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Fantasy Football Week 13 Start or Sit: Coby Fleener

By @RoKnowsDFS

coby fleener indianapolis colts te tight end

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If I had to choose one word to describe the Washington Redskins‘ season it would be “disappointing.” Between the QB debacle surrounding Robert Griffin III and the amount of injuries to key players that have rendered their season hopeless, it just hasn’t been a good year for the Redskins. Aside from the upside that newly-appointed QB Colt McCoy brings to the table, the only other positive notes for their season have been their pass rush, which actually has a positive Pro Football Focus grade of 13.1, and their defense has been pretty disciplined about committing penalties as they have 1.7 grade in that area.

Unfortunately for them, their positives won’t matter one bit when they get to face the offensive buzz-saw known as the Indianapolis Colts. Andrew Luck and company should feast heavily on Washington’s incredibly porous secondary that has a minus-46.7 pass coverage grade. The only bright spot within the Redskins’ secondary is Bashaud Breeland, but even his pass coverage has taken a dip over the past few weeks. With that being said, one member of Luck’s company that plans to feast on Washington is his former college teammate and dorm roommate TE Coby Fleener, and he makes for a solid start in all fantasy formats this Sunday.

Some may question the decision to start Fleener since Washington has been ranked second in the NFL over the past three weeks in defending TEs. However, that ranking is extremely misleading since the last three opponents for Washington were the San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings. In the case of the 49ers, while it’s true that Vernon Davis has elite ability, he hasn’t produced elite numbers this season and has underwhelmed tremendously. The Buccaneers have a promising TE in Austin Seferian-Jenkins, but most of their aerial production has been going through rookie Mike Evans. As for the Vikings, their top TE didn’t even play in that game and backup Chase Ford put up a line of five catches for 66 yards and a TD against the Redskins. It’s also no secret that all three of the aforementioned teams have struggled on offense a lot this year. The Colts don’t struggle much on offense, and this is why the matchup bodes well for Fleener to produce low-end TE1 numbers.

In addition to the Redskins’ recent “success” against tight ends being an illusion, the fact still remains that they’re ranked 19th in defending that position over the course of the season. With the strong possibility of fellow TE Dwayne Allen being out with an ankle injury, all TE targets will be going Fleener’s way. Anyone who starts him should have realistic expectations of at least six catches for approximately 90 yards and at least one TD. Luck spreads the ball around, but that should not be a concern as he has a tendency to target Fleener, especially when he runs seam routes to create a mismatch against either an LB or a safety. Fleener is a very safe and solid pick this week, and it’s strongly recommended that you start him unless you have another elite option such as Jimmy Graham or Rob Gronkowski.

Roje Smith is a Fantasy Sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RoKnowsDFS, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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