Roundtable Week 13: Playoff Heroes

Photo: USA Today Sports

Welcome to Week 13 of the 2023 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.

This week's roundtable features these four topics:

• Playoff Heroes (see below)
• RB Roulette: Whose Recent Emergence Is Sustainable
• Playoff Losers
• WR Perception Game

Let's roll.

Playoff Heroes: Scrubs Who Could Emerge in the Fantasy Playoffs

Matt Waldman: Share two players you believe have a strong chance of delivering starter production during the fantasy playoffs. These players must be performing outside the range of top-12 QB, top-36 RB, top-36 WR, or top-12 TE since Week 6.

Gary Davenport: Believe it or not, since Week 6, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has ranked outside the top 15 in fantasy points per game. And he admittedly wasn't especially productive last week against the New York Jets. But we've seen the kind of numbers Tagovailoa can put up. The offensive firepower at his disposal is considerable. And while Tagovailoa's playoff schedule isn't easy, two of those games are at home, and he's shown the ability to light up good defenses in the past—especially at Hard Rock Stadium.

Phil Alexander: Josh Downs can help you during the playoffs as an upside WR3. After dealing with a knee injury in Weeks 9 and 10, then the Colts' bye in Week 11, Downs returned to command 13 targets in last week's win over Tampa Bay. Despite his poor efficiency (5-43-0), it was encouraging to see Downs healthy and resuming his role as Gardner Minshew's favorite short-area target.

The same factors that bolstered Downs to a viable PPR asset in Weeks 3-8 remain true now that he's healthy. Indianapolis plays fast, has a poor defense, and Minshew likes throwing to the spots on the field where Down operates most frequently. Fantasy playoff matchups against the Falcons and Raiders are another feather in the rookie's cap.