Fantasy Football Today: Who’s in, who’s out for Week 12

Running backs

McNichols is actually the biggest injury here, because it seemingly frees up Dontrell Hilliard to play a big role again. Hillard surprisingly emerged as the most-used running back for the Titans in Week 11, catching eight passes and finishing with 82 yards from scrimmage. The Titans have a tough matchup against the Patriots on the way this week, but given the Titans’ injuries at both running back and wide receiver, it’s going to be hard to go away from Hilliard coming off that kind of usage. He’s in the RB2 discussion for PPR leagues.

The other interesting situation here is the Jets, with Carter placed on IR earlier this week. Johnson and Tevin Coleman figure to split work for the Jets in the backfield in a great matchup against the Texans, but can you actually trust either? Johnson played 20 snaps in Week 12 and had one carry and one target; Coleman rushed for a whopping 16 yards on five carries with one target of his own. Coleman probably needs a touchdown to have much Fantasy value, so you’re hoping Johnson splits carries with him and gets a decent passing game role. He’s more of an RB3, while Coleman is truly just a desperation play — it wouldn’t shock me to see La’Mical Perine out produce him. 

The Seahawks RB absences are also worth noting. Alex Collins figures to be the leading rusher against Washington, but DeeJay Dallas did match him in snaps last week, so he’s an interesting beat-the-waiver-wire add this morning just in case he pushes Collins this week. 

These two are looking like game-time decisions, which isn’t a bad thing for those of you with Patterson, who plays at 1.  If Patterson is active, you’re playing him — he’s been one of the best players in Fantasy this season and has an excellent matchup against the Jaguars on the way. If he doesn’t play, my preference would be to avoid the Atlanta backfield, but that may not be possible, so I would prefer Mike Davis to Wayne Gallman, especially in PPR. He wouldn’t be a top-24 RB, however. 

The problem with Jones is he doesn’t play until 4:25 p.m., so if you have to make a decision early, he’s putting you in a tough spot. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Sunday morning there is “optimism” around Jones, who is pushing to play and will go through pre-game warmups to prove he’s ready. The problem is, the Packers tend to be pretty conservative with injuries, and with a Week 13 bye coming up, they may opt to give him two full weeks to get back to full strength. I can’t see into the future, so I can’t tell you whether to sit an early player for Jones; if you have a viable replacement in the late slate of games, it’s worth the risk, but otherwise, I would probably pass. AJ Dillon figures to see a solid role no matter what and is a decent starter even if Jones plays, so I would probably just keep him active.

Likely in: Saquon Barkley (ankle), Kareem Hunt (calf), Elijah Mitchell (finger), Damien Harris (neck), Rhamondre Stevenson (knee) 

I’m willing to start Barkley and Hunt as top-20 running backs this week and Mitchell is right in that range as well, so you’re probably starting all three of those guys. And I’m probably passing on the Patriots duo, since both are expected to play and it’s not like we have any reason one way or the other to consider one or the other more likely to be limited — injury details don’t tend to leak out for the Patriots. Expect another timeshare there, one that makes them both fringe Fantasy options until something changes to give one of them a real advantage. You’re hoping for a touchdown either way.  

Wide receivers

• Out: A.J. Brown (chest; IR), Corey Davis (groin), Antonio Brown (ankle), Sterling Shepard (quadriceps), Kadarius Toney (quad), Auden Tate (thigh), Anthony Schwartz (concussion), Ben Skowronek (back)
• Legitimately questionable: Allen Lazard (shoulder), Donovan Peoples-Jones (groin), Curtis Samuel (groin), Nico Collins (hip), Adam Humphries (hip)
• Expected to play: Marquise Brown (thigh)

The Titans already have Julio Jones and Marcus Johnson on IR, so they are incredibly short-handed for this one. Dez Fitzpatrick, Chester Rogers, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine led the team in WR snaps last week, and Westbrook is the only one you could even consider starting coming off a 100-yard game, but you’d probably have to be pretty desperate to do so — he turned eight targets into 29 yards in Week 4 against the Jets the last time Brown was out. He’s not a top-40 WR for me. 

I’m starting Marquise Brown in his return against the Browns, and it really doesn’t take much thought. He’d been a bit disappointing prior to the injury, with fewer than 40 yards in two of his previous four games, however he also had 44 targets in those four games, so there’s no way I’m not starting him. He’s a top-15 WR, while Rashod Bateman is in the WR3 discussion as he’s had at least six targets in each of the first five games of his career. 

Tight ends

The hope is that Thomas will be activated from IR prior to Monday’s game, but given the late kickoff there, you can’t take the risk that he won’t play unless you want to add Gerald Everett as a fill in just in case. I like Thomas’ chances of returning to be a viable starting Fantasy option, however, so if he’s available in your league, I would go out and add him unless I’ve got one of the handful of no-doubt-about-it, must-start tight ends. 

