If the spread of turkey, casseroles, pumpkin pie (and that unidentifiable goop your aunt made you choke down) wasn’t enough to satiate you, Week 12 of the NFL season offered up some extremely tasty fantasy football production. The Thursday games were some of the most exciting Thanksgiving games in recent memory, and with no teams on bye this week, we got another full helping on Sunday. Mike White revitalized the Jets, finishing the day with over 300 yards and three touchdowns, Tee Higgins showed off some big boy moves against the Titans secondary, and Josh Jacobs led the Raiders to a rare victory with over 300 yards from scrimmage. But, like any potluck gathering, there were some proverbial turds in the punch bowl. Russell Wilson put up one of the worst performances of his career, Christian McCaffrey couldn’t get going against a manageable Saints defense, and the injury bug continued rearing its ugly head with Travis Etienne, Deebo Samuel, and Alvin Kamara all going out, to name a few. 


 Oh, and can we talk about the random names who found the end zone this week? Cade Otton finished with a big fat zero in the box score while fellow tight end *checks notes* Ko Kieft found pay dirt? Josh Oliver got the look instead of Mark Andrews, and Durham Smythe scored over all of the other Dolphins’ pass catchers? Dare Ogunbowale, Jordan Akins, Ameer Abdullah, the list goes on. Maybe they were taking Thanksgiving week to heart. It only comes around once a year, so it’s the only time they score a touchdown. How could we not have seen this coming? The only constant in fantasy football is that it’s unpredictable, but we’ve learned that the unpredictability makes for some fun hot takes. There are only two full weeks left before the fantasy playoffs start, so we’ll have to dig down deep to find the spice. Grab some Tums, pull up a chair, and let’s keep this gastrointestinal adventure going with Week 12’s hot takes.

 

 

Treylon Burks Finishes Each Remaining Week as a WR1

My love for Treylon Burks is not something I’ve tried to hide, so if you’ve been hanging around me on the bird app or following this article, you know what’s up. Still, I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn; since returning from injured reserve, Burks’ numbers speak for themselves. Over the past two weeks, he’s averaged seven targets per game, accumulated 181 yards, and even found the end zone today on a wild fumble committed by Derrick Henry. Through that span, Burks is the WR9 in PPR formats, and as he continues to build Ryan Tannehill’s trust, he should only get better. This offense will continue to run through Henry on the ground, but Burks is the clearly the most productive receiver. If the Titans want to gain the edge in a very tight AFC playoff picture, they’ll have to be more balanced on offense. Count on Burks to provide this balance and finish with weekly WR1 output.


Zay Jones Will Outscore Christian Kirk the Rest of the Season

There was a Black Friday sale on fantasy points Sunday, and Zay Jones was at the front of the line! He saw a season-high 14 targets in a game that could have been very run-heavy due to weather and hauled in 11 of those for 145 yards. It helped that Travis Etienne went out very early with a foot injury, but he’s been heavily involved in the offense throughout the season with six games with eight or more targets. The Jaguars upcoming schedule is a wide receiver’s DREAM with matchups against the Lions, Titans, and Dallas. With the top cornerback focused on shutting down Christian Kirk, Jones should absolutely feast in these matchups. Surprisingly, Jones has also out-snapped Kirk over the past several weeks, and while he hasn’t been able to find the end zone, some positive regression is coming. He’s only rostered in 38% of Sleeper leagues, so he could be a free square going into your fantasy football playoffs.


Zonovan Knight Should Be Rostered for Your Playoff Run

I’m not sure if James Robinson caused a stir at the Thanksgiving table this week, but many fantasy managers were surprised to find he was a healthy scratch on Sunday morning. Undrafted free agent Zonovan Knight finally made his NFL debut after being elevated from the practice squad, and the rookie impressed with 14 carries for 69 yards. He was similarly effective in college at North Carolina State, finishing the 2021 season with over 900 scrimmage yards and a yards per carry average of 5.4 yards in 12 games. With Michael Carter suffering an ankle sprain in the blowout win, Knight could be a part of the Jets roster for the next few weeks, and the schedule is OH SO tasty! The Jets see matchups against the Vikings, Bills, Lions, Jaguars, and Seahawks to round out the season, and if Robinson remains on the naughty list, expect Knight to have an increased role. At this point in the season, he’s a diamond in the desolate desert of waiver wire mummies.


Christian McCaffrey is a Risky Option Down the Stretch

Please don’t come for me with this one. I know McCaffrey is a generational talent who is a future Hall-of-Famer, but his usage in this 49ers offense scares me. He’s only seen an average of 65% of the offensive snaps, and even with Elijah Mitchell going down with an MCL sprain, McCaffrey only had 11 rushing attempts that went for a lackluster 32 yards. To make matters worse, his usual passing upside was completely nonexistent, only hauling in four receptions for 17 yards. San Francisco is known for rotating their stable of backs, and even with the potential of Mitchell being out, McCaffrey will never be a workhorse back in this offense. The 49ers see a couple of tougher matchups the next two weeks against the Dolphins and Buccaneers, and if you’re on the cusp of making the fantasy postseason, don’t be shocked if CMC lets you down.

 

Brian Robinson is a League-Winner

It’s been hard to trust either of the running backs in Washington, but Brian Robinson showed up and showed out in a big way Sunday. He carried the ball 18 times for over 100 yards and padded his stat line with a receiving touchdown. The Commanders have been coming on lately, winning six of their last seven, and their running game has been a huge part of that success. Sure, Robinson will be splitting carries with Antonio Gibson, but if he keeps this efficiency up, you should still be able to rack up fantasy points. The Commanders have a soft schedule with back-to-back games against the Giants in between their bye week, then, on championship Sunday, they meet Cleveland in D.C., the league’s second-worst run defense. Robinson may not have paid off early, but if you were patient enough to hold on to him, you should get a nice gift to ring in the New Year.

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