Trashman’s Fantasy Fallout Going Into Week 12

It’s the Fallout folks! Helping you to make better decisions going into Week 12. We start by putting the helmet down….

 

 

Steelers – 7 @ Browns – 21

 

• Mason Rudolph(221/1/4) was exceptionally bad on Thursday night, a fact that was lost on many after the fracas that occurred at the end of the game. He’s got a juicy matchup with the 0 – 10 Bengals this week, but  with JuJu and Diontae Johnson both in concussion protocol in addition to his poor play, Rudolph isn’t an ideal streamer. 

 

• If Juju and Johnson both sit this week, James Washington and Johnny Holton, who actually tied Vance McDonald for the most targets(7), will be the top WR options for Pittsburgh. MacDonald and Jaylen Samuels probably make for the best receiving options though.

 

• James Conner reaggravated his shoulder on Thursday night, to be relieved by Samuels and Trey Edmunds. Conner probably came back sooner than he should’ve, and the Steelers will probably be more careful this time around. Samuels and Edmunds make for decent flex plays against the Bengals this week. 

 

• Kareem Hunt isn’t getting many carries(6) behind Nick Chubb(27), but he’s majorly involved in the passing game. He had 7 targets on Thursday for a 6/46 line. He’s generally only valuable in PPR formats, but he might be worth a standard lineup play against the Dolphins this week. 

 

Texans – 7 @ Ravens – 41

 

• It’s crazy to think Deshaun Watson had never lost by double-digits before Sunday. He appeared to injure his ankle during the game, but stayed in to finish. He gets the Colts this week, a team he underwhelmed against in Week 7. 

 

• Will Fuller is slated to return Thursday night against the Colts. He’s a must start if healthy, but Kenny Stills will not be. It’s all for the best. Stills’ play has been negligible since week 7. 

 

• Gus Edwards had 114 yards and a TD on Sunday, but don’t get too excited. Edwards TD play was a 63 yard scamper in garbage time, when the Ravens were already up by 20+ points. Edwards hasn’t had more than 8 carries since Week 1, and I don’t see that changing this week against the Rams.

 

• Marquise Brown(2/23) doesn’t seem to be over his ankle issue. That, paired with the lack of necessity of a WR corp for the Ravens offense to operate at an optimal level – oh, and Jalen Ramsey’s Rams up next, makes Brown a play to avoid this week. 

 

Falcons – 29 @ Panthers – 3

 

• The Falcons about turn of late has little to do with the offense – Raheem Morris’ moving to DB coach and defensive play caller is the main reason for it. Matt Ryan has been more of a game manager the last two weeks as he’s played with a lead in each, but he’ll have to throw the ball more this week against the Bucs, who are difficult to run against. 

 

• Brian Hill(16/38) wasn’t terribly effective against the Panthers, and he’ll probably be just as ineffective against the Bucs this week, as they have a top tier run defense.  He’s not an advised flex. 

 

• Russell Gage didn’t do much this week, but the Falcons were playing with a lead most of the game. He’ll be worth a flex in a cherry matchup with the Bucs’ miserable secondary, especially if Hooper is out again this week – which is likely. 

 

• The Panthers may be regretting shutting down Cam Newton right about now, as Kyle Allen(325/0/4) is imploding before our very eyes. Credit the upstart Falcons defense, but Allen isn’t worth starting in any format right now. Fortunately for his receivers, he’s able to distribute the ball pretty evenly on most days – opposing defense included.

 

Cowboys – 35 @ Lions – 27

 

• With Amari Cooper(3/38) playing limited snaps, it was mostly Gallup(9/148) and Cobb(7/115/1) in the passing game for the Cowboys on Sunday. Cooper has another rough week ahead with Stephen Gilmore and the Pats up next, so he’s more of a WR2 with a low floor for this one. Cobb has been worth starting the last 3 weeks, and will make for an intriguing play this week, as the Pats will probably sell out to stop Ezekiel Elliott and Cooper. 

 

• Tony Pollard(6/56/1) had a great game considering he only played 12 snaps on the day, but therein lies the problem. Pollard isn’t getting enough action to be flexed with any regularity. He’s still only a handcuff. 

 

• Jeff Driskel does enough with his feet(8/51/1) to warrant streaming consideration as long as Matt Stafford is out, which could be the rest of the fantasy season. The Lions were 1 of 8 teams to attend the Colin Kaepernick workout, so there’s no guarantee Driskel keeps the spot, but he should get the start this week against a Redskins team that is very forgiving to opposing QBs. Driskel is well worth the play.

