Fantasy Football Start Em Sit Em Week 12

Start Em Sit Em Week 12 Adam Thielen
Minnesota Vikings Wide Receiver Adam Thielen. Photo Credit: Keith Allison - Under Creative Commons License

Here we are for Week 12! With a new format, Sports Al Dente is here to give you fantasy advice. Not only do we give you our starts and sits, but we will include what some of the big wigs say so you have all the information in one spot.

It being Thanksgiving, let us do the job for you while you sit back and eat. So without further ado, here’s who to start and sit in week 12!

Fantasy Football Start Em Sit Em Week 12

Quarterback Starts

This Giants defense has been terrible this season. They are one of worst in the league and now Cousins gets to tear it up on Thanksgiving coming off his best game this season. The ceiling of Cousins becomes lower with the injuries on this offense, but the running game should be decent enough to allow Cousins to tear it up in fantasy like he has been most of the season.

This is a weird start. The Chiefs are coming off their worst game of the season and almost a true anomaly this season after losing to the Giants in OT. The Bills should allow the Chiefs’ offense to come back to life in a must needed “show up” game for the Chiefs. The Bills’ defense has allowed 30+ points in three games straight. It’s expected for the running game to resurge so look for Smith to capitalize on the matchup and return to early season form.

Dalton had four touchdowns in the first match-up against the Browns this season. There’s really been no improvement to the Browns’ defense besides the impact of Myles Garrett. While the Bengals offensive line may be one of the worst, the overall result from the first game this year should be the same. This is a top-15 play as the Browns defense just continue to be possibly the worst this season.

Quarterback Sits

The New Orleans defense has been one of the best surprises this season. The young Saints defense has only allowed four passing touchdowns on the road this season while only allowing more than 17 points once on the road. Goff is having a good second year but a lot of his stats are against bad defenses or teams. As seen last week, tough competition means a sit for Goff until he proves otherwise.

After the debacle that was last week for the Bills, Taylor should bring back some stability but the Bills get to go on the road to one of the hardest places to play. Along with Taylor’s defense being awful these last three weeks, Taylor will most likely be missing Kelvin Benjamin and could get yanked out at any point. Keep Taylor on the bench until this situation clears up or the Bills play well.

Even with Tyron Smith playing, Prescott has a little too much risk to play him this week. The Chargers pass rush is one of the best in the league being 3rd in sacks and the team is coming off a dominant performance against the Bills. Prescott has struggled and is coming off his worst game of the season. This week it will be better for you to keep Prescott on the bench as the Cowboys and the 2nd year player has been held under 200 yards in the air 3 out of the last 4 weeks.

Running Back Starts

Hunt was the MVP for the first half of the season but he’s been basically invisible the last few weeks. I feel like it’s been said a few times in this article already, but the Bills defense has not been good these last few weeks. So if there’s any week for Hunt to have a comeback, it’s this week. Some would have said last week but really this could be better for the rookie. So if you’ve been waiting for Hunt, here’s your week.

The rookie is now the main man in the Redskins backfield. Coming off of what you can see as a breakout game for Perine, his opportunity this week will probably be the most he’s gotten all year. The Giants matchup is a good one for the rookie as he is also apart of an offense that is looking to keep hot in its run to the playoffs. Perine’s value is RB2 has he should be in on every down.

Murray has been a part of one of the better running duos in the league with Jerick McKinnon since Dalvin Cook went down. The last six games have seen Murray get over 10 rushing attempts in each of them and goal line attempts. The Lions defense has struggled against the run recently and the goal line part of this duo should be the favorite for the matchup.

Running Back Sits

The new favorite out of the Raven’s backfield finds himself in the sit column for this week. There might not be a better run defender in the league right now compared to Jadeveon Clowney. The first round pick has really come into his own and leads a tough rushing defense. The Ravens have been an offensive disaster this year and I have trouble trusting anyone on this offense. This game could easily be a Raven’s 9-6 win, so keep Collins on the bench for now.

Howard had a nice bounce-back game last week but frustratingly will not have the same results this week. The Eagles are the best team in the league and have been absolutely running over people. The Eagles defense has been one of the best (especially against the run) and it’ll be a hard game for the Bears offense to gain anything. Howard has bust potential here and you can find a better matchup.

Martin, like the Buccaneers season, has greatly underperformed. While he’s led the backfield in touches, his performance has really just been underwhelming. There’s no reason for you to reach and start Martin. The Falcons defense has improved throughout the season and should be solid against the Buccaneers offense. Until Martin can become fantasy relevant again, keep it off the starting lineup.

Wide Receiver Starts

Thielen has been on a roll these last three weeks. He has three weeks in a row with a touchdown and over 100 receiving yards in two of those games. Thielen has also been one of the most targeted receivers this season. Thielen is a WR1 for the rest of the season and has a good matchup against the Lions on Thanksgiving.

Cooks went off last game, finishing 6-149-1. One of the best free agent signings looks to keep up his great performance with an easy matchup against the Dolphins this week. He’s a clear WR1 and with Brady as his quarterback really anything is possible. This game could be a huge blowout and Cooks would allow you to be the beneficiary.

The Titan’s secondary has struggled a lot this season and another road matchup could help you fantasy wise. Hilton has been a frustrating player to own with the Andrew Luck injury, but Jacoby Brissett has shown flashes. This offense should be able to throw the ball and give Hilton one last good fantasy performance for the season.

Wide Receiver Sits

It looks like Larry Fitz will have one more year and that’s exactly what he will need after this season. It’s been a rough one with the David Johnson and Carson Palmer injuries. The struggles continue when the number one defense in the NFL gets to face the Cardinals. The Jaguars have virtually shut down everyone they have played and there’s no indication that Fitzgerald will change that.

I mentioned Dak Prescott earlier this article and a lot of those reasons apply here. Bryant has not caught a touchdown in four weeks straight and that is doom for his fantasy value. There’s no indication that anything will change this week as the Chargers defense should be a tough matchup for the Cowboys.

Watching the Raiders this season has been really sad. They were exciting last season and now they are a mediocre team with a struggling offense. This team has a future but this season has passed them by. The Broncos have their own struggles but in a bout between the dwindling AFC West powers, Crabtree and Cooper will struggle. Keep these two on the bench until something changes.

Streaming TEs

Streaming D/ST

  • Patriots
  • Steelers
  • Chargers

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