I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

While this year was certainly different and I’m sure people didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving in exactly the way that they anticipated, I hope that you were able to spend some time reflecting on the positive things in your life.

We’ve got some entertaining games on the schedule this weekend and we’ve got some key matchups in our fantasy football leagues as we draw nearer and nearer to the playoffs. Below, you’ll find my projections and notes for every single fantasy relevant player in week 12!

If you would like to see how these go together in my rankings, along with an included Who Should I Start tool, you can find that here!

LAC at BUF | TEN at IND | CAR at MIN | CLE at JAC | NYG at CIN | ARI at NE | MIA at NYJ | LVR at ATL | NO at DEN | SF at LAR | KC at TB | CHI at GB | SEA at PHI | BAL at PIT

Enjoy this weekend’s games!

Los Angeles Chargers vs Buffalo Bills

Date/Time: November 29, 1:00pm ET
Spread: Bills -5
Over/Under: 53 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Bills 29, Chargers 24

Los Angeles Chargers

__________

Buffalo Bills

__________

Quarterback

Los Angeles: It’s seriously insane what Herbert is doing on the field in his rookie season. He’s been essentially unstoppable and there’s no reason to doubt that that won’t continue here in week 12. Herbert’s matchup proof at this point and should be viewed as a top-5 lock every single week until we see otherwise.

Buffalo: Allen gets a week of rest and he should come back ready to face off against the rookie QB sensation on the other side of the field. The Chargers have the right playmakers on the field to be viewed as a stellar defense, but they just gave up 28 points to Joe Flacco and the New York Jets. Allen should be able to put together a solid performance here in week 12 and he can be viewed as a top-5 option.

Running Backs

Los Angeles: Ballage was injured early on in last week’s game, but he fought through it and played the rest of the game. Unfortunately, his efficiency may have suffered because of the injury and he was only able to put up 44 rushing yards on 16 attempts. He did reel in seven receptions though, which brings a safe floor for fantasy managers each week. Assuming that Ballage is fully healthy, he should be plugged in as a safe mid-range RB2 option with upside due to his work in the receiving game. Austin Ekeler‘s unlikely to suit up in this one, but if he does play, you’re starting him as a low-end RB2 due to the injury unknowns. Ballage will still get touches if Ekeler plays, but he’s downgraded to a mid-range RB3.

Buffalo: At this point, it’s hard to get excited about Moss from a fantasy perspective. The Bills simply aren’t leaning on their running backs in this offense, which makes Moss a volatile fantasy option. He can be viewed as a high-end RB3 based on the position right now, but you’re going to be stuck hoping that he finds the end zone. Singletary’s been absolutely awful for fantasy purposes recently. If we took the name off the back of the jersey and just looked at the stats, Singletary would’ve been dropped to the waiver wire a long time ago. He’s not worth holding onto and he can be dropped.

Wide Receivers

Los Angeles: Allen is on pace for 179 targets and 130 receptions this season. He’s coming off of a 19 target game and Herbert just continues to force feed him the ball. Allen should be viewed as a top-5 lock every single week with this target volume. Williams was able to take advantage of a favorable matchup last week and he rewarded fantasy managers that took a shot on him. While he’s been inconsistent this season, he’s still worth rolling into your lineup each week due to his upside. Williams can be viewed as a high-end WR3 in this matchup as he should draw coverage from Tre White.

Buffalo: Diggs has been everything that Buffalo wanted when they sent away significant draft capital to acquire him in the offseason. He can continue to be started as a mid-range WR1 with upside each week. It seems unlikely that John Brown plays in this game, so Beasley gets a huge bump. While it’s not the greatest matchup for opposing WRs, Beasley should see enough volume to return mid-range WR3 value. In a game where points are expected to go up on the board, Beasley’s worth rolling out there. Davis becomes an intriguing FLEX play, but only if you’re looking to swing for the fences.

Tight Ends

Los Angeles: Henry was offering very little upside as recent as two weeks ago. He’s now scored in two straight contests and he’s being force fed the ball. At the TE position, that’s fantasy gold and he should be viewed as a top-tier option this week against a defense that’s allowing 9.6 fantasy points per game to opposing TEs.

Buffalo: None of the Bills TEs are worth considering for fantasy football this week.

FantasyProjection Buster: The Bills RBs are extremely difficult to project right now. They’re barely involved in this offense and Moss is going to have to find the end zone to finish as a top-24 RB.

__________

Tennessee Titans vs Indianapolis Colts

Date/Time: November 29, 1:00pm ET
Spread: 
Over/Under: 
Implied Vegas point totals:

Tennessee Titans

__________

Indianapolis Colts

__________

Quarterback

Tennessee: Tannehill’s had a brutal stretch of matchups here recently and it continues yet again with the Colts defense that held him in check just a couple of weeks ago. Tannehill can be viewed as a mid-range QB2 this week.

