Roundtable: Gutsy Championship Lineup Calls

Photo: Gary A. Vasquez, USA Today Sports

Welcome to Week 17 of the 2022 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. Topics are now split into separate features.

This week's roundtable features these four topics:

• Gutsy Championship Lineup Decisions (see below)
• Signs of Good Things to Come in 2023
• QB Futures
• Difficult Week 17 Calls

Gutsy Championship Lineup Decisions

Matt Waldman: Yes, you generally want to stick with your best players. Blah, blah, blah. Still, there are scenarios where you need the guts to deviate from the game plan.

• Give us one top-25 starter at RB or WR that you'd consider benching this week.
• Give us one RB or WR outside the top 35 that you'd consider starting this week.

You cannot use a player outside the top 35 who was considered a starter or co-starter to begin the year but is outside that ranking mostly due to injury.

Scott Bischoff: I am considering benching Jamaal Williams this week. Williams is incredibly touchdown dependent, and the red-zone touches have dried up recently. Also, the Lions are not running the ball well at all, and have not been for several weeks. It is hard to sit a player capable of what Williams can deliver. However, over the past three games, he has totaled 36 carries for 81 yards.

Drake London has come alive in the last few games. Rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder has started in Week 16 and Week 16, and he has fed London with targets in those two games. London had 11 targets, 7 catches, and 70 yards in Week 15, and he had 9 targets, 7 catches, and 96 yards last week. The Falcons get Arizona this week, and London could post excellent numbers this week.

Jonathan Morris: The easy answer for this week is to bench Derrick Henry. The Titans have zero enticements to beat the Dallas Cowboys with the game having no effect on their playoff chances. Add that in with the game being on Thursday night and Henry is an easy choice to avoid this week. Vegas already has Dallas as 10-point favorites on the road in Nashville which seems to indicate Mike Vrabel and the Titans will rest their key players or they will see a light workload as they set their eyes on week 18 in the playoff-deciding matchup against the Jaguars.

Zach Moss was arguably the top waiver wire pick-up in Week 16 and put-up pedestrian numbers in a game that saw the Colts’ offense struggle to find a rhythm. But now as eyes turn away from Moss, I believe it is a great time to fire him up in lineups. Despite an ugly game script, Moss still saw almost 70% of offensive snaps and was solid with them on the ground with 12 carries for 65 yards. Now he gets a Giants defense that is worse than the Chargers on a yards-per-carry basis and a game that should find itself to be a tighter contest. Moss should find himself near 20 touches which sets him up for a great week in your RB2 or Flex spot.