 

• Bo Scarbrough got the start on Sunday, despite not being promoted from the practice squad until Saturday. Scarbrough was probably the most effective back on the ground the Lions have run onto the field since losing Kerryon Johnson, so he’ll probably get the start again this week against the Redskins. J.D. McKissic(6/53) does enough in the passing game to remain a flex option, but Ty Johnson(3/6) can and needs to be dropped. 

 

Jaguars – 13 @ Colts – 33

 

• Nick Foles(296/2/1) was serviceable in his return to action since going down to injury in Week 1, though much of his action came in garbage time as the Jaguars tried to mount a comeback – a lot of it checkdown passes. The Jaguars are paying him too much to not start him if he’s healthy, so he’ll get another go of it against the Titans this week. 

 

• Leonard Fournette(15/57) had his worst game of the season with the Jaguars trailing most of the game. He’ll likely get back on track this week, though he hasn’t scored since Week 5. 

 

• Chris Conley(6/58) out targeted Dede Westbrook(4/41) 8 to 6 on Sunday. It’s hard to say if this will be a regularity going forward, but Conley is enough of a big play receiver to warrant flex consideration even with Westbrook back on the field. 

 

• Marlon Mack(14/109/1) left the game with a broken right hand after getting off to a blistering start on Sunday. Jonathan Williams came in as his replacement and followed suit, racking up 147 yards on 13 touches. Mack will miss this week and probably more, as he injured his carrying hand, so Williams should be in line for a lot more work going forward – Jordan Wilkins is still out with an ankle injury. Nyheim Hines(6/35/1) is also worth a PPR add. 

 

• T.Y. Hilton is tentatively slated to return this week, so I’m not speculating on any other Colts WRs until I see he’s sitting again. 

 

Bills – 37 @ Dolphins – 20

 

• Josh Allen had the best game of his career on Sunday, throwing 3 scores and adding 1 on the ground. It’s worth noting this game was against Miami and that he’s facing Denver this week. Kirk Cousins did just put up 3 scores against the Broncos though, so Allen may still be worth your time this week. 

 

• John Brown feasted too, but he’ll go up against Chris Harris this week, which should be more of a challenge. Stefon Diggs did beat Harris for 115 yards on Sunday though, so Brown has a shot. More interestingly, Cole Beasley and Dawson Knox could be in line for more work, as the Vikings’ 2nd WR and tight ends got the bulk of receiving work on Sunday against the Broncos. 

 

• Devante Parker(7/135) is owned in less than 60% of leagues, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. He’s Miami’s best offensive weapon, and he’s getting double-digit looks since Preston Williams went down. 

 

• Kalen Ballage is the only starting RB in the league that you’d probably be better off sitting. He saved his day with an errant TD plod, but he averaged 1 yard per carry on the day. 

 

Broncos – 23 @ Vikings – 27

 

• Brandon Allen(240/1/1) isn’t playing worse than Joe Flacco, but he’s not playing well enough to hold off Drew Lock when he’s activated. This week may be Allen’s last as a starter this season. 

 

• Noah Fant(4/60) had a team high 11 targets on Sunday. I told you to grab him a couple weeks ago, and hopefully you’ve listened by now.

 

• WR Tim Patrick(4/77) was active for the first time since Week 2, and he was utilized right away as the no.2 WR.  Courtland Sutton will have his hands full with Tre’Davious White this week, so maybe Patrick will benefit from the attention. 

 

• Olabisi Johnson(6/35) had a high in targets(9) on Sunday, but it’s probably all for naught, as Adam Thielen is slated to return after the Week 12 bye – Kyle Rudolph will probably fade too. 

 

Saints – 34 @ Buccaneers – 17

 

• Latavius Murray had is most touches(12/32) since Alvin Kamara returned from injury on Sunday, and it wasn’t garbage time action. He was involved early, but the Bucs don’t shrink against RBs, so it didn’t amount to much. He should have some decent flex appeal against Carolina this week. 

 

• TE Cameron Brate(10/73) had a team leading 14 targets on Sunday, with O.J. Howard getting benched for bobbling a pass that was intercepted. Howard can be dropped in most formats, while Brate is worth adding where you can. Tampa would be wise to stay away from from Atlanta’s reinvigorated secondary this week. 

 

• Scotty Miller(4/71) had a decent line on Sunday, but I wouldn’t chase it this week against Atlanta, for reasons I’ve disclosed. 

