• Jared Goff shines: The Lions quarterback finally has all of his receivers, helping him finish as the highest-performing quarterback available in most leagues.

• James Cook’s career game: Cook tallied career highs in carries, targets and offensive snaps for the Bills on Thursday Night Football.

• Darius Slayton’s consistent play: The Giants' top wide receiver gained over 60 receiving yards for the fifth straight game.

Estimated Reading Time: 17 mins

Jump to a position group:

QB | RB | WR | TE

Quarterback

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (Rostered in 29.6% of leagues on ESPN)

Goff threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns in the Lions' blowout victory over the Jaguars.

• Goff ranks seventh on the season in passing yards and is one of seven with over 3,000 yards on the season already.
• His 19 passing touchdowns ranks 10th.
• He’s accomplished this despite his receivers dealing with injuries throughout the season. But for the first time in 2022, the top four wideouts on the Lions' depth chart are healthy.
• The Lions have the seventh-best schedule for fantasy quarterbacks over the next four weeks.
• They play the Vikings next week. Minnesota has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks, in part because teams need to throw so much against them.

Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers (9.7%)

Pickett had an OK performance against the Falcons, throwing for 197 yards and a touchdown while rushing seven times.

• Pickett has been in this article for weeks as a deeper league option available in most leagues, but as more quarterbacks get injured or benched, Pickett is slowly moving up the rest-of-season rankings.
• He put up the highest PFF grade of his career in Week 12 against the Colts (85.8) and performed relatively well in the Steelers' road victory this week. The good grades haven’t resulted in improved fantasy stats yet, but it wouldn’t be surprising if better stats soon follow.
• The Steelers' talent around Pickett remains relatively healthy.
• All of the Steelers' upcoming matchups are average or better, including playing the Raiders in Week 16. Las Vegas has allowed the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.

Mike White, New York Jets (13.4%)

White threw 57 times in Week 13, completing 31 passes for 369 yards and two interceptions with no touchdowns.

• White has been the Jets' best-performing quarterback of the season by PFF grade.
• The Jets have the NFL's easiest schedule over the next four weeks among teams that don’t have an upcoming bye.
• Each team will either result in a game script where the Jets need to pass often, as they did in Week 13, or where they can thrive through the air due to the quality of defense, or both.

Running Back

Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs (65.1%)

Pacheco continues to be the lead back in Kansas City, running the ball 14 times for 66 yards and a touchdown in their loss to the Bengals.

• This was his fourth straight game with 14 or more carries.
• Third-string back Ronald Jones received only three snaps with no touches.
• Ideally, Pacheco would see some goal-line opportunities like he did last week.
• The Chiefs' game script against the Bengals was one that didn’t favor Pacheco.
• Kansas City has the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL and faces teams that are worse against the run than the pass. This should be the perfect storm for Pacheco to put up a few 100-yard performances.
• He has the highest floor of all the potential running back targets.

Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (69.3%)

White dominated the Bucs' snaps in the absence of Leonard Fournette, but it might not be enough for him to hold onto a significant role.

• White was the clear RB1 in every situation in Week 12, losing a few snaps to Ke’Shawn Vaughn only when he needed a rest.
• He put together a great first quarter running the ball, gaining 48 yards on four carries — the best first-quarter total by a Bucs back all year.
• White gained only 11 yards on eight carries over the next three quarters, and he averaged just 0.25 yards before contact per carry.
• He caught nine passes — the second-most by a Buccaneers running back this season — for 45 receiving yards.
• There hasn’t been a noticeable difference between White and Fournette this season. There is a chance White continues to play a high number of snaps and becomes a fantasy starter from volume alone, but we could also go back to more of a split.
• Giovani Bernard returned from injured reserve for the Buccaneers, but he didn’t play a snap in this game. There is a chance he could contribute in the future.
• The Buccaneers play again tonight on Monday Night Football, a game for which Fournette is questionable.

DOMINATE FANTASY FOOTBALL & BETTING WITH AI-POWERED DATA & TOOLS TRUSTED BY ALL 32

Unlimited Fantasy League Sync

Fantasy Start/Sit Line-Up Optimizer & Waiver Wire

WR-CB & OL-DL Matchups, PFF Player Grades, & Premium Stats 2.0 Tools

Nathan Jahnkes Rankings - #1 Most Accurate Last 70 Weeks

PFF Best Bets, Player Props, & Power Ranking Tools

NFL Mock Draft Sim with Trades & Draft Grades

Subscribe now

Already have a subscription? Log In