The Seahawks were a Fantasy juggernaut last week as they scored 39 points against the Steelers. Russell Wilson was the biggest Fantasy standout, as he delivered a career-best five TD passes, which translated into 35.20 Fantasy points on NFL.com. Wilson is coming on strong as a Fantasy passer, with 60.60 points in his past two games.
Opposing teams have long tried to keep Wilson from breaking the pocket, where he has always been a creative passing and running threat. Over the past two games, though, he has demonstrated that he can slay the opposition with his work from the pocket as well. Wilson's Fantasy owners can also thank the offensive line for giving him lots of time to throw, as he has been sacked only twice in each of the past two outings.
With his Fantasy value and appeal rising quickly again, Wilson and the offense now draw a truly sturdy opponent in a week when many Fantasy owners are looking to nail down a very critical victory in a final week before their playoffs. The Vikings are allowing an NFC-low of 17.6 points per game.
The Vikings rank fourth in passing yards per game and have allowed only 14 TD passes. They are only allowing 14.71 Fantasy Points Per Game, the sixth-best total on NFL.com. Yet with the way Wilson is playing recently, he still must get serious QB1 consideration this week. You should at least expect adequate Fantasy production from him this week. As the Seahawks look to tighten their grip on an NFC playoff berth, Wilson will be a major key to remaining in the postseason race. That means he will continue to deliver quality Fantasy production because of his essential role in the offense at an all-important time of year.
If Wilson will be providing at least solid Fantasy production, then Doug Baldwin should stay on point as a player worthy of weekly WR3 consideration. That means you are definitely considering starting him regularly during your Fantasy playoff push. Baldwin is now inside NFL.com's Top 20 at WR with 104.40 Fantasy Points. That officially marks him as a WR3. He is coming off a historic Fantasy game in his career, with 32.50 Fantasy Points against Pittsburgh. He has totaled 57.90 points in his past three games to soar into consistent Fantasy starting consideration. He has to be thought of as a possible every-week WR3 starter in PPR formats.
Baldwin should get frequent looks this week on key downs, and will be a respectable PPR starter and a TD threat for standard league competitors. Minnesota's secondary can be vulnerable at times. Jermaine Kearse, coming off a two TD performance, reasserted himself as a big game performer last week with a superb outing when the Seahawks really needed a victory. He should be useful in some larger leagues this week. Keeper and dynasty leaguers should monitor his continued progress in the final weeks of the season.
Luke Willson now gets an opportunity to step back into a bigger role in the offense, and savvy Seahawks fans will remember his 139-yard, two-TD outing in Week 16 of last season. Willson has the potential to help Fantasy owners who need late-season tight end help, so keep a watch on how much he contributes this week.
The Vikings are 20th in rushing yards per game allowed, so this should be another busy and productive week for Thomas Rawls. Minnesota has allowed only five rushing TDs, but that should not deter Rawls, who scored only the fourth rushing TD of the season against the Steelers last week. Rawls is an obvious must-start in all formats regardless of opponent. He gets high volume and has shown the ability to be a pass-catcher when needed. He is displaying tremendous vision, cutback moves and the ability to make defenders miss while finishing his runs with impressive determination.
Steven Hauschka should be good for three field goals, as the Seahawks offense will move into scoring position consistently. They have displayed the ability to put together more crisp and complete drives recently. Defensively, despite having the NFL's best rush offense behind Adrian Peterson, the Vikings rank 24th in points per game. They rank 31st in passing yards per game and last in TD passes while allowing 31 sacks. This is a great week to reinsert the Seahawks defense as a starting unit.
In other games, Jay Cutler will deliver a strong outing against San Francisco. Ryan Fitzpatrick has a good statistical floor and a friendly matchup against the Jets. In the same game, Eli Manning will be good for more than two TD passes.
Doug Martin will deliver another good outing as he faces the Falcons. C.J. Anderson will build on a nice Week 11 outing as he takes on the Chargers. Versatile rookie David Johnson will be a quality all-around producer vs. St. Louis. Giovani Bernard has upside against Cleveland.
Look for another big PPR week from Jarvis Landry against the Ravens. Jeremy Maclin will carry over momentum from last week as he faces the Raiders. T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief are working well with a Seahawks fan favorite from the past, Matt Hasselbeck, and the matchup is friendly against Pittsburgh. Devin Funchess is a sneaky play vs. New Orleans.
Scott Chandler now has an expanded role in the Patriots passing game and is a nice TE start against the Eagles. Julius Thomas may continue to see a bigger role in the Jacksonville offense against Tennessee. The Bears have been playing better on defense recently and the unit is a good start against San Francisco. Miami could produce a defensive score or two against the Ravens.
For more in-depth Fantasy Football analysis from Scott and his team at RotoExperts.com, register now for the Xclusive Edge Fantasy Football package right here and take advantage of a very special Fantasy Football playoffs discount offer for Seahawks fans by entering the promocode "seahawks" at checkout. You can also watch Scott on the Fantasy Sports Network (FNTSY) with the new app on Xbox One and Xbox 360.
