Love, Hate and 10 really bad moves

You drop a player in your fantasy football league only to watch him go off. Or worse, to watch him crush for someone else's team in your league. Or even worse than that ... to watch him crush for someone else's team in your league while playing you.

Oh yeah. That's a painful one.

Maybe you missed the playoffs. Or maybe you're alive but need help this week. Either way, the season hasn't gone the way you wanted it to, and I'm here to help. You see, it's Thanksgiving this week, so it's time to give thanks.

That's right. Thankful that you're not one of the people below. Because as bad as you are, you're not this bad. My way of giving back is to show no matter how bad you screwed up, there are those out there who have screwed up even worse. If nothing else, this will make you feel better about your own moves.

And so, with apologies once again to the band Oasis, it's time for an annual tradition -- the 2019 edition of "Don't Look Back in Anger."

As always, these are real roster moves made by real players. Here's my "top 10."

10. Week 3, Joshua Neely dropped Courtland Sutton (currently WR20 on the season) for Demarcus Robinson (currently WR65).

9. In Aaron Khan's league, someone traded Christian McCaffrey and Russell Wilson for Todd Gurley II and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

8. Reed Kaiser went back-to-back. In one league, he dropped Michael Gallup for kicker Jason Myers. And then in another league, he dropped No. 1 tight end for much of the season (before his injury) Austin Hooper for Demarcus Robinson.

7. After Week 1, @CJBrown1919 saw a guy in his league pick up Albert Wilson, making room for him by dropping ... Dak Prescott. Almost as bad of a QB drop for a WR as ...

6. Braydon Holmyard, who dropped Russell Wilson for Mecole Hardman. Which is almost as bad as the reverse, dropping a WR for a QB ...

5. @Roundhere77 dropped DJ Chark Jr. for Trevor Siemian back when it was announced Siemian would start in place of Sam Darnold. That ... that might be tough to beat.

4. Keith Balanis says it still haunts him. On Thursday, Sept. 5, Keith decided to add the Cleveland Browns' D/ST ... and dropped the New England Patriots' D/ST.

3. I wouldn't have believed it, but then Paul Lloyd sent me a screenshot. Just before Week 1, he needed a kicker and he doesn't like carrying two quarterbacks. Because he already had a solid starter in Jared Goff, he thought, no issue dropping Russell Wilson for Wil Lutz.

So many bad ones it was tough to choose, but for so many reasons these are the top two:

2. David Rhodes, aka @ChampD1012, thought he had found a starting running back on the waiver wire just before the season started. He claimed Kalen Ballage, and because he had Drew Brees as his starter at QB, he decided to drop his backup QB ... Lamar Jackson.

And as bad as that is, David, at least Ballage has played and scored three touchdowns on the season. It's not as bad as the No. 1 worst move this year ...

1. @Shlofensteiner, who felt good about rolling with Cam Newton as his starter and dropped Lamar Jackson in the preseason for Darwin Thompson.

You read that right. I saw the transaction screenshot. Imagine having to live with that. Dropping Lamar Jackson for Darwin Thompson. I feel for you, man. I feel for you. Come here. There, there. It'll be all right.

As we reflect on this holiday of thanks, be grateful you haven't made a move as bad as these. I'd like to give my thanks to "Thirsty" Kyle Soppe of the 06010 podcast and The Stat-a-Pillar Damian Dabrowski of "The Fantasy Show" on ESPN+ for their help at various points in this column. As always, this is not a start/sit column, but rather players I feel will exceed or fall short of projections.

Let's get to it.

Quarterbacks I love in Week 13

Kirk Cousins, Vikings (at Seahawks): After a slow start, Cousins has quietly finished as a top-10 QB in each of his past three games and in six of his past seven (the lone exception being that Thursday night game against my Redskins where the Vikings ran the ball 12 more times than they passed it). With two weeks to prepare for a secondary that has struggled this season, Cousins should have a clean pocket against a Seattle defense that ranks 30th in pressure percentage. When not under pressure this season, Cousins has the second-best touchdown percentage and completion percentage in the NFL.

Sam Darnold, Jets (at Bengals): You don't often hear the names "Lamar Jackson" and "Sam Darnold" in the same sentence, unless it's this sentence: Sam Darnold is not nearly as good as Lamar Jackson. But now I can use it in another one: Darnold and Jackson are the only two quarterbacks to have produced at least 21 fantasy points in each of the past three weeks. The Bengals are allowing a league-high 13.1 yards per completion this season and more than 21 points per game to opposing QBs.

