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Whether due to their own play, the play of others, or injuries, players' stock increases and decreases on a weekly basis. Perhaps more than any other, the NFL is a league that experiences ups and downs at a rapid pace. With only 16 games, there’s little room for error and seemingly endless opportunities for improvement. The same goes for fantasy football; managing rosters effectively is key to winning that championship.
Throughout the season, players get hot and see an increased role while others struggle and fight to stay relevant. Experienced fantasy players know this happens every year. In this weekly column, we’ll showcase those who have taken important steps forward and those who have taken steps back.
These are the key risers and fallers heading into Week 12 of the NFL season.
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Week 12 Fantasy Football Risers
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
Sometimes I'm just obligated to include the obvious names. We were all wondering how Taysom Hill would fare outside of just a gadget role. The answer is pretty...pretty...pretty good. Hill completed 18 of 23 passes for 233 yards and added 51 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns. Hill is like if Tim Tebow was actually capable of completing a forward pass. The dual threat ability will keep Hill in the weekly QB1 discussion. I expect to see him added in a ton of leagues this week.
Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
Was this game an aberration or did Sean McVay finally figure out that calling pass plays is actually effective? Time will tell, but for right now, let's give Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp the credit they deserve. They both had monstrous outings on Monday night. The two combined to see 28 targets, catching 23 of them for a total of 275 yards, with Woods finding the end zone. Woods has pushed 30 points in two of his last three games while Kupp has hit double digits in all but one game this season. If the Rams continue being a passing offense like they were back in 2018, Woods and Kupp could be huge down the stretch.
Antonio Brown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Although Tom Brady is definitively washed, volume remains king in fantasy football. There has been plenty of it for Antonio Brown in his three games with the Bucs. AB's targets have gone from five to eight to a team high 13 this past week. Brady is wildly inaccurate and his passes look wobbly and without any zip, but Brown is still an elite talent. The Bucs will have to throw to keep up with the Chiefs next week, which should mean more targets for Brown. The only reason there hasn't been more hype around AB is that he hasn't scored yet, but that is coming eventually.
J.K. Dobbins, Baltimore Ravens
It's a shame he's going to miss this week's Thanksgiving night cap against the Steelers because last week, the J.K. Dobbins takeover began. Credit to John Harbaugh for finally realizing that Mark Ingram has no business being in the NFL anymore. Ingram is far below replacement level at this point in his career. It's over. Dobbins is exponentially better and deserves to head a committee with Gus Edwards. We're going to get a week of Edwards with a side of Justice Hill, but Dobbins should be back the following week and could be a league winner.
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
I can't get it right with Jonathan Taylor. He's looked terrible all season and was flat out benched for Jordan Wilkins a couple weeks ago, which held for a while...until last week. Suddenly, Taylor is handling 26 touches in a highly competitive contest. Taylor was a Saquon Barkley level prospect that looked like Montee Ball 2.0 until last week. Is this a blip or a trend? I can't say for sure, but I believed in Taylor as a prospect and am hopeful his talent is finally breaking through.
Week 12 Fantasy Football Fallers
Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
Carson Wentz hasn't been the total disaster in fantasy that he's been in real football. Wentz is undoubtedly one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL this season. It's basically the injury replacements/backups taking over for an even worse starter and then Wentz. Volume has helped him salvage awful games with futile late comeback attempts that matter for fantasy. The reason Wentz is here is because if the Eagles have any aspirations of winning the deplorable NFL East, they need to start Jalen Hurts. I have no idea if Hurts will provide a noticeable upgrade over Wentz. The only thing I can say for sure is he can't be worse. The Eagles remaining schedule is vs Seattle, at Green Bay, vs New Orleans, at Arizona, at Dallas, and vs Washington. They are going to be underdogs in at least their next four games. They've lost two straight and it's difficult to envision them not making a change if the losses continue to pile up.
Wide Receivers, Cincinnati Bengals
It truly breaks your heart to see Joe Burrow crying in pain on the field. The fact that his 2021 season is already in jeopardy is just devastating. With Ryan Finley now manning the controls for the Bengals, it's also bad news for Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and A.J. Green. There's just no way Higgins and Boyd will have the rock solid weekly floors they've had all season. Green was already mostly useless so you can continue to not start him. I hope Finley can prove me wrong because I really like what Higgins is showing as a rookie, but I'm terrified of what a Ryan Finley offense is going to look like. In his three starts last season, he failed to reach 200 yards or complete more than 53% of his passes in any of them. For context, Burrow already has five 300 yard passing games to his name. Higgins and Boyd are no longer must starts unless Finley proves otherwise.
Travis Fulgham, Philadelphia Eagles
I don't mean to pick on the Eagles. This isn't even really about Carson Wentz. It just looks like Travis Fulgham was the guy because there was no one else. With Jalen Reagor and Alshon Jeffery back, Fulgham has now recorded back to back games of exactly one catch for eight yards. He had at least 12 fantasy points in all five of his games before the bye. It sure looks like Fulgham was a flash in the pan that is now receding back into obscurity.
Duke Johnson, Houston Texans
I almost forgot to put Duke Johnson here because, in my mind, how can a guy that had zero fantasy value all season be a faller? He can't get any lower than useless. Then I remembered there were people that actually advised not only picking him up but starting him after David Johnson went down, as if the past six years of Duke's career never happened. Duke Johnson is bad at football. He's been in situations where the starter on his team went down multiple times and, at no point, did he ever produce. Of course it's the same this year. There was no evidence suggesting it would be any different. Since DJ went down, Duke has operated as the Texans' primary back. This past week, he rushed for a staggering 15 yards on 10 carries en route to 6.5 fantasy points, which was an improvement over his 5.4 fantasy points from the week before. There's always a chance Duke falls into the end zone like he did three weeks ago to have a useful fantasy outing, but he is purely a touchdown or bust option.
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
Despite the praise Taysom Hill rightfully earned, there is one thing we cannot ignore - Alvin Kamara did not catch a pass for the first time in his career. He was targeted just once. We're talking about a player that was on pace to shatter the single season targets and receptions record for running backs. He didn't catch a pass and the Saints dominated the game. While I don't expect Kamara to ever go catchless again, I also don't expect Sean Payton to revamp an offensive scheme that clearly worked just to force the ball to Kamara. I caution everyone against overreacting to one game, but it's entirely possible that Kamara is a touchdown or bust RB2 the rest of the season. I wouldn't say that's likely, but with Hill, I don't see many 5+ reception games in Kamara's future.
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