With all but one of the Week 12 games (Monday Night Football), we learned a little more than we knew last week. Or, in some cases, we thought we knew. Players impressed, players disappointed and there’s fantasy football fallout to unpack.
(Upgrade to Fantasy Plus and Gain an Advantage in Player Projections and More)
Once again, I’ve compiled the complete weekly fantasy football stock report below. These are the most notable ups and downs of week 12. Invest accordingly!
Advertisement
📈 Stock up at RB
Derrick Henry, Ravens
Around Week 5 or 6, after a series of horrible matchups and a number of games without Lamar Jackson, there was a lot of panic about Derrick Henry. And while he hasn’t quite reached the elite ceilings he did in years past, Henry has since put those concerns aside. He’s had between 18 and 24 carries in six straight games, averaged 92 rushing yards per game over that span and scored three touchdowns over the past two weeks. Not only that, he can play against the Bengals in Weeks 13 and 15 – so those elite ceiling numbers can still be met. Henry always looks tougher late in the season and prepares to be a consistent RB1 in the fantasy playoffs.
Advertisement
Travis Etienne Jr., Jaguars
After a Week 11 game in which Bhayshul Tuten was heavily involved – and both backs were banged up – some Fantasy managers were concerned that Travis Etienne Jr. would lose his job to the explosive rookie. Not so much. Not only did he have 18 touches for 116 yards (and a receiving touchdown) in Week 12, but Etienne now has over 14 fantasy points in four straight games and has a meeting with the Titans on deck. Tuten is a nice change of pace option, but he clearly remains second fiddle to Etienne (only seven carries for 17 yards on Sunday). You can trust the Jags’ best runner every week for the rest of the fantasy season.
Kareem Hunt, Chiefs
With Isiah Pacheco out (again) on Sunday, Hunt had the most productive day by a Kansas City running back this season, with 130 total yards (and a rushing touchdown) on 30 touches. More importantly, even if Pacheco returns soon, Hunt has now scored five touchdowns in his last four games. And that seems firmly entrenched as the driving force behind this offense, as the Chiefs attempt to better control game scripts in their continued quest for a playoff spot. Hunt has a great matchup with the Cowboys in Week 13 and can start as a high-end RB3 or better even if Pacheco is active.
Advertisement
📈 Stock up at WR
Wan’Dale Robinson, Giants
Jaxson Dart is expected to return soon, but Jameis Winston reminded us (and hopefully the Giants coaching staff) why Wan’Dale Robinson should remain heavily involved in an otherwise unarmed offense. He caught nine of 14 targets for 156 yards and a touchdown Sunday, and looked by far like the most dangerous asset New York has to move the ball. He has a bye in Week 14 and has been inconsistent with Dart — despite a ton of targets most weeks — so Robinson isn’t the most reliable option for a playoff push. But he’s a high-volume option and has green matchups with the Commanders and Raiders in the fantasy playoffs.
AJ Brown, Eagles
During his first match outside the derogatory-comments-on-the-Twitch-sagaAJ Brown has been heavily involved but disappointing for fantasy – seven catches for just 49 yards on 11 targets last week against Detroit. Well, there was more grease for the squeaky wheel on Sunday, as Brown saw 10 targets, but this time around he caught eight for 110 yards and a touchdown. It was his second 20-point fantasy day of the season, and only his second game with a touchdown in the last nine weeks. Brown (and the Eagles) have a slew of excellent matchups on the upcoming schedule, and he appears to be back in his usual spot as one half of the elite WR duo in Philadelphia. You should deploy him as a WR1/WR2 option who will inevitably disappear for a half…or maybe a game (hopefully not in the playoffs).
Advertisement
📈 Stock up elsewhere
Brenton Strange, Jaguars
I was a big fan of Brenton Strange’s prospects early in the season, and after he had 45+ yards in three of his first four games, it looked promising. Then Strange was injured in Week 5 and missed the next five games. Well, Strange came back strong in Week 12, catching all five of his targets for 93 yards. He’s one of the most explosive young tight ends in football and can absolutely count for fantasy down the stretch if he continues to see significant volume in an otherwise lacking Jacksonville offense. At least add it to the waivers.
Caleb Williams, Bear
Caleb Williams made me look like a fool on Sunday, torching a previously improved Steelers defense for 239 yards and three touchdowns after I warned of his “bust” potential. And while Williams is still a weekly “dud” threat — he has fewer than 13 fantasy points in half of his last six games — he’s also gone over 20 points in three of his last four and has led Chicago’s offense to an increasingly high level. Williams has a very busy schedule coming up, so he will likely remain a fringe fantasy play, but he has now shown that he can put up big numbers with some consistency. Consider him part of a streaming duo ahead of the fantasy playoffs.
