Fantasy Football

The already-thin group of tight ends in fantasy football will be even thinner Sunday with Darren Waller unable to play for the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders downgraded Waller to out against the Washington Football Team because of a back/knee injury that kept him out of practice all week.

This will mark the second game that Waller has missed this season. He previously sat out a Week 7 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles with an ankle injury.

Waller is the No. 4 tight end in points-per-reception leagues this season with an average of 12.9 points per game.

Third-year tight end Foster Moreau will likely receive most of the snaps for the Raiders against the Football Team. His overall stat line isn't encouraging with 135 yards and three touchdowns on 12 receptions in 11 games.

But the last time Waller didn't play, Moreau was one of Derek Carr's go-to options. The 24-year-old caught all six of his targets for 60 yards and one touchdown against the Eagles.

NBC Sports Edge's John Daigle named Moreau as the No. 1 tight end to roster for Week 13 and provided additional context about his performance about that Philadelphia game (h/t Yahoo Sports):

Reminder Moreau played on every snap in his lone spot-start for Darren Waller (knee) this year, running 32 routes on Derek Carr's 37 dropbacks and recording 6/60/1 on six targets (17.6% share). He's the strongest fill-in for however long Waller, labeled week-to-week, is sidelined. If you have Waller, I would bid the farm for Moreau since whomever is starting inarguably qualifies as a TE1.

Washington's defense has been middle-of-the-pack against tight ends in fantasy this season. Opposing players at the position rank 15th with an average of 7.3 points per game.

Moreau is currently rostered in 20 percent of Yahoo leagues and 25 percent of ESPN leagues.

The other obvious beneficiary from Waller's absence is Hunter Renfrow. He leads the Raiders in receptions (64), receiving yards (658) and touchdown receptions (four).

Renfrow and Waller are the only Las Vegas pass-catchers who have more than 40 targets this season. The Clemson alum is coming off a season-high eight receptions and 134 yards in the Thanksgiving Day win over the Dallas Cowboys.

That game also marked the first time Renfrow had averaged at least nine yards per reception since Week 6 against the Denver Broncos.

Sunday does present another favorable matchup for Renfrow to put up big numbers. The Football Team is allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing receivers (27.2).

Anyone looking for a last-minute addition at wide receiver might be out of luck with Renfrow. He's already rostered in 86 percent of ESPN leagues and 81 percent of Yahoo leagues, but go get him on waivers as a WR2 option this week if he's available.

Fantasy stats and rankings via FantasyPros.

The NFC West is once again the focal point of the NFL injury report.

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray are both listed on the injury report ahead of their Week 13 games.

Beckham is dealing with a hip injury that might keep him out of the Rams' clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Beckham was limited in practice Wednesday and did not practice Thursday, and his status "is up in the air."

Murray will again be a game-time decision for the Cardinals. His status has not changed even though the Cardinals had a bye week in Week 12.

Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury called Murray and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins game-time decisions for the trip to Chicago.

Below is a look at other significant injuries that will affect the fantasy football landscape for Sunday's Week 13 games:

• DeAndre Hopkins, WR, ARI: Game-time decision (hamstring)
• Kyler Murray, QB, ARI: Game-time decision (ankle)
• Marquise Goodwin, WR, CHI: Out (foot/ribs), per team injury report
• Justin Fields, QB, CHI: Doubtful (ribs)
• Allen Robinson II, WR, CHI: Doubtful (hamstring)
• D'Andre Swift, RB, DET: Out (shoulder), per team injury report
• Melvin Gordon III, RB, DEN: Doubtful (shoulder/hip), per team injury report
  
• Darren Waller, TE, LV: Doubtful (back/knee), per team injury report
• Dalvin Cook, RB, MIN: Out (shoulder), per team injury report
• Daniel Jones, QB, NYG: Out (neck), per team injury report
• Sterling Shepard, WR, NYG: Doubtful (quad)
• Kadarius Toney, WR, NYG: Doubtful (oblique/quad)
• Jordan Howard, RB, PHI: Out (knee), per team injury report
• Jalen Hurts, QB, PHI: Questionable (ankle)
• Landon Collins, S, WSH: Out (foot), per team injury report
• J.D. McKissic, RB, WSH: Out (concussion)
• Wes Schweitzer, OG, WSH: Out (ankle)

Odell Beckham Jr. Dealing With Hip Injury

The Rams likely do not need Beckham to beat the Jaguars at home.

However, Sunday's game at SoFi Stadium would be the perfect game to get him more reps with tougher games on the horizon.

Beckham caught his first touchdown in a Rams jersey in Week 12's loss to the Green Bay Packers. He caught five balls on 10 targets for 81 yards.

