Fantasy football: Start-em, sit-em players for Week 12
By Jay Marsdale
Week 12 in the fantasy football season is here and there are some matchups for everyone to exploit this weekend. No more bye weeks to worry about, so there are plenty of players to choose from on this large slate of games. Here are a few of our favorites.
This is one of the best weeks in the NFL season every year. There was a full day of football on Thursday and we still have a full weekend of football to go.
If the Thanksgiving games were any indication, we are in store for a great Week 12 in the NFL. Sunday is going to especially important for fantasy football players trying to win their way into the playoffs.
A few big mistakes on this list last weekend, let’s see how it fared overall.
San Francisco 49ers
Week 11 Hits: Alvin Kamara (NO) start-em, CJ Anderson (DEN) sit-em, Vernon Davis (WAS) start-em, Hunter Henry (LAC) sit-em.
Week 11 Misses: Alex Smith (KC) start-em, Kirk Cousins (WAS) sit-em, Keenan Allen (LAC) sit-em.
Three big misses last week. Alex Smith and the Chiefs lost to the New York Giants. What?! And they were coming off of a bye week. Somehow this wasn’t the biggest miss of Week 11.
Kirk Cousins lit up the Saints defense for three-quarters and then stopped playing. The Saints came back from down double-digits to beat Cousins and the Redskins, but not before Cousins threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns.
Finally, Keenan Allen. He is back with a vengeance for the last quarter of the season. In Week 11 and on Thanksgiving again he proved why he was such an attractive fantasy football pick this year. Twenty-three catches, three touchdowns and 331 yards in two games. I got the message, you will never be on the sit list again Keenan Allen.
Alvin Kamara continued his impressive rookie season in Week 11 and Vernon Davis stayed near the top of the fantasy football tight ends. However, it is hard for me to overlook Keenan Allen.
Picking myself up and dusting myself off for these Week 12 start-em, sit-em picks. Better picks ahead, I promise.
Start-em: Russell Wilson (SEA) @ San Francisco
The Seattle Seahawks begin and end with quarterback Russell Wilson. Without him, this season would already be over for the Seahawks.
For fantasy football owners, Wilson having to carry this offense has been very lucrative. He leads this team in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns as well as throwing for 2,801 yards. This team would be battling for a top-5 draft pick if not for his incredible season.
This week Wilson gets to go against the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers have been decimated by injuries on the defensive side of the ball and that leaves many holes for Wilson to attack. The 49ers have been one of the few teams to slow Wilson down somewhat this season in their Week 2 matchup, but these are two completely different teams now.
Wilson is not only having to carry the offense this season, but the defense as well. The Legion of Boom in Seattle is injured and Wilson is having to beat teams in shootouts. With Richard Sherman out of the season, Kam Chancellor ailing, and the Seattle defensive line not getting consistent pressure, the 49ers offense should be able to put up points in Week 12.
This is a division rival that Wilson knows well and he will need every bit of that knowledge to keep Seattle in the playoff race this weekend. Seattle is going to ride Wilson as far as he can get them this year. This week is going to continue his stellar campaign. When are people going to start putting his name into the MVP discussion?
Other options: Marcus Mariota (TEN) @ Indianapolis and Andy Dalton (CIN) vs. Cleveland