Week 12: Starts, Sits, and Sleepers

This week was weird to say the least. The Ravens had a COVID outbreak which made their game get moved from Thursday to Sunday to now Tuesday night. The 49ers currently don’t have a home stadium, with Santa Clara banning sporting events due to the county's uptick in COVID numbers. The Denver Broncos’ are forced to start a practice squad QB turned WR turned back to QB due to… wait for it… COVID problems within the team’s QB room. Can the League stay running for much longer with all the problems it's having with COVID numbers spiking throughout the country? For now all we can do is hope that these teams are able to put together a full squad to put out on the field, safely of course.

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QB Starts

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (vs Raiders)

Matt Ryan is coming off a performance to forget about in week 11 but gets a Las Vegas Raiders defense that can easily be picked apart. The Falcons will be without Todd Gurley in this game so we should see the Falcons rely on the arm of Matt Ryan. It also helps that the Atlanta Falcons defense is terrible and will not be able to stop the Raiders from scoring so Matty Ice will need to stick to the pass more in this game.

Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders (at Falcons)

The reasoning behind starting Matt Ryan can also be said about Derek Carr. The terrible defense he’s going up against and the terrible defense his team has, also applies to Carr. The Raiders signal caller is in the middle of a career year with 19 touchdown passes and only 3 INTs, and is really shutting up his doubters (me included) this season. Carr is capable of giving Fantasy Managers a huge game here and there and I believe a matchup with the defense giving up the most points to opposing QB’s is one of his “Boom” games.

Sit: Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings (vs Panthers)

Cousins is a streaky option and without WR Adam Thielen due to COVID protocol, there are much better options this week. The Panthers have been solid against opposing QB’s but they have been terrible against the run. This game will feature the insane skills of Dalvin Cook and we will see Cousins in a “game manager” type role in this one.

RB Starts

Nyheim Hines, Indianapolis Colts (vs Titans)

The Colts will be without Rookie RB Jonathan Taylor this week due to COVID protocol so we should see more of Jordan Wilkins and Nyheim Hines. In the Colts week 10 matchup with Titans it was all Nyheim Hines when he finished with 28.5 fantasy points. He most likely won’t lead the team in rush attempts but he should see his attempts go up without Taylor out there. Hines’ pass catching skills will always have him on the field. Hines is viewed as a mid-level RB2

Kareem Hunt, Cleveland Browns (at Jaguars)

Kareem Hunt has seen his snap percentage go down from around 85% to around 54% since the return of Nick Chubb. He’s still getting the ball with 32 carries over the last two games and with Jacksonville up next I would keep him locked into your lineups. Hunt is still a very capable passing catching back but his numbers over the last two games haven’t been inspiring but that shouldn’t hold too much weight since both of those game had high winds and huge rainstorms. Playing in sunny Jacksonville will make Kareem Hunt a bigger part of the Browns game plan.

Sit: Carlos Hyde, Seattle Seahawks (at Eagles)

The Philadelphia Eagles defense has been solid against the run this season giving up an average of 17 points per game to the RB position. Carlos Hyde will be the lead back if Chris Carson is unable to go but that doesn’t mean you should go get him into your lineups.

WR Starts

Calvin Ridley, Atlanta Falcons (vs Raiders)

Calvin Ridley received 9 targets last week and ended his day with 90 yards. With Julio still listed as questionable after missing practice on Friday and Todd Gurley listed as out, we’re likely to see those numbers rise. Averaging right around 15.6 yards per catch, the young secondary out in Las Vegas are going to have a long day trying to contain Calvin Ridley.

Mike Williams, Los Angeles Chargers (at Bills)

Justin Herbert and the Chargers have been airing it out all year, In their last 3 games they’ve averaged 41 pass attempts per game. Mike Williams is averaging 18.1 yards per reception and 6.75 targets in his last 4 games. With Tre'Davious White shadowing Keenan Allen he’s in a good position to rack up some points on Sunday.

Sit: Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos (vs Saints)

As you may know by now the Broncos are expected to start QB/WR Kendall Hinton this week due to the teams COVID issues at quarterback. Hinton, who is on the practice squad as a WR, played QB at Wake Forest for 3 Seasons. I would sit every Denver Broncos player this week.

TE Starts

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles (at Seahawks)

Goedert managers have to feel a little more optimistic after his performance last week with 77 yards and 1 TD against Cleveland. Seattle typically guards the TE well fantasy wise, but Goedert is a top target in Philly and Wentz will need his safety blanket big receiver if he wants to keep his starting role.

Sleepers

QB- Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brandon Allen, Mike Glennon

RB- Samaje Perine, Royce Freeman, James White

WR- Kendall Hinton, Henry Ruggs, Josh Powell

TE- Jason Witten, Kyle Rudolph, Gerald Everett

Cover Photo: Mark J Rebilas- USA Today