Week 12 of the Fantasy Football season is here and all of the bye weeks are finally gone! This is great for fantasy and it was a rough stretch of weeks to get through but we made it. With it being Thanksgiving week, we’ve got to set our lineups early in the week with six teams playing on Thursday.
Although the bye weeks are done the waiver wire is still needed with the injuries piling up and potential breakouts that are available. We will do our best to help you get your lineup ready for Week 12.
Week 12 Fantasy Football Starts and Sits
Quarterback Starts: Geno Smith and Dak Prescott
Geno Smith has been on fire this season. At least two touchdowns in eight of 10 games this season and has had a 100+ passer rating in seven out of 10 games this season. He will see a Las Vegas Raiders defense that is dead last in opponent QBR and opponent completion percentage. The Raiders are also dead last in sacks and sack percentage, start Smith with confidence this week.
Dak Prescott has a fantastic history against the New York Giants, 21 touchdown passes in 11 career games against the Giants. Prescott is 9-0 against the Giants since his rookie season.
Dak Prescott today:
+21.8% CPOE, 3-of-3 on throws 20-plus yards downfield, 20-of-20 when not pressured.
PRETY GOOD
— Jim Sannes (@JimSannes) November 21, 2022
In Week 11 Prescott was red hot against the Minnesota Vikings completing 88% of his passes and throwing two touchdowns. The Giants will be missing top cornerback Adoree Jackson who suffered an injury in Week 11.
Quarterback Sits: Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins has three turnovers in two career games against the New England Patriots.
Kirk Cousins
Is (10-18, .357) in games starting at 7:00pm or later
So not the best in the spotlight
— Boston Sports Info (@bostonsportsinf) November 22, 2022
This game will also be played in primetime, so you know what that means? Fade Cousins this week. The Patriots also have an excellent pass defense that will look to limit Justin Jefferson. The Vikings will be missing starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw which was a problem for the Vikings against Micah Parsons and the Cowboys pass rush. This week, he will see Matt Judon and a good Patriots defensive line. Keep Cousins on the bench this week.
Running Back Starts: Ezekiel Elliott/Tony Pollard and Jeff Wilson
Tony Pollard has been on fire as of late. Since Week 6, he is RB12 and since Week 8, he is RB7. Since Week 7, Pollard is third in fantasy points per game. Even with Ezekiel Elliott returning last week, Pollard still received 21 touches.
Tired: Zeke is RB1
Wired: Tony Pollard is RB1
Inspired: Should Dallas put them on the field…together?On today's pod @Foxworth24 and I talked about Pollard's usage and how Kellen Moore is using different personnel groupings…listen + subscribe: https://t.co/25po4Tj9rF pic.twitter.com/eubtoEtJJn
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) November 23, 2022
The running game has taken over for the Dallas Cowboys. Ezekiel Elliott has 10 touchdowns in 11 games and averages 92 yards per game against the New York Giants for his career. The Giants surrendered four rushing touchdowns to the Detroit Lions in Week 11. Both Cowboys running backs are in play this week due to the number of touches they are receiving and also this great matchup. Pollard and Elliott scored double-digit fantasy points against the Giants in Week 3. Both have scored double-digit fantasy points three different times this season. Pollard is the better option than Elliott this week but both are good plays.
Since being traded to the Miami Dolphins. Jeff Wilson Jr. has taken over as the lead back for the Miami Dolphins. In Weeks 9 and 10, Wilson has accumulated 215 yards on 31 touches and has out-snapped Raheem Mostert 70 to 46. He has a matchup against a Houston Texans defense that is dead last in second level yards allowed. The Texans also allow almost 179 yards per game and have allowed 14 rushing touchdowns this season.
Running Back Sits: D’Andre Swift and Joe Mixon
D’Andre Swift hasn’t had more than 50 yards since Week 2. Swift has dealt with injuries but also has lost a significant amount of snaps to Jamaal Williams. Williams leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns and has taken over as the main back for the Detroit Lions. In the last two weeks, Swift ranks third on the Lions in running back snap percentage with just 31%. Swift’s opponent this week, the Buffalo Bills, are top 10 in running back carries and running back yards allowed. Until Swift gets the consistent workload back, he is a huge fantasy risk.
Joe Mixon has been RB7 averaging 14 PPR points per game. 30% of Mixon’s fantasy points came in Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers. If you take that game out, Mixon drops down to RB17, he has been mainly disappointing this season. Mixon’s opponent this week, the Tennessee Titans, is first and second in the NFL in rushing touchdowns and running back carries allowed. Mixon only averages 45 yards on the ground in two career games against the Titans.
Wide Receiver Starts: Keenan Allen and Tyler Lockett
Both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams returned to the lineup in Week 11. Williams left in the first quarter after reaggravating his ankle injury while Allen made it out fine. Allen had 94 yards on eight targets in his return. With Williams’ availability being up in the air, Allen is back to being a weekly starter with double-digit target potential. Allen will see an Arizona Cardinals defense that surrendered four receiving touchdowns in Week 11.
Tyler Lockett has scored a touchdown in three straight games and has at least 60 yards in six out of his ten games this season. The Las Vegas Raiders are 30th in the NFL in yards per play and yards per possession allowed. Lockett is averaging seven targets per game, in the Raider’s last three games wide receivers with at least seven targets are averaging over 16 PPR points per game.
Wide Receiver Sits: Christian Watson
Christian Watson has exploded with five touchdowns in his last two games. I am banking on that not continuing as that is an impossible pace to keep up with. Also, the matchup is brutal against Darius Slay and James Bradberry. Watson had a 15% target share in Week 11 and was tied for third in total targets. With the return of Randall Cobb, it is undetermined where Watson where sits when it comes to target leaders on the Packers. Watson has high boom potential and high bust potential and in this tough matchup, I am leaning more towards bust this week.
Tight End Starts: Foster Moreau
If you aren’t happy with your current tight end you can probably find Foster Moreau on your waiver wire, he has taken over as the starter with Darren Waller on IR. Moreau is the TE13 since Darren Waller was placed on IR, not overly impressive but the matchup this week gives him some potential. The Arizona Cardinals are dead last in the NFL in DVOA against tight ends. They allow 73 yards on eight targets per game to tight ends which are both last in the NFL. George Kittle had over 80 yards and two touchdowns against the Cardinals in Week 11.
Tight End Sits: Robert Tonyan
Robert Tonyan is averaging 28 yards per game in his last five games. He has only reached 40+ yards in one of eleven games this season. The Philadelphia Eagles allowed just 46 yards per game to tight ends this season, meaning that Tonyan will need to go way above his season average to match what the Eagles give up per game.
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