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Welcome to our Week 12 edition of Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em. We will be covering players that you should either be looking to find a replacement for or make sure you start in your fantasy football lineups this week. This article uses our very own metrics such as Consistency Score and D-PAC. These are two unique metrics that we’ve developed and offered to you for free, exclusively from Faceoff Sports Network. Learn more about them below if you’re new here. Let’s get right into it for this week with Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 12 Fantasy Football.

Quarterbacks

Start ‘Em

Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks

Coming off their bye week, Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks are facing the Raiders in Week 12. This is a juicy matchup for Smith, with the Raiders giving up over 21 points per game and a league-high D-PAC versus quarterbacks of 10.85. Surprising the entire league, Smith has been the seventh most consistent quarterback this season averaging over 18 fantasy points per game. With Smith coming off a bye, he might be on waivers, so check your waiver wire. 

Taylor Heinicke, Washington Commanders

Taylor Heinicke didn’t do much for fantasy against Houston last week. When you’re up by 20 points at halftime, there’s not a lot of reason to pass the ball a lot. The Week 12 matchup is a very profitable one as the Falcons have scored at least 24 points in four of the last five games and have the fourth nicest D-PAC rating of 8.97 against quarterbacks. Last year against Atlanta, Heinicke threw for 290 yards, three touchdowns, and ran for another 43 yards. He’s an optimal streaming play this week.

Sit ‘Em

Daniel Jones, New York Giants

It didn’t look pretty, with lots of sloppy mistakes, but Daniel Jones still had a good fantasy performance last week with 27 completions for 341 yards passing and 50 yards rushing and one touchdown rushing and one passing. He did throw two interceptions, which are concerning, but those are solid fantasy numbers. The Giants face the Cowboys on Thanksgiving who are only giving up 12 points per game to quarterbacks and help Jones to only 13 fantasy points back in Week 3.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Don’t hear what I’m not saying, Tua Tagovailoa has been outstanding this season. Against the Texans, he’ll probably have a big play here or there via Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Houston gives up so much yardage on the ground that opposing air attacks usually shut themselves down in the second half. I see the Miami running game taking over the majority of the game, leaving little for Tagovailoa and the pass catchers. You can still start him, but don’t expect a huge payout.

Running Backs

Start ‘Em

Devin Singletary, Buffalo Bills

When you think of the Buffalo Bills, you probably don’t think about running the ball, except for maybe Josh Allen. However, with Allen struggling a bit the last few weeks, they have shown more commitment to running the ball. Devin Singletary’s usage has increased over the past two weeks and has shown a nose for the end zone, scoring three touchdowns. Singletary hasn’t exactly been consistent in scoring, ranked 23rd with a consistency score of 4, but the Lions have been bad against the run giving up 27 points per game to running backs. You have to start Singletary this week, and if you’re desperate it could be James Cook season.

Latavius Murray, Denver Broncos

The only active running back on the Broncos’ roster who has more than one carry in 2022 is Latavius Murray. He’s had at least 14 carries in three of five active games since joining Denver. The Panthers have allowed the fourth most rushing yards (1,507) and third most rushing first downs (90) in 2022. Murray could easily see 20 carries in Week 12, giving him top-10 upside. You can probably find him on the waiver wire right now.

Sit ‘Em

Dameon Pierce, Houston Texans

After exploding onto the scene a few weeks ago, Dameon Pierce has hit a bit of the rookie wall. This is probably more due to the Texans team not being that good, but his usage has been steadily decreasing to a season-low 10 carries for eight yards last week. The Texans face the Dolphins this week, who have a league-best D-PAC score versus running backs at 6.82 and the Texans will probably have to throw the ball a lot to keep up with the Dolphins’ offense. 