Aaron Rodgers, Packers (at Giants): How do you think Sunday night's game against the 49ers is sitting with Rodgers? Exactly. The Giants' defense can fix a lot, though. I mean, it just made Mitchell Trubisky look solid. The Giants are allowing the sixth-most yards per completion and a touchdown on 12.3% of deep passes (league high), so Rodgers should get his groove back chucking it deep against the G-Men. Every non-rookie QB who has played the Giants this season has scored at least 18.9 points.

Others receiving votes: With multiple touchdown passes in five of his past seven games, Josh Allen is doing it with his arm ... and his legs, as he has a rushing touchdown or at least 45 rushing yards in nine of 11 games this season. He has accounted for multiple scores in seven consecutive games, and I like Allen to have another strong fantasy game as a touchdown underdog on the road at Dallas. ... Did you know that since Ryan Tannehill took over in Week 7, he is the third-best QB in fantasy on a points-per-game basis? The Titans quarterback has a 72.1% completion rate and 12.8 yards per completion in that span (topping Russell Wilson in both metrics!), and the Colts allow opponents to complete passes at the fifth-highest rate in the NFL.

Quarterbacks I hate in Week 13

Matt Ryan, Falcons (vs. Saints): Ryan ranks as just QB21 on a points-per-game basis since returning from the Falcons' bye in Week 9, and he has just one touchdown pass in his past 77 attempts. In a great matchup last weekend at home against Tampa Bay, Ryan completed a season-low 50% of his passes. When he saw these same Saints in Week 10, Ryan threw for just 182 yards (a season low in his fully healthy games) on 35 attempts. In a must-win week for fantasy managers, I don't see how you can trust Ryan, particularly facing a Saints defense that ranks second in pressure percentage (32.2%). When pressured this season, Ryan has more interceptions (four) than TD passes (three).

Jacoby Brissett, Colts (vs. Titans): Tough matchup with a Titans defense that allows the sixth-fewest red zone trips per game. That's important because the red zone is where Brissett does a lot of his damage. He's QB5 in red zone points this season, and 14 of Brissett's 15 TD passes have come in the red zone. (When not in the red zone: Brissett has just one TD pass and four interceptions in 245 pass attempts.) He has zero passing TDs in three of his past four games, and while you can chalk some of that up to T.Y. Hilton's injury, it's hard to get excited about Brissett in what Vegas expects to be one of the lowest-scoring games of the weekend.

Baker Mayfield, Browns (at Steelers): He has been a lot better recently, no doubt. But heading into Pittsburgh in a game that will be, ahem, filled with emotion, I'm nervous about Mayfield's chances at a big number here. At home this season, the Steelers are the sixth-best scoring defense, allow the sixth-fewest yards per pass attempt and are seventh best against fantasy QBs. Like a lot of signal-callers, Mayfield struggles under pressure, and since Week 8, the Steelers are the best in the NFL in pressure percentage while being top three in lowest completion percentage allowed and highest interception rate.

Running backs I love in Week 13

Melvin Gordon, Chargers (at Broncos): He's been looking a lot like, well, Melvin Gordon, and the bye week should have done wonders for him and the entire Chargers offense. Averaging 21 touches per game over his past three with no fewer than 17 touches in any of them, Gordon should once again see a heavy workload against a Broncos team that is allowing opposing RBs to gain 1.9 yards per carry after first contact (seventh most in the NFL) and has been the 21st-ranked run defense the past four weeks.

Josh Jacobs, Raiders (at Chiefs): Tough game against the Jets in Week 12, but forget that. Better days are ahead for Jacobs, who should get a ton of work as the Raiders try to slow down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs' offense. They will try to control the clock, and I believe they will be successful, as the Chiefs allow the third-most rushing yards per game, the second-most yards per carry and are tied for the sixth-most rushing touchdowns allowed. Prior to last weekend's blowout against the Jets, Jacobs was fourth in the NFL in rushing in Weeks 1-11, which includes his 12-for-99 performance against Kansas City in Week 2.

Jonathan Williams, Colts (vs. Titans): With Marlon Mack already ruled out of this one, it should once again be the Jonathan Williams show, as Williams got 74.3% of the Colts' running back carries in Week 12 (26 of 35). Even without Mack, it is clear Indy wants to continue its run-heavy ways, as Williams got more touches than Mack has gotten in all but one game of his career. Ranking fourth in rush percentage this season, the Colts not only love to run, they do it behind one the NFL's best offensive lines. And Williams has performed when he has gotten a shot. Very small sample size, but Williams is averaging 2.15 yards per carry after first contact. If he qualified, he'd rank fifth, behind only Derrick Henry, Leonard Fournette, Chris Carson and Jacobs.