Week 12 was one of the most wild weeks of the season. There were fights, fantasy explosions and some severe disappointments. This week did little to clear up the NFL playoffs, but it helped pave the way for the fantasy football playoffs.
Julio Jones erupted for 253 yards and two touchdowns. He became only the third player in NFL history to have multiple 250-yard receiving games. Alvin Kamara solidified his case for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Carson Wentz and Tom Brady both continued their bids for NFL MVP by obliterating inferior competition on Sunday.
The fantasy football regular season concludes in one week. Let’s look at some of the under-owned Week 12 studs as well as some popular duds in order to best prepare for the fantasy playoffs.
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Studs
Robby Anderson (WR – NYJ)
Anderson’s ownership in fantasy leagues should be in the 90th percentile. Instead, he’s available in almost 20% of re-draft leagues.
Since Week 7, only three wide receivers have outscored Anderson in PPR leagues. He has a touchdown reception in five straight games and has been targeted over six times per game in that time span.
The schedule looks slightly daunting for Anderson and the Jets offense in the upcoming weeks, but until he proves otherwise, Anderson needs to be in the starting lineup for your fantasy team. He’s also looking like a player that will see a huge increase in value this offseason in dynasty leagues.
Cooper Kupp (WR – LAR)
No Robert Woods? No problem for the Rams. Both Kupp and Sammy Watkins abused a New Orleans Saints secondary that was missing it’s top two corners.
Kupp was targeted 11 times, catching eight passes for 116 yards. Over the last four games, Kupp has been targeted 30 times. The rookie wide receiver will clearly continue to get a high volume of opportunities in one of the hottest offenses in the NFL. As long as Woods misses time, Kupp has a WR2 floor in PPR leagues and is available in over 30% of fantasy leagues.
Frank Gore (RB – IND)
When Gore finally retires, there likely won’t be as much pomp and circumstance as there should be. The talented and seemingly ageless Gore totaled 79 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown.
On the season, Gore is the RB28 in PPR leagues. A big reason is that he continues to get the bulk of the carries in the Colts backfield. On Sunday, teammate Marlon Mack only had four rushing attempts for 11 yards. Opportunity breeds success, and while Gore doesn’t have an elite ceiling, he is quite practical as a FLEX play.
Duds
Kareem Hunt (RB – KC)
Maybe it’s the proverbial “rookie wall.” Perhaps Alex Smith is causing opposing defenses to load up against the run and dare him to beat them through the air. Or, Andy Reid is outcoaching himself.
Hunt’s usage is bizarre, regardless of the reason. Three of the Chiefs’ losses have come in games where Hunt received less than 13 rushing attempts. Two of those losses were by less than a touchdown.
Hunt is a phenomenal talent on a team that remains in first place in the AFC West. A soft schedule to finish the season could set up nicely for Hunt as well. The fantasy playoffs are three home games against the Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, and Miami Dolphins. Yes, please.
Michael Crabtree (WR – OAK)
There have been some boneheaded plays thus far this season. What Crabtree and Aqib Talib did was completely ridiculous, and fantasy football doesn’t have an ounce of influence on that declaration.
The question moving forward now is whether Crabtree is going to miss any additional time. His actions are surely going to be examined thoroughly by the league office. The Raiders might not need his services next week when they host the New York Giants, but they’ll need him in Week 14 when they travel to face the Chiefs for the second time. Be sure to have a backup plan in case Crabtree misses this week.
Kenny Stills (WR – MIA)
Oh, the difference a week can make. Last week’s stud is this week’s dud. In the case of Stills, the narrative was set and the expectations were set unbelievably high. Leave it to Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots to shut down an opposing team’s threat, though.
Coming off two consecutive games where he scored a touchdown against the Patriots, Stills had Matt Moore as his quarterback as well. Given the favorability Moore has shown toward Stills in the past, it appeared he might be the biggest benefactor against the Patriots. Three catches and 47 yards later and Stills is lumped in with the duds.
It’s not going to get any easier for Stills and Moore. The Dolphins travel to Denver to take on the Broncos, then face the Patriots again which is followed with trips to take on the Buffalo Bills and Chiefs. Stills looks like waiver wire fodder for the rest of the season.
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Matt Giraldi is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Matt, check out his archive or follow him @Mgiraldi.
