With all but one Week 12 game in the books (Monday Night Football), we’ve learned a little bit more than we knew last week. Or, in some cases, thought we knew. Players impressed, players disappointed and there is fantasy football fallout to unpack.
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Once again, I’ve compiled the full weekly fantasy football stock report below. These are the most notable risers and fallers coming out of Week 12. Invest accordingly!
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📈 Stock Up at RB
Derrick Henry, Ravens
Somewhere around Week 5 or 6, after a stretch of horrendous matchups and a number of games without Lamar Jackson, there was a lot of panic over Derrick Henry. And while he hasn’t quite reached the elite ceilings he has in years passed, Henry has since put those concerns to bed. He has between 18-24 carries in six straight games, has averaged 92 rushing yards per game over that span, and has scored three touchdowns in the last two weeks. Not only that, he gets to play the Bengals in Weeks 13 and 15 — so those elite ceilings may still yet come through. Henry always seems tougher late in the season, and is setting up to be a consistent RB1 into the fantasy playoffs.
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Travis Etienne Jr., Jaguars
After a Week 11 game in which Bhayshul Tuten was heavily involved — and both backs got banged up — some fantasy managers were concerned Travis Etienne Jr. might lose his job to the explosive rookie. Not so much. Not only did he have 18 touches for 116 yards (and a receiving touchdown) in Week 12, Etienne now has 14+ fantasy points in four straight games, and has a meeting with the Titans on deck. Tuten is a nice change-of-pace option, but he is still a clear second-fiddle to Etienne (just seven carries for 17 yards on Sunday). You can trust the Jags’ top runner weekly through the remainder of the fantasy season.
Kareem Hunt, Chiefs
With Isiah Pacheco out (again) on Sunday, Hunt turned in the most productive day by a Kansas City running back this season, with 130 total yards (and a rushing TD) on a whopping 30 touches. Most importantly, even if Pacheco returns soon, Hunt has now scored five touchdowns in his last four games. And seems firmly entrenched as an engine in this offense, as the Chiefs try to better control game scripts in their ongoing pursuit of a playoff spot. Hunt has a great matchup with the Cowboys in Week 13, and can be started as a high-end RB3 or better even if Pacheco is active.
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📈 Stock Up at WR
Wan’Dale Robinson, Giants
Jaxson Dart should be back soon, but Jameis Winston reminded us (and hopefully the Giants coaching staff) why Wan’Dale Robinson should remain heavily involved in an otherwise weaponless offense. He caught nine of 14 targets for 156 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, and looked like far-and-away the most dangerous asset New York has to move the ball. He has a bye in Week 14, and had been inconsistent with Dart — despite seeing a ton of targets most weeks — so Robinson isn’t the most reliable option for a playoff push. But he is a high-volume option and has green matchups with the Commanders and Raiders in the fantasy playoffs.
A.J. Brown, Eagles
In his first game off the disparaging-comments-on-Twitch saga, A.J. Brown was heavily involved but disappointing for fantasy — seven catches for just 49 yards on 11 targets last week against Detroit. Well, there was more grease for the squeaky wheel on Sunday, as Brown saw 10 targets, but this time snagged eight for 110 yards and a touchdown. It was his second 20-point fantasy day of the season, and just his second game with a touchdown in the last nine weeks. Brown (and the Eagles) has a flurry of excellent matchups on the upcoming schedule, and he looks to be back in his regular spot as half of the elite WR duo in Philly. You should be rolling him out as a WR1/WR2 option who will inevitably disappear for a half … or maybe a game (hopefully not in the playoffs).
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📈 Stock Up Elsewhere
Brenton Strange, Jaguars
I was a big fan of Brenton Strange’s breakout prospects entering the season, and after logging 45+ yards in three of his first four games, it was looking promising. Then Strange got hurt in Week 5 and proceeded to miss the next five games. Well, Strange returned with a vengeance in Week 12, catching all five of his targets for 93 yards. He is one of the more explosive young tight ends in football and can absolutely matter for fantasy down the stretch if he continues seeing significant volume in an otherwise banged-up Jacksonville offense. Add him on waivers, at the very least.
Caleb Williams, Bears
Caleb Williams made me look a fool on Sunday, torching a previously improved Steelers defense for 239 yards and three touchdowns after I warned of his “bust” potential. And while Williams is still a weekly threat to “dud” — he has fewer than 13 fantasy points in half of his last six games — he’s also topped 20+ points in three of his last four and has been operating the Chicago offense at an increasingly high level. Williams has a very tough schedule upcoming, so he’ll likely remain a fringe fantasy play, but he’s now shown he can put up big numbers with some consistency. Consider him as part of a streaming duo heading into the fantasy playoffs.