If Beckham plays, he should be considered a No. 1 or No. 2 wide receiver in fantasy lineups because of his big-play potential, increased targets in Week 12 and favorable matchup.

Van Jefferson would be the beneficiary of a Beckham absence or limited playing time.

As always, Cooper Kupp will receive a high volume of targets from Matthew Stafford. His production might increase if Beckham is out, but he will have a high production rate regardless.

Former Rams wideout Josh Reynolds is one of the potential plug-ins for Beckham. He connected with Jared Goff for a 39-yard touchdown pass in the Detroit Lions' Thanksgiving Day loss to the Chicago Bears.

Jauan Jennings is expected to receive more targets in Deebo Samuel's absence in San Francisco. He could be worth an addition as a No. 2 or No. 3 wide receiver in place of Beckham as well.

Kyler Murray Once Again a Game-Time Decision

Murray has not played since Week 8.

Every week since, the Cardinals quarterback has gone into Sunday as a game-time decision because of his ankle injury.

If the Cardinals do not believe Murray is at 100 percent come Sunday, he could be saved for the Week 14 clash with the Rams that will go a long way in determining the NFC playoff seeding.

Murray might not be the best fantasy football option even if he plays because of the monthlong layoff. The same could be said about DeAndre Hopkins, especially if he plays without his No. 1 quarterback on the field.

49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo could be a decent waiver-wire pickup in place of Murray. San Francisco visits the struggling Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

Minnesota's Kirk Cousins could be worth the selection as well since he plays the Lions, but he might not be widely available.

With Daniel Jones out and Jalen Hurts banged up, the list of top quarterbacks to replace Murray is slim. That could lead you to Andy Dalton against the Cardinals or New York Jets rookie Zach Wilson against the Eagles out of necessity.

With each passing week, it's more clear Tony Pollard is the best Dallas Cowboys running back right now.

That was the case after Dallas' 27-17 win over the New Orleans Saints on Thursday. Pollard finished with seven carries for 71 yards, with much of that work coming on a 58-yard touchdown run that gave Dallas a 19-10 lead. 

The Saints entered this game allowing just 3.16 yards per carry to running backs, which was the lowest mark in the league, per Football Outsiders. Teams have had significant issues running the ball on New Orleans, and Thursday was no exception.

However, Pollard broke through with the game's biggest play, which appeared as though it would be a loss:

Next Gen Stats charted the run:

Pollard is one of the game's most explosive backs, and Pro Football Focus highlighted his work before the game:

For the season, Pollard has 107 carries for 602 yards (5.6 YPC) and 31 catches for 259 yards.

Meanwhile, Elliott hasn't been the same since leaving his team's 30-16 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Nov. 7, with a right knee injury that team owner Jerry Jones termed a "bone bruise."

Elliott's first eight games saw him gain 622 rushing yards on 128 attempts (4.9 YPC). His next three featured him rushing 32 times for 98 yards (3.1 YPC).

Thursday continued the post-Broncos trend, with Elliott gaining just 45 yards on 13 carries. The advanced stats told a bleaker story, per ESPN's Seth Walder, who posted this early in the fourth quarter.

Ten of Elliott's yards came on his final carry as the Cowboys milked the clock late in the fourth.

Pat Kerrane of NBC Sports Edge explained before the Saints game why Pollard should be getting the bulk of the Cowboys' running back carries, citing numerous Next Gen Stats:

Pollard is the better back, but the Cowboys are clearly treating Elliott as the 1A to his backup's 1B. Elliott had 15 touches on Sunday, while Pollard had nine.

In the three games between the loss to the Broncos and the victory against the Saints, Elliott out-touched Pollard 47-40.

FantasyPros ranks Elliott as the No. 11 running back in its rest-of-season rankings, making him a borderline RB1 option. Pollard slides in at No. 27, making him worthy of consideration as a back-end RB2.

After the Saints game, it's even harder to trust Elliott as the top starting running back, although it's difficult to bench a player routinely getting about 15 touches per game on a productive offense that is second in the league in points on average.

Unless you're loaded at running back, keep Elliott in your lineups. It's also possible that some extra rest (the Cowboys have 10 days off before returning to the field on Dec. 12 versus the Washington Football Team) helps him recuperate a bit.

As for Pollard, he's definitely worth flex consideration every week given his efficiency and penchant for breaking off big plays. The issue is days like Thursday, where he clearly takes a backseat to Elliott and amasses fewer than 10 touches. Pollard is a great back, but asking him to be as uber-efficient as he's been on a week-to-week basis is a tall order.

Ultimately, he's worth considering every week at the second running back spot at best, and if he doesn't work out there in your lineups, the flex spot could be a good home.