With so much on the line, there is no such thing as too much start/sit advice, especially when it’s coming from the top ranked experts in the industry. For most of you, this is the last week before the championship round and each decision can make or break your season. No pressure!

Really though, this is what you’ve spent all season waiting for. Here’s your chance to make it to the finals and our featured experts are here to help. We’ve identified players that the top pundits like more/less for this week compared to the consensus.

Get additional start/sit advice with My Playbook >>

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Running Backs

Jeremy Hill: RB, CIN at SF

Consensus Rank: RB14 | Rich’s Rank: RB3

“Although the 49ers run splits at home have followed suit with the passing ones, their level of competition in the run game hasn’t matched that of the passers they’ve limited. Hill was starting to get going for the two weeks prior to a bad Pittsburgh matchup and this is a good week for the Bengals to recalibrate their approach on offense with the loss of Andy Dalton and potentially missing Tyler Eifert as well. Don’t forget the 49ers defense made the Browns running game look like the mid 90’s Cowboys a week ago.”

– Rich Hribar (The Fake Football)

Tim Hightower: RB, NO vs. DET

Consensus Rank: RB16 | Kyle’s Rank: RB6

“Detroit has allowed the fifth-most points (25.8) to opposing offenses and without Ndamukong Suh spearheading the front-seven, their run defense has slipped to mediocrity as well, allowing 4.15 yards-per-carry and an NFL-worst 18 rushing touchdowns. Mark Ingram was averaging 18 touches per game and ranked as a top-seven running back in STD and PPR scoring before his injury. Last week, Hightower immediately assumed the workhorse role, totaling 29 touches, and there’s no reason to expect that to change.”

– Kyle Wachtel (Forensic Fantasy)

Brandon Bolden: RB, NE vs. TEN

Consensus Rank: RB26 | Dalton’s Rank: RB14

“Of course there’s always some risk when using a Patriots back, but Bolden should take over as the team’s “power” rusher with LeGarrette Blount done for the season. It should be a beneficial role on a team that’s 14-point favorites Sunday.”

– Dalton Del Don (Yahoo)

Wide Receivers

Randall Cobb: WR, GB at OAK

Consensus Rank: WR22 | Chet’s Rank: WR11

“Last week was just one game, but the change in play calling from Tom Clements back to Mike McCarthy sure helped Randall Cobb. Cobb saw 12 targets, catching eight of them for 81 yards. In his previous three games, he had seen a total of 19 targets. So with McCarthy, Cobb saw an uptick in targets and was able to catch the ball with room to run (he had 53 yards after the catch). This week he gets one of his easiest matchups of the season against T.J. Carrie, who should be on Cobb most of the game. Carrie owns a grade of “47” at Pro Football Focus, the best this week is 92 (Josh Norman), the worst 25 (Brandon Browner).”

– Chet Gresham (WalterFootball)

Larry Fitzgerald: WR, ARI at PHI

Consensus Rank: WR13 | R.C.’s Rank: WR2

“The Eagles have allowed 15.4 fantasy PPG (21.6 PPR) to opposing #1 WRs over the past five weeks—with every one of those WRs catching at least one TD in the game. The Eagles pass defense has allowed 15 passing TDs the past five games (3.0 per game)—the Eagles are a sieve in the pass game. Arizona, arguably, has the best pass game in the NFL. In four of his last five games, Fitzgerald has caught eight or more passes (8.6 catches per game in that span) on 11.6 targets per game. Fitz is very likely to see 10+ targets and score at least one TD this week.”

– R.C. Fischer (Fantasy Football Metrics)

Jeremy Maclin: WR, KC at BAL

Consensus Rank: WR15 | Jason’s Rank: WR6

“Against a battered and broken Ravens team, the Chiefs shouldn’t have any trouble on the offensive side of the ball like they did with the Chargers last week. With Maclin’s targets and production on the upswing (9 REC, 160 YDS, 1 TD in Week 12 and 9 REC, 95 YDS, 2 TDs in Week 13) after low volume in Weeks 6-11, look for him to be the primary target when Alex Smith gets mentally and physically tired of checking down. It happens, I swear.”

– Jason Longfellow (Razzball)

Quarterbacks

Derek Carr: QB, OAK vs. GB

Consensus Rank: QB12 | R.C.’s Rank: QB7

“In his last eight games, Carr has averaged 20+ fantasy PPG—and he’s been producing at a high level all season (after his Week 1 disaster). Carr’s been consistently good of late, posting two or more passing TDs in seven of his last eight games. Green Bay’s pass defense has been cooling as the season wears on-allowing 11 TDs/3 INTs to opposing quarterbacks over their past eight games, with their most generous output allowed against the better quarterbacks they’ve opposed. Carr is arguably the best pure passer the Packers will have faced this season. At Oakland, I think Carr will have a nice fantasy day—and the Raiders will upset the Packers.”

– R.C. Fischer (Fantasy Football Metrics)

Philip Rivers: QB, SD vs. MIA

Consensus Rank: QB14 | Maurile’s Rank: QB7

“The Chargers-Dolphins game has the potential to be a high-scoring game. The spread and over/under imply that the Chargers are expected to score an above-average number of points (23.5). The Chargers have struggled in the running game this season, and the Dolphins are better against the run than against the pass. So this looks like a situation where the Chargers will rely heavily on the passing game and have a decent chance for success.”