Indianapolis: Rivers put up over 300 yards against this defense the last time they played and he’s coming off a three-touchdown game against the Packers secondary. If you’re looking for a streaming option in week 12, it’s not a bad strategy to ride the “hot hand” and drop Rivers into your starting QB slot.

Running Backs

Tennessee: Henry took advantage of key absences on the Ravens defensive line in week 11 and he absolutely shredded their defense all game long, including the walk-off TD run in overtime. The Colts kept Henry relatively in check a couple of weeks ago from a fantasy perspective, but he’s still worth starting as a mid-range RB1 in this matchup. He might not come with No. 1 overall RB upside, but he’ll provide an extremely safe floor.

Indianapolis: Is this Jonathan Taylor‘s backfield now? Please? While this is an absolute headache to try and predict week in and week out, JT received the clear majority of the touches last week and he was able to produce in a good matchup. Taylor gets another favorable matchup here, which would boost him up into the mid-range RB2 conversation, but we have no idea what Frank Reich is going to do with this backfield. JT can be started this week, but he obviously comes with huge risk based on the unpredictability in this offense.

Wide Receivers

Tennessee: Things weren’t looking good for AJ Brown there for a while in last week’s contest. He had a few uncharacteristic drops, but he absolutely made up for it with his monstrous TD catch. Brown was shut down the last time they played the Colts, but he’s too talented to sit on your bench. Brown should be viewed as a mid-range WR2 this week due to the matchup. Davis has only had one bad game this season. While that was the week that most fantasy managers were paying attention to see how he would fare, he’s been producing solid numbers every other week. This is a tough matchup for opposing WRs, but Davis was able to produce WR3 numbers against them two weeks ago. He’s worth viewing as a low-end WR3 this week.

Indianapolis: Pittman had a tough CB matchup last week, but he emerged victorious with yet another solid fantasy performance. The majority of his production came on his big TD catch-and-run, which is hard to predict, but he’s cemented himself in the WR3 conversation. Against this defense though, who he torched for over 100 receiving yards two weeks ago, Pittman’s worth starting as a high-end WR3. Hilton’s seeing just enough work to be back on the redraft radar, but he’s nothing more than a low-end FLEX play.

Tight Ends

Tennessee: Jonnu has as many receiving touchdowns this season as Allen Robinson, Julio Jones, and Robby Anderson combined. While he’s seen six targets each of the past two weeks, he’s not doing much in the yardage department. However, he continues to find the end zone at a ridiculous rate. Due to his usage in the red zone, Smith’s worth plugging into your lineup each week as a low-end TE1.

Indianapolis: While Burton and Jack Doyle both scored touchdowns last week, this is a pretty even target split between these TEs in Indianapolis. Burton’s the TE worth looking at for fantasy purposes, but he’s a touchdown-dependent high-end TE2.

FantasyProjection Buster: Until we see consecutive weeks of JT being the clear lead option in this backfield, he’ll end up in this section.

__________

Carolina Panthers vs Minnesota Vikings

Date/Time: November 29, 1:00pm ET
Spread: Vikings -3.5
Over/Under: 51.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Vikings 27.5, Panthers 24

Carolina Panthers

__________

Minnesota Vikings

__________

Quarterback

Carolina: Bridgewater’s going to get the start here and he’d certainly be in the high-end QB2 conversation if we didn’t have the injury concerns. We simply just have no idea how his knee is and whether or not he’s going to be able to make it through this full game. He’s still in the streaming conversation, but he comes with risk.

Minnesota: Cousins was asked to throw the ball more than he had been in previous weeks against the Cowboys and he delivered with a spectacular fantasy performance. Cousins threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns and there’s a possibility that he’s asked to throw quite a bit here again on Sunday. While Dalvin Cook has a very favorable matchup, Carolina’s offense could keep them in this game. Cousins is a bit of a risky play due to the game-script dependency, but he’s worth looking at as a high-end QB2 or streaming option.

Running Backs

Carolina: Davis will get the start here yet again and he needs to be viewed as a low-end RB1 due to the matchup. It’s as simple as that.

Minnesota: Cook just continues to perform at a MVP level and he should continue that streak here against the Panthers run defense. Start Cook as a top-3 lock.

Wide Receivers

Carolina: With Bridgewater back under center, the Panthers WRs should have a little bit more predictability. Anderson should continue to see plenty of targets, but he hasn’t found the end zone since week one. He can be viewed as a low-end WR2 with little upside. Moore should go back to seeing a smaller target share, but he can always hit the big play. In this matchup, he belongs in your lineup as a high-end WR3 option. Samuel comes with a little bit more volatility due to his role in this offense, but he’s started to establish himself as one of Bridgewater’s favorite targets. He can be viewed as a low-end WR3 in this matchup.

