With the fantasy season winding down, and the playoffs winnowing down competitors, finding edges are as important as ever. With players getting benched (Jameis Winston), being lost for the season (David Montgomery) or plain just being lost on a football field (Jaylen Waddle), you might need to find some punch to fill your lineup in hopes of making it to the fantasy football finals. Let’s take a look at three players at each position who can help you along your way. As always, two of these players are available in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues, with a third player at each position available in at least 90% of leagues. Let’s win some fantasy football semifinals!
Quarterbacks
Aaron Rodgers versus L.A. Rams (40% rostered)
Now, I completely understand that the Rams shut down my beloved 49ers last week. And, chances are that if you’re reading this, you didn’t have a 49er in that game. That having been said, that game was in the rain and came about 96 hours after Josh Allen dropped six total touchdowns on their heads. While there’s a massive chasm between 2024 Aaron Rodgers and Josh Allen, the Rams are a defeatable defense this season, allowing the tenth-most fantasy points to wide receivers. We also have a finally-clicking-again Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams connection that accounts for 124 yards and 1.3 touchdowns per game across the last three contests. Rodgers has back-to-back top-twelve weeks, and the Rams aren’t going to slow him down again this week.
Cooper Rush at Tampa Bay (9% rostered)
Don’t look now, but Cooper Rush has three top-fifteen finishes in his last four weeks, including two in the top-ten. In that span, he is averaging 210 passing yards, two scores, and 0.25 picks per game. He’s turned in commendable fantasy performances by figuring out exactly where his bread is buttered: CeeDee Lamb has a target on 30% of his routes, a figure only topped by six other players over the last four weeks. The Buccaneers are one of the easiest defenses to destroy this season, especially if you focus on the passing game. While a greatly compromised Justin Herbert could not take advantage of the matchup, Bryce Young, Brock Purdy, Patrick Mahomes, and even Kirk Cousins (twice!) could do so. This game is going to be defense-optional and has shoot-out written all over it, so snag the Ginger General (new nickname, do not steal) to lead your fantasy team to glory.
Mac Jones at Las Vegas (3% rostered)
Mac Jones kicked the door down as the ideal backup quarterback last week. He was brash, he was swagged out, going so far as to mew on the field. Or as us olds call it, “did The Rizzler thing.” Jones has run out of effs to give, and it’s improved his play spectacularly on the field. He accounted for over 300 yards and two touchdowns last week and has at least 18.66 fantasy points in two out of his last three games. The Raiders are quickly circling the drain, putting Maxx Crosby on IR this week, and despite Kirk Cousins forgetting how to play football on Monday Night Football, the Raiders still rank in the top ten in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. If you extract the last game of football that Kirk Cousins should ever play, then the Raiders allowed 16+ fantasy points to six-straight quarterbacks, and 19+ fantasy points to QBs in three of their last four games; Bo Nix, Tua Tagovailoa, and Baker Mayfield all dropped multiple touchdowns on their heads since their week ten bye, and Mac Jones should easily join that list.
Wide Receivers
Jalen McMillan at Dallas (37% rostered)
McMillan emerged as the team’s #2 passing game weapon over the last couple of weeks, getting 13 targets that turned into 9 catches, 134 yards, and 3 touchdowns over the last two games. With Cade Otton returning to Wind Sprint All-Star status (tons of routes with hardly any targets), and Chris Godwin out for the season, the Buccaneers turned their passing game over to Evans and McMillan, who was just a third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Getting McMillan is getting a piece of this defense-optional slap fight that currently has the second-highest over/under on the week. The Cowboys are a team to attack through the air; six wide receivers have double-digit PPR games against them in the last four weeks.
Tim Patrick at Chicago (4% rostered)
With a wounded (literally) Lions team looking to make a statement after losing last week, I expect Detroit to put the boot to the throat of their division rival immediately before they give them the ol’ Yellow Bastard treatment (that’s right, a Sin City reference in almost 2025) this week. Unfortunately, they will be without David Montgomery’s services, which tells me that they will have a heavy dose of the passing game. Tim Patrick is finding himself as a bigger piece of that passing game lately, getting 15 targets in the last two games (only a 15% share, but the raw numbers are nice). He’s responded by getting three touchdowns in the last two contests, probably because he leads the Lions—and all wide receivers—on targets inside the ten-yard line in the last two games. On paper, Chicago is a tough matchup, but they are paper tigers. The 49ers and Vikings’ receivers beat up on them in the last two weeks.
