BUY / SELL / STEAL FOR WEEK 12
Emptying out the notebook:
— Chris Thompson (fibula) is done for the year, making Samaje Perine the number one back in Washington.
— Robert Woods (shoulder) will miss a few weeks and D’Onta Foreman (Achilles) is out for the year. Kelvin Benjamin (knee) was carted off the field and his status for this week is unknown, but do not bank on him playing.
— Paxton Lynch will now be the starting QB in Denver. This obviously effects the value of Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas. Tread lightly with expectations this week for either.
— Greg Olsen, who has been out since Week 2, returns this week and is expected to start for Carolina.
— The three Thanksgiving Day games this year are: Minnesota at Detroit, Chargers at Dallas, and Giants at Washington.
— Houston at Baltimore closes the week on Monday night.
Ravens Fantasy Outlook
Mike Wallace: Houston has had problems with fast receivers all year and Wallace could easily continue that trend. I like him in DFS and as a flex play this week.
Joe Flacco: The Texans have allowed opposing QBs to throw for 20 or more points in four straight games. Flacco is an intriguing DFS option especially in the Sunday Primetime game format.
Defense: This goes without saying, but they will finish the week as a top three fantasy defense.
Buy
QB: Matthew Stafford: In his last three Thanksgiving Day games, Stafford has averaged 24 points.
Andy Dalton: Dalton has thrown two or more TDs in four of the past five games and now gets the Browns at home who have allowed 20 passing TD’s this year.
Other names: Case Keenum, Philip Rivers, Kirk Cousins, Marcus Mariota, Tom Brady, Carson Wentz, Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, Jared Goff, Ben Roethlisberger
RB: Carlos Hyde: Hyde has posted double-digit performances in four of his last five games, making him a valuable option at home this week.
Orleans Darkwa: Darkwa isn’t flashy, but he has gone for 70 or more yards in three straight games and is seeing catches out of the backfield.
Other names: Latavius Murray, Melvin Gordon, LeSean McCoy, Kareem Hunt, Jordan Howard, Jay Ajayi, Mark Ingram, Alvin Kamara, Todd Gurley, Leonard Fournette, Le’Veon Bell, Christian McCaffrey
WR: DeAndre Hopkins: Hopkins has scored in seven of ten games this year and is posting an averaged stat line of six catches for 88 yards and a TD or 20 points a game.
DaVante Adams: Since Brett Hundley has taking over as the starting QB, Adams has been the number one WR averaging 14 points a game.
Other names: Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Golden Tate, Keenan Allen, Mike Evans, Julio Jones, A.J. Green, Rishard Matthews, Tyreek Hill, Brandin Cooks, DeVante Parker, Robby Anderson, Alshon Jeffery, Michael Thomas, Cooper Kupp, Larry Fitzgerald, Antonio Brown, T.Y. Hilton
TE: Vernon Davis: The Giants have allowed double digits to opposing TEs in three of the last four games.
Greg Olsen: This is a bit of a gut feeling, but I think Olsen comes back with a bang this week. With Benjamin now in Buffalo, Olsen will be the clear number one target for Cam.
Other names: Evan Engram, Delanie Walker, Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski, Zach Ertz, Jimmy Graham, Jack Doyle
Def: Washington, Kansas City, New England, Philadelphia, Seattle, Denver, Pittsburgh
Sell
QB: Dak Prescott: Since Prescott has lost both his starting RB and LT, he has averaged 11 points over the last two weeks. Until one or both of them come back, it is hard to trust Dak.
Derek Carr: In Carr’s six career starts against the Broncos, he has averaged 11 points a game and been held to under 200 yards passing in five of those contests.
Other names: Eli Manning, Blake Bortles, Brett Hundley, Tyrod Taylor
RB: Doug Martin: Over his last five contests, Martin is averaging just five points a game. It is fair to say with the bye weeks over, he should not be in your line-ups.
Lamar Miller: Over the Ravens’ last three games, they have held opposing running backs to an average of 49 yards, while yielding just one TD.
Other names: Joe Mixon, DeMarco Murray, Marshawn Lynch, C.J. Anderson, Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Williams
WR: Jordy Nelson: Nelson is the flip side to Adams. Since Hundley took over, Nelson has seen fewer targets and has averaged a mere 5 points a game over his last four contests.
Amari Cooper: Cooper has been held to under 60 yards in four of his past five games. Against one of the worst defenses in the Pats last week, Cooper was held to 28 yards and was only relevant because of a late TD.
Other names: Dez Bryant, Sterling Sheppard, Eric Decker, Devin Funchess, Marqise Lee, Will Fuller, Emmanuel Sanders, Demaryius Thomas
TE: Cameron Brate: Over the last three weeks, Brate has only one catch per game and has been targeted a total of 10 times.
Austin Sefarian-Jenkins: ASJ was such a fantasy find in the beginning of the year due to the fact he was scoring TDs. Over his last three games, he has not found the end zone and scored double digits just once.
Other names: Kyle Rudolph, Julius Thomas, Jesse James, Ed Dickson, Coby Fleener
Def: Minnesota, Detroit, Tennessee, Buffalo, New Orleans, Houston
Steals
QB: Jacoby Brissett: Brissett is averaging 15 points in home games this year.
RB: Alfred Morris: The Chargers are allowing 4.9 yards per rush and a league high 139 yards rushing a game.
WR: Josh Doctson: Doctson has seen seven targets in back to back weeks and gets a nice match-up on Thanksgiving against the Giants.
TE: O.J. Howard: With Brate becoming irrelevant, Howard’s work load will increase.
Def: Oakland
