Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

It's time for the fantasy semi-finals which means if you've made it this far then congrats to you, just one more win away from making it to a championship matchup. Even though you've made it this far it's not time to skip out on adding depth to your team off the wire or to consider streaming players with favorable matchups over others on your team with unfavorable matchups. Good Luck!

Note: %owned is based on Yahoo! leagues at the time of publication.

Quarterback

Colin Kaepernick (SF) - 36% owned - Kaepernick should rebound nicely this week with a matchup against a Falcons team allowing the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.  Look his way if you need a streamer.

Running Back

Kenneth Farrow (SD) - 4% owned - After Melvin Gordon was injured early in the Chargers matchup against the Panthers, Farrow became the go-to running back rushing 16 times for 55 yards and catching 6 passes for another 23 yards.   It's looking likely that Gordon will miss at least one week which means Farrow should be a volume RB2 play.

Kenneth Dixon (BAL) - 44% owned - It looks as though Dixon has finally broken away as the clear lead back in Baltimore after getting 19 touches compared to Terrence West's 6 against the Patriots. He put up a solid fantasy performance with the touches as well rushing for 39 yards and catching 8 of 11 passes for another 42 yards and a touchdown.

Honorable mentions: Matt Asiata (MIN) - 44% owned, Adrian Peterson (MIN) - 45% owned

Wide Receiver

Dontrelle Inman (NE) - 23% owned - Inman has passed up Travis Benjamin as the number two receiving option behind Tyrell Williams and has played well recently getting 239 yards and 3 touchdowns over his past three games. The Chargers have a great matchup this week against a poor Raiders pass defense where I expect Inman to be an upside WR3.

Adam Thielen (MIN) - 19% owned - Thielen has been putting up consistent WR3 numbers this season and draws a nice matchup this week against a Colts team that the Vikings should need to air the ball out more than usual.

Honorable mention: Ty Montgomery (GB) - 37% owned

Tight End

A bit of a cluster of possibly available tight ends this week so I'll list a few in order of how I like them;

Ladarius Green (PIT) - 56% owned

Jermaine Gresham (ARZ) - 4% owned

Dennis Pitta (BAL) - 37% owned

Defense/Special Teams

Similar to Tight Ends I'll list a few defenses I like to stream this week in order;

Buffalo Bills (BUF) - 61% owned

Miami Dolphins (MIA) - 55% owned

Houston Texans (HOU) - 44% owned

The fantasy playoffs are finally upon us! The weak managers have all been eliminated, bye weeks are over and you just need to survive three more weeks of matchups to take home a championship. Hopefully, this advice will aid you in getting one week closer to glory. Good Luck!

Note: all waiver picks listed here will have only been owned in 50% or less of Yahoo! leagues at the time of publication.

Quarterback

Joe Flacco (BAL) - 23% owned - Most likely no one needs to be running to the wire for a quarterback when there are no bye-weeks, but if you do need one I recommend Flacco. He should have to air the ball a lot to keep pace with the Patriots and is coming off his best game of the year going 36-47 for 381 yards and 4 TDs against the Dolphins.

Honorable mention: Alex Smith (KC) - 27% owned

Running Back

Kenneth Dixon (BAL) - 46% owned - Dixon continues to split work with Terrence West despite having a 5.9 yards per carry average compared to the 3.9 average for West over the past four weeks. If you need help at running back Dixon should be counted on for 10-12 touches with a strong chance of that workload to increase over the remainder of the season.

Mike Gillislee (BUF) - 23% owned - Gillislee has been getting touches behind LeSean McCoy in Buffalo's run heavy offense. I'd expect him to see somewhere around 8-10 touches per game down the stretch, but what's nice is that he does get goal line work which was seen last week when he scored two touchdowns from three or fewer yards out of the end zone.

Honorable mentions: Jerick McKinnon (MIN) - 44% owned, Adrian Peterson (MIN) - 47% owned

Wide Receiver

Ted Ginn Jr. (CAR) - 23% owned - Ginn has seen his role in the Panthers offense grow the second half of the season and is coming off a great three-game stretch of 12 catches for 241 yards and 3 touchdowns. If his involvement continues he should be a great asset down the stretch with matchups against the Chargers, Redskins and Falcons his next three games.

Malcolm Mitchell (NE) - 29% owned - Mitchell has seen more playing time recently with injuries to the Patriots pass catchers. He's made the most of the playing time catching 17 passes for 222 yards and 3 touchdowns over the past three games. It was announced that Danny Amendola suffered a high ankle sprain this past week which means Mitchell should continue to see more looks for the fantasy playoffs.

Honorable mention: Taylor Gabriel (ATL) - 38% owned

Tight End

Ladarius Green (PIT) - 23% owned - Injuries may have delayed it from happening, but Green finally had his breakout performance as a Steeler, going off for 110 yards and a touchdown on 6 of 11 targets. He should continue to get a high amount of targets down the stretch since no other receiver has stepped up, besides Antonio Brown so far.

Honorable mention: Dennis Pitta (BAL) - 33% owned

Defense/Special Teams

Cincinnati Bengals (TB) - 31% owned - The Bengals defense has been floating around average all season long for fantasy purposes, but they draw the terrible Browns in week 14 which means they are worthy of a start.

