As we head into the business end of the season, we are starting to see some serious fantasy performances from some of the biggest names in the game. Joe Mixon, Saquon Barkely, Breece Hall, David Montgomery, Josh Jacobs and Jahmyr Gibbs led the way for running backs in week 11 – with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Cooper Kupp, Ja’Marr Chase and Puka Nacua all putting up WR1 weeks for their managers…nature is healing. There are only a handful of weeks to go until the fantasy playoffs, and whether you are coasting at 8-3, or circling the drain at 5-6 – this is the time where the most important roster moves of the season are made. Week 12 sees a handful of fantasy superstars miss due to their bye weeks – so let’s take a look at some one-week rental replacements, or perhaps a long-term asset who could potentially lead you to a championship come late December.
Rules for Selection & Order Priority
For a player to be considered to be added, they have to:
- Have an rostered % of 50% or under on ESPN
- Players below are listed by their roster %, not priority. Know your league settings. If there is a high-priority add, you’ll know.
Tua Tagovailoa (MIA) 42.7% rostered
It may have taken a couple of weeks, but following Tua Tagovailoa’s return from injury, we finally got a glimpse of the potent Miami offense we had all been hoping for heading into the start of the season. Tua was near perfect against a very poor Las Vegas pass defense, passing for 288-yards and 3 touchdowns – recording his best fantasy week of the year so far in the process. This was Tagovailoa’s fourth game in succession with a completion rate over 70%, and with divisional rivals New England rolling into town this Sunday, he should make it five. The Pats were just carved open by Matthew Stafford for 295-yards and 4 TDs…Miami are on a charge, this could be a statement game for Tua.
Matthew Stafford (LAR) 28.2% rostered
Speaking of Matthew Stafford – how is he still rostered in under 30% of ESPN leagues? The Super Bowl LVI MVP put on a show at Foxborough, connecting with both of his fully fit wide receivers for over 100-yards and a score. With Kupp and Nacua both healthy, Stafford has one of the highest upsides of any QB in the league – throw in Kyren Williams to the mix for short-yardage dumpoffs and his fantasy potential goes through the roof. I’m not in the least bit concerned that they are hosting the Eagles and their No.1 ranked pass defense on Sunday – Stafford is an excellent streamer for the next three weeks.
Also Consider – Anthony Richardson (43.6%) & Jameis Winston (8.5%) rostered
This is another absolutely terrible week for running back pick-ups. This is the time to focus on handcuffing your lead rushers if you are playoff bound, or taking dart-throws if you’re desperate.
Trey Benson (ARI) 17.3% rostered
Prior to the Cardinals’ week 11 bye, Benson had back-to-back finishes inside the top-24 at the running back position, with the week 10 blowout victory over the New York Jets seeing the rookie rusher getting his largest workload of the season so far. Benson’s success hasn’t come at the expense of veteran James Conner – the 29-year old finishing as the RB14 and RB3 in his previous two games – it has however started to give the Cardinals’ coaching staff food for thought as they sit atop the NFC West at 6-4. There were rumblings at the start of the season that Benson would eventually take over as the leader of this backfield as the year rolled on – whilst that looks unlikely to happen without an injury to Conner, we may just be seeing more a of a timeshare than previously expected through the first two months’ worth of games. Benson is a priority add in all formats, especially if you are a Conner manager – he has RB1 upside should Conner go down.
Ameer Abdullah (LV) 0.7% rostered
This is a full desperation mode pick…but it is that time of year, and the week 12 byes are particularly brutal at the running back position. Despite the Raiders sitting at 2-8 and in a five-way tie at the very bottom of the NFL standings, there have been some silver linings on the very black clouds over Sin City. Of course, rookie tight end Brock Bowers has been a sensation and is currently the TE1 for fantasy – but I feel it’s only right we give a tip of the cap to off-season acquisition and the far too-easily written off Alexander Mattison. Last year in Minnesota was a disaster for Mattison, but through the first 7 weeks of the season, he was the overall RB21…not bad given he entered the year behind Zamir White on the depth chart. Unfortunately, Mattison and White are both questionable for the week 12 divisional clash against the Broncos…enter Ameer Abdullah. The former 2nd round draft pick found the end zone on Sunday as the Raiders played catch-up in Miami and would be the lead rusher were Mattison and White to sit out against Denver. It’s a horrible prospect, but if you are desperate for a start, Abdullah could be your guy as a one week rental.
Also Consider – Tyler Allgeier (47.6%), Ray Davis (15.4%) & Blake Corum (15.0%) rostered
Christian Watson (GB) 48.4% rostered
It appears the never-ending merry-go-round of “which Green Bay wide receiver not named Jayden Reed will be fantasy relevant” landed on Christian Watson last weekend. The fourth-year wideout hauled in all 4 of his targets from Jordan Love for 150-scoreless yards as the Packers held on to record a dramatic 20-19 victory over the Bears at Soldier Field. Unsurprisingly Watson led the team in receiving yards, but perhaps somewhat unexpectedly out-targeted all other wideouts on the day – his 4 looks from Jordan Love being double that of Reed and Romeo Doubs. The Packers have a very wide receiver friendly schedule the rest over the final 4 weeks of the fantasy season – the next two games against San Francisco and Miami could be rough for Watson, but if he is indeed the WR2 on this team, he is an excellent stash heading into the business end of the year.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (NO) 14.0% rostered
You know that meme from The Office (the American version) where Pam looks at two pictures and says “they’re the same”…well, I think we can do that with Saints’ wide receiver duo of Raheed Shahid and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Derek Carr clearly likes a deep ball, and with Shaheed a forgotten man on the season, MVS has stepped up to give Carr that “screw it, let’s do it” option downfield. There is almost 0% chance MVS continues to be a top-15 option for the rest of the season, but that big-play ability is mighty tempting, especially in 12+ team leagues. Don’t blow the bank, but if you’re in need of a guy who could go for over 100-yards on any given week, MVS is a fantastic dart throw.
Also Consider – Curtis Samuel (10.4%), Elijah Moore (9.4%) & Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (1.6%) rostered.
Taysom Hill (NO) 46.2% rostered
There isn’t a single player in the National Football League I have a greater love/hate relationship with than Taysom Hill. I mentioned him in this column last week as dangerous and as a menace…and I stand firm on those opinions. Hill’s performance on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns ranks 12th all time at the tight end position for fantasy football – outsourcing anything ever done by Gronk, Kelce, Kittle or Andrews…it was unreal – and it included a fumble! Can we predict what Hill will do on any given week, no – but do I want the upside of 150+ all purpose yards and a potential passing, receiving or rushing touchdown, absolutely. I can’t stress it enough, he.is.dangerous.
Jonnu Smith (MIA) 31.7% rostered
On what could be considered a bit of a comedown from the enigmatic highs of Taysom Hill, Jonnu Smith is arguably the best purist pick up at tight end this week. Jonnu isn’t going to give you over 100-rushing yards and 3 scores…but he is going to give you a consistent pass-catcher in a resurgent offense rest of season. The former Falcon led the Dolphins in receiving yards, and was the tied No.1 target for Tua Tagovailoa, along with Tyreek Hill. Smith has three games on the year over 60-yards, and his 2 touchdown effort against the Raiders was the best fantasy day of his career. There’s a lot of competition for targets from Tua…but Smith appears to be his second read; third at worst.
Also Consider – Will Dissly (13.9%) & Luke Schoonmaker (0.2%) rostered
There you have it! Any questions, or want some more specific help for your league on who to drop, just reach out. Reach out on social media, you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Or jump into our Discord server. And checkout out rankings for each Week.