Updated rankings

Here are my latest rankings as of Sunday morning: 

Quarterback

1. Lamar Jackson vs. CLE
2. Tom Brady @IND
3. Jalen Hurts @NYG
4. Justin Herbert @DEN
5. Aaron Rodgers vs. LAR
6. Tua Tagovailoa vs. CAR
7. Cam Newton @MIA
8. Matthew Stafford @GB
9. Kirk Cousins @SF
10. Joe Burrow vs. PIT
11. Russell Wilson @WAS
12. Tyrod Taylor vs. NYJ
13. Teddy Bridgewater vs. LAC
14. Taylor Heinicke vs. SEA
15. Ben Roethlisberger @CIN
16. Carson Wentz vs. TB
17. Matt Ryan @JAX
18. Daniel Jones vs. PHI
19. Mac Jones vs. TEN
20. Trevor Lawrence vs. ATL
21. Jimmy Garoppolo vs. MIN

Running back

1. Christian McCaffrey @MIA
2. Jonathan Taylor vs. TB
3. Najee Harris @CIN
4. Austin Ekeler @DEN
5. Dalvin Cook @SF
6. Joe Mixon vs. PIT
7. Cordarrelle Patterson @JAX
8. Leonard Fournette @IND
9. Darrell Henderson @GB
10. Saquon Barkley vs. PHI
11. James Robinson vs. ATL
12. Nick Chubb @BAL
13. Myles Gaskin vs. CAR
14. Dontrell Hilliard @NE
15. Antonio Gibson vs. SEA
16. Miles Sanders @NYG
17. Aaron Jones vs. LAR
18. Kareem Hunt @BAL
19. Elijah Mitchell vs. MIN
20. AJ Dillon vs. LAR
21. Ty Johnson @HOU
22. Melvin Gordon vs. LAC
23. Javonte Williams vs. LAC
24. D’Onta Foreman @NE
25. Alex Collins @WAS
26. Damien Harris vs. TEN
27. Rhamondre Stevenson vs. TEN
28. Devonta Freeman vs. CLE
29. David Johnson vs. NYJ
30. Mike Davis @JAX
31. Deejay Dallas @WAS
32. Latavius Murray vs. CLE
33. J.D. McKissic vs. SEA
34. Nyheim Hines vs. TB
35. Boston Scott @NYG
36. Jeff Wilson vs. MIN
37. Devontae Booker vs. PHI
38. Alexander Mattison @SF
39. Rex Burkhead vs. NYJ
40. Brandon Bolden vs. TEN

Wide receivers

1. Davante Adams vs. LAR
2. Cooper Kupp @GB
3. Justin Jefferson @SF
4. Keenan Allen @DEN
5. Deebo Samuel vs. MIN
6. Diontae Johnson @CIN
7. Chris Godwin @IND
8. D.J. Moore @MIA
9. Mike Evans @IND
10. Ja’Marr Chase vs. PIT
11. Marquise Brown vs. CLE
12. Terry McLaurin vs. SEA
13. D.K. Metcalf @WAS
14. Tyler Lockett @WAS
15. Brandin Cooks vs. NYJ
16. Jaylen Waddle vs. CAR
17. Michael Pittman vs. TB
18. Jerry Jeudy vs. LAC
19. Elijah Moore @HOU
20. Adam Thielen @SF
21. Tee Higgins vs. PIT
22. Chase Claypool @CIN
23. Jamison Crowder @HOU
24. Odell Beckham  @GB
25. DeVonta Smith @NYG
26. Brandon Aiyuk vs. MIN
27. Rashod Bateman vs. CLE
28. Mike Williams @DEN
29. Kenny Golladay vs. PHI
30. Jarvis Landry @BAL
31. Marvin Jones vs. ATL
32. Jakobi Meyers vs. TEN
33. Laviska Shenault  vs. ATL
34. Tyler Boyd vs. PIT
35. Courtland Sutton vs. LAC
36. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine @NE
37. Van Jefferson @GB
38. T.Y. Hilton vs. TB
39. Dez Fitzpatrick @NE
40. Russell Gage @JAX

Tight end

1. Mark Andrews vs. CLE
2. George Kittle vs. MIN
3. Rob Gronkowski @IND
4. Kyle Pitts @JAX
5. Mike Gesicki vs. CAR
6. Dallas Goedert @NYG
7. Dan Arnold vs. ATL
8. Evan Engram vs. PHI
9. Tyler Higbee @GB
10. Pat Freiermuth @CIN
11. Noah Fant vs. LAC
12. Hunter Henry vs. TEN
13. Jared Cook @DEN
14. Tyler Conklin @SF
15. Logan Thomas vs. SEA
16. Austin Hooper @BAL
17. O.J. Howard @IND
18. David Njoku @BAL
19. Gerald Everett @WAS
20. C.J. Uzomah vs. PIT