Week 13 Monday Night Fantasy Football Takeaways: Is Denver's Marvin Mims Emerging as Fantasy Asset? Cleveland's Jameis Winston, Jerry Jeudy, David Njoku Great Despite Loss

Week 13 of the NFL regular season wrapped up with a high-scoring game between the Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns.

Let’s take a look at some fantasy football takeaways from the game. We did the same for the Sunday games, and also took a look at the best IDP performances.

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Game Stats

Denver toppled Cleveland 41-32, with a late pick-six sealing the game.

The Broncos finished with 400 yards of total offense, with 106 on the ground and 294 through the air. Denver wasn’t sacked, committed four penalties and turned the ball over twice.

The Browns had 552 total yards, with 497 passing yards and 77 yards on the ground. Cleveland had three sacks, five penalties and three turnovers (there were two pick-sixes by Denver in total).

Mixed Bag for Nix

Denver quarterback Bo Nix had an up-and-down night. He was just 18-of-35 passing, but for 294 yards. Nix had one touchdown pass, but two interceptions. He only rushed for four yards on three carries.

The couple turnovers, mixed with only one touchdown, led to a pretty underwhelming fantasy score from Nix. It was actually his worst fantasy performance since week 7.

He’s got more favorable matchups coming, and I’m not too worried about Nix remaining a good fantasy asset on a weekly basis. I’d keep plugging him into my lineups.

McLaughlin leads Broncos’ Running Game

The Denver backfield remains one of the toughest to predict in the NFL.

On Monday, Jaleel McLaughlin led the way. He rushed 14 times for 84 yards, while adding a zero-yard catch across his two targets. Audric Estime had 12 rushing yards on three carries, while not being targeted in the passing game. Javonte Williams had four carries for a yard, but scored a touchdown - he also had a three-yard reception across three targets.

Williams still led the team with 30 offensive snaps, which was just 45% of the team’s total. McLaughlin played 24 snaps, while Estime was at just eight.

McLaughlin is going to probably be the most started Denver running back going forward, but he’s definitely not a very safe fantasy option. Until the Broncos commit to one back, I expect them to keep riding the hot hand each game.

Mims, Sutton Lead Pass Catchers

Marvin Mims and Courtland Sutton did most of the heavy lifting for the Denver pass catchers.

Mims had 105 yards and a score on three catches and four targets. He also had a four-yard rush. Mims’ touchdown was a 93-yard pass in the third quarter.

Sutton had 102 yards on six grabs and nine targets. His long reception was 32 yards.

Sutton is a weekly fantasy starter, and has at least 70 yards and six catches in six straight games. He’s gone for over 100 yards in three of those games, and missed by three yards in another. Keep starting Sutton every week, regardless of the defensive matchup.

Mims easily had his best game of the season, as he hadn’t topped 50 yards coming into the contest. He does have at least 40 yards in each of the past three games, and has two scores over that span. Mims also has at least four targets in three of the past four games.

There’s some more favorable matchups ahead for the Denver wideouts, and with how Mims has played of late, he’s probably worth some starts in deeper leagues. I don’t think he should get too many standard league starts, especially because the bye weeks end after week 14, and Denver doesn’t play then. Mims is at least one to track in case he catches fire down the stretch. 

Winston Does Winston Things

Jameis Winston has never been shy about throwing the ball around. On Monday, he went through it all.

While he threw two pick-sixes and three interceptions overall, he also threw for 497 yards and four touchdowns on 34-of-58 passing. Winston also ran for 11 yards on three carries.

Those numbers helped him be the top fantasy quarterback for week 13 - imagine his fantasy numbers without the interceptions and more passing yards and scores…

This game was the perfect example of what Winston can be as a fantasy player. Sure, there’s turnovers pretty much every week, but the yardage and touchdowns help offset those, and then some.

After the tough matchup on Monday night, Winston’s schedule is pretty average (among all quarterbacks) for the rest of the season. He might not be as confident a fantasy option as some other fantasy quarterbacks, but he’s definitely capable of delivering more monster showings as the season winds down. If you don’t like your fantasy QB, or are looking for more upside, why not give Winston a try?

Cleveland Backfield Split

Nick Chubb has functioned as the lead back for the Browns since returning, but the backfield was split between him and Jerome Ford on Monday.

Each back had nine carries, with Ford going for 41 yards and Chubb just 21. Ford also had a 21-yard catch on his lone target. Chubb made up for his poor game on the ground with two catches for 24 yards and a score across two targets.

With the Browns out of playoff contention and looking toward the future, it would make sense for the team to keep splitting the backfield work, especially if both Chubb and Ford are in their future plans. They might ride the hot hand every week, which will make both backs risky fantasy plays in standard leagues.

I’m sure we’ll cover these guys in start/sit articles moving forward, so keep checking back to FantasySP for those!

Jeudy, Moore and Njoku Power Pass Catchers

With 497 passing yards, you could have probably guessed that several pass catchers had big games.

Jerry Jeudy went absolutely off and had 235 yards and a score on nine receptions and 13 targets.

Jeudy has been over five receptions in five straight games, and he’s posted at least 70 receiving yards in those contests. He only has two scores over that span, and three on the season, but on the catches and yardage alone, Jeudy is a good starting fantasy option. Despite having one of the tougher schedules remaining on paper, the matchups should still be favorable enough to start Jeudy just about every week.

Elijah Moore had 111 yards on eight grabs and 14 targets. He set or matched season highs in all those stats.

Cedric Tillman missed the game with an injury, and when he’s back, he’ll probably overtake Moore on the pecking order for targets and production, while also eating into Jeudy’s numbers. In favorable defensive matchups going forward though, Moore still might be worth a start.

David Njoku was targeted a whopping 17 times, hauling in nine passes for 52 yards and two scores.

It was a nice bounceback showing for the tight end, who had a nine-yard catch across five targets last week. Not counting that game, Njoku has at least seven targets in every game dating back to week 6. You should keep starting Njoku every week, even after some inconsistencies.

IDP Standouts

Cleveland’s Jordan Hicks had a game-high 12 tackles on Monday. It set a new season-high in tackles for Hicks. He’s a pretty solid starting option, just in a bit deeper IDP setup.

Denver’s Cody Barton had eight tackles and a 56-yard interception return. He has 82 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, a fumble recovery for a score, four passes defensed, a forced fumble and now two picks on the season. His tackle numbers aren’t the best, but all those other splash plays make him an IDP player to consider every week.

Broncos’ Ja'Quan McMillian had five tackles and a 44-yard pick-six. He has 63 tackles, a sack, eight passes defensed, a forced fumble and now two picks for the season. That’s pretty good production out of a defensive back, and makes McMillian an IDP player to consider playing.

Denver’s Nik Bonitto had a sack, two passes defensed and a 71-yard pick-six. He’s got 36 tackles, 11 sacks and three passes defensed, along with the forced fumble and interception now. He’s a pretty underrated pass rusher, but is doing enough to start in a bunch of IDP leagues.