2011 PPR Fantasy Football Week 13: Flex-Play Rankings and Projections

Roy Helu vs. Jets

I’m going to go out on a limb and say I believe Mike Shanahan when he says that Roy Helu is the team’s starting tailback “for sure” after his breakout performance against the Seahawks.

Going back and watching the film, it’s easy to see why Shanahan seems to feel that Helu is ready to be the team's starter, as he consistently showed a good pad level with a lung at the point of attack, setting himself up to fall forward for an extra yard or to break at tackle.

At no point was this clearer than his 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. On the play, Helu hurdled one defender, and on the way down, he put a shoulder into strong safety Kam Chancellor, breaking his poor angled attempt to find himself left alone with only the end zone in sight.

That was obviously a key play in the Redskins come from behind win, but you could see something good was going to happen for Helu earlier in the game, as he seemed to grow before your eye’s right there on camera. More than once, Helu could be seen with physical expressions that would suggest he was starting to like this NFL gig, like his fist pump after an 11-yard run in the second quarter.

A few weeks back, we watched Helu rack up a franchise record 14 receptions against the 49ers, and while he didn’t have that many this past week, Helu continued to be an active receiver in the passing game with seven receptions for 54 yards to go with his 23 carries for 108 and a touchdown on the ground.

What I enjoyed about Helu is exactly what I was disappointed in the Bills game plan with C.J. Spiller, as they consistently gave him designed screens and dumpoffs underneath to force the defense to pay attention to him as a threat, thus helping to provide better matchups down the field. This is the type of effort that makes Helu a no-brainer to use as a flex-play option the rest of the year, especially in PPR leagues.

This week, Helu will match up against the same team Spiller played last week in the Jets, but if the Redskins continue to use him the same way (I actually believe it’s likely), Helu should exploit the Jets underneath, like the Bills should have at times this past weekend.

Don’t be surprised if Helu continues to be the feature back in Washington to close out the season, and at least for PPR leagues, he’s maybe even a low end RB-2 to close out the year. Never underestimate the power of a running back with fresh legs down the stretch, and that advantage will help Helu break tackles against beat up defenders who have been playing full time all year.

More WK 13 PPR Rankings – – QB |RB | WR | K/D | Waivers | Start / Sit |

1	Arian Foster	Falcons
2	LeSean McCoy	at Seahawks
3	LeGarrette Blount	Panthers
4	Frank Gore	Rams
5	Ray Rice	at Browns
6	Maurice Jones-Drew	Chargers
7	Matt Forte	Chiefs
8	Calvin Johnson	at Saints
9	Greg Jennings	at Giants
10	DeMarco Murray	at Cardinals
11	Chris Johnson	at Bills
12	Marshawn Lynch	Eagles
13	Wes Welker	Colts
14	Roddy White	at Texans
15	Percy Harvin	Broncos
16	Michael Bush	at Dolphins
17	Michael Turner	at Texans
18	Steve Smith	at Buccaneers
19	Victor Cruz	Packers
20	Marques Colston	Lions
21	Laurent Robinson	at Cardinals
22	Rashard Mendenhall	Bengals
23	Reggie Bush	Raiders
24	BenJarvus Green-Ellis (I)	Colts
25	Jordy Nelson	at Giants
26	Antonio Brown	Bengals
27	Hakeem Nicks	Packers
28	Dez Bryant	at Cardinals
29	Beanie Wells (I)	Cowboys
30	Ryan Mathews	at Jaguars
31	Jonathan Stewart	at Buccaneers
32	Roy Helu	Jets
33	Anquan Boldin	at Browns
34	A.J. Green (I)	at Steelers
35	Mike Wallace	Bengals
36	Brandon Lloyd	at 49ers
37	Steve Johnson	Titans
38	DeAngelo Williams	at Buccaneers
39	Willis McGahee (I)	at Vikings
40	C.J. Spiller	Titans
41	Michael Crabtree	Rams
42	Vincent Jackson	at Jaguars
43	Larry Fitzgerald	Cowboys
44	Cedric Benson	at Steelers
45	Darren Sproles	Lions
46	Torrey Smith	at Browns
47	Santonio Holmes	at Redskins
48	Mike Williams (TB)	Panthers
49	Dwayne Bowe	at Bears
50	Shonn Greene	at Redskins
51	Steven Jackson	at 49ers
52	Mark Ingram	Lions
53	Brandon Marshall	Raiders
54	Julio Jones (I)	at Texans
55	Reggie Wayne	at Patriots
56	Brandon Jacobs	Packers
57	Peyton Hillis (I)	Ravens
58	Andre Johnson (I)	Falcons
59	Mario Manningham (I)	Packers
60	Plaxico Burress	at Redskins
61	Mike Tolbert	at Jaguars
62	Maurice Morris	at Saints
63	Pierre Thomas	Lions
64	Eric Decker	at Vikings
65	DeSean Jackson	at Seahawks
66	Lance Moore	Lions
67	Toby Gerhart	Broncos
68	Donald Brown	at Patriots
69	Deion Branch	Colts
70	Nate Burleson	at Saints
71	James Starks	at Giants
72	Kendall Hunter	Rams
73	Joe McKnight	at Redskins
74	Shane Vereen	Colts
75	James Jones	at Giants