Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
I couldn’t breathe.
It was the day of my high school graduation, and I was getting dressed. The problem was, my body was shaking, I had difficulty breathing and my body was on fire. It was one of the most uncomfortable, frightening feelings of my life.
It was a panic attack.
Some of you may know that I suffer from anxiety, and am on medication to counter it. I have no problem being honest, and I’m not ashamed of it. Anxiety sometimes keeps me from doing a ton of things, but not writing about fantasy sports. Because of everyone on Twitter, my co-workers and friends, writing has been one of the greatest medications I could find, and I’ve had an absolute blast doing it every single day. It’s already my second year covering fantasy football, and we are approaching championship week. So, I feel the need to thank all of you for reading, interacting and putting up with my craziness.
Let’s go get a victory.
Note: Ownership percentages are based off Yahoo! leagues.
Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins (10%): Out of the old (and limping), in with the new. The Redskins made headlines by swapping signal callers, as the talented backup, Cousins will be under center for the remainder of the year. Cousins had an ideal opening matchup against the Falcons on Sunday, and he took advantage of it. He threw for 381 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. With some still serviceable weapons around him, Cousins is talented enough to exploit a good matchup, and in Week 16, he gets one of the worst defensive units in the history of football. Entering Sunday, Dallas was surrendering 25.87 points per game to quarterbacks, the most in the NFL. Then, they went ahead and coughed up four passing touchdowns to Matt Flynn of all people. In a lost season, I see the Redskins wanting to come out and fire on all cylinders on offense. The Cowboys have now allowed eight signal callers to finish as a QB1. In two-quarterback leagues (or if you have been streaming quarterbacks in place of Aaron Rodgers) Cousins is a must-grab.
Jordan Todman, Jacksonville Jaguars (18%): Todman filled in for the banged up Maurice Jones-Drew and posted more yards than MJD has had in any game all season. Concerns about Denard Robinson cutting into his work were overrated, as Robinson saw just two carries, while Todman touched the ball 29 times for 153 total yards. He looked sharp in a strong matchup, leaving fantasy owners only wanting a touchdown. MJD could return next week, but with the playoffs out of question, does Jacksonville even activate him? If not, Todman should be a good play against a Titans run defense coughing up the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing rushers.
Dennis Pitta, Baltimore Ravens (37%): I thought I was reading this wrong, but it’s true. Pitta isn’t even owned in 40 percent of leagues. I don’t care if he catches zero balls on Monday night, if you need a tight end, Pitta is your guy. Heck, if your opponent needs a tight end, snatch Pitta from him so he doesn’t get a top-12 guy. Next week, Pitta faces a New England defense that has been hurting at the linebacker position, so the matchup may be strong.
Zach Miller, Seattle Seahawks (15%): Oh, hey Zach Miller. What’s that? You play the Cardinals next week? Sign me up. Arizona coughed up their 15 touchdown to a tight end on Sunday, as Delanie Walker found paydirt. That’s the most in football, and no team is even close to allowing more fantasy points per game to the position this year. If you lost Rob Gronkowski, Miller is an ideal replacement candidate in the fantasy championship, as he gets the best possible matchup. Miller caught five balls for 40 yards and a score back in Week 7 when these two rivals first met.
Detroit Lions D/ST, (13%): Eli Manning will be under center for the Giants in Week 16. Need I say more? Over his last three games, Manning has tossed eight interceptions, and currently has more picks than touchdowns on the season. Opposing fantasy defenses are averaging over 13 fantasy points per game against Eli and the Giants, which is the most in football. Need a streaming option? Look no further.
Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy sports columnist for Rant Sports.
You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