Minnesota: Can we talk about that TD grab by Adam Thielen last week? Thielen was able to reel in a beautiful one-handed grab in the back of the end zone last week that is absolutely a must watch clip. Thielen was able to reel in another score last week too on his way to a dominant fantasy performance. This is a little bit tougher of a matchup on paper, but it doesn’t quite matter. Continue to plug in Thielen as a mid-range WR1 with upside every single week, assuming that he actually is able to suit up in this game. Jefferson only finished last week with three receptions, but he found the end zone on a deep play to save his fantasy day. Jefferson’s now moved into an every week starter and he has enormous potential in every matchup. There’s always the possibility that the Vikings lean heavily on their run game, but Jefferson’s worth rolling out each week regardless due to his upside. He can be viewed as a mid-range WR2 this week if Thielen plays. If Thielen is not able to play in this matchup, Jefferson should be viewed as a mid-range WR1.

Tight Ends

Carolina: None of the Panthers TEs should be considered for fantasy football this week.

Minnesota: With Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith both running routes, there’s not enough volume for them to be viable fantasy assets. Until we see one of them ride the bench, they’re not worth looking at for fantasy football.

FantasyProjection Buster: It’s easy to look at the target share for Moore this season and project what I’ve given him, but he’s always a threat to hit one or two big plays a game. He could easily blow my projections out of the water again.

__________

Cleveland Browns vs Jacksonville Jaguars

Date/Time: November 29, 1:00pm ET
Spread: Browns -6
Over/Under: 49 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Browns 27.5, Jaguars 21.5

Cleveland Browns

__________

Jacksonville Jaguars

__________

Quarterback

Cleveland: With dealing with the rain last week, Mayfield struggled to get anything done against a solid Eagles defense. He has a much better matchup here against the Jaguars, but there’s a strong possibility that the Browns only throw the ball 18 times in this game. Mayfield’s in the streaming conversation due to the matchup, but he’s certainly a risky start.

Jacksonville: Remember Mike Glennon? Bears fans surely do and he’s now going to get the start this week against the Browns. Unfortunately, this is a downgrade for all the Jaguars receivers and Glennon’s certainly off the redraft radar.

Running Backs

Cleveland: Chubb succeeded in a tough matchup last week, but there’s reason to be “concerned” about him moving forward. Last week, Chubb rode the bench when the Browns were at the goal line. Hunt saw the majority of the touches in the key area of the field last week while Chubb watched from the sideline. Chubb’s obviously a must-start option each week, especially in this matchup against the Jaguars, but he’s not going to present immense upside if he’s not getting that work. Hunt averaged 0.8 yards per carry last week, but he “saved” his fantasy day by finding the end zone. He saw the majority of the goal line touches, but he wasn’t able to do much with his opportunity. This is a plus matchup for opposing RBs, so Hunt’s worth plugging right back into your starting lineup, but it is concerning moving forward how inefficient he was last week. Hunt can be viewed as a high-end RB2 with upside against the Jaguars.

Jacksonville: Robinson is a no-brainer start at the RB position right now. He’s in a terrible offense, but he’s seeing too many carries to ignore for fantasy football. Fire him up as a low-end RB1.

Wide Receivers

Cleveland: The Browns receivers weren’t able to get much done last week in the elements, but this matchup is enticing for fantasy purposes. While there’s the possibility that the Browns run the ball all over the Jaguars, Landry should see enough volume in a good matchup to be viewed as a mid-range WR3. Higgins outproduced Landry last week and he now has a favorable matchup in front of him. He can be viewed as a FLEX play, but you most likely have better options available to you.

Jacksonville: With Mike Glennon at QB, it’s hard to be excited about any of these receiving options. Chark can be played as a risky high-end WR3 due to the amount of targets he’s likely to see this week. Cole has produced in spurts this season, but you simply can’t rely on him with the QB situation this week. Otherwise, it’s best to just avoid this receiving room if you can.

Tight Ends

Cleveland: Hooper finished with a modest 3-33-0 stat line, but Baker airmailed a pass to him in the end zone last week. The weather could’ve possibly caused this egregious error, but it would’ve led to Hooper having a much better fantasy outing. In this matchup against the Jaguars, Hooper’s worth plugging in as a low-end TE1.

Jacksonville: None of the Jaguars TEs are worth considering this week.

FantasyProjection Buster: Any of the Jaguars’ receiving options could qualify for this segment. This isn’t going to be pretty with Mike Glennon behind center.

Having trouble viewing the next page on mobile? Click this link for page 2