Fantasy Football: Bold Predictions for Week 13

Marcus Mariota Will Be A Top 5 Quarterback

Marcus Mariota has spent a lot of time on his butt this season. Despite having the tenth-fastest Time to Throw in the league according to Next Gen Stats, the Tennessee Titans offensive line has still surrendered a league-leading 39 sacks. Yikes.

Fortunately for the young quarterback, their opponents this week don't get to the quarterback very often. The New York Jets have just 22 sacks this season, the seventh-fewest in the league. In fact, if it weren't for two games against the Detroit Lions and the Indianapolis Colts where the Jets generated huge turnover numbers, this defense would be looking pretty bad.

In fact, according to Warren Sharp's Defensive Strength of Schedule app, the Jets have faced the fourth-easiest schedule for pass defenses in 2018. So while their defense looks alright in the box scores -- they're giving up solid 5.6 yards per play -- they really aren't as good as that number would suggest. Outside of those two turnover-laden games, they have only intercepted three passes all year.

As a passer, Mariota should be able to take advantage of a weaker-than-expected secondary and a non-existent pass rush. And speaking of "rush", Mariota has a solid rushing floor for a quarterback. He's rushed for 20 or more yards in all but 3 games this year, and now faces a Jets defense that hasn't had to deal with many mobile quarterbacks this year. The only truly mobile quarterback they faced (Mitchell Trubisky) rushed for over 50 yards against them, though Tyrod Taylor was also able to rush for over 20 yards in the half a game they played against him.

Mariota's clean pockets will allow him enough breathing room to dominate the Jets in the air, and his legs will boost his ceiling in fantasy even further. He'll finish as a top 5 quarterback in Week 13.