Every Saturday morning, I'll take a quick look at all the week's games, offering my own brief take on what I think will happen, as well as touching on significant injury news since our Weekly came out. I'll check in every so often over the course of the day to answer lineup questions, too.
What follows is a brief look at all the games with how I'd react in my own lineups to injury developments or other news. The official rankings are the ones in the Weekly. Those take precedence. But sometimes players are very close, and in those cases I'm glad to offer opinions on how I'd approach those situations. Sometimes I like certain players more or less than Ian, and sometimes I have different risk tolerance with injuries etc. If I don't get to your question, either I missed it (it happens) or the rankings are very clear.
Giants at Dolphins: Giants will start Mike Glennon, which isn't good, though it's not like Daniel Jones had been lighting it up. I can't in good conscience recommend any of their skill guys, though Saquon Barkley and Evan Engram are on the list of guys worth starting if you have them. Miami, it's Waddle, Gaskin and Gesicki. And their defense.
Colts at Texans: Obviously, nice week to have Jonathan Taylor on your side. A concern the passing game won't do as much, though Wentz and Pittman and maybe Jack Doyle are viable. Houston, it's hard to keep track of exactly who is available, but it looks like Rex Burkhead will need to have a large role with some illness sweeping the Houston facility. And Brandin Cooks has his usual "maybe a good game in a lopsided loss" appeal. But Burkhead playing most of the time, if David Johnson is indeed out, doesn't make him a good player.
Vikings at Lions: Would like to see the Lions get their win but I don't see it happening here. T.J. Hockenson and Jamaal Williams are of interest for the Detroit side of things. Minnesota, with Alexander Mattison and the relatively few key passing game components, should put up good numbers. I'm chancing the Vikings defense in a playoff game, wish me luck. It's them or the Broncos at Kansas City which doesn't seem safe.
Eagles at Jets: I don't have any reason to think the Jalen Hurts ankle injury is serious. If I had him, I'd start him, unless we hear something to counter that on the morning shows tomorrow. He's presumably fine, and the Jets have a lousy defense. Looks like Miles Sanders should be the main running back, with Boston Scott not practicing all week. I'd use Sanders, too. For the Jets, Elijah Moore looks fine. The running back committee does not, though I actually did have to pick up Ty Johnson to use somewhere, in an injury- and bye-week damaged team. DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert also look good for the Eagles.
Cardinals at Bears: I honestly don't really know the status of Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins. Presumably they're fine. I have Murray in a best-ball lineup league where I don't need to pick starters. I wish more of my leagues were like this, it's quite relaxing. I know that if he's active, it's not gonna be for limited snacks or whatnot; he'll be starting and playing throughout, and he's fine. So I'd plan to start him and have a backup plan just in case. Hopkins is trickier though I'm presuming he's OK too. For the Bears, Montgomery-Kmet-Mooney look like the viable options. Oh, James Conner for the Cardinals, too, Zach Ertz, and maybe Christian Kirk.
Chargers at Bengals: Should be a good game with offense on both sides. I know the Bengals D is solid and the Chargers offense has been erratic, but I'm fine using Herbert-Ekeler-Allen and to a lesser extent Williams. And the Bengals offense should also be good, with Joe Mixon and JaMarr Chase the best choices.
Bucs at Falcons: Hard to feel affected by the Antonio Brown three-game suspension. Was there much chance of him playing in the next three weeks anyway? Such a nice start to the year, but a non-factor since. Bucs should put up big numbers in this one. Falcons could go either way, maybe some yards and points in a lopsided loss, as happened in the earlier meeting, or maybe Matt Ryan and company get totally shut down. Facing Cordarrelle Patterson in a playoff game, so I'm hoping for the latter, but not counting on it, I'd use the guy, and Kyle Pitts.
Jaguars at Rams: Seems like James Robinson is OK to use. James O'Shaughnessy as a tight end option. That's pretty much it for Jacksonville. For the Rams, I'm not comfortable using Darrell Henderson. I'm benching him. People can make their own choices, and should, but I think if he plays he'll be limited. Similar with Odell Beckham. I don't really trust Sean McVay, or most coaches these days. It's like they think there's a huge competitive advantage to making opponents spend extra preparation time for different guy. I kind of understand it if you've got some wildly different possibilities, ala a pocket passer versus a dual-threat quarterback, but is Jacksonville really changing up everything defensively whether it's Henderson or Sony Michel at running back? They are not. If Henderson is inactive, Michel is definite start, a top-5 type of running back. If Henderson is active, I think at best it's a committee. At least the matchup is really nice.
Football Team at Raiders: I'm assuming the Josh Jacobs injury is nothing serious and he's fine to use. I'll be monitoring the Sunday morning news just in case, but presume he's fine. Antonio Gibson looks good, I'll steer of clear of whatever combination of lesser lights they're presumably using to replace J.D. McKissic. I'm using Foster Moreau and crossing my fingers, and fine with McLaurin, Renfrow, Logan Thomas.
Ravens at Steelers: Pittsburgh's defense isn't what it was, but it's still got some ability and these teams generally don't play high-scoring games. I'm a little bummed that this is the matchup I have for Najee Harris on a playoff team (where I'm already behind the 8 ball with Dak's modest game), but that's fantasy football. I guess my player could be hurt or sick or on a bye or suspended. Anyhoo, don't expect a shootout and plan accordingly. I'm fine using the stars (Andrews, Marquise, Lamar, Diontae, Najee, Freiermuth) but not confident about what we'll get.
49ers at Seahawks: Elijah Mitchell should start and is good to use. Either Jeff Wilson or JaMycal Hasty will be a change-up and should not be used. Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle look fine, helped by Deebo not being available. For Seattle, I can't advise anyone wading into any of the Seattle running backs. They're all droppable. Even Wilson-Lockett-Metcalf aren't automatic starts these days. Seattle needs to blow things up in the offseason and I suspect they will.
Broncos at Kansas City: Can Denver's defense keep Kansas City's offense in check? It's had some success in recent years. But not always. Mahomes, Hill, Kelce, sure. Clyde Edwards-Helaire has an illness, so he needs to be monitored over the weekend if you're hoping to use him. For Denver, Javonte Williams should be featured, with Melvin Gordon doubtful. Mike Boone might pick up some snaps, I don't think we can count on Williams being a workhorse. But a nice choice for all-around production, maybe the lone really good option on the Broncos.
Patriots at Bills: Nobody nationally seems to think Buffalo is going to win this game, although they're technically favored. I think there will be a lot of running from both sides. New England because that's what they're best at and with two good running backs, and Buffalo because it seems to be what New England will want them to do, and it's supposed to be rainy and windy -- unpleasant for passing. Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen, gotta use 'em, but not a great matchup. By tomorrow we'll have a better idea of just how bad the weather might be; yesterday it didn't look great.
Got some holiday stuff going on today so answers might be delayed at times, but I will get to them all eventually. Good luck this week, and enjoy the games.