Weekend Wonderings: Week 12 (2024)

By Winsto (11/23/2024)

  1. I wonder if anyone else is as frustrated with the New York Jets offense in fantasy football.  Immediately after I write how Breece Hall (RB) is not seeing enough touches to be considered a RB1, of course Hall then sees the most touches (23) in a game all season. (Meanwhile, Braelon Allen only sees 2 carries). I will write about this more after the Jets Bye week, but Hall is back in the RB1 conversation.  

 

  1. As for TNF’s Steelers-Browns game, my biggest takeaway is that Jerry Jeudy (WR-Cleveland) may be the best fantasy option amongst Cleveland’s wide receivers.  Since Jameis Winston (QB-Cleveland) has taken over, Jeudy has seen no fewer than 6 targets per game and has had 73 yards receiving or more per game.  In total through 4 games, Jeudy has 36 targets, 24 receptions, 379 receiving yards, and 1 TD.   I like Cedric Tillman (WR-Cleveland), but Jeudy has now outproduced him in two straight games, though Tillman did leave the game Thursday night due to a concussion.  (Incidentally, Jeudy was outproducing Tillman even before the latter left the game.) Considering this and that Tillman may now miss some time, he is moving down to more of a WR4.  Jeudy, on the other hand, is moving up to a borderline WR2/3.

 

  1. I wonder if I should just have a weekly reminder that apparently Anthony Richardson (QB-Indianapolis) just wants Alec Pierce (WR) and/or Josh Downs (WR) to outproduce Michael Pittman (WR) in fantasy football.  In other words, Pittman belongs on your bench. He has not topped 63 receiving yards and has not scored a TD with Richardson playing the majority of a game.  Meanwhile, Pierce or Downs are boom/bust plays, with a decent change one of them goes boom.

 

  1.  I had a whole section planned on arguing how Jauan Jennings (WR-San Francisco) is a top 15 WR for the rest of the season.  Alas, however, that projection has changed with the news that Brock Purdy (QB-SF) is missing Week 12, and his Week 13 is in question as well. So let us pivot to how a Brandon Allen (QB-SF) led offense will impact fantasy football.  The reality is anything I say is pure speculation.  Allen is a back-up QB, but Coach Shanahan has used back-up QBs in the past with some degree of success.  My guess is this:  George Kittle (TE-SF) and Christian McCaffrey (RB-SF) are still must starts in my book.  Jauan Jennings (WR-SF) falls to more of a WR3 range.  Deebo Samuel (WR), on the other hand, might actually see more targets.  I could envision Allen throwing short passes to Deebo in space and allowing Deebo to do Deebo things.  With Purdy, I was ranking Jennings ahead of Deebo.  With Allen, I think I would flip that.

 

  1.  In a related note, Jake Moody (K-SF) becomes less of an attractive start, while Brandon McManus (K-GB) and GB D/ST becomes more appealing plays.

 

  1.  I wonder how Kansas City’s offense will fare against Carolina.  Patrick Mahomes (QB-KC) has thrown for 3 TDs in 2 of his last 3 games after not having any 3 TD passing games before this season.  I think he is going to finish the season off much better than his first 8 games.  I believed that DeAndre Hopkins (WR-KC) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR-KC) could co-exist going into last week, but after one game, I was proven wrong.  Hopkins’s snap count dropped in Week 11 to 47% after seeing 60% or more the previous two games—I honestly do not understand that approach by the Chiefs coaching staff.  That said, this is the time of the season when Coach Andy Reid starts making adjustments.  We saw that last season with the rise of Rashee Rice (WR-KC) getting more involved down the stretch.  I envision a similar scenario for Hopkins.  I also expect more involvement and success for Xavier Worthy (WR-KC).  We saw a hint of this in Week 11.  Travis Kelce (TE-KC), meanwhile, may not be able to separate from man coverage like he used to, but he is still a top tier fantasy TE.  The debate of how much usage Kareem Hunt (RB-KC) will get with Isiah Pacheco’s (RB-KC) will wait another week, as Pacheco was not activated off the I.R. for Sunday.  Thus, start Hunt with confidence.

 

  1. I wonder if Minnesota will now expand T.J. Hockenson’s (TE-Min) playing time now that their TE2, Josh Oliver, will be missing Week 12.  My guess is yes, and Hockenson, who has not seen more than 48% of the snaps, should now be considered a top 5 TE start for Week 12.

 

  1. With several games falling on Thursday and Friday of Week 13, we should note how that could impact carries for RBs going into Week 12.  De’Von Achane (RB-Mia), Josh Jacobs (RB-GB), D’Andre Swift (RB-Chi)–if he plays, and Tyrone Tracy Jr. (RB-NYG) are all players who may see their touches reduced to prepare for a short turnaround.
  2. I wonder if anyone has noticed that Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR-Sea) is averaging as many targets a game this season as Justin Jefferson (WR-Min) with 8.6. Over the last 3 games, Smith-Njigba is averaging 10.3 targets, 7.7 receptions, 119.7 receiving yards, and 0.7 TDs per game, which is more than his teammate, D.K. Metcalf (WR-Sea), who is averaging 9 targets, 7 receptions, 70 receiving yards, and 0 TDs per game during that stretch.  Are we to the point where we need to reevaluate how we rank the Seattle pass catchers?

 

  1. And finally…, I see that some major storms are moving toward possible game locations on Thanksgiving.  I guess fowl weather should be expected.