Another glorious week of football in the books. It felt like the scores were flipped this week. Teams like the Eagles, Lions, Chargers, and Seahawks, who have been putting up points all season, all scored 20 or fewer points. Yet the Falcons, Jags, and Steelers combined for 99 points on the week. Lots of points on the board, but my goodness, another brutal week of injuries once again. Now it’s time to reevaluate our lineups and who to plug in to play. Let’s set those Week 12 lineups.
Starts
QB – Jacoby Brissett Arizona Cardinals (Jax)
We witnessed history on Sunday. The unlikely Jacoby Brissett broke the record for completions in a game with 47. It’s only right that he makes the start list this week. He turned those completions into 452 yards and two TDs. Since becoming the starter, Brissett has been very serviceable: five starts with at least 250 yards and two touchdowns. Some bigger names in the league aren’t even being that consistent.
With more injuries this week, Brissett should be the main pickup if you need a QB. The Cardinals’ run game is inconsistent, and they are throwing all over the place. Brissett has 40 or more attempts in 3 of his 5 starts. At home against the Jags this week, who are coming off a 35-point game, this contest has the makings of a shootout. Brissett will be a top-12 play this week.
RB – Kenneth Walker Seattle Seahawks (@Ten)
Kenneth Walker passes the eye test every time he runs the ball. He is a truly talented back. The problem is the Seahawks love a RB committee, which we all dread as fantasy fans. On the other hand, Walker seemed to touch the ball a lot in Week 11, having 16 carries for 67 yards and a TD. He also caught 3 balls for 44 yards, which was a season high in the receiving department.
Walker doesn’t have a huge ceiling, but he has touched the ball consistently this year, with at least 11 touches in every game. The problem is that if he doesn’t score a TD, he feels like a bust. This week I don’t think that will be a problem. He’s up against the Titans, who have allowed 15 rushing TDs on the season, the second most in the league. Expect the Seahawks to be up and pounding the rock. Walker is a solid RB2 this week.
WR – Jameson Williams Detroit Lions (NYG)
Earlier this season, Jameson Williams was on the sit list, deservingly so at the time. Before his Week 8 bye, he had 2 or fewer catches in 4 of his 7 games and was too boom-or-bust to play. He took it personally being on the sit list, because since that bye week he has been on a tear.
Three straight games with a TD, and it’s not just TDs making his days great. He’s caught 14 of 20 targets for 273 yards over those three games. Defenses have been dialed in on fellow WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, which has really opened the field up for Williams. Expect this upward trend to continue this week against the Giants, who have surrendered the 5th-most passing yards and the 7th-most receiving touchdowns on the season. Williams is a must-start this week.
TE – Noah Fant Cincinnati Bengals (NE)
Finding an affordable tight end really feels like scraping the bottom of the barrel, trying to find guys that are involved in the offense on a consistent basis. Noah Fant is quietly having a consistent and productive season for a TE. He’s caught 4 or more balls in 5 of 9 games this season. He’s had fewer than 3 catches in just 2 of those 9 games. He’s also only had fewer than 20 yards receiving once this year.
Yes, 4 catches for 40 yards isn’t flashy, but with how TEs have performed, you will take that solid floor. He’s been used as a red-zone target this year as well and is third on the team in scoring with 3 TDs on the season. If you’re still in need of a TE that’s not going to give you a complete bust week, Fant is your guy.
Defense – LA Rams (TB)
Slim pickings this week at defense. With bye weeks and just mediocre defenses across the board, this is a hard choice. I’m going with a solid defense in a somewhat tough matchup. The Rams are coming off a tough matchup against the Seahawks, and they performed pretty well. They allowed a lot of yards, but they also forced 4 INTs. They now have 8 takeaways in their last 3 games.
They have allowed yards quite a bit but not too many points on the scoreboard. In their last 5 games, they are averaging just 13 points per game against them. The Bucs have a great offense and this isn’t the best matchup, but the Rams’ floor is high due to their turnover and sack totals. Worthy of a start this week.
Sits
QB – Daniel Jones Indianapolis Colts (@KC)
Daniel Jones has been one of the feel-good stories of the season. A year ago, it seemed his days as a starter were in the rearview mirror. Now, a year later, he’s in the MVP chatter. He still isn’t a matchup-proof QB, though. He’s had some mediocre performances this season against better defenses, with four games of 15 or fewer fantasy points.
His turnovers have resurfaced in the last few weeks as well, with 7 turnovers in his last 2 starts. He’s fresh off a bye week and going into Kansas City. The Chiefs have been very good against quarterbacks this year, allowing just under 200 passing yards per game. They have also given up just 9 passing TDs on the year, the fewest in the NFL. Don’t expect a good game from Jones this week. Find a better option if possible.
RB – Quinshon Judkins Cleveland Browns (@LV)
Through Week 7, Quinshon Judkins looked like he might finish as a top-five running back on the season, having 4 games over 80 yards rushing and 5 TDs in 6 games. After that 3-TD performance against Miami, it has been rather quiet for Judkins. He’s now had 3 straight games without a touchdown.
He’s still getting touches but just not doing much with them at the moment. In his last 3 games, he’s carried the ball 47 times for 153 yards. Averaging 3.3 yards per carry with no TDs just isn’t going to cut it, and it’s even more worrisome noticing his matchups were against subpar run defenses, including the Jets and Ravens. This week he’s up against the Raiders, who are middle of the pack against the run. Don’t be surprised if Judkins performs under projection once again this week.
WR – DK Metcalf Pittsburgh Steelers (@Chi)
This has been the year of big-money receivers not playing up to the level they should be for the amount of money they are getting paid. DK Metcalf has had a couple boom games. In Weeks 4 and 6 he had over 90 yards and a TD. Outside of that, it has been a rather mediocre season.
Seven of his 10 games this year he’s failed to get 60 yards receiving. In four of those games he’s had under 40 yards receiving. Now it appears Aaron Rodgers will miss some time. That makes Metcalf basically unstartable. Even in a somewhat solid matchup against the Bears, he just can’t be trusted. The Steelers barely threw the ball with Rodgers in the game; Metcalf doesn’t have a single game with double-digit targets. Expect them to pound the rock with Rodgers sidelined. Keep Metcalf sidelined as well.
TE – Kyle Pitts Atlanta Falcons (@NO)
I’ve left Kyle Pitts alone for most of this year. Compared to other TEs, his floor has been relatively high, so the slander isn’t necessary. Yet I do think he belongs on the bench this week. He’s coming off his worst performance of the year with two catches for just 14 yards. He’s now had back-to-back games with just 2 catches, a big downtrend considering he had 20 catches combined in the 3 games prior.
I don’t expect a bounce-back this week. He has not played well against his division rival. He has played the Saints 7 times in his career and has only caught 15 balls for 193 yards (28 yards per game) and no TDs. Expect another dud this week and keep Pitts sidelined.
Defense – Jacksonville Jaguars (@Ari)
The Jaguars have had a weird season on the defensive side of the ball. They have performed well against solid offenses like the Texans and the 49ers, scoring double-digit fantasy points in both of those games early in the season. Then they allowed the Raiders to score on them in Week 9, and in their rematch with the Texans they surrendered another 30.
In Week 11 they showed up again and held the Chargers to six points. This defense is too up and down to trust in any matchup. They are up against a Cardinals offense that just had over 450 yards of offense. The Jags will most likely give up yards again, and they are not matching that with takeaways—just one interception in their last six games. On paper this looks like a solid play, but don’t be surprised if both teams combine for over 50 points. Find another option.
