As we near the halfway point in the season, this is the time where the trade frenzies begin, and everyone is looking for an edge in playoff positioning. Here’s my recommendations to help get you there.

The Starts

Derek Carr – after saying “Park the Carr” last week, he kicked it into overdrive and shifted the course of his and his team’s season against a very tough Jets secondary. I’ll stop with the puns for now, I promise. This week Carr goes against the Steelers, who don’t exactly have The Steel Curtain on defense, they’ve played well overall, but the Raiders have too much firepower on offense to be contained. Carr seems like he could be on his way to a weekly must-start at the quarterback position.

Chris Ivory – If you’re disappointed by his awful game last week, and think he could be slowing down, don’t think, keep this guy in your lineup, he’s too talented, the matchup is too good, and the Jets will be looking to pound the ball against a not very good Jaguar defense this week. With Fitzpatrick and Brandon Marshall banged up, the run game is going to be the lifeblood of the Jets.

Steve Johnson – The Chargers take on the Bears, who have among the worst defenses in the league, and will be without Keenan Allen for the rest of the season, making Johnson one of the top targets in the Chargers offense, the top offense in the league. I’d look for Johnson to get plenty of targets in a game that should feature a ton of points.

Heath Miller – The Raiders seem to forget how tight-ends work, as they have not covered one this season, and Miller is coming off of a 10 catch game against the Bengals stingy defense last week. Miller needs to be started this week, I expect him to have another great game, especially with Big Ben back in the lineup.

Atlanta Falcons Defense – Against the Buccaneers, this same defense was awful (and that’s being kind), but this week, they’re going against Blaine Gabbert….. Is there a better matchup in fantasy football? As long as Jamarcus Russell doesn’t spontaneously get signed somewhere and started on Sunday, then there’s not going to be a better matchup this week for a defense.

The Sits

Ryan Tannehill – I like Ryan Tannehill as a quarterback, but going against a very talented Rex Ryan defense from Buffalo didn’t go well last time, and I don’t expect it to go well this time either, especially considering that this game is in Buffalo. The Dolphins go as Lamar Miller goes, and this matchup suggests that he may struggle this week, as will Tannehill.

Frank Gore – Frank Gore is one of those players that seems like he will always put up 1000 yards and 7 touchdowns in a season, however, this week is not a week that will help his total. The Denver Bronco defense is just too strong for Gore to overcome, as the Colts offensive line can’t seem to get out of its own way, let alone block for anyone.

Jarvis Landry – The Bills defense has not allowed top receivers to score much in the way of points this season, as only 2 number 1 receivers have scored in the double digits this season. Landry is on an unpredictable team with an unpredictable quarterback, so this might be the week to sit him down and look for other options.

Zach Ertz – People continue to tout this guy as a great tight-end, when all he does is catch a few passes, and not even as well as the elite receiving tight-ends in the league. He’s not even considered the starter on his own team, so why start him? Dallas also has a solid defense, and scored almost nothing against the Cowboys the last time these two teams met.

The Risks

Ben Roethlisberger – This guy has been a fantasy stud in years past, however, his return to the field showed a Big Ben that seemed flustered the entire game. This week he goes against an Oakland defense that gives up a ton of fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks (and Tight Ends for that matter), so the matchup is good, the loss of Le’Veon Bell, however, is not. Big Ben would make for a hard player to sit if you’ve held on to him, I would start him, but it could be a risk for disappointment.

Darren McFadden – McFadden is always a risk, no matter who he plays for or against, as he could go off for 100+ yards and a score, average 1.3 yards a carry, or pull a hamstring in the first quarter and not play again for 5 weeks. Not helping matters is that the Philadelphia Eagles have a legit run defense, and Tony Romo is still not under center, so they will be keying on the run game.

Brandin Cooks – Cooks looked great last week against the Giants, scoring 2 touchdowns, and making it look like he was beginning to turn the corner this year after a disappointing start. The Giants have also been using a fullback as a pass rusher, so doing well against a team who’s struggled on defense as much as the Giants have doesn’t mean Cooks has found his groove… necessarily. The Titans are not a good team either but they can stop opposing top receivers…. Or they fall behind so quickly that no one bothers to throw on them anyway.