Fantasy Football Week 13: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

Welcome to The Big Lead's weekly start 'em, sit 'em column. We are here to dig into the toughest decisions you may be facing for your fantasy matchup in Week 13 of NFL action and give you answers. Some of those answers may even be right!

Presenting our Week 13 start 'em, sit 'em calls.

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

Taylor started slow after he returned from the IR but put together a string of solid performances leading up to the Colts' Week 11 bye. Then he put up his best numbers of the season on Sunday, getting 15 carries for 91 yards and scoring two touchdowns for 21 total fantasy points. It seems like the Taylor of old is back, the guy who won several fantasy leagues all on his own merely two years ago. However, the relatively low number of carries suggests he's still splitting touches with Zach Moss and he had no targets or catches in the pass game. With a tough Tennessee defensive front next on the docket, expectations for Taylor should be aggressively tempered and we'd go so far as to suggest looking elsewhere because touchdowns will be very hard to come by. SIT 'EM

Diontae Johnson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers' offense was finally let off the chain with Matt Canada's dismissal and gained 400 total yards for the first time in three seasons. Johnson, surprisingly, was not a significant beneficiary of that, amassing merely 50 yards on four catches with no touchdowns. More worrying, was that he seemed completely checked out and disinterested out there. But the combination of Pittsburgh's offensive explosion and a terrible Cardinals defense coming up means Johnson is worth one more gamble as one of two competent receivers on the roster. START 'EM

James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals

Conner had a good start to the season before he got hurt and missed a good chunk of Arizona's midseason matchups. Since returning, he's been average. Conner hasn't put up a double-digit fantasy performance in three games, largely due to the fact that he hasn't scored a single touchdown. The Cardinals RB isn't very efficient with his carries, even with the threat of Kyler Murray back there, so he's overly-dependent on TDs to produce fantasy-wise. This week's contest against the Steelers actually gives him an opportunity to get some points on the board, despite what you might think. Pittsburgh gets after the opposing quarterback and schemes well but rank 21st in fantasy points given up to RBs this year. It's a gamble but Conner has a chance to put up a good statline this week. START 'EM

Brandin Cooks, WR, Dallas Cowboys

Cooks has been on a heater lately. The Cowboys wideout has put up double-digit fantasy outings in three of his last five games, highlighted by a 173-yard day against the New York Giants. Everybody. knows Dallas has weapons and that CeeDee Lamb is the No. 1 wideout in that offense but everyone is playing so well across the board that there's plenty of fantasy points to go around. Right? Wrong! Cooks' big statlines have been sandwiched between absolute stinkers all season long and there's little reason to expect he won't fall back down to Earth against the Seahawks on Sunday. Wait until another cupcake matchup against an NFC East foe to turn back to Cooks. SIT 'EM

D.K. Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks

Metcalf had a down week against the Niners, catching only three passes for 32 yards. He had put up two solid performances the previous two weeks so it was disappointing but not entirely unexpected that he flopped a bit against an excellent San Fran defense. An easier matchup does not await this week, though, as Seattle travels to Dallas to take on the Cowboys. Not only will Metcalf be battling against the third-ranked defense in the NFL in terms of fantasy points allowed to wide receviers, he and his teammates don't even get the benefit of extra rest from playing on Thanksgiving because this is also a Thursday Night Football game. There's always a chance Metcalf pops off because he's that talented but we don't have a lot of faith in a big game this week. SIT 'EM