RealGM Analysis
Stars of Week 12
QB: Baker Mayfield, CLE: 19-26, 258 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs
RB: Christian McCaffrey, CAR: 17 carries, 125 yards, 1 TD (11 catches, 112 yards, 1 TD)
WR: Amari Cooper, DAL: 8 catches, 180 yards, 2 TDs
TE: Zach Ertz, PHI: 7 catches, 91 yards 1 TD
Week 12 brought us three Thanksgiving day games, the continued implosion of the Jaguars, the Browns clowning former head coach Hue Jackson, and a week without the high-powered Rams and Chiefs.
Baker Mayfield has Browns’ fans downright giddy, and with good reason. He earns the nod for QB of the week with four TD passes against the Bengals. Mayfield can help you down the stretch as the fantasy playoffs approach, and he’ll be a solid QB1 next year.
Moving from a rookie QB to a second-year RB, Christian McCaffrey torched the Seahawks this past Sunday with triple digit yardage in both the passing and running game, with a TD in each phase of the game to boot. McCaffrey will be an easy first rounder in fantasy drafts next year, with the top-5 being a distinct possibility.
Amari Cooper has found new life with the Cowboys, and he delivered the Thanksgiving performance of the day against the Redskins. We’ll look at Cooper’s rebound below.
Last but not least, Zach Ertz has posted yet another solid performance for his fantasy owners. Ertz has crossed the 800 yard threshold for the season, and he’s solidified himself as a top-3 TE.
Week 12 Takeaways – A Closer Look
Each week we take a closer look at a handful of performances and sort out what such performances mean going forward.
- Josh Allen, QB – BUF: 8-19, 160 yards 1 TD, 0 INTs (13 carries, 99 yards, 1 TD)
Analysis: Josh Allen entered the NFL as the most polarizing QB from the 2018 first round draft class. Traditional scouts loved Allen for his cannon-like arm strength, his prototypical size and his QB like “look”. Statistic based analysts were underwhelmed by his inaccuracy and mediocre performance when normalized for the quality of his competition in the Mountain West conference. Well, while Allen has missed much of the year due to injury, both sides can claim to have been somewhat correct in their assessment of the QB. Allen has predictably struggled in the passing game, with a completion percentage hovering around 50% and a 3 to 5 TD:INT ratio. That being said, Allen has made some great throws under duress, and has impacted the game with his underrated rushing prowess – he has four rushing TDs and around 250 rushing yards. Allen is obviously not ready to help anyone’s fantasy team this season, but for those of you in deeper dynasty leagues, you should keep an eye on him. Note that Allen has little to work with in terms of pass catchers, and he’s shown enough to merit a chance to show what he can do next season with a hopefully upgraded cast around him. So this is essentially a “don’t close the door” on Allen message as it pertains to future seasons.
- LeGarrette Blount, RB – DET: 19 carries, 88 yards, 2 TDs
Analysis: With Kerryon Johnson out with a knee injury, Matt Patricia turned to LeGarrette Blount to carry the load against the Bears. Coming into the game, Blount averaged a paltry 2.3 yards per carry. Shockingly, Blount averaged close to five yards per carry against an ultra tough Bears run defense, and he managed to score two TDs in the process. The Lions face the superpower Rams next, and Blount will likely be in line for the bulk of the carries once again if Johnson remains out. That being said, don’t expect a repeat performance from Blount next week. The Rams will put up points at leisure against the Lions defense, and Stafford and company will need to throw to keep up. Given that Johnson should return in the next few weeks, the return on Blount won’t be all that high. If you desperately need an RB on a short term basis, then you can do worse than Blount. But he’s a low end flex play next week at best, and upon Johnson’s return, Blount will revert back to a TD dependent value play.
- Tyler Lockett, WR – SEA: 5 catches, 107 yards, 1 TD
Analysis: The Seahawks went on the road to Carolina this past weekend and gave up 476 yards of offense, failed to recover any of the Panthers’ five fumbles and somehow won the game. This ain’t your LOB Seahawks anymore, as the team relies much more heavily on its offense than at any time during the Russell Wilson era. While the resuscitated rushing attack has captured much of the national attention, the emergence of Tyler Lockett and David Moore – to go along with Doug Baldwin – gives the team a trio of WRs who have established strong rapport with Wilson. Lockett has especially taken his game to the next level, having scored 8 TDs in eleven games. Lockett has also had 50+ yards in eight games. Similar to Baldwin, Lockett runs great routes and has little trouble getting open. Only volume stands in the way of Lockett becoming a dominant fantasy player - he’s a better real life WR than fantasy WR. For fantasy purposes, Lockett’s a comfortable top 30 WR option, so that’s flex/WR3 territory.
- Amari Cooper, WR - DAL: 8 catches, 180 yards, 2 TDs
Analysis: The Raiders have been a fantasy wasteland on every level this year. Amari Cooper was one of the lucky ones rescued from the toxic dump in Oakland, with the Cowboys riding in on the horse and lassoing in the star wide receiver. While it’s hard for a QB/WR duo to develop strong chemistry after a mid-season trade, Amari Cooper seems to have done exactly that with Dak Prescott. Cooper torched the Redskins on Thanksgiving to the tune of 180 yards and two TDs, and the Cowboys offense has come to life over these last few weeks. Over his four games with America’s team, Prescott has targeted Cooper an average of eight times per contest. For those of you who have been stashing Cooper on your bench, it’s time to call him up to your lineup. The Cowboys face the Saints and Eagles the next two weeks, both of whom give up a significant number of points to wide receivers. Cooper is back to being a high end WR2 – start him with confidence.
Rapid Fire Pickups
Each week we throw out potential free agent pickups from each position for deeper leagues, in each case 1) someone who has NOT been featured above, and 2) a player available in most leagues.
