What it means in fantasy: Bellinger suffered a fractured orbital bone in his left eye against the Jaguars back in Week 7. It was a unique injury, recovery, and rehab process for a football player. Bellinger returned to a full-pads practice on Tuesday with a visor attached to his helmet for extra protection. Bellinger would be a streaming option for fantasy managers In deeper formats if he were active.
Fantasy reads
The read: (E+) NFL Top 25 Under 25: Ranking best players 24 years old or younger
Fantasy Takeaways: ESPN's Matt Bowen, Matt Miller and Jordan Reid did a fantastic job with this column, and one thing I took away was the number of wide receivers that were on the list and how that affects keeper and dynasty fantasy managers.
Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase ranked second and third, respectively. Since 2020, Jefferson has accumulated 4,248 receiving yards, averaging 19.3 fantasy points per game. While Chase has missed games this season, he has averaged 18.6 fantasy points with the Bengals during his career.
Jaylen Waddle and DK Metcalf were ranked 13th and 14th, respectively. Metcalf has exceeded fantasy managers' expectations this season with Geno Smith at the helm. He has scored 13 or more fantasy points in seven games. Meanwhile, Waddle is enjoying a great season with the Dolphins. Since Week 5, he hasn't had fewer than 66 receiving yards in any game, averaging 17.1 fantasy points. As the Cowboys' No. 1 receiver, CeeDee Lamb ranks No. 19. He's scored 10 or more fantasy points in nine games this season including five with 17 or more fantasy points.
Stockpiling as many wide receivers as you can is a good best practice for fantasy managers in keeper or dynasty formats. There have been 204 wide receivers who scored 258 or more fantasy points between 2000 and 2021. Around 71% of wide receivers who met or exceeded that number were between 25 and 31 years old. This provides managers with some guidance on what receivers to prioritize in trades. In evaluating year-to-year stats for wide receivers, targets are the most predictable stats. Targets lead to receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns, which in turn translate into fantasy points. A receiver should be on your radar if he is or will be in a position to see an increase in targets in the near future.
Today on ESPN.com/Fantasy and in the ESPN Fantasy App
Mike Clay's Shadow Report: wide receiver vs defensive back matchups analysis
Seth Walder's Next Gen Stats Advantage: Mismatches to exploit
DFS Cheat sheets for DraftKings and FanDuel
• Rankings for Individual Defensive Player leagues
• "Fantasy Focus" podcast: Field Yates, Daniel Dopp and Stephania Bell dish out the latest injury updates before talking if the latest trends around the NFL are news or noise. Plus, Liz Loza uses our blocking metric to tell you who needs to be in your lineup before answering your social questions. Listen | Watch
Thursday:
Field Yate's Fantasy Field Pass for Week 13
Mike Clay's TNF Playbook: Bills vs Patriots
Tristan H. Cockcroft's positional Matchup Map
Matt Bowen's fantasy film room
Al Zeidenfeld's DFS Best Buys for Week 13
• "Fantasy Focus" podcast (10 a.m. ET)
In Case You Missed It:
• Week 13 fantasy football rankings at every position (PPR and NPPR)
Matt Bowen's streaming pickups: deeper picks for deeper leagues and emergency need
Eric Karabell's Flex and Superflex rankings for Week 13
• NFL Nation's Fantasy Fallout: beat reporters on Zay Jones, Mike Evans and others
• Eric Karabell's trade index and rest-of-season rankings for Week 13 and beyond
• "Fantasy Focus" podcast: Field Yates, Daniel Dopp and Stephania Bell recap a close MNF, talk some star players who could return this week and debate which borderline fantasy starters you can trust for the rest of the season. Plus, Eric Moody joins the show to discuss the players you have to add for Week 13. Listen | Watch
