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Matt MacKay's must-have fantasy football bench stashes and sleepers ahead of Week 12. He picks high-upside players to stash on your teams who can emerge as starters.
Week 12 turns up the heat on all fantasy managers battling for playoff seeding during the final three weeks of the regular season. Roster maintenance is critical this time of year, and knowing which waiver wire players improve your team separates winners and losers. We've seen many teams continue to dig into their depth chart to replace injured players or bench underperforming players who previously earned quality snaps.
Players like Dontrell Hilliard, DeeJay Dallas, and Marquise Goodwin all climbed into top-12 territory in their respective positions during Week 11. Unfortunately, other players with high expectations fell flat, seemingly happening every week of the 2021 NFL season.
Keeping an ear to the wire is what I'm here to do for all of you, so I've gathered several players who provide enough usage to be played in various ways. So let's get right into how each of these players will fare in the final three weeks of the fantasy season.
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Rex Burkhead, Houston Texans
The departure of Phillip Lindsay allowed another veteran running back to emerge in the Houston backfield last week, as Rex Burkhead earned 18 carries despite playing fewer snaps than David Johnson. While all four of the running back targets were directed to David Johnson, the return of Tyrod Taylor under center has elevated the outlook of a bleak offense. This season, Burkhead's only other relevant game came against the Rams in Week 8, where he caught three passes for 27 yards while churning out 5.2. YPC as a limited ball carrier. Burkhead gets a savory matchup against the New York Jets in Week 12, who form the worst run defense in the league. He is a Flex option at home against the Jets due to the rushing volume in Week 11. Burkhead will see his floor rise even higher if he returns to being a target in the Texans' passing game. He's a solid stash on fantasy benches at worst due to the shallow running back landscape.
Dontrell Hilliard, Tennessee Titans
The path for Dontrell Hilliard was paved before Adrian Peterson's release earlier this week. The fourth-year running back has bounced around the league, but the opportunity for him to produce has presented itself, making Hilliard a mandatory stash off of fantasy waiver wires. The Titans are struck with injuries and are turning to players like Hilliard to become big pieces of their offense. There is a lot on the line for Tennessee, so expect Hilliard to continue as a factor in the passing game, where he made his bread against the Texans secondary in Week 11. Double-digit targets are a coveted metric, and difficult road matchups in two of their next three weeks could see Ryan Tannehill rely on Hilliard to bail him out of trouble. He looked great as a ball carrier on a light workload, averaging 5.0 YPC, which bodes well against the Jaguars and Steelers to close out the regular season. Add Hilliard off of waivers in nearly all circumstances.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay's offense has two styles of play they can compete with against their opponents. The run-centric playcalling of head coach Matt LaFleur has frustrated fantasy managers in many games this season, but Week 11 saw the Packers shift gears to their passing offense. The wide receivers were busy and productive throughout a tough divisional loss to the Minnesota Vikings. When all was said and done, Marquez Valdes-Scantling ended up leading the Packers in target share at a whopping 32.3 percent. This yielded 123 yards and a touchdown that came in the game's final minutes, as the speedster caught the pass in stride and took care of business. MVS is the WR2 in Green Bay, not Allen Lazard or Randall Cobb, so grab him off of waivers and treat him as a low-floor, high-ceiling boom-or-bust player moving forward.
Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos
Denver surprised a lot of people by extending both Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick during their Bye Week. The fourth-year wideout out of Utah has proven to be reliable in big moments for the Broncos the past couple of seasons and leads the Broncos' wide receiving corps in touchdowns (4) and yards per target (9.9) through ten games this year. Unfortunately, Teddy Bridgewater has not fared well as a passer for Denver. The team continues to search for its franchise cornerstone to tie the entire roster together for another Super Bowl run. Nevertheless, Patrick has a high floor entering Week 12 with at least five targets in seven of his last eight games, so don't let Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton's presence influence your decision to stash Patrick off of waivers. He is a consistent WR3 in most PPR leagues for the remainder of the season.
Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots
It feels like there is only room for one New England Patriots wide receiver to produce WR2 numbers in any given game. Last week, Nelson Agholor scored the game's only touchdown on a 15-yard crossing route, and Jakobi Meyers always soaks up targets. Yet Kendrick Bourne continues to possess the highest floor of the Patriots' receiving corps, as he has seen at least four targets in five consecutive games. Rookie quarterback Mac Jones has attempted fewer than 25 passes in three straight games as their defense has improved, allowing the offense to function through its running backs. In four games this season, Bourne has also been used as a ball carrier, racking up 50 rushing yards in his last two games. He's a downfield target for Jones, averaging 10.5 yards or deeper against the Browns and Falcons, meaning Bourne could take advantage of the Titans. Tennessee is the best matchup for opposing fantasy wide receivers, so that Bourne can be considered a high-floor Flex option at home in Week 12. Even if you're set at wide receiver, adding Bourne will provide floor insurance barring any future injuries.
Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis' tight ends have become increasingly relevant in an offense that has seen Jonathan Taylor take over as the league's overall RB1 across the last month of the season. Veteran Jack Doyle has benefitted from a profoundly talented tight end room, drawing five targets in consecutive wins for the Colts. He gets the most opportunity by far, accounting for nearly 74 percent of snaps versus Mo Alie-Cox's 40 percent snap rotation against the Bills in Week 11. Doyle is typically efficient on a limited target share, so he can be treated as a high-floor streaming option that can find the end zone against weaker secondaries. The Colts will face Tampa Bay, whose secondary has been vulnerable at times this season. Doyle also has a favorable schedule down the stretch, facing the Texans, Raiders, and Jaguars' defense in three of his five remaining games. Tight end is a position that booms at random, but Doyle's opportunity in a conservative offense with a big-armed quarterback makes him a fringe TE1 for the rest of the fantasy season.
Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers
Kyle Shanahan has resorted to the run-centric approach he is famous for modifying during his tenure as San Francisco's head coach. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has improved his game substantially since making this shift in coaching philosophy, attempting under 30 passes in five of his last six games. Garoppolo has been ridiculously efficient as the offense has healed and developed chemistry throughout the first 11 weeks, accounting for at least two touchdowns in four consecutive games. He's an asset at the goal-line, effectively finding the end zone as a ball-carrier to reward fantasy managers brave enough to insert him into lineups while favoring a mixture of George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk in the passing game. Garoppolo will face Minnesota, Seattle, and Cincinnati, whose defensive units present a mixture of vulnerability and adversity for Garoppolo to navigate. He doesn't have a huge ceiling, but the floor is always intact, and the offense is trending in the right direction to make a playoff push. Grab Garoppolo off of waivers and treat him as a high-end QB2 capable of producing a low-end QB1 week.
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