Stars of Week 12

QB: Josh Allen, BUF: 24-42, 253 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT (10 carries, 78 yards, 1 TD)                           

RB: Josh Jacobs, LV: 33 carries, 229 yards, 2 TDs (6 catches, 74 yards, 0 TDs)

WR: Chris Godwin, TB: 12 catches, 110 yards, 1 TD

TE: Dalton Schultz, DAL: 4 catches, 21 yards, 2 TDs

Two of our top performers played on Thanksgiving, starting with Bills’ QB Josh Allen. The overall fantasy QB1 didn’t disappoint against the Lions, throwing for two TDs while rushing for another, en route to 253 passing yards and 78 rushing yards. That dual threat ability, together with Allen’s propensity for finding the end zone makes him the alpha fantasy QB.

If you want to watch a single player rip out the soul of an NFL team, watch the highlights of Raiders’ RB Josh Jacobs versus the Seahawks defense. Jacobs cleared the two handle yardage wise on the ground, while scoring two TDs…including the game winning jaunt in overtime from his own side of the field. Jacobs remains a must start, top 5 fantasy RB.

Chris Godwin missed several games due to injury earlier in the season, and has been rather quiet in the games he’s played in thus far. That statement remained true until Sunday, when Godwin caught 12 balls for 110 yards and a TD. This was vintage Godwin with Tom Brady, even if just for one week. Godwin hasn’t found the end zone much this season (only twice), but if you look at his underlying numbers, he’s due for positive regression. Consider Godwin a solid WR2 moving forward.

We finish with our other turkey day lead performer, Dalton Schultz. The Cowboys’ tight end scored two TDs, which often is all you need in order to be the lead dog at the position. Schultz has been rounding into form post injury, and can be deployed in lineups as a low end TE1.

Week 12 Takeaways – A Closer Look

Each week we’ll take a closer look at a handful of performances and sort out what such performances mean going forward.

- Mike White, QB – NYJ: 22 – 28, 315 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs

Analysis: The Jets have marched to their best record in years, entering Week 12 with a 6-4 record. Boasting a steel-toed defense, the team has been ultra competitive – this despite an offense that has often struggled this season. What do you do when your offense can’t move the ball? You summon your backup QB, cross your fingers that his name is Mike White…and you watch said QB toss three TDs and over 300 yards in a convincing victory. A fifth round pick of the Cowboys in 2018, White came into the game having a 5 TD to 8 INT ratio for his career. White leaves week 12 having evened out the ratio, while raising questions as to how the Jets handle franchise QB Zach Wilson moving forward. White has more patience than Wilson when it comes to staying the pocket, which leads to good things when you have weapons such as Garrett Wilson, Elijah Moore and Tyler Conklin. The Jets face a friendly upcoming QB schedule, with the Vikings up next, and the Lions and Jaguars shortly thereafter. Avoid using White versus the Bills (they following the Vikings), but otherwise White will be mid-level QB2 with upside. In case you’re in a pinch at QB, give Mike White a look.

- Jamaal Williams, RB – DET: 18 carries, 66 yards, 1 TD

D’Andre Swift, RB – DET: 5 carries, 19 yards, 0 TDs (4 catches, 24 yards, 0 TDs)

Analysis: The Detroit Lions played an entertaining game on Thanksgiving day versus the Bills, falling short of the W despite a valiant effort. Despite the loss, RB Jamaal Williams did his part, including scoring his league leading 13^th rushing TD of the season. Williams took full advantage of teammate D’Andre Swift’s early season injury, wrestling away the lead RB role for good. Looking at the last 3 games, Williams has carried the rock 18, 17 and 16 times, in comparison to Swift’s 5, 5 and 6 totes. Swift did find the end zone twice during those three games, but he has averaged less than 3 yards per carry. Williams should be viewed as a weekly start, high end RB2 moving forward. Swift comes with a more complex analysis, as he’ll need to produce as a pass catcher in order to justify being placed in fantasy lineups. On the positive side, Swift ran 14 passing routes against the Bills, so he’s getting access to the role he needs in order to produce. Also encouraging, Williams only outsnapped Swift by a 30 to 24 margin. While Swift will remain second fiddle as a rusher, the snap count should continue to move closer together as Swift further distances himself from his ankle and shoulder injuries. While Swift won’t come close to justifying his draft day expectations, he should be considered an RB3 / flex option, with potential to bump up as his snap count increases.

- Zay Jones, WR – JAC: 11 catches, 145 yards, 0 TDs

Analysis: The Jacksonville Jaguars picked up a much needed win against a good Ravens squad this past weekend. QB Trevor Lawrence had one of his best games as a pro, with 321 passing yards and 3 TDs. WR Christian Kirk has emerged as Lawrence’s top target for the season, however it was fellow WR Zay Jones who led the way against the Ravens with 145 receiving yards over 11 receptions. Lawrence targeted Jones a whopping 14 times on Sunday, easily eclipsing the second place Kirk (9 targets). Through 10 games played, Jones has been targeted 79 times, resulting in 58 catches for 562 yards. These are solid underlying numbers, especially for PPR leagues. The touchdowns are missing however, which is keeping Jones from realizing his fantasy potential. Positive TD regression should be on the way for Jones though, as only scoring once off of 58 receptions is at least in material part owed to really bad luck. While you should consider Kirk the team’s top fantasy WR despite the week 12 output, Jones clearly has value as well with the Jags’ passing game finally on the rise. Consider Jones a viable WR3 / flex option in PPR leagues, with a bit lower projection in standard leagues. Jones should be rostered in all but the shallowest of leagues.

* All snap count information is referenced through statistics provided by Pro Football Focus.

Rapid Fire Pickups

Each week we’ll throw out potential free agent pickups from each position for deeper leagues, in each case a player 1) who has NOT been featured above, and 2) remains available in more than 50% of leagues.

QB: Jared Goff, DET (vs JAC)

RB: Kyren Williams, LAR (vs SEA)

RB: JaMycal Hasty, JAC (at DET) ** if Travis Etienne is out

WR: Isaiah McKenzie, BUF (@ NE)

WR: Mack Hollins, LV (vs LAC)

TE: Evan Engram, JAC (at DET)

Personal Note

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