Trashman’s Fantasy Fallout Going Into Week 12 of the NFL Season

There were quite a few low-scoring contests in Week 11, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t moves available to capitalize on. There are plenty of poorly performing and/or injured players to pivot away from moving into Week 12. Here’s the fallout…

 

Patriots – 25 @ Falcons – 0 

 

• Rhamondre Stevenson and Damien Harris split carries almost evenly with 13 and 11 touches a piece. It’s kind of our worst nightmare. The blowout might’ve had something to do with it, but we may be hoping for a TD for either player to make it worth starting either of them as anything more than a flex in PPR formats. 

 

• Qadree Ollison ended up leading the Falcons in rushing, for what it’s worth, with 36 yards on 11 touches. Cordarrelle Patterson was a true game time decision, so it’s unlikely that Ollison takes the lead this week. 

 

• With the Pats focusing on stopping Kyle Pitts, Russell Gage racked up 8 targets to lead the Falcons’ receiving corps. He only had 49 yards yards on the day, in a game that the Falcons basically gave up in, but if there’s a Falcons WR you might consider risking a PPR flex on, it’s Gage. 

 

Washington – 27 @ Panthers – 21

 

• Washington ran the ball 33 times on Sunday, with Antonio Gibson carrying the ball 19 times to 7 a piece for Jd Mckissic and Jarret Patterson. This scenario seems unlikely to repeat itself on a consistent basis, so I’m not really interested in McKissic or Patterson right now, especially with Gibson not being bothered by his shin. 

 

• DeAndre Carter scored for the 3rd straight game and seems to be a reliable target for Taylor Heinicke. The bad news is that Cam Sims also scored and seems to have eaten into Carter’s targets. With Curtis Samuel potentially missing the rest of the season with a groin injury though, there’s enough upside to invest in Carter in deeper formats.

 

• There’s a chance that John Bates is the healthiest Washington TE this week, and that means you should own him. Washington TEs are among the league leaders in pass routes run on a weekly basis. 

 

• Cam Newton showed us all that he’s got gas left in the tank on Sunday, in a game that displayed his potentially league winning upside, throwing for 2 TDs and running in one. He needs to be owned and started in all formats, as long as he’s healthy. 

 

49ers – 30 @ Jaguars – 10

 

• Jeff Wilson Jr. touched the ball 20 times for 58 yards, and Trey Sermon was right behind with 55 yards on 11 touches. 6 of Sermon’s 11 touches did come when the game was well in hand though, so this still looks like Wilson’s backfield as long as Elijah Mitchell is out. 

 

• Brandon Aiyuk has officially turned a corner. He’s gained over 85 yards in 2 of his last 3 contests, catching all 7 of his targets on Sunday. Congrats if you held onto him or were able to grab him when you could. He’s still available in about 25% of leagues, but he’s becoming scarce.

 

• Welp, that was short lived. Jamal Agnew‘s breakout season has been cut short by a season ending hip injury on Sunday, moving Lavishka Shenault back into the limelight, presumably. As sad as this is for Agnew and his owners, this bodes well for Shenault and Marvin Jones Jr. going into a Week 12 tilt with the Falcons.

 

Lions – 10 @ Browns – 13

 

• At least we know there is no QB controversy in Detroit, as Tim Boyle threw for an anemic 77 yards and 2 INTs on Sunday. Jared Goff is bad, but he’s better than this. Unfortunately for the Lions, they play on Thanksgiving, so there’s a chance Goff misses this week with his oblique injury. Queue up the Bears defense in what is shaping up to be an ugly game. 

 

• Baker Mayfield isn’t doing any of his receivers any favors, throwing 176 yards 1 TD and 2 INTs on Sunday. He stunk the place up against the worst defense in the league, and I can’t advocate starting any Brown save Nick Chubb against the Ravens this week. 

 

Texans – 22 @ Titans – 13

 

• On first glance at the Texans’ box score, it’s hard to understand how they actually won the game, but then you see that Tyrod Taylor ran for 2 TDs. No one else did anything on a miserably rainy day in Nashville, even though Rex Burkhead ran the ball 18 times. David Johnson had 16 touches behind him but looks like a dim shadow of his former self. Phillip Lindsay was nowhere to be seen, so perhaps we have some clarity moving forward. Burkhead is worth a look against a really terrible Jets front this week. 

 

• Dontrell Hilliard led the Titans backfield in touches(15) for 82 yards, with 8 of those touches being receptions. It was a bizarre game script for theTitans, as they were down 12 – nothing halfway into the game against a team that had only won 1 game. The Titans face the Pats this week, so Hilliard could be in for another major workload. The lack of usage for D’Onta Foreman(7 touches) makes him hard to trust in this matchup.   

 

• AJ Brown injured his chest in this one, but it doesn’t look like he’ll miss much time if any. The same can’t be said for Marcus Johnson, who came up lame on a route and injured his hamstring. He’s looking at a multi-week injury, so Nick Westbrook is line to get considerable targets this week, albeit against a tough Pats secondary. Dez Fitpatrick caught a TD and had 6 targets, so he could be worth a look as well, if Brown can’t go.

 

Dolphins – 24 @ Jets – 17

 

• Salvon Ahmed was a scratch and Malcolm Brown is on IR, so Duke Johnson backed up Myles Gaskin on Sunday, touching the ball 4 times for 18 yards. Gaskin has been up and down all season, but he’s in good shape to see the bulk of backfield touches this week against Carolina. 

 

• Mack Hollins is good for a big play every other week it seems, this time scoring on a 65-yard strike. He only had 3 targets on the day though, so I’m still hands off outside of DFS. 

