The fantasy football landscape shifts each week, bringing fresh opportunities and unexpected challenges that separate the prepared from the pretenders. Savvy managers know that last week’s performance tells only part of the story, and diving deeper into the underlying metrics reveals the accurate picture.
This week presents some intriguing decisions. Here’s insight about key Arizona Cardinals players heading into their matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to help you craft a winning lineup.
Jacoby Brissett, QB
Jacoby Brissett has posted nothing but top-12 finishes since taking over for Kyler Murray and ranks as QB5 in PPG since Week 6.
He’s been nothing short of phenomenal with multiple TD passes in each of those games and a heavy reliance on his most trusted outlets. This isn’t a Jameis Winston, throw-everything-against-the-wall game plan. What has allowed Brissett to sustain his production is his willingness to play within himself.
Over the past two weeks, he’s 59-of-68 when throwing short of the sticks. I don’t think he keeps completing those passes at an 86.8% rate, but with the Bucs blitzing at the sixth-highest rate this season (31.3% of dropbacks), that throw diet gives me confidence in the fantasy floor of this profile.
The decision, I suspect, people are going to have to make is between Brissett and Joe Burrow.
Give me Brissett.
Kyler Murray, QB
Kyler Murray is eligible to come off of IR (foot) next week, but we haven’t had much in the way of reporting on that front.
He was struggling before the injury (his peak finish is QB14), and with the Rams and Texans on the books for Weeks 14-15, it’s really difficult to see a fantasy asset in Murray, even if he’s physically cleared.
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If you have an IR slot that isn’t being used on a flex spot and have a fringe QB1 starting (or Jacoby Brissett), then holding Murray holds some weight. But if you have a weekly lineup lock at the QB position, there’s no need to burn a roster spot in this fashion: a full-go version of Murray doesn’t offer the ceiling we had hoped for when we drafted him back in August.
Trey Benson, RB
Trey Benson entered the second half of last week with the potential to return from his knee injury, and while he was ultimately unable to give it a go against the Jags, the forward progress is obviously a good sign.
The injury Emari Demercado suffered in Week 11 was labeled as a high-ankle sprain, and while the team hasn’t put a timeline on this situation, it’s tough to find a reason as to why the team would bring a compromised version of him back.
No one in this backfield has stepped up in the absence of their RB1, and that has me cautiously optimistic that we are looking at a reasonably safe role once Benson is deemed healthy.
What that means in a tough matchup like this can be debated, but with 13-16 touches not all that easy to find, I’m playing Benson unless I truly have depth at the position.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR
Surgery for appendicitis kept Marvin Harrison out of Week 11’s loss, and the team wasted no time in ruling him out ahead of Week 12, signs that aren’t great as we try to read the tea leaves about his status moving forward.
This is a team going nowhere that now might think they have a formidable three-headed pass-catching monster, given what Michael Wilson has shown over these past two weeks (25 catches on 33 targets for 303 yards). Why push things for a 3-8 team?
Their three primary pass catchers are all under contract for at least one more year, making this offense even more appealing in 2026. Unless the reporting shifts in a major way, I’m going to need to see Harrison on the field for a game before putting him near my starting lineup during the most important month of the season.
The same logic applies to Wilson, by the way: I won’t start fearing his volume until we get signs on the field of play that Harrison is close to full strength.
Michael Wilson, WR
Trey McBride is what we wanted Brock Bowers to be.
Jacoby Brissett is what we wanted Kyler Murray to be.
Michael Wilson is what we wanted Marvin Harrison to be.
I’m not exactly sure what is in the water in Arizona, but they’re developing skill-position players at a high level. If Trey Benson can give this team some balance, opponents are going to be hard-pressed to slow this momentum.
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Over the past two seasons, only three receivers have logged consecutive 10+ catch games: Ja’Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, and yes, Wilson.
He’s obviously not in that class, but maybe the Cards just misread him as a player?
In each of these two breakout games, Wilson has been in the slot for under 17% of his routes, a rate that was north of 43% in the three games prior. This could either be very interesting or very damning, depending on how the team wants to use Harrison: if they shift some of his usage to the slot, he suffers and Wilson gains (Harrison’s YPRR from the slot is down 41.6% this year from last), and the inverse is true should Wilson return to the role he once filled.
I think that might be more of a Week 14-17 question. For now, I’m assuming that Wilson is going to be on the outside, and we just saw the Rams carve up these Bucs with 12 completions, 146 yards, and a pair of touchdowns going that direction on 17 throws.
Wilson, in a week where all 32 teams are in action, and the position is reasonably healthy, is a top 20 play for me this week.
Trey McBride, TE
Trey McBride is the closest thing we have to inevitable at the position, and it’s nowhere near close.
McBride NFL Rankings Since Week 6, 2024
- 876 routes, 3rd most
- 226 targets, 2nd most
- 171 receptions, 3rd most
- 1,768 receiving yards, 6th most
- 783 yards gain after the catch, 7th most
He and Ja’Marr Chase are the only two players to rank top-5 in each of those first three categories over that stretch. Ja’Marr freakin’ Chase, the winner of the 2024 receiving triple crown and the consensus 1.01 in drafts this summer.
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McBride is running the majority of his routes from the slot this season, unlike last year, while his aDOT has ticked up slightly. With Jacoby Brissett unlocking the scoring equity that we always thought was there, our wildest dreams are coming true, and McBride profiles as a league winner.
Where he falls in the ADP pecking order for 2026 will be interesting, but that’s a conversation for a different day. For now, all you have to do is click him into your lineup each week and feel privileged to do so.