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📉 Stock Down at RB
David Montgomery (again), Lions
We typically try to avoid repeats in this column, but David Montgomery is on a full-blown collision course with the fantasy bench and it needs to be acknowledged. The Lions RB2 hasn’t had more than 10 fantasy points since Week 5 (against the hapless Bengals), has logged 40 or fewer rushing yards in five of his last six games and totaled just 11 carries for 45 rushing yards over the last two weeks. Jahmyr Gibbs has literally run away with the backfield, and we simply can’t trust Montgomery in any capacity. His former floor is gone, and his ceiling is heavily capped by Gibbs’ involvement. Hold onto Montgomery — he’s theoretically the best attrition back in the league — but don’t play him until something changes (which it probably won’t).
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D’Andre Swift, Bears
As arguably D’Andre Swift’s No. 1 fan this season, this pains me to write. But we have to face the facts. Kyle Monangai has become far too involved in this offense — especially at the goal line — in recent weeks. While he’s scored in three straight games, Swift has not scored since Week 8. And after he still managed 80 and 90 rushing yards in Weeks 10 and 11, respectively, Swift had his first true bust of the year in Week 12 with just 15 yards on eight carries. He doesn’t have a particularly soft matchup for the rest of the year, and while he should bounce back from a yardage perspective, Monangai’s TD-vulturing is going to hurt Swift’s ceiling. He’s likely more of a low-end RB2 than the low-end RB1 he had been into the middle of the season.
📉 Stock Down at WR
CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys
What the heck, CeeDee Lamb? Does the man have the yips? Despite missing several games, Lamb is tied with Jerry Jeudy and Davante Adams for the most drops in the league this year (eight, according to PFF), and it’s honestly looked worse than that in several instances. He caught just four of 11 targets on Sunday, and while he still had 75 receiving yards, he left potentially another 75 (and a touchdown) on the field. George Pickens seems like the more reliable WR1 in Dallas right now, and while Lamb is still a must-start player, he’s not currently the elite top-tier option he was entering the year. You can expect 12-15 fantasy points most weeks, but he hasn’t hit 20 all year.
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Jameson Williams, Lions
If you’d started harboring some excitement over Jameson Williams after three straight weeks of 14+ fantasy points, here’s a towel for the cold water you were hit with in Week 12. Williams posted a goose egg, with just three targets in a great matchup against the Giants. It’s the second time he’s done that in five games, and it’s his sixth game on the year with fewer than six fantasy points. You can play him any given week for the hope of a big play or two, but you must be aware that he’s more prone to “full-dudding” than just about any other “WR3” in fantasy.
Justin Jefferson, Vikings
Listen. It’s time to acknowledge reality. Justin Jefferson is bad for fantasy. Not just “not great” … he’s scored fewer than nine fantasy points in three straight games with J.J. McCarthy back under center, he still hasn’t hit 18 points all year, and he’s scored just one touchdown since Week 2. Some wideouts with more fantasy points than Jefferson since their Week 6 bye include Michael Wilson, Troy Franklin, Stefon Diggs and Parker Washington. He’s a fine WR3 with upside, but he’s not a WR1 by a long shot.
📉 Stock Down Elsewhere
Lamar Jackson (again), Ravens
In this column last week, Lamar Jackson was a “Stock Down” player with the caveat that we shouldn’t be panicking just yet. Well. It might be time to panic. After his 25.56-point effort against the Dolphins in his Week 9 return, Jackson has been unironically terrible for fantasy. He’s averaged just 174 pass yards per game the last three weeks, with one touchdown pass in total and just 57 rushing yards over that span as well. He’s scored fewer than eight fantasy points in consecutive games, for heaven’s sake. The next three weeks bring an unbelievable chance for redemption — Bengals, Steelers, Bengals could be three straight 30-burgers — but Jackson will need to rediscover whatever he’s lost since battling injury midway through the season (specifically, his rushing threat).
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Jordan Love (and the Packers pass-catchers)
To be clear, you already shouldn’t have started Jordan Love on Sunday — he’s been predictably bad in every mildly difficult matchup all season, and he was again on Sunday, with just 7.06 fantasy points against Minnesota. But every new data point in the “Love can’t produce against good defenses” is another reason for his stock to drop for fantasy. He’s a good streamer in a QB combo platter of some kind, but you simply can’t trust him as your every-week starter. Specifically, you’ll need another option when he faces the Broncos in Week 15. And as for his pass-catchers, good luck starting any of them and expecting reliable fantasy points. I think it’s more or less hands off in Green Bay down the stretch.
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