Updated Thursday, Nov. 29, 6:55 p.m. ET
The fantasy season has reached Week 13, and a starting lineup of Chad Henne, Bryce Brown, Knowshon Moreno, Cecil Shorts, Danario Alexander, Ryan Broyles and TE Brandon Myers could be competitive. We’re not playing fantasy football this year; we’re rooting for truffles. May the best snout win.
We’re right down to it, folks: one or two more weeks to get yourself into your league’s playoffs or to jockey for a better seed. Then on to the playoffs, where a single slipshod performance by any of your starters could cost you a pile of money and a championship that you’d always cherish. This isn’t the time to take ill-advised fliers with valuable lineup spots.
In recent weeks, we’ve had a lot of strange characters come into prominence within the fantasy galaxy. We’ve entered the “Star Wars” cantina, and the place is jumping. Most of these oddballs were either at the bottom of your draft rankings back in August or not listed at all. Now, they’re surprisingly intriguing lineup options. But can they be trusted in the most critical weeks of the season? Let’s put some of the Johnny-come-latelys under the microscope:
Chad Henne — Starting in place of the injured (and ineffective) Blaine Gabbert, Henne lit up a good Houston defense for 354 yards and four TDs in Week 11, then threw for 261 yards and two TDs last week. He’s bringing out the best in rookie WR Justin Blackmon, who was looking like a bust just a couple of weeks ago, while still keeping the emerging Cecil Shorts involved. It’s worth noting that while Henne is plus-5 in TD-INT ratio this season (seven TDs, two INTs), he’s still thrown more INTs than TD passes in his career. That’s because Henne isn’t shy about forcing throws downfield. That trait can lead to some nice numbers, but it also can put you in danger in leagues that penalize interceptions. No sane person would start Henne over an elite quarterback (Tom Brady, Drew Brees, RG3, et al.). But Henne could be an interesting matchup play if a starter like, say, Eli Manning, Andrew Luck or Tony Romo is up against a tough pass defense. Henne draws a shaky Buffalo defense this week, then a Jets defense that might have already checked out for the season. Henne’s final two games are against Miami and New England, which rank 26th and 29th, respectively, against the pass.