Jamaal Williams, Detroit Lions

Jamaal Williams has been one of the biggest success stories in fantasy this season. With six rushing scores in his last three games and 12 on the season, he’s an automatic start, right? Not on a short week against a stout Buffalo defense. The Bills are going to come out firing on all cylinders on Thanksgiving, forcing the Lions to rely on the pass. They’ve only surrendered seven rushing scores all year with four of them coming from two games. You may have been riding the fire with Williams, but that fire is going to be reduced to cinders this Thursday.

Wide Receivers

Start ‘Em

Allen Robinson, Los Angeles Rams

Allen Robinson took over the WR1 role last week with Cooper Kupp going on IR for a few weeks. Robinson didn’t exactly light the world on fire catching four passes on five targets for 47 yards and one touchdown, for a decent performance. The Rams face the Chiefs this week who are giving up over 41 points per game and a league-worst 23.05 D-PAC score versus wide receivers. Robinson isn’t an every-week start, but he’s pretty solid this week. However, if Stafford sits this week due to being in concussion protocol, you might want to look elsewhere.

Jakobi Meyers, New England Patriots

New England is not known for their adept passing attack with just 220 receiving yards per game. However, facing a Minnesota defense that has allowed 318.5 passing yards per game in the last two weeks opens a bevy of opportunities. Fantasy wide receivers have scored well above the league average in four of the last five games when facing the Vikings. A fun fact: Meyers has scored in each of his two games against NFC North opponents while averaging 16.1 yards per reception – more than any other division. Start Meyers to make your Turkey day a little happier. 

Sit ‘Em

Garrett Wilson, New York Jets

This could probably go for any pass catcher, or player, in the Jets offense right now. Zach Wilson has not looked good and could potentially be benched this week. Even if he is benched and either Mike White or Joe Flacco starts, this is still not a good spot for Garrett Wilson. The Jets are facing the Bears who are only giving up 26 points per game to wide receivers. So no matter the quarterback for the Jets, don’t start Wilson.

Darnell Mooney, Chicago Bears

The Bears resurgence of offensive production has been a breath of fresh air with Darnell Mooney being a significant factor. Things could get really rocky with Justin Fields suffering a shoulder injury last week. Even though it is his non-throwing shoulder, it’s a painful injury that could cause him to be less explosive out of the pocket and also reduce his passing ability. If Fields doesn’t play, you absolutely cannot start Mooney. If he does play, I still wouldn’t start Mooney this week.

Tight Ends

Start ‘Em

David Njoku, Cleveland Browns

David Njoku came back in week 11 from missing a few games due to an ankle injury, and even in a limited capacity he flashed. Before his injury, Njoku was being targeted around six times per game and showing some good production on those targets. Even with missing a few games, he is ranked in the top ten most consistent tight ends in the league with a consistency score of 2.8. We can expect his usage to increase this week with a good matchup against the Buccaneers who are giving up nearly 14 points per game to tight ends. 

Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills

Having caught 11 of 13 targets over the last two contests, it seems that Dawson Knox is re-emerging as an important part of the Buffalo passing game. Facing the Lions this Thursday is even more enticing as they have allowed 14.9 yards per catch to tight ends across their previous four contests. If you’ve been waiting for the right time to start Knox, your patience will be rewarded in Week 12.

Sit ‘Em

Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints

The 49ers are a tough matchup against tight ends, giving up less than 10 points per game. They are also playing really good ball right now, stifling a few really good offenses over the past few weeks. Taysom Hill is one of those typical hit-or-miss starts, and this week will be a miss. 

Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints

I’ve been as high as anyone when it comes to Juwan Johnson over the last few weeks. Sadly, I must turn the smile into a frown in Week 12. San Francisco’s D-PAC rating of 2.54 against tight ends is the second least desirable in the NFL. On top of that, the only tight end to achieve 30 receiving yards against them since Week 4 was Travis Kelce. Johnson has given a lot of hope to tight end streaming teams, but all good things come to an end.

Don’t forget to hit us up on Twitter with any of your lineup questions. You can find Benjamin @FFRabbitDad and Brendan @OBryanBren. If you have a question, we will give you some guidance. After all, we want you to win!

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