RADIO
Week 13 of the NFL is behind us and it's time to look ahead to next week's action. There were some surprising performances in the 13th week of the season, but were those surprising performances a sign of things to come for players?
Every week, I'll be looking at three to five NFL players whose numbers from the week before were better than expected. I'll be analyzing their games and making sense of what their showings mean in the larger scheme of things.
Below, you'll find an analysis of the biggest fantasy football surprises of Week 13. Are those surprising results a fact, i.e. a sign of good things to come, or a fiction, i.e. an anomalous result?
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Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals
Last Week: QB4
With Joe Burrow done for the season after tearing a ligament in his right wrist, the Bengals' playoff hopes rest in the hands of quarterback Jake Browning. In theory, relying on a QB who'd never played in an NFL game until this season seems like it wouldn't be good, but well...Monday night might have changed that tune.
Browning was 32-for-37 for 354 yards with a touchdown in the overtime victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He also added two carries for 22 yards and a touchdown.
If Browning's going to play like that, the Bengals have a shot. The problem is that we really just don't know if he will play like this. It was a very good game and I'm not going to pick it apart at all, but it was also one game. His first start came against the Steelers and his numbers were a little more in line with what you might expect if Browning's a good (but not great) option for the Bengals: 19-for-26 for 227 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Verdict: It'd be great to see Browning perform, but he's not an option in single-QB fantasy leagues yet, though he should be added in two-QB fantasy leagues.
Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts
Last Week: WR11
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce is on the field a lot. Just once all season has the second-year wideout from Cincinnati failed to play at least 90% of the Colts' offensive snaps. This past week, he played 99% of the team's snaps against the Titans.
Despite that amount of playing time, Pierce just hasn't had consistent production this season, even though he's had consistent playing time. He's had one or fewer receptions five times this year.
But this week, we finally got to see a little something from Pierce. He was targeted six times, catching three passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. Gardner Minshew seemed comfortable targeting Pierce down the field in this one, something that's definitely worth taking note of. The fact that Pierce is always on the field means that if Minshew really is going to look to get him more involved on deeper routes, there will be plenty of opportunities.
Verdict: Alec Pierce is worth adding in deep leagues, but we also have a full season of evidence that he probably isn't a huge part of this offense. The one upside here is that he's on the football field a ton, so there are more opportunities for the ball to come his way.
Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars
Last Week: WR16
The Jaguars spent a sixth-round pick on Penn State wide receiver Parker Washington, but a knee issue delayed his shot at making an impact for the team. He'd appeared in just three games before Week 13's meeting with the Bengals.
Then, suddenly, an injury to Christian Kirk at the beginning of Monday's game meant that the Jags had to get Washington on the field. He'd never played more than 14% of Jacksonville's offensive snaps until this game when he was on the field for 59% of the snaps due to the Kirk injury.
Washington was targeted six times in the game, catching all six passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. He was fourth on the team in targets behind Calvin Ridley, Zay Jones, and Evan Engram.
Kirk's likely going to miss some time, so there's room for Washington to carve out a role here, but the flip side of that coin is that Trevor Lawrence could miss some time as well with a high ankle sprain, which would put C.J. Beathard in as the Jags' QB. One of Beathard's 10 passes went Washington's way, while five of Lawrence's 29 did.
Verdict: I want to like Washington, but he'll be the fourth option no matter who is at QB. I'm encouraged in dynasty formats about his shot to take over the Zay Jones role in the future, but we can't trust Washington in the fantasy playoffs.
Harrison Bryant, Cleveland Browns
Last Week: TE6
Cleveland Browns tight end Harrison Bryant had his best game of the season on Sunday, catching all five of his targets for 49 yards and a touchdown. It was the second week in a row he found the end zone, though the week before, the touchdown was his only catch of the game, a two-yard reception.
What's notable here is that this was Joe Flacco's first game under center for the Browns and also that Bryant played a season-high 44% of snaps. David Njoku played 83%, so it wasn't that Bryant supplanted Njoku. It was just that the Browns got him on the field more.
It's possible that this is a sign of things to come with Flacco under center, but it's also tough to trust a player who came into this game with five catches for 12 yards and five carries for eight yards on the season.
Verdict: If you're desperate at tight end, you could add Bryant, but it'd be way too risky to start him this week unless you're in a league where you start multiple tight ends. One good game doesn't negate the first 11 games of the year when the Browns weren't getting Bryant involved at all.
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