By Dave Moore (@davieremixed)
Without doubt, the biggest head scratcher of a fantasy football player is deciding who to start in their line-up each week. There is nothing worse than leaving a game on your bench and spending the entirety of the next week dwelling in hindsight.
Whether you’re in 1 league or 100 leagues, setting your line-ups is the most crucial part of your fantasy week and we’re here to let you know which players are in the best environments to boom and which are most likely destined to bust.
Don’t forget to keep your #EyesPeeled for tomorrow’s podcast where we dive into a full preview of the weekend games and make sure you head over to Twitter (@F10YFantasy) for “Start ‘em, sit ‘em, GIF ‘EM!”.
Spoiler alert: Less a spoiler, more of a question. Is it time to move Detroit out of the Turkey Day slot? Let me know on Twitter.
Thanksgiving
Matchup: Houston Texans @ Detroit Lions
Start of the Game
Duke Johnson Jr – Running Back – Houston Texans
I’m going to regret this shout but the Lions are awful against the run so SURELY this is the week that D-Double-J pulls his finger out and pushes himself above his awful 2.8 YPC line. Weird things happen on Thanksgiving, maybe Johnson Jr having a respectable game is that thing.
Other Notable Starts
Houston Texans – Jordan Akins – Tight End
Detroit Lions – N/A
Sit of the Game
Matthew Stafford – Quarterback – Detroit Lions
Jeez, what a mess the Lions are. Pointless against the Panthers renders them pointless for the remainder of the season. A large part of that is that Matthew Stafford hasn’t been entirely healthy this season and the Lions tend to go as he goes. The QB didn’t look right against Carolina and with a short turnaround and a frisky-Texans team coming to town for Turkey-Day I envisage another weak offensive output from the Lions who may be missing Kenny Golladay again. Sit him.
Other Notable Sits
Houston Texans – N/A
Detroit Lions – Adrian Peterson – Running Back
Matchup: Washington Football Team @ Dallas Cowboys
Start of the Game
Steven Sims – Wide Receiver – Washington Football Team
Sims made a bit of a name for himself last year and he’s starting to round into form in time for the (Fantasy and maybe real) playoffs, in my opinion. That’s right, these two 3-win teams will lead the NFC East after this game! The Cowboys give it up against wide-outs and I like Sims as a darkhorse WR3/Flex this week in a crowded schedule to shine in primetime.
Other Notable Starts
Washington Football Team – Alex Smith – Quarterback, J.D McKissic – Running Back
Dallas Cowboys – Dalton Schultz – Tight End
Sit of the Game
Tony Pollard – Running Back – Dallas Cowboys
The Football Team are pretty good against the run when it comes to Fantasy points given up so maybe the Pollard Express comes to a bit of a halt this week as he set a season-high in rushing yards against the Vikings last week. Pollard might be worth a play if you play PPR but against Washington, in Week 7 he had 22 scrimmage yards. Yes, the QB situation was a lot worse but this is worth remembering.
Other Notable Sits
Washington Football Team – N/A
Dallas Cowboys – Michael Gallup – Wide Receiver
Sunday Early Games
Matchup: Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Start of the Game
Diontae Johnson – Wide Receiver – Pittsburgh Steelers
DJ18 has back-to-back 100-yard games (admittedly against the Bengals and the Jags) and this belatedly-moved-to-Sunday-game is a great chance to make it a hat trick. The Ravens are banged up, Covid-ed to their eyeballs, and in a funk right now. They’re also not great against WRs and with three pass-catching threats in DJ18, MapleTron, and JuJu it’s going to be tough to keep their heads above water.
Other Notable Starts
Baltimore Ravens – Gus Edwards – Running Back
Pittsburgh Steelers – Chase Claypool – Wide Receiver
Sit of the Game
Marquise Brown – Wide Receiver – Baltimore Ravens
Maybe this is reverse-psychology on my part due to being so invested in Brown this season but the man we know as Hollywood has been more like my school’s production of High School Musical back in 2008. He’s a pair of scores to his name this season and one 100 yard game which was in Week 1! Now we’re watching him go against Minkah Fitzpatrick? Yeesh. Avoid.