 

Jets – 34 @ Redskins – 17 

 

• TE Ryan Griffin is boom or bust in the Jets offense going from a negative fantasy score in Week 10 to a monster 5/109/1 line in Week 11. I’d lean closer to boom this week against the Raiders, who are notoriously easy on TEs. 

 

• Derrius Guice saw his first action since week 1, scoring on a 45 yard screen pass in addition to 24 yards on the ground. He played behind Adrian Peterson, but he will probably get more snaps going forward. Guice is injury prone, but his talent is Marshawn Lynch like. Add him where you can. 

 

• Terry McLaurin teetered on the edge fantasy relevance on Sunday with 69 yards on 4 catches. He’s got a pretty excellent schedule to finish the season, but Dwayne Haskins isn’t reliable enough to depend on. McLaurin is a flex at best and a boom or bust one at that. 

 

• Kelvin Harmon filled in for Paul RIchardson, going 5/53 on a team leading 6 targets. If Richardson sits again, Harmon could add some value in deep PPR formats. 

 

Cardinals – 26 @ 49ers – 36

 

• Kenyan Drake(22/80) took all the touches at RB for the Cardinals, despite David Johnson being active. DJ isn’t right, and I don’t know that the bye is going to be enough time for him to get back to speed. Chase Edmonds may be back from injury by then too, so the outlook is muddled across the board. You need to hold onto DJ until after the next game.

 

• All the 49ers offense got involved against the Cardinals because they had to and because they could. The Cards are a great team to play because they are easy to move the ball on, and they move the ball well. There’s always action to be had. Deebo Samuel went the biggest(8/134), for the 2nd straight week. He needs to be owned in more than half of leagues. He’ll take a hit when Kittle gets back, but he’s done enough so far to stay on Garopollo’s mind. 

 

• Ross Dwelley(4/14) had 2 TD, but it was against the league’s worst team against TEs. He only had 14 yards on the day otherwise. I’m more interested in Kyle Juszczyk(7/63), who’s been gone for a month. He was 2nd on the team in targets with 7. If Kittle misses more time, it’s him I want to get a piece of. 

 

Bengals – 10 @ Raiders – 17

 

• There wasn’t much going for the Bengals offense outside of a fiery performance from Joe Mixon(16/103/1). Auden Tate is dealing with a concussion and a cervical strain, so there’s a good chance we won’t see him this week. Behind him is, well it doesn’t really matter with Ryan Finley under center – it’s Alex Erickson and Stanley Morgan.

 

• Hunter Renfrow(5/66) is turning into a poor man’s Julian Edelman, leading the Raiders in targets, catches and yards over the last 4 weeks. He’ll be a high floor flex against the Jets in PPR formats this week.

 

• Josh Jacobs has pretty much settled Offensive ROY arguments by now hasn’t he?

 

Patriots – 17 @ Eagles – 10

 

• This was perhaps the worst game we’ve seen out of NE offensively speaking. 10 different players caught 2 or more balls, but none of it amounted to much. It was nice to see Rookie N’Keal Harry(3/18) get involved after missing the season up to this point though. Phillip Dorsett left with a concussion, so we could see a door of opportunity open for Harry this week against the Cowboys, though they’re not the team you want to throw against. 

 

• With no Alshon Jeffery around, Zach Ertz led the team in targets(11) and yards(91). If Jeffery can’t get on the field this week, look for Nelson Agholor, who had 9 targets and 40 yards, to soak up targets in his absence. Jordan Matthews played an every down role as well with no Jeffery, though his 1 for 6 effort was nothing to talk about. 

 

Bears – 7 @ Rams – 17

 

• Virtually every decision that Mitch Trubisky made last night was based off of his hip pointer that he suffered in the 2nd quarter, according to Coach Matt Nagy. Right. Taylor Gabriel and Anthony Miller had 14 and11 targets last night, but they missed about half the time. Trubisky is a liability right now, and Chase Daniel would be a better QB for the team, or at least for fantasy. Hopefully Trubisky’s “pointer” keeps him off the field in Week 12 against he Giants. 

 

• Tarik Cohen(14/74/1) had his best game of the season playing ahead of an injured David Montgomery. He could be worth a flex if Montgomery is limited throughout the week. 

 

• Todd Gurley resembled his old self last night. Too bad none of the rest of the offense did. Jared Goff is falling apart it seems. I don’t think Week 12 against the Ravens is a get right moment for Goff, so I’m staying away from the Rams pass catchers if I can, something I never thought I’d say.