– Maurile Tremblay (Footballguys)

Tight Ends

Jacob Tamme: TE, ATL at JAC

Consensus Rank: TE16 | Justin’s Rank: TE13

“Tamme has disappointed over the last two weeks, but he’s a borderline TE1 for the fantasy semifinals. The Falcons are facing a Jaguars defense that is extremely generous to opposing tight ends, allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to the position. Jacksonville has also given up six touchdowns to tight ends over its last five games. With very few quality receiving options behind Julio Jones, Tamme should see 7-9 targets and has a strong chance of reaching the end zone.”

– Justin Boone (theScore)

Vernon Davis: TE, DEN at PIT

Consensus Rank: TE20 | Rich’s Rank: TE13

“Davis’ target share has been all over the map since joining the Broncos, but last week’s nine targets (17.6 percent) were the highest that mark has been over the past three weeks. His seven receptions last week were the most he’s had in a game since Week 6 of the 2013 season. The matchup against the Raiders may have dictated that involvement, but this week’s game against the Steelers also points to him being involved once again. Pittsburgh faces 10.6 targets (5th), allows 6.7 receptions (4th) for 73.9 yards (7th) per game, and has given up eight total touchdowns (T-6th) to the tight end position this season.”

– Rich Hribar (The Fake Football)

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Running Backs

Eddie Lacy: RB, GB at OAK

Consensus Rank: RB10 | Maurile’s Rank: RB21

“Lacy has a good matchup and is coming off a great game, but he’s unlikely to get more than 60% of the touches from the Packers’ running back position. James Starks is still very much in the picture, even if Lacy gets the majority of the work. Couple that with the Packers’ woefully inconsistent offensive production in general this season, and I don’t feel safe with Lacy. He’s still a solid starter in twelve-team leagues — but as an RB2 rather than an RB1.”

– Maurile Tremblay (Footballguys)

Matt Jones: RB, WAS vs. BUF

Consensus Rank: RB22 | R.C.’s Rank: RB41

“Jones has had one great game this season—Week 3 vs. the Rams. Since then, he’s been ‘fumble prone’. Most people think the fumbles are the only problem, but there’s something else to worry about. Jones really hasn’t performed very well this season. If you take away his screen pass turned 78-yard TD in Week 10, Jones hasn’t mattered in a fantasy game for the last 12 weeks. Yes, he’s taken 18 carries in each of his last two game, but that’s turned into only 55.5 rushing yards per game and barely 3.0 yards per carry. Since Week 3, Jones has averaged 2.9 yards per carry on 109 carries. He’s lost more fumbles than TDs scored in that span as well. Washington is in a critical playoff run, and if Jones fumbles early, you may not see him play the rest of the game, and that kills you in the fantasy playoffs. He’s a high-risk play with no real history of performance to get excited about this season.”

– R.C. Fischer (Fantasy Football Metrics)

Wide Receivers

Michael Floyd: WR, ARI at PHI

Consensus Rank: WR20 | David’s Rank: WR24

“Philadelphia’s defense is bad at defending the pass. Since week 11 they are yielding 300 yards and 3.5 TDs through the air per game. But before you slot in all Arizona WRs as must-plays, also note that the Eagles have yielded an average of 162 rushing yards per game over that same span. Philadelphia’s defense is equal opportunity bad. Proponents of Michael Floyd will point to his 21 targets over the last 2 games. But he caught just 12 of those passes. For the season, Floyd is third in targets per game behind both Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown. With three capable WRs and a pass receiving RB all likely to get touches, Floyd is not the must-start everyone thinks he is. ”

– David Dodds (Footballguys)

Brandon LaFell: WR, NE vs. TEN

Consensus Rank: WR36 | Scott’s Rank: WR73

“Other than bad routes, spotty hands, mediocre speed and zero touchdowns, what’s not to dislike? I realize how critical targets are, but some players aren’t good enough to trust, no matter the usage. You’re in the semifinals; you can do better than this, and frankly, you need to do better.”

– Scott Pianowski (Yahoo)

Quarterbacks

Alex Smith: QB, KC at BAL

Consensus Rank: QB13 | Sigmund’s Rank: QB22

“The Chiefs are not inclined to take a lot of chances on offense unless they have to, and the Ravens are unlikely to coax them out of their shell in this one. I expect Kansas City to be hyper-conservative on offense and win this game through defense and field position, which would entail low numbers from Smith.”

– Sigmund Bloom (Footballguys)

Tight Ends

Julius Thomas: TE, JAC vs. ATL

Consensus Rank: TE7 | Maurile’s Rank: TE14

“There’s a lot to like about Julius Thomas this week, but there’s a lot to like about a lot of other tight ends this week as well. No slight against Thomas, but he’s no Gronkowski, Olsen, Walker, Gates, Barnidge, Kelce… There are a lot of tight ends bunched together in the next tier, and Thomas is one of them, but he doesn’t separate himself from the rest of the pack in that very large tier.”

– Maurile Tremblay (Footballguys)

Richard Rodgers: TE, GB at OAK

Consensus Rank: TE11 | Sean’s Rank: TE17

“Coming off his huge game where he caught the game-winning hail mary TD, he only registered one catch for 3 yards (which happened to be a TD as well). That is about as TD dependent as it gets and I just like other more consistent options this week. The likely return of Ty Montgomery ever so slightly downgrades Rodgers projection this week as well.”

– Sean Koerner (STATS)

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Thank you to the experts for sharing their dissenting opinions. You can get additional lineup advice with My Playbook.

