Fantasy Football: Start / Sit Week 12

It’s Wednesday my dudes, and that means I am coming at you with another start / sit article. Last week I did so-so yet again. I nailed the Drew Brees, Juju Smith-Schuster and Carson Wentz picks, but definitelt fell flat when it came to Brian Hill, Todd Gurley and D.J. Moore. Granted, Hill did have a touchdown called back so i was close on that one, but he still didn’t put up the yardage totals to be a worthwhile start.

Overall since I’ve started doing these blogs I’ve been pretty good. I started hot, but, like I said, I have had back to back OK weeks. Still, I think I am primed for a big week in week 12. And despite the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings on their bye weeks, I think there are a lot of guys you can use to fill out your roster. So here we go, my week 12 start / sit:

Quarterback:

Start- Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles

I have been down on Carson Wentz for most of the season, but I think he has a great game Sunday in what I think will be a shootout with the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle gives up the fifth most passing yards a game, and allows plenty of yards to the tight end position where the Eagles have both Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz. Add in that he is at home, Wentz is set up for a good performance.

Sit- Sam Darnold, New York Jets

Darnold had a BIG week in week 11 against the Washington Redskins throwing 4 touchdown passes. Impressive, but Washington stinks. This week the Jets take on a good Raiders team who will try and control the clock with rookie running back Josh Jacobs. It may seem like a nice matchup because of Oakland’s willingness to give up passing yards (they are right behind Seattle), but I think Darnold could struggle.

Running Back:

Start- Jaylen Samuels, Pittsburgh Steelers

To me, Samuels is a must play. With Juju Smith-Schuster already declared out and James Conner and Diontae Johnson unlikely to play, Samuels is in line to catch a ton of passes against a Cincinnati Bengals defense that has been bad all year. Samuels scored 23 PPR points against Cincinnati in week 4 WITH Conner playing. Bu with their starter, Pittsburgh should be ready to roll with Samuels as their lead guy.

RB James Conner and WR Diontae Johnson also in question for Sunday and would be a mild upset to see any of them play against the Bengals. https://t.co/LVgCh2kzqy

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 20, 2019

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Sit- Derrius Guice, Washington Redskins

Like I mentioned in my blurb about Sam Darnold, the Redskins stink. You may be excited to start Guice against a Detroit Lions defense giving up 124 yards on the ground a game, but he still doesn’t have the lead role in the Redskins backfield. Adrian Peterson is still there, and Chris Thomposon is working his way back from injury.

Yes Guice did score last week, but that was on a garbage time 45-yard touchdown pass. If he didn’t catch that ball, he would’ve ended with 2.4 fantasy points on 29% of snaps. Stay away from Guice if you can.

Wide Receiver:

Start- Tyrell Williams, Oakland Raiders

Tyrell Williams has had a strange season. He started the season with a touchdown in four straight games, then he got hurt, missing three weeks (if you include Oakland’s bye). He then came back in week 8 and, yup, he scored another touchdown; but he hasn’t scored since.

I think Williams gets back on the horse this week as Oakland’s offense overpowers the Jets defense allowing an average of 253 yards through the air a game. There is no doubt that Ty-Will is boom or bust, but his matchup is too good for me to think he has a bad game.

Largest differences in 40-yard times for projected Week 12 WR/CB matchups

Tyrell Williams vs. Blessuan Austin
Odell Beckham Jr. vs. Nik Needham
Robby Anderson vs. Daryl Worley
Marvin Jones vs. Josh Norman
Tre’Quan Smith vs. Javien Elliott
Chris Conley vs. LeShaun Sims

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) November 20, 2019

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Sit- Emmanuel Sanders, San Francisco 49ers

Tempting to start the 49ers number one receiver after Jimmy Garappolo threw 4 touchdown passes last week, right? Wrong, at least in my opinion.

Sanders is still nursing a rib injury suffered in week 10, only playing in 47% of the snaps last week against the Arizona Cardinals. I think the injury is more than meets the eye and Sanders is going to struggle to stay on the field. I wouldn’t put him in my lineup, especially with him most likely matched up with Green Bay Packers stud Jaire Alexander IF he plays.

*Bonus* Tight Ends to stream

I typically don’t do a TE start / sit because it is usually a crap shoot. But with Kyle Rudolph, Huntry Henry, and Travis Kelce all on bye, I figured I throw a couple of guys out there.

Vance McDonald of the Pittsburgh Steelers has a good chance to ball out. Like I mentioned earlier, the Steelers are going to be without plenty of playmakers Sunday at Cincinnati. McDonald has played 97% of snaps the past two weeks, has received 7 targets in three straight games, and the Bengals linebackers have a hard time covering receivers; he could be a good start.

Another good option is the Jets’ Ryan Griffin. I am low on Darnold, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t throw at least one touchdown, and Griffin has been his red-zone guy all year. Griffin may bust (just like any other tight end streaming option) but with touchdown upside he is worth a shot.

-Jarrod Ribaudo (@Jribs53)