QB: Lamar Jackson, BAL
RB: Frank Gore, MIA
RB: Nyheim Hines, IND (Marlon Mack may be out this coming week)
WR: Mike Williams, LAC
WR: Christian Kirk, ARI
TE: Gerald Everett, LAR
Week 13 Rankings
Quarterbacks:
- Patrick Mahomes, KC @Oak
- Jared Goff, LAR @Det
- Cam Newton, Car @TB
- Aaron Rodgers, GB Ari
- Drew Brees, NO @Dal
- Jameis Winston, TB Car
- Russell Wilson, Sea SF
- Andrew Luck, Ind @Jax
- Ben Roethlisberger, Pit LAC
- Philip Rivers, LAC @Pit
- Kirk Cousins, Min @NE
- Deshaun Watson, Hou Cle
- Dak Prescott, Dal NO
- Matt Ryan, Atl Bal
- Tom Brady, NE Min
- Lamar Jackson, Bal @Atl
- Carson Wentz, Phi Wsh
- Baker Mayfield, Cle @Hou
- Matthew Stafford, Det LAR
- Case Keenum, Den @Cin
Running Backs:
- Todd Gurley, LAR @Det
- Christian McCaffrey, Car @TB
- Alvin Kamara, NO @Dal
- Kareem Hunt, KC @Oak
- Saquon Barkley, NYG Chi
- Ezekiel Elliott, Dal NO
- Aaron Jones, GB Ari
- David Johnson, Ari @GB
- Nick Chubb, Cle @Hou
- James Conner, Pit LAC
- Phillip Lindsay, Den @Cin
- Joe Mixon, Cin Den
- Austin Ekeler, LAC @Pit
- Sony Michel, NE Min
- James White, NE Min
- Dalvin Cook, Min @NE
- Lamar Miller, Hou Cle
- Matt Breida, SF @Sea
- Gus Edwards, Bal @Atl
- Chris Carson, Sea SF
- Tarik Cohen, Chi @NYG
- Mark Ingram II, NO @Dal
- Josh Adams, Phi Wsh
- Tevin Coleman, Atl Bal
- T.J. Yeldon, Jax Ind
- Dion Lewis, Ten NYJ
- Kerryon Johnson, Det LAR
- Marlon Mack, Ind @Jax
- Adrian Peterson, Wsh @Phi
- Kenyan Drake, Mia Buf
- LeSean McCoy, Buf @Mia
- Duke Johnson Jr., Cle @Hou
- Carlos Hyde, Jax Ind
- Theo Riddick, Det LAR
- Jalen Richard, Oak KC
- Jordan Howard, Chi @NYG
- Frank Gore, Mia Buf
- Derrick Henry, Ten NYJ
- Peyton Barber, TB Car
- Nyheim Hines, Ind @Jax
Wide Receivers:
- Adam Thielen, Min @NE
- DeAndre Hopkins, Hou Cle
- Julio Jones, Atl Bal
- Tyreek Hill, KC @Oak
- Michael Thomas, NO @Dal
- Davante Adams, GB Ari
- Antonio Brown, Pit LAC
- Odell Beckham Jr., NYG Chi
- Keenan Allen, LAC @Pit
- Mike Evans, TB Car
- JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pit LAC
- Stefon Diggs, Min @NE
- Robert Woods, LAR @Det
- Kenny Golladay, Det LAR
- E. Sanders, Den @Cin
- Brandin Cooks, LAR @Det
- T.Y. Hilton, Ind @Jax
- Amari Cooper, Dal NO
- Julian Edelman, NE Min
- Josh Gordon, NE Min
- Tyler Boyd, Cin Den
- DJ Moore, Car @TB
- Corey Davis, Ten NYJ
- A.J. Green, Cin Den
- Tyler Lockett, Sea SF
- Alshon Jeffery, Phi Wsh
- Jarvis Landry, Cle @Hou
- Sammy Watkins, KC @Oak
- Allen Robinson, Chi @NYG
- Larry Fitzgerald, Ari @GB
- Doug Baldwin, Sea SF
- Devin Funchess, Car @TB
- D. Thomas, Hou Cle
- Adam Humphries, TB Car
- Golden Tate, Phi Wsh
- Calvin Ridley, Atl Bal
- Josh Reynolds, LAR @Det
- Mohamed Sanu, Atl Bal
- Courtland Sutton, Den @Cin
- Sterling Shepard, NYG Chi
Tight End:
- Travis Kelce, KC @Oak
- Zach Ertz, Phi Wsh
- George Kittle, SF @Sea
- Rob Gronkowski, NE Min
- Eric Ebron, Ind @Jax
- Jordan Reed, Wsh @Phi
- Greg Olsen, Car @TB
- Jared Cook, Oak KC
- Cameron Brate, TB Car
- Austin Hooper, Atl Bal
- David Njoku, Cle @Hou
- Trey Burton, Chi @NYG
- Kyle Rudolph, Min @NE
- Evan Engram, NYG Chi
- Jimmy Graham, GB Ari
- Vance McDonald, Pit LAC
- Jonnu Smith, Ten NYJ
- C.J. Uzomah, Cin Den
- Benjamin Watson, NO @Dal
- Chris Herndon, NYJ @Ten
Defense/Special Teams:
- Chicago Bears @NYG
- Los Angeles Rams @Det
- Green Bay Packers Ari
- Tennessee Titans NYJ
- Miami Dolphins Buf
- Seattle Seahawks SF
- Kansas City Chiefs @Oak
- Houston Texans Cle
- Denver Broncos @Cin
- Indianapolis Colts @Jax
- Buffalo Bills @Mia
- Carolina Panthers @TB
- Philadelphia Eagles Wsh
- Baltimore Ravens @Atl
- Washington Redskins @Phi