Other Notable Sits
Baltimore Ravens – N/A
Pittsburgh Steelers – N/A
Matchup: Las Vegas Raiders @ Atlanta Falcons
Start of the Game
Nelson Agholor – Wide Receiver – Atlanta Falcons
There are so many ways the Raiders can win and so many ways the Falcons can lose. I wouldn’t have thought that coming up to December that Nelson Agholor would be the guy who is making headlines as the apparent WR1 of the Raiders but here we are! The Falcons are terrible against WRs and Agholor’s only low scoring game since the end of September was the Broncos game where they ran the life out of the ball. This guy could be the guy to get you into your league’s playoffs.
Other Notable Starts
Las Vegas Raiders – Derek Carr – Quarterback
Atlanta Falcons – Todd Gurley – Running Back
Sit of the Game
Matt Ryan – Quarterback – Atlanta Falcons
The New Orleans pass rush blew the Falcons O-Line to pieces on Sunday and Ryan looked shook. I don’t like this matchup for the Falcons this week either and whilst the Raiders D isn’t exactly a wow-factor when it comes to Fantasy, I think the Falcons will look to the run game, especially if Julio Jones’ hamstring is still an issue. At a crucial time in your season, Matt Ryan isn’t the guy you should be starting.
Other Notable Sits
Las Vegas Raiders – N/A
Atlanta Falcons – N/A
Matchup: Los Angeles Chargers @ Buffalo Bills
Start of the Game
Cole Beasley – Wide Receiver – Buffalo Bills
Hell yeah, Cole Beasley! Save for two down games against the Patriots and the Seahawks this guy has been electric this year and should be in your WR2 position ahead of John Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, or even frisky Tim Patrick. This is going to be a high-scoring game between two teams who love a bit of chaos and I like Colby (think about it) to get in on the action, especially if Smokey Brown can’t play. If this guy is even still on the waiver wire in your league it’s a crime.
Other Notable Starts
Los Angeles Chargers – Hunter Henry – Tight End
Buffalo Bills- Dawson Knox – Tight End, Zack Moss – Running Back
Sit of the Game
Joshua Kelley – Running Back – Los Angeles Chargers
At various points this year I’ve thought “this is the game where Joshua Kelley becomes ‘the guy’ in Austin Ekeler’s absence”. Last week he had a total of 2 scrimmage yards off four carries and two receptions. He sat far behind Kalen Ballage and was less productive than Troymaine Pope. You can’t in, good faith start this guy.
Other Notable Sits
Los Angeles Chargers – N/A
Buffalo Bills- Devin Singletary – Running Back
Matchup: New York Giants @ Cincinnati Bengals
Start of the Game
Sterling Shepard – Wide Receiver – New York Giants
Much like the Giants as a whole, Shepard has improved in the last few weeks and after logging double-digit fantasy scoring weeks in the four games before the Week 11 bye I like Shepard to continue his good form against a Bengals team that is now completely lost this season after the devastating injury to Joe Burrow.
Other Notable Starts
New York Giants – DST, Darius Slayton – Wide Receiver
Cincinnati Bengals – Giovani Bernard – Running Back
Sit of the Game
Tee Higgins – Wide Receiver – Cincinnati Bengals
Well that’s that for Cincy then. A great shame is that Tee Higgins was really starting to blossom in his parternership with Joe Burrow and I don’t like Brandon Allen/Ryan Finley will be of any use to any of the Bengals receivers. If you’ve not hit your trade deadline yet then you need to try and move Bengals receivers if you’re in a re-draft league.
Other Notable Sits
New York Giants – N/A
Cincinnati Bengals – Brandon Allen – Quarterback
Matchup: Tennessee Titans @ Indianapolis Colts
Start of the Game
Michael Pittman Jr – Wide Receiver – Indianapolis Colts
Oh boy, am I excited for this kid. Two straight big games for the Colts, one of which was against this week’s opponent. I said to start him against the Titans a fortnight ago and I’m going to bang this drum again. Tennessee are weak against WRs and as a little nod to the future, they face the Raiders and the Texans (twice) in the next three weeks. He’s not only a Week 12 Start, he’s a Playoff Start.
Other Notable Starts
Tennessee Titans – N/A
Indianapolis Colts – Nyheim Hines – Running Back
Sit of the Game
A.J Brown – Wide Receiver – Tennessee Titans
Maybe it’s just me but I am surprised that AJ Brown isn’t a top 10 WR in Fantasy. Sure he’s missed two weeks but it seems he’s not catching as many balls as he’d like to (or whoever has him as their WR1). It feels like if he’s not scoring a TD he’s not as productive as you’d like. A fortnight ago he was held to a catch for 21 yards against the Colts. I’m not sure I like him to do much better, especially with December Derrick around the corner.