 

• Michael Carter left the game with an ankle injury in the 3rd quarter, ceding his touches to Tevin Coleman from that point. Ty Johnson only touched the ball twice. Whoever ends up starting gets to face the Texans this week, so it’s a situation worth monitoring. Coleman deserves to be a speculative add this week. 

 

• Elijah Moore had a coming out party versus the Dolphins, catching 8 balls for 141 yards and a score. His rapport with Joe Flacco is evident, and Moore should be added in all formats. He has league winning upside. 

 

Colts – 45 @ Bills – 15

 

• The fact that no Colt not named Taylor gained more than 31 yards or found the end-zone tells you everything you need to know about the Colts’ offense on Sunday. 

 

• The Bills got little to nothing going, outside of Stefon Diggs‘ 2 short TDs, and Dawson Knox‘s 10 targets, but it should be noted that Matt Breida touched the ball 6 times for 67 yards, tying Devin Singeltary for touches but outgaining him. Breida looks like the Bills’ best back right now, maybe his time off invigorated him. In any case, he should be added if you need a RB. 

 

Packers – 31 @ Vikings – 34

 

• We were all hoping for the AJ Dillon come up this week, but we had to settle for a Marquez Valdes-Scantling explosion instead, not that we were prepared for it. MVS only caught 4 balls, but he was targeted 10 times, and he came away with 123 yards and a score in a tit for tat matchup. His production warrants picking him up in most formats, as the Packers are facing another potential shootout with the Rams. 

 

• It was all Cook, Jefferson and Thielen for the VIkings on Sunday – per usual. 

 

Ravens – 16 @ Bears – 13

 

• The ravens eked out just enough offense to win this one, with the largely ineffective Tyler Huntley under center for an ill Lamar Jackson. Huntley leaned heavily on Mark Andrews and the run game, with both Devonta Freeman and Latavius Murray seeing double-digit touches to mediocre effect. Murray played behind Freeman, but that might’ve been an artifact of him getting back to game speed. Either way, both are underwhelming options against the Browns in Week 12. 

 

• Justin Fields avoided broken ribs on Sunday, but will likely miss a short week Thanksgiving outing with Detroit. Andy Dalton is likely to start in what will undoubtedly be a snoozefest. 

 

• Marquise Goodwin filled in for Allen Robinson on Sunday and had a better day than Robinson has seen this season, scoring and adding 104 yards on 4 catches. If Robinson can’t go this week, Goodwin makes for a hail mary flex play. 

 

Saints – 29 @ Eagles – 40

 

• TE Adam Trautman tied Tre’Quan Smith with 8 targets on the day, Trautman catching 5 of those for 58 yards and a score and Smith catching 5 for 64 yards. It was Trautman’s best game of the season, and he’s averaging almost 7 targets a game, but the Saints face the Bills this week, so he’s not a strong option and he’s playing with an injured knee. 

 

• Alvin Kamara didn’t practice Monday and is in danger of missing another week. Mark Ingram may have to face the Bills with Tony Jones Jr as his backup. Ingram has been effective thus far, and Jonathan Taylor‘s drubbing of the Bills should lend Ingram’s owners some hope. 

 

• Jordan Howard exited the game with a knee sprain and is expected to miss Week 12, pushing Boston Scott into direct backup work behind Miles Sanders. Kenneth Gainwell is likely to be activated this week as well. 

 

Bengals – 32 @ Raiders – 13

 

• Tee Higgins had his worst game of the season, only catching 2 balls for 15 yards, but it was an anomaly. He’s still very much a viable WR. 

 

• So much for DeSean Jackson getting new life in Vegas(0 receptions in Week 11). Just as I thought, there’s nothing worth seeing here as Derek Carr doesn’t take shots. Jackson isn’t worth owning in 12 team or smaller formats. 

 

Cowboys – 9 @ Chiefs – 19

 

• The Cowboys could be in trouble on Thanksgiving, as both Amari Cooper(Covid-19) and CeeDee Lamb(concussion) may miss the game – Cooper is out for sure, as he’s unvaccinated and must sit 10 days. Gallup didn’t do much in Week 11, but he was targeted 10 times and should see similar targets on Thursday. 

 

• Cedric Wilson was second in targets(7) on Sunday for 36 yards, and is likely to approach double-digit looks this week, if neither Cooper nor Lamb can go. Dalton Schultz will be worth starting as well. 

 

• Darrel Williams saw only 6 touches(26 yards) behind Clyde Edwards-Helaire on Sunday, sending him back to the ranks of the unplayable. That was fun while it lasted. 

 

Cardinals – 23 @ Seahawks – 13

 

• The Cardinals have a bye this week, and Kyler Murray should return in Week 13, so things should return to normal for the birds. Eno Benjamin has been largely ineffective behind James Conner and can be dropped in the meantime. 

 

• Rondale Moore had 11 catches for 51 yards, but it was Colt McCoy under center so we can’t carry that usage into Week 13, as Murray should return by then. It’s good to see Moore getting some real run though. 

 

• DeeJay Dallas had 5 touches behind Alex Collins‘ 10, but neither back accomplished much. Rashaad Penny started the game but quickly injured his hamstring. It wouldn’t be surprising if Dallas’ role grows this week, as the Seahawks are starving for playmakers. 

 

Steelers – 37 @ Chargers – 41

 

• Pat Freiermuth continues to get slept on in fantasy. He had a down week in Week 10, although he had 9 targets, but he’s scored in 3 of his last 4 games and is averaging 7 targets since the bye. He needs to be owned. 

 

• Mike Williams finally looks like himself again, after a several week slump, catching 5 balls for 97 yards and a score. That being said, he hasn’t had double-digit targets since Week 5. Keenan Allen is the clear no.1. 

 

• Donald Parham is inching his way past Jared Cook, tying him for targets(5) this week. Still, a split like this doesn’t help either player as neither one can be depended on in fantasy.