Cal in NFL Fantasy: Aaron Rodgers, Marvin Jones, a Chargers Tight End

Rams quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., Texans wideout Chad Hansen and a Chargers tight end who has been virtually invisible Fantasy-wise until now are the four former Cal standouts who get the most NFL Fantasy attention this weekend.

Two other ex-Cal players -- Rams quarterback Jared Goff (thumb) and Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen (hamstring) -- are not expected to play this weekend, limiting the Fantasy exposure of Golden Bears players for the final regular-season game.

We’ll start with Rodgers.

Even though Rodgers is the front-runner to win his third NFL MVP award, he is not the top-rated Fantasy quarterback for this week’s games. Of course, Fantasy assessments vary based on the situation and the opponent, and they often don’t reflect a player’s season-long value.

But with Rodgers’ Packers facing a Bears team that is ninth in the conference in scoring defense, has won three straight and is scrambling to land a playoff berth, Rodgers may not be as productive as he was last week against the Titans.

Even with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes sitting out this weekend, Sports Illustrated puts Rodgers at No. 5 in its Fantasy quarterback rankings for this week, behind Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Ryan Tannehill and Deshaun Watson.

Yahoo’s five Fantasy experts combine to give Rodgers a No. 3 ranking. None of the five lists him No. 1, and Dalton Del Don, Yahoo’s primary Fantasy writer, places Rodgers at No. 7, behind Jalen Hurts and Kirk Cousins, among others.

Yahoo notes that the matchup between Rodgers and Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky is one of the key matchups of the week

CBS Sports’ Dave Richard is the only Fantasy writer we can find who has Rodgrs at No. 1 this week, but the two other CBS Sports Fantasy experts have Rodgers at No. 2, one putting him behind Jackson and the other placing him behind Watson.

Presumably, Rodgers needs a decent game to assure himself the MVP, and a stinker could be costly to the Packers and his MVP bid.

Let’s move on to Jones, who always seems to produce conflicting opinions:

Jamey Eisenberg of CBS Sports tells Fantasy players to sit Jones this week, with this assessment:

I'm staying away from Jones with Matthew Stafford (ankle) likely out, and Jones was held to four PPR points in Week 16 against Tampa Bay with three catches for 19 yards on three targets when Stafford got hurt. Jones will likely need double digits in targets to have a quality outing because in his past three games with fewer than 12 targets he's scored nine PPR points or less each time. We'll see if Chase Daniel or David Blough will feed Jones the ball if either one starts in place of Stafford, but I'd only use Jones as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in deeper leagues in Week 17.

But Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News lists Jones among his “stronger starts,” offering this explanation:

Marvin Jones Jr., Lions (vs. MIN). The Vikings’ secondary will get shredded here downfield in garbage time.

Michael Fabiano of Sports Illustrated points out Jones might be a Draft Kings bargain.

Now it’s on to Chad Hansen, who has been impressive in his four games (the last two as a starter) since being called up from Houston’s practice squad.

He’s been impressive enough for Dalton Del Don of Yahoo to recommend that Fantasy players start him this week against Tennessee:

Hansen is a flier for those in deeper leagues who should see more volume after leading all Texans in routes run last week (and Keke Coutee is banged up). Hansen faces a Tennessee secondary that’s ceded the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season.

That leads us to Chargers tight end Stephen Anderson. Don’t remember him? He caught 101 passes while playing for Cal from 2013 through 2015, but he had no catches for the Chargers in 2019 and just one in the first 14 games this season.

However, because of injuries, Anderson made his second start of the season and seventh of his NFL career in last week’s win over Denver. Anderson had four catches for 48 yards in that game, which had led Adam Rank of NFL.com to advise Fantasy players to start Anderson this week against the Chiefs, who are expected to rest a lot of starters.

Here’s what Rank says about Anderson:

I had to get at least one Danger Zone candidate that’s probably a better DFS play than anything else. Anderson played 25 snaps on Sunday against the Broncos and still ended up leading Chargers tight ends in targets (six), good for second on the team overall. He had four receptions for 48 yards. The Chiefs have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season. The fourth-most over the last month. And again, this team has already locked up its bye. Unlike the Chargers.

Cover photo of Stephen Anderson by Robert Hanashro, USA TODAY Sports

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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