Week 12 is packed with bargains.
Here are my top picks at each position, using FanDuel pricing as a
baseline for comparison:
A faceoff against the Falcons is every struggling quarterback’s
dream. Carson Palmer ($7,100) is one of
Week 12’s cheapest QBs, and for good reason: he has eight TDs and 13 turnovers
in his past seven games. The offensive
line is partly to blame; head coach Bruce Arians said as much a few days
ago. But the team hasn’t adjusted, and
there’s too much offensive talent not to bust out against an Atlanta squad that’s
yielded a league-high 283 passing yards per game and a near-league-high 23
passing TDs. Palmer is a must-start QB
if you’re not sitting on a top 8 option.
30 MPH winds dampened Josh McCown’s Week 11 output. Relatively speaking, Week 12 will be a breeze
(pun intended). Terrelle Pryor, Corey
Coleman, and Gary Barnidge—and an underrated Duke Johnson—give McCown enough weapons
to be a fantastic dart throw at $6,400.
At RB, Tevin Coleman is making his return after a month on the
sidelines. In regular leagues, Coleman
is barely startable; there’s always risk starting a player in his first game
back from an injury. But at $5,600,
Coleman is too cheap to ignore.
Jeremy Hill ($5,900) is facing one of the league’s stingiest run
Ds. He’s also—due to Gio Bernard’s ACL
injury—a bell-cow RB who should get double-digit DFS points.
And back to Cleveland: Duke Johnson’s price keeps falling (to $4,900),
as he simply hasn’t produced since October. In fairness, the Browns haven’t exceeded 10
points since October after averaging 20 points per game before that. Don’t laugh: at the very least, Cleveland
will put a scare into the Giants tomorrow.
At WR, I don’t understand Rishard Matthews’ pricing ($6,200). I’ve gotten him completely wrong this season,
but it’s fair to say he’s a legit weekly talent. Against Chicago, he has to be viewed as a
must-start WR2+. Teammates Tajae Sharpe
($5,500) and Kendall Wright ($4,600) have comparable upside at an extraordinarily
low cost.
I hyped Gary Barnidge last week and referenced him above. You’ll keep reading about him on this page
for as long as Cleveland has a half-decent QB—especially when he’s as cheap as
$4,800. The same goes for Austin Hooper
($4,500) now that Jacob Tamme is out for the season. And the same goes for Will Tye ($4,600). Also, kieep an eye on A.J. Derby
($4,500). While he’s not getting enough
targets yet, he could lead the TE corps by season’s end.