NFL

Elijah Mitchell has been a great story in 2021. Congrats if you found him… (no, I made the mistake of drafting Trey Sermon!) During the upcoming offseason, though, quietly see what you might get in return. His price may never be higher. Don’t start any Bears other than David Montgomery. The new coaching staff and GM in 2022 will have to try to build around him and Justin Fields.

Javonte Williams will be an RB1 in 2022. But don’t feel too bad if you missed Williams but have Clyde Edwards-Helaire instead. He won’t see the same volume but, barring injury, will see enough action to be a reliable RB2. Don’t worry about Jalen Hurts. When his ankle heals, he’s Philadelphia’s starter.

Some say the number 13 is unlucky… and perhaps it is. When it comes to football and injuries, no bad luck is needed. It’s week 13 of the NFL season and multiple high-profile names are on the list. Wether or not the accursed number has anything to do with it matters not. It’s a sport that delivers injuries quicker than Amazon delivers Christmas gifts. Speaking of gifts, The Infirmary is always here to give the gift of knowledge!

The Cowboys will only go as far as Dak Prescott takes them. Fortunately, most of their remaining schedule is against the NFC East – pass funnels all and all mostly just bad defenses. Expect Dallas to throw, throw and throw. Even though Tony Pollard would get more playing time if the Cowboys choose to rest Ezekiel Elliott, we must focus on Dak and the Cowboys receivers the rest of the way.

The once-vaunted Steel Curtain defense hasn’t been any good, giving up 41 points per game and over 900 yards combined in their last two losses. They’re now in last place. And there are no more Bears, Lions or Geno Smith-led Seahawks on the horizon. No Steelers are Must-Starts the rest of 2021. In the upcoming off-season, move any or all Steelers from your dynasty rosters. It’s going to take more than one piece to complete this Pittsburgh puzzle.

Apologies for disturbing that post-Thanksgiving coma, but there is still plenty of football left in Week 12 of the NFL season. Sunday will be much more entertaining, with some key divisional matchups and teams jockeying for playoff seeding. Heat up those Turkey leftovers, kick back and enjoy another day of bird and ball. There’s work to be done first, however. The Infirmary is a busy place.

The first, and least desirable, game of the Thanksgiving slate is shaping up to be even uglier; both starting quarterbacks are likely out for the matchup. No Justin Fields on Turkey Day is a bummer, but at least we get D’Andre Swift in this one. The second year back is No. 5 in PPR scoring, and with Jamaal Williams getting work. Some didn’t think this was possible. But it is and he’s killing it; he ranks No. 4 in Snap Share at the position, and No. 1 in Targets and Receptions. Oh, and his Dominator Rating is a stellar 32.5 percent, good for No. 4 among qualified backs. He’s in for a day on Thursday.

The obvious issue here is the Cowboys receivers. Dallas did not play well last week against the Chiefs, and the injuries were certainly a part of it. They’ll have to rebound against the Raiders, and they still will be without both Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb. Michael Gallup led receivers with 10 Targets, but failed to capitalize. He’s had a quiet return from IR thus far, but Dallas will need him to step up Thursday, even if the run game is working well.

If you think back to training camp, a different Elijah was the talk of the NFL town. It was the Jets’ Elijah Moore, with one of the most impressive college metrics profiles you’ll find; Start him every week. It doesn’t matter who’s at QB or if the Jets lose out. He’s the team’s best receiver and will someday be their first Pro Bowl receiver this century.

Enjoy watching this generation’s most complete, exciting running back. I hope you followed PlayerProfiler and Breakout Finder’s Advice and selected Jonathan Taylor at 1.01 in last year’s dynasty rookie drafts. If you followed the herd and went Clyde Edwards-Helaire instead, don’t say we didn’t warn you!

This is another one of those, “don’t rest on your laurels” check points. The payoff to the grind of it all is in sight. And in a week with a blank IR room and only the Rams and Broncos on BYE, there is still much to discuss. With both good news and bad, The Infirmary is here to provide the essentials for fantasy managers.

Rashod Bateman is primed for a big game with Marquise Brown sitting out. He’s seen a 27.7 percent Target Rate since entering the lineup, good for No. 17 at the position. Not to mention, he’s facing off against the No. 26-ranked pass defense. The Bucs will be without Antonio Brown again, and face Tom Brady’s nemesis- the New York Football Giants. This offense needs to step it up. Speaking of the G-Men, they’ll be without Sterling Shepard. Once again, it’s Kadarius Toney time.

This new season-long mini-series is brought to you by the RotoUnderworld Game Analyst Team. The Game Analyst Team consists of over 75 individuals that chart and re-watch every snap from every game in the NFL between game end, and Monday afternoon.

In the coming weeks, it will be interesting to see how the Dolphins will respond to a fairly easy schedule. In the next 4 game stretch, the Dolphins play the Jets twice, the Giants, and the Panthers. All 4 are very winnable games. Could the Dolphins be 7-7 heading into Monday Night Football against the Saints on Dec 27th? How will Flores handle the QB situation since he doesn’t seem to have supreme confidence in Tua? Will pass-catchers like Wilson and Ford consistently step up or will it continue to be the Jaylen Waddle show? As stated previously, it will be an interesting next few weeks for the Miami Dolphins.

In Cody Carpentier’s first 2022 NFL Mock Draft (1.0), he has Malik Willis going to Washington and Treylon Burks going to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Tua Tagovailoa is improving – though his season-long Passer Rating is only 87.3, he’s been at least 95.1 in 3 of his last 4 games and has some great matchups coming up. Jaylen Waddle quietly leads the league in Routes Run and is top-12 in Targets, Receptions, True Catch Rate, and Yards After Catch. And he’s catching 70-percent of his targets. The Dolphins DST is worth a flyer. DST scoring is about turnovers. Miami is starting to create them again and won’t face another high-scoring team the rest of the year.

On a team with no quarterback and no receivers, D’Andre Swift managed to put up 130 rushing yards against the Steelers. As a team, they did manage to put up 229 yards rushing and two scores. Heading into today’s game, he led the league in Target Share, Receptions, and was No. 2 in Receiving Yards. He is No. 3 in Yards Created. He’s a star but, because of his team, get less attention than he deserves. In dynasty, overpay if doing so can get Swift onto your team. Offload any and all parts of this Steelers passing game.