We've reached the final week before the fantasy playoffs. If you are desperately looking for a win to make it in or if you're already in and just looking ahead to your playoff matchups or if you are eliminated and just want to play spoiler then I'm here to help you out. TWO teams on bye this week; Browns and Titans. Good Luck!

Note: all waiver picks listed here will have only been owned in 50% or less of Yahoo! leagues at the time of publication.

Quarterback

Colin Kaepernick (SF) - 24% owned - Kaepernick has been on a tear lately averaging just over 25 fantasy points per game over his last four which is good for 7th best for all QBs in standard scoring during that stretch.  There shouldn't be any slowing down for him this week as he draws a depleted Bears defense.

Honorable mention: Alex Smith (KC) - 25% owned

Running Back

Kenneth Dixon (BAL) - 29% owned - It looks as though Dixon has finally surpassed Terrance West in the Ravens backfield as he out-snapped West for the first time this season.  This will most likely be a timeshare situation next week, but if Dixon plays well or if West falters then we should see Dixon take a larger role going forward.

Bilal Powell (NYJ) - 42% owned - Powell has been getting consistent work lately and he has averaged almost 10 fantasy points per game over his last four starts. If you're in a pinch for a running back you can look this way as the Jets play against a weak Colts team giving up the 10th most fantasy points to opposing running backs.

Honorable mention: Adrian Peterson (MIN) - 43% owned

Wide Receiver

Tyreek Hill (KC) - 37% owned - Hill made a name for himself on Sunday night after catching 9 of 10 targets for 52 yards and a touchdown, rushing for another touchdown and returning a free kick after a safety for a third score. If he can put up this fantasy production against the Broncos then he shouldn't have any issues this week in a great matchup with the Falcons.

Quincy Enunwa (NYJ) - 28% owned - Enunwa looked to be falling out of fantasy relevance the past few weeks but he had a resurgence against the Patriots catching 5 of 5 targets for 109 yards and a touchdown. He has two great matchups coming back to back, first against the Colts and then against 49ers.

Honorable mention: Tyler Boyd (CIN) - 50% owned

Tight End

Vance McDonald (SF) - 10% owned - Rolling with McDonald for the second straight week as he continues to put up numbers with Kaepernick under center. He is the number eight tight end in standard scoring over the past four weeks and has consistently been getting 6 or 7 targets a game.

Honorable mention: C.J. Fiedorowicz (HOU) - 35% owned

Defense/Special Teams

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (TB) - 5% owned - Not many great streaming options available for this week, but the Bucs have  the second highest fantasy scoring defense over the past four games. They have been getting good pressure and sacks on opposing quarterbacks in this stretch so expect that to continue against Rivers this week.

Week 12 is upon us and brings with it bonus Turkey Day games to watch while the inevitable food coma sets in. No bye weeks this week so you should be at full strength assuming the week 11 injuries didn't hit your team too hard. Don't forget to put your waiver claims in, set your lineup for Thursday morning and Happy Holidays!

Note: all waiver picks listed here will have only been owned in 50% or less of Yahoo! leagues at the time of publication.

Quarterback

Colin Kaepernick (SF) - 18% owned - There aren't any teams on bye this week so most people should be ok at the quarterback position, but if not you should look towards Kaepernick.  He has been averaging QB1 numbers this season at 20 pts per game and his rushing yards gives him a high floor.

Running Back

Wendall Smallwood (PHI) - 5% owned - Smallwood should be up for an increased workload this week against the Packers since Ryan Mathews is dealing with a sprained MCL and Darren Sproles suffered a fractured rib. Should be a great volume play against an injured Packers defense.

Mike Gillislee (BUF) - 25% owned - LeSean McCoy may have to sit out this week after having surgery to repair an injured thumb. If McCoy does sit then Gillislee will be a great play in a run heavy offense against a Jaguars defense allowing 113 yards per game on the ground.

Honorable mentions: Tim Hightower (NO) - 50% owned, Adrian Peterson (MIN) - 32% owned

Wide Receiver

Michael Floyd (ARZ) - 48% owned - Arizona receivers not named Larry Fitzgerald have been very inconsistent this season but I think this is the week Floyd will have a big game in a dream matchup against the Falcons defense who are giving up a league-worst 29 receptions and 297 yards per game.

Tyler Boyd (CIN) - 6% owned - With A.J. Green looking at a multi-week hamstring injury and Giovanni Bernard out for the remainder of the season with an ACL tear, the Bengals will need to look elsewhere for pass catching options. Boyd, LaFell and Eifert should all see boosts in targets but I believe Boyd has a higher upside than LaFell going forward if you need some depth at the WR position.

Honorable mentions: Brandon LaFell (CIN) - 11% owned, Sammy Watkins (BUF) - 42% owned

Tight End

Vance McDonald (SF) - 8% owned - McDonald appears to have developed some chemistry with Colin Kaepernick lately as he has 180 yards and two touchdowns over the last three weeks. Not a bad play if you are desperately looking for points at TE.

Defense/Special Teams

Baltimore Ravens (BAL) - 48% owned - Baltimore has been a top ten fantasy defense all season long and draws a Bengals team in week 12 who is depleted of playmakers. Look for another solid performance from the Ravens defense.