NFL

Start/Bench/Flex Advice for Week 12 in Fantasy Football

By: Jonathan Goad

If you took my advice last week, you’re welcome. If you didn’t, well that’s on you.

It’s that time of the season where you can’t make mistakes. The fantasy football playoffs are right around the corner. It’s crunch time.

Let’s go!

START

Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns

The Browns face the Bengals in week 12. This should be good news for Chubb. He’s coming off of a bye and in his last performance against a poor Falcons defense he went 20-176-1 rushing and 3-33-1 receiving. I’m not saying he have that good of a game, but Chubb should put up real solid numbers once again.

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Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints

Obviously, you’re starting Kamara, but Ingram has been solid as of late as well. He had 16 carries for 103 yards and two scores against Philly’s defense. The Eagles were supposed to be better than that but the entire Saints offense fared well against the defending champs. The Saint play Atlanta this week. Start every Saint you have.

Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons

With Marshon Lattimore likely shadowing Julio Jones, Ridley could be in for a heavy dose of targets. By no means does that mean Julio. You’d be a dummy if you did that. The Falcons will almost certainly be playing catch-up all game, so that should bode well for Ridley as well. All the signs are there for a big game for Ridley. I’d suggest starting him this week.

BENCH

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Demaryius Thomas, WR, Houston Texans

Thomas put up a goose egg against Washington in what was a close game. He also only saw one target. He’ll likely not have that bad of a game against Tennessee this week, but I wouldn’t take any chances. You need sure fire players who will produce. Thomas hasn’t been one of those all season. Don’t risk it now.

Detroit Lions RBs

With Kerryon Johnson most likely out on Thanksgiving, you might think it would be smart to grab his backup. The first issue is, who is his backup? Is it LeGarrette Blount, Theo Riddick, or Zach Zenner? Don’t start any of them. I’d even advise benching Johnson against this Bears defense. They’re too good. I guess if you have zero other options, go with Riddick. But don’t expect a big performance from any of the trio. Avoid at all costs.

LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills

Shady has had decent fantasy weeks in two of his last three games. He went 23-113-2 against the Jets in Week 10. He gets the Jaguars in week 12 after last week’s bye. They just held James Conner to his worst game of the season. I’d avoid Shady like the plague.

FLEX

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Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals

Fitz has four scores in his last four games. He’s also had 34 targets in those games. It’s safe to say that Josh Rosen is trusting his best WR. The issue this week is the matchup against the Chargers. One good thing is that with the way David Johnson is running that should open up some holes for Fitz to live in especially because Arizona will likely be trailing all game.

Doug Baldwin, WR, Seattle Seahawks

Baldwin is coming off his best game of the season. He also saw double digit targets for the first time this year. In order for the Seahawks to continue to win ball games, they’re going to need Baldwin to be involved. However, there’s potential for him to regress to what we saw earlier this year.

Kenyan Drake, RB, Miami Dolphins

Drake has been about as inconsistent as they come at the running back position. He’ll have a couple good weeks in a row, then follow those up with two bad weeks. There’s no telling who will get more touches between Drake and Frank Gore. Drake does have a decent matchup with Indy. Start him at your own risk.

There’s your advice for this week. Do with it what you will.