Other Notable Sits
Tennessee Titans – Ryan Tannehill – Quarterback
Indianapolis Colts – N/A
Matchup: Carolina Panthers @ Minnesota Vikings
Start of the Game
D.J Moore – Wide Receiver – Carolina Panthers
A fortnight ago I said there had been a notable drop off in Moore’s production. He then shuts my mouth with two great games against the Bucs and Lions, with the Vikings weak against WRs I like him to continue this regardless of whether it’s Teddy B or PJ Walker throwing the passes.
Other Notable Starts
Carolina Panthers – Mike Davis – Running Back
Minnesota Vikings – Kirk Cousins – Quarterback
Sit of the Game
Kyle Rudolph – Tight End – Minnesota Vikings
There seems like there’s a battle between Rudolph and Irv Smith Jr for the TE1 spot in Minnesota and as such, they seem to be bleeding targets to each other. Carolina are decent enough against TEs to suggest to me that Rudolph is a sit this week.
Other Notable Sits
Carolina Panthers – N/A
Minnesota Vikings – N/A
Matchup: Arizona Cardinals @ New England Patriots
Start of the Game
Chase Edmonds – Running Back – Arizona Cardinals
If the AC joint issue for Kyler Murray continues to bother him then Arizona will lose some of their explosiveness in the passing game which may lead to shorter passes and screens to the man who has flourished in recent weeks, Chase Edmonds. Whilst his stats were padded with a TD against the Seahawks he looks to be a reliable pick in the coming weeks. I like him to have a big impact on Sunday.
Other Notable Starts
Arizona Cardinals – Christian Kirk – Wide Receiver
New England Patriots – Damiere Byrd – Wide Receiver
Sit of the Game
Damien Harris – Running Back – New England Patriots
Just when I was starting to truly believe in Damien Harris for the rest of the season, Sony Michel goes and gets healthy which I fear is going to cut into his workload. True, Rex Burkhead is done for the year which is a boost for Harris but I feel Michel will steal more carries away from harris than a healthy Burkhead. For this matter alone, I am sitting Harris down this week.
Other Notable Sits
Arizona Cardinals – N/A
New England Patriots – N/A
Matchup: Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets
Start of the Game
Salvon Ahmed – Running Back – Miami Dolphins
A down week for Ahmed last week but it was for most Dolphins players so what better remedy than the winless Jets? Weak against…everything, really, the Jets are a tonic for any team and I like Ahmed to take the strain off Tua.
Other Notable Starts
Miami Dolphins – Jakeem Grant – Wide Receiver
New York Jets – Denzel Mims – Wide Receiver
Sit of the Game
Chris Herndon – Tight End – New York Jets
Yes, he showed signs of life against the Chargers but much like the rest of this Jets team, if you fool me once…Herndon may have a good game but do you really want to be starting a Jets player other than Denzel Mims for the rest of the year? Because I don’t.
Other Notable Starts
Miami Dolphins – N/A
New York Jets – N/A
Matchup: Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Start of the Game
Jarvis Landry – Wide Receiver – Cleveland Browns
That’s right it’s Mike Glennon! Just kidding. The Browns have been a ground game team all season and in recent weeks it has been amplified due to the horrific weather in Cleveland. As a result, however, it may be possible that some Browns pass catchers are being a bit undervalued. Jarvis Landry is a guy I like to catch some balls against a Jaguars team but really it could be anybody.
Other Notable Starts
Cleveland Browns – Baker Mayfield – Quarterback
Jacksonville Jaguars – N/A
Sit of the Game
Keelan Cole – Wide Receiver – Jacksonville Jaguars
I don’t envisaage a pleasant day for any Jags WR but we’ve gotta pick one guy so let’s go with someone who may have ben on the periphary of your WR3/Flex spot. There’s not a lot else to say other than if a pass-catcher in your team has Mike Glennon throwing the balls, you’ve got a problem.
Other Notable Starts
Cleveland Browns – N/A
Jacksonville Jaguars – DJ Chark Jr – Wide Receiver
For the latest on each player’s start and sit status, make sure you checkout @F10YFantasy on Twitter. Remember, keep those #EyesPeeled.