Fantasy Stat Pack: Week 12

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably noticed a series of tweets I share on a weekly basis regarding player and team defensive performances, all from a fantasy lens. I’m going to be sharing some of that same information with you here.

I use this each week as I am making my own lineup and waiver wire decisions and thought you might find this valuable as well.

Note: The scoring system used for this data is always PPR with four points for passing touchdowns.

All year to date fantasy ranks are based on total points.

Quarterbacks

Week Twelve QB1s (top 12 scorers)

What a messy week for the quarterback position. While it has become commonplace to see second-year dynamo Lamar Jackson near the top of the list, the remainder of this group was filled with players who were likely on fantasy benches, or even waiver wires. Brown quarterback Baker Mayfield has had a disappointing season overall but he has now scored as a top-14 fantasy scorer in four straight games.

Year to Date QB1s

We saw relatively little movement among the top-12 fantasy quarterbacks in Week 12. Jameis Winston moved up a few spots while bye week quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Patrick Mahomes slid down two spots each.

QB1 Games this Season

Most QB1 Games Allowed

The Cardinals, Lions, and Giants have each allowed nine QB1 games this year and each week, these are the teams fantasy players should pick on. With no more byes, we now have solid weekly choices. The Lions begin the week on Thanksgiving hosting Mitchell Trubisky, who showed last week that he can still produce in ideal matchups. Arizona will give Jared Goff a chance to get right after his recent cold streak and the Giants will try to stop the hot and cold Aaron Rodgers. With eight QB1 games allowed, the Bengals are not far behind and host Sam Darnold and the Jets.

Five teams have surrendered just one QB1 game all season. They include the Ravens (vs. Jimmy Garoppolo), Bills (vs. Dak Prescott) Bears (vs. David Blough), Chargers (vs. Drew Lock?) and the Patriots (vs. Deshaun Watson). While it will be difficult to fade Prescott or Watson even in difficult matchups, leaving Blough and Lock, who has yet to be named the official starter, on the bench in their first career starts would be an easy call.

Running Backs

Week Twelve RB1s (top 12 scorers)

The knock on Leonard Fournette all season had been his frustrating lack of touchdowns. He finally scored twice in Week 12 and it resulted in an overall RB1 performance. He faced the Titans and Derrick Henry, who also posted a pair of touchdown runs on his way to an RB3 game. Filling in for an injured Marlon Mack worked well for veteran journeyman Jonathan Williams, who scored for the first time since 2016 and ran all over the Texans. After starter Chris Carson fumbled, Seahawks backup Rashaad Penny responded, rushing for 129 yards and a score.

Year to Date RB1s

Fournette’s overall RB2 game helped move him from RB8 to RB5 since last week, while Ezekiel Elliott flip-flopped with Fournette, falling to RB8 after a slow week. Two other backs swapped spots as Mark Ingram moved from RB11 to RB9 and rookie Josh Jacobs was on the other side, dropping to RB11.

RB1 Games this Season

Most RB1 Games Allowed

The Lions and Chargers sit atop the list of running back defenders, making this Thanksgiving a good time to take a chance on rookie David Montgomery of the Bears. With Detroit and their third-string quarterback unlikely to hang with Chicago, Montgomery could see a ton of work on turkey day. The Chargers offer a nice matchup for Denver’s Phillip Lindsay and even the struggling Royce Freeman.

The Steelers have yet to allow an RB1 game all season but I still think I would use both Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in the big rematch that is sure to get heated. New England has been almost as tough, allowing their first RB1 game last week. Now, they will try to stop Carlos Hyde and the Texans. The Cowboys (vs. Devin Singletary) and Saints (vs. Devonta Freeman) are the other matchups to avoid this week.

Wide Receivers

Week Twelve WR1s (top 12 scorers)

For the Buccaneers, it was Chris Godwin’s turn for a huge week as he scored twice and totaled 184 yards on his way to his second overall WR1 game of the season. Carolina’s DJ Moore continued his breakout season with a WR3 game and his 31.4 PPR fantasy points were a new career-high.

Year to Date WR1s

Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins enjoyed a multiple touchdown game and that vaulted him from WR9 to WR4 for the season. Veteran Julian Edelman also moved up into the top-six scorers while Amari Cooper (WR4 to WR7) and Tyler Lockett (WR6 to WR10) fell. Marvin Jones fell from the WR1 ranks, replaced by the red-hot Moore.

WR1 Games this Season

Most WR1 Games Allowed

The Dolphins and Buccaneers have set themselves apart from the rest of the league as the teams to target when choosing wide receivers each week. Both teams have surrendered ten WR1 performances through 11 games. This week, Tampa Bay faces the Jaguars while the Dolphins square off against the Eagles. Second-year breakout DJ Chark should stay hot against the Bucs and is an obvious starter but even against Miami, the Eagles receiving corps is a tough one to figure out. Philly was without veterans Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor last week and their status moving forward is unclear. Pending further reports, it could be another opportunity to use depth receivers like Greg Ward or JJ Arcega-Whiteside.

The Patriots have allowed only one WR1 game all season, which is bad news for DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller this week. The Ravens (vs. Deebo Samuel), Bengals (vs. Jamison Crowder), Steelers (vs. Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry) and the 49ers (vs. Marquise Brown) have each been tough against wideouts as well, allowing just two WR1 games all season.

Tight Ends

Week Twelve TE1s (top 12 scorers)

Order was restored at the top of the tight end list, at least for one week. Geroge Kittle and Zach Ertz, two of the “big three” tight ends entering the season, played well in Week 12, scoring as the top two at their position. Kaden Smith (for Evan Engram), Logan Thomas (for TJ Hockenson) and Nick O’Leary (for Josh Oliver) each filled in admirably for injured starters, though each of these performances feel like a fluke.

Year to Date TE1s

Ertz climbed all the way up to TE2 for the season with his outstanding performance, while Greg Olsen slid up two spots to TE7. Jared Cook stayed hot and moved back into the TE1 range and both Jason Witten and Kyle Rudolph fell out.

TE1 Games this Season

Most TE1 Games Allowed

The Cardinals remain the obvious target each week and in Week 13, they must deal with the Rams duo of Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee, who has seen his usage spike the past two games. Tampa Bay (vs. O’Leary), Green Bay (vs. Engram?) and Tennessee (vs. Jack Doyle) are also nice targets when looking for a tight end this week.

Four teams have only given up two TE1 games this year. They are the Ravens, Bills, Eagles, and 49ers. This means avoiding Witten and Mike Gesicki might be the right call this week. Even in these poor matchups, Kittle and Mark Andrews can’t be left on the bench.

Finally, here is the chart summarizing how teams have fared against each position. I’ve also included the schedule for this week for reference.

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Ryan McDowell

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

In addition to his senior leadership role here at DLF, Ryan is also a husband, father of three and PE teacher. Ryan is the commissioner of multiple dynasty leagues, most notably the Kitchen Sink Dynasty Leagues. Here at DLF, Ryan’s focus is on identifying, monitoring and analyzing player value.

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