as good as a pick-six to ice the game. People are tired of lying to cooks, telling them their turkey is good while having to mix it with everything they can to give it flavor. Let the turkey sit this one out. Go to some other proteins that may yield better results. A good ham is great, a pork loin, beef tenderloins, brisket, and many more options. You've been waiting for an excuse to drop turkey, here’s your chance. 

You've also been waiting for Jaylen Waddle to break out and he finally cashed in on his promise. His eight receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown was his best day in fantasy, ever! The problem is that a lot of people had him on the bench — even during bye-maggedon, where six teams were not playing. Why would that happen to a guy who just finished WR3? Because he has not produced. Whether the blame lies with him or with the structure of the offense is inconsequential, the results are all that matter and they have not been there for the 26-year-old Alabama alum. After a WR17 finish Week 1, his highest finish has been WR34. 

Don’t convince yourself that he's turned the corner, this could be merely a blip on the radar. It is more likely that Waddle returns to WR34 than it is he remains WR3. Can you trust that level of volatility down the stretch of a fantasy football season? Absolutely not. This could be the perfect time to offload Waddle for a more consistent performer. Even if you can't unload Waddle, the Dolphins are traveling to Green Bay for a night game on a short week — and it's Thanksgiving. They also will need to solve the puzzle of a good Packers secondary led by Xavier McKinney, who has seven interceptions and nine pass breakups. They will make the Dolphins operate underneath and limit the effectiveness that Waddle can have. Go ahead and sit him — right next to the turkey. 

John's Parting Thought: Let’s Go To The Circus

Simply put, winning weekly fantasy matchups is all about attaching yourself to the highest scoring games. When I’m in a pinch it’s my favorite picture when I need a thousand words—if all else fails, just head toward the circus music.

I also charted the entire league’s average total points scored per game as another simple reference tool. This beauty will help you find the wagons worth hitching to.