Jalen Coker versus Arizona (4% rostered)
It’s been hard to remember how Coker’s performed lately, especially since he missed weeks 11 through 14, so his back-to-back 6+ target games (and three of the last four) are exceptionally difficult to remember. However, Coker is putting together a nice run, around his injury. He is averaging 3.3 catches for 66.3 yards per game across those four contests, getting two scores in that span. While that is a nice target volume and productivity, it should be even higher in this one, with Xavier Legette doubtful to play, and Adam Thielen doubtful to remember where he is (because he’s old, you see). The Cardinals are a down matchup, but the #1 and #2 wide receivers on teams are averaging a combined 25.5 PPR points since their week 11 bye, so there are plenty of fantasy points up for grabs in this one.
Running Backs
Tyler Allgeier versus N.Y. Giants (32% rostered)
With Michael Penix getting the soft landing against a spiraling Giants team amid an NFC South title hunt, the Falcons (once again) likely lean on the running game. Last week, Allgeier had 12 carries in this game plan, which ties his second-highest output of the season. But, that game was a completely disjointed mess for Atlanta after the Drake London touchdown, which prompted the switchover to Michael Penix. Allgeier and Bijan Robinson are on track to get 40 total touches in this one, and it should be a Falcons victory going away. That is set up for a lot of garbage time carries—and fantasy points—from Allgeier. The Giants allow the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, allowing the most yards after contact per attempt on the season (2.68).
Ameer Abdullah versus Jacksonville (20% rostered)
What happens when two teams playing out the string meet up in Las Vegas a week before Christmas? Hopefully, fireworks. The Raiders are down to Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah in the run game, and Mattison is set to lead the backfield in carries. Unfortunately for those desperately trying to start Mattison, Ameer Abdullah will get the targets in this one. Abdullah was the lone bright spot for the Raiders last week, catching all seven of his passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. That marked his third touchdown in his last five games and the second time in the last four games that he had 6+ targets. He’s a PPR producer in the mold of his former teammate, Theo Riddick. Teams generally don’t target the running back against the Jags (they’re too busy chucking it downfield against them), but Desmond Ridder will utilize Ameer Abdullah again, just like last week.
Antonio Gibson at Buffalo (10% rostered)
Gibson has 21 PPR points in his last two games, getting 14 carries for 95 yards and a score to go with two catches for 31 receiving yards. He isn’t the most inspiring option, but he’s gone toe-to-toe, production-wise, with Rhamondre Stevenson in the last couple of contests. The rough part: Rhamondre has 35 touches in the last two games to get his 21.9 PPR points, whereas Gibson got his 21 PPR points on just 16 touches. Even if you remove the touchdown, Gibson is far more productive on a per-touch basis than Stevenson. The Bills are likely to stomp the guts out of the Patriots, meaning that we likely see Gibson in garbage time, something that we have already seen this season (when he had a 50+ yard catch against San Francisco). He’s going to soak up ten or so touches in a plus matchup; the Bills allow the second-most fantasy points per game to running backs on the season.
Tight Ends
Brenton Strange at Las Vegas (21% rostered)
Strange was curiously the main beneficiary of Mac Jones’ outburst last week, bumping his season targets from 44 to 32, as he finishes with 12 targets, 11 catches, and 73 yards. The 73 yards are far from inspiring if you were evaluating from a real-life production standpoint. Luckily, we are freed from those shackles. Strange will once again come in second to Brian Thomas, Jr. in targets on the Jags this week. With Mac Jones going chaos mode, he likely continues to sling the ball all over the field, eschewing the woebegone run game in favor of stunting the spiraling Raiders’ defense. The Raiders allow the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends on the year, with three tight ends getting at least 9.8 PPR points against them in the last three games.
Juwan Johnson at Green Bay (11% rostered)
There’s simply nobody left. Much like Johnny Rico, Juwan Johnson gets promoted up the target pecking order thanks to those around him dying constantly. Luckily, however, there’s no strange discourse over the fascist imagery in Juwan Johnson’s production. Johnson’s moved up the pecking order, getting 15 targets in the last three games. Johnson has two games of 8.6+ PPR points in those games, which provides you with a nice floor. The Packers are likely to stomp the Saints, which means lots of preventive defense in the second half and feasting underneath to keep the ball moving for Johnson. If the Saints manage to make a game of it, that will be (at least partially) with Johnson’s help; the Packers allow the eighth-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends, with three tight ends getting double-digit fantasy days in the last four weeks.
Chig Okonkwo at Indianapolis (5% rostered)
Okonkwo has 20 targets in his last three games, making him a key part of the most recent iteration of the Titans. It’s been a change in focus for the Titans, as Chig’s top-two most targeted games of the season came in the last three games. Last week he busted through with 8 catches for 59 yards, and a TE6 finish, thanks to taking on the best tight end matchup of the season (the Bengals). This week, things don’t get much worse, as the Colts are #5 in fantasy points allowed to tight ends this year. You might know them from their recent hits: double-digit fantasy points to Adam Trautman, Hunter Henry, and Austin Hooper in the last two games.
