Who to Start in Fantasy Football? NFL Week 12 First Look
Week 12 will be difficult in fantasy football with six teams on a bye. They include the Bills and Bengals, who are two of the more potent offenses in the league. The bye weeks will lead to some difficult start or sit decisions in fantasy football this week.
We have a wide variety of picks and projections to consider on PrizePicks to help decide who to start in fantasy football. Let’s take an early look at the board and highlight some of the more appealing players to start in fantasy football this week at each position. Last week, these picks on PrizePicks went 7-3 — let’s run it back.
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Who to Start in Fantasy Football? Week 12
Here’s our full list of who to start in fantasy football for Week 12. Click the player to view their PrizePicks Projections and analysis.
Who to Start: Quarterbacks
Who to Start: Running Backs
Who to Start: Wide Receivers
Who to Start: Tight Ends
Who to Start in Week 12: Quarterbacks
Broncos QB Bo Nix 215.5 Pass Yards – More
Broncos QB Bo Nix picked apart the Falcons last week, throwing for 307 yards and four touchdowns. Nix carved up the Falcons defense that ranks 31st in pass rush grade, per PFF. Over his last four games, he has thrown for nine touchdowns and added a rushing score.
Week 12 brings a great matchup against the Raiders, who are tied for the seventh-most touchdown passes allowed (18) in the league.
Like the Falcons, the Raiders struggle to pressure the quarterback, as they grade as the 24th pass rush defense, per PFF. They also have the sixth-highest pass expected points added (EPA) per play allowed (0.12) in the league, per 4for4 Fantasy Football.
Lions QB Jared Goff 246.5 Pass Yards – More
Lions QB Jared Goff completed 82.8% of his pass attempts against the Jaguars last week, finishing with 412 passing yards and four touchdowns in an immaculate performance from the Lions offense.
Following the Lions’ bye in Week 5, Goff has 15 touchdown passes over his last six games. Look for him to stay hot in a matchup with the Colts, who have allowed the fourth-highest completion percentage (69.5%) in the league.
Who to Start in Week 12: Running Backs
Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr. 63.5 Rush Yards – More
Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr. made his return from a hamstring injury to rush 16 times for 63 yards and a touchdown last week against the Eagles. That game was played on Thursday Night Football, so he will have added rest heading into Week 12 against the Cowboys.
Robinson is a must-start in fantasy with the Cowboys having the highest rush EPA per play allowed (0.12) in the league per 4for4. The Cowboys have given up more than 63.5 yards to an opposing running back in each of the last five games.
Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs 68.5 Rush Yards – MORE
Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs needed only 11 carries to record 69 rushing yards and a touchdown last week against the Jaguars. Even with Lions RB David Montgomery racking up touchdowns in bunches, Gibbs has recorded at least one touchdown in four of his last five games.
His speed makes him a difficult matchup for the Colts, who have allowed the 10th-highest explosive rush percentage (11.86%) in the league per 4for4. The Lions should have no issues taking care of another mediocre AFC South opponent this week.
Giants RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. 66.5 Rush Yards – More
The Giants come out of their bye week having made a change at quarterback with Tommy DeVito taking over for Daniel Jones. Giants RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. will continue to lead the way at running back after having recorded at least 103 rushing yards in two of his last three games. He also received at least 16 carries in five of the last six games.
A hefty workload for Tracy against a Buccaneers team that has the sixth-highest rush EPA per play allowed (0.04 per 4for4) could be a recipe for success.
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Who to Start in Week 12: Wide Receivers
Giants WR Malik Nabers 62.5 Receiving Yards – More
The change at quarterback to QB Tommy DeVito likely won’t be a significant downgrade for Giants WR Malik Nabers. QB Daniel Jones was struggling to throw the deep ball and had a couple of situations recently where he missed an open Nabers for what could have been a significant gain.
It would make sense for the Giants to keep it simple for DeVito and give their talented rookie WR1 plenty of opportunities with the ball in his hands.
Nabers has been targeted at least 10 times in all but two of his games played this season and should remain busy with DeVito under center. It comes in a perfect matchup, as the Bucs are giving up the highest dropback success rate (52%) this season, per rbsdm, and they rank 30th in dropback expected points added (.172).
Broncos WR Courtland Sutton 56.5 Receiving Yards – More
Broncos WR Courtland Sutton has recorded at least 70 receiving yards in each of the last four games. The key was that he was targeted at least eight times in each of those games; he has at least eight targets in seven games this season.
Sutton finished with at least 60 receiving yards in six of those games. Both he and Nix have significant upside in their matchup with the Raiders, who Nix should have no problem carving up.
Colts WR Josh Downs 55.5 Receiving Yards – More
Colts WR Josh Downs was targeted just five times last week with Colts QB Anthony Richardson under center again. That ended a streak of three straight games for Downs in which he received at least nine targets. However, he still finished with five receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown.
That left Downs with at least 60 receiving yards in seven of his last eight games. The Colts will likely need to throw a lot to keep up with the Lions high-powered offense, so expect Downs to be busy.
Who to Start in Week 12: Tight End
Buccaneers TE Cade Otton 56.5 Receiving Yards – More
With injuries hammering the Buccaneers at wide receiver, Buccaneers TE Cade Otton has recorded 30 receptions for 293 yards and three touchdowns over the last four games.
Buccaneers WR Mike Evans (hamstring) could return this week, but the team is still thin at wide receiver behind him, with Chris Godwin done for the season. Otton is an appealing option against a Giants defense that has allowed 7.90 yards per target to opposing tight ends.
Patriots TE Hunter Henry 43.5 Receiving Yards – More
Patriots TE Hunter Henry was targeted nine times last week, finishing with six receptions for 63 yards against the Rams. That marked the fourth time over the last five games that Henry has finished with at least five receptions and 45 receiving yards.
While he has just one touchdown this season, he should remain one of the focal points of the Patriots passing attack that will be much-needed in keeping up with the Dolphins. That gives Hunter plenty of upside versus a Dolphins team that is tied for the eighth-most receptions allowed to tight ends in the league.
Build Your Week 12 NFL DFS Lineup on PrizePicks
Six teams will have their bye in Week 12. That will put some fantasy managers in a difficult spot when it comes to start or sit decisions in fantasy football.
You can get in on the action in Week 12 by building a team on PrizePicks for the Sunday slate. There are no salary constraints, so pick two or more projections for your favorite players, finalize your lineup, sit back, and enjoy the games.
Follow Mike Barner for more NFL Picks: @rotomikebarner
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