Advertisement
📉 Stock down at RB
David Montgomery (again), Lions
We generally try to avoid repetition in this column, but David Montgomery is on a real collision course with the fantasy bench and that needs to be recognized. The Lions RB2 hasn’t had more than 10 fantasy points since Week 5 (against the hapless Bengals), has recorded 40 rushing yards or fewer in five of his last six games and has totaled just 11 carries for 45 rushing yards over the past two weeks. Jahmyr Gibbs has literally run away with the backfield, and we simply cannot trust Montgomery in any capacity. His old floor is gone and his ceiling is heavily capped by Gibbs’ involvement. Keep Montgomery — he’s theoretically the best attrition in the league — but don’t play him until something changes (which probably won’t).
Advertisement
By Andre Swift, Bear
As D’Andre Swift’s #1 fan this season, this pains me to write. But we have to face the facts. Kyle Monangai has become far too involved in this offense – especially on the goal line – in recent weeks. Despite scoring in three straight games, Swift not has scored since Week 8. And after still managing 80 and 90 rushing yards in Weeks 10 and 11, respectively, Swift had his first real bust of the year in Week 12 with just 15 yards on eight carries. He doesn’t have a particularly soft game for the rest of the year, and while he should bounce back from a yardage standpoint, Monangai’s TD-vulturing is going to hurt Swift’s ceiling. He’s probably more of a low-end RB2 than the low-end RB1 he was midway through the season.
📉 Stock down at WR
CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys
What’s going on, CeeDee Lamb? Does this man have yips? Despite missing several games, Lamb is tied with Jerry Jeudy and Davante Adams for the most drops in the league this year (eight, according to PFF), and honestly, it looks worse than that in several cases. He only caught four of 11 targets on Sunday, and even though he still had 75 receiving yards, he left potentially 75 more (and a touchdown) on the field. George Pickens appears to be the most reliable WR1 in Dallas right now, and while Lamb is still a go-to player, he’s not currently the elite top-tier option he was entering the year. You can expect 12-15 fantasy points most weeks, but he hasn’t hit 20 all year.
Advertisement
Jameson Williams, Lions
If you were starting to get excited about Jameson Williams after three straight weeks of 14+ fantasy points, here’s a towel for the cold water that was thrown at you in Week 12. Williams displayed a goose egg, with just three targets in an excellent game against the Giants. This is the second time he’s done this in five games, and it’s his sixth game of the year with fewer than six fantasy points. You can play him any week in hopes of a big play or two, but you should be aware that he is more prone to full-dudding than any other WR3 in fantasy.
Justin Jefferson, Vikings
Listen. It’s time to recognize reality. Justin Jefferson is bad at fantasy. Not just “not great”… he’s scored fewer than nine fantasy points in three straight games with JJ McCarthy back under center, he still hasn’t scored 18 points all year, and he’s only scored one touchdown since Week 2. Some players with more fantasy points than Jefferson since their Week 6 bye include Michael Wilson, Troy Franklin, Stefon Diggs, and Parker Washington. He’s a good WR3 with potential, but he’s not a WR1 by far.
📉 Store elsewhere
Lamar Jackson (again), Ravens
In this column last week, Lamar Jackson was a “Stock Down” player with the caveat that we shouldn’t panic just yet. GOOD. Maybe it’s time to panic. After his 25.56-point effort against the Dolphins in his Week 9 return, Jackson was, unironically, terrible for fantasy. He’s averaging just 174 yards per game over the past three weeks, with one touchdown pass. in all and only 57 rushing yards in that span as well. He’s scored fewer than eight fantasy points in consecutive games, for goodness sake. The next three weeks bring an incredible chance for redemption – Bengals, Steelers, Bengals could be three 30-burgers in a row – but Jackson will have to rediscover everything he’s lost since he was injured midway through the season (specifically, his rushing threat).
Advertisement
Jordan Love (and the Packers passers)
To be clear, you already shouldn’t have started Jordan Love on Sunday – he’s been predictably bad in every slightly tough game all season, and he was bad again on Sunday, scoring just 7.06 fantasy points against Minnesota. But every new data point in “Love Can’t Produce Against Good Defenses” is another reason why his stock is falling in favor of fantasy. He’s a good streamer in a QB combo deck, but you just can’t trust him as a starter every week. Specifically, you’ll need another option when he faces the Broncos in Week 15. And as for his pass catchers, good luck getting started. any of them and I expect reliable fantasy points. I think it’s more or less hands-off in Green Bay across the board.
