Our Week 12 fantasy football start and sit recommendations are now live. Last week was a home run in recommending to start the likes of Jordan Love and Brandon Aiyuk. Can we duplicate this success starting on Thanksgiving with a tripleheader?
Brock Purdy is coming off an elite two-game span for the San Francisco 49ers as they visit the Seattle Seahawks Thanksgiving night. Is he a solid Week 12 play?
At running back, we like the matchup Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Mixon has against the Pittsburgh Steelers. James Cook of the Buffalo Bills? Not so much.
Without further ado here are our Week 12 fantasy football start and sit recommendations.
Related: Week 12 fantasy football rankings
Week 12 fantasy football start and sit: Quarterbacks
Start
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Just how good has Purdy been the past two games? We’re glad you asked. He’s completing 78% of his passes for 629 yards with six touchdowns and zero interceptions. It now has Purdy as the ninth-best fantasy quarterback heading into Thanksgiving’s matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. While Seattle’s defense has been good against quarterbacks (13 TD, 7 INT), we still like this matchup from Purdy’s perspective given how well he’s played recently.
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
The Washington Commanders have been a complete and utter disaster against the pass this season. They’ve yielded the most fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season (24 TD, 6 INT). Tommy DeVito even torched this unit for three touchdowns and zero interceptions last week. With the way Prescott has been playing as of late (1,271 yards, 13 TD, 2 INT in past four games), he’s an obvious start in Week 12.
Sit
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
We’re definitely not liking this Week 12 matchup for Herbert. The Baltimore Ravens have given up just nine touchdown passes compared to 10 interceptions on the season. Opposing quarterbacks are also averaging just over 200 passing yards per game. With how much the Chargers have struggled as a team recently, it makes no sense to start Herbert against Baltimore.
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Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mayfield has been hot and cold from a fantasy perspective in his first season with the Buccaneers. He’s acted the part of a legit QB1 just three times in 10 starts despite heading into Week 12 as QB15. He’s now set to take on a surprisingly good Colts defense that has given up 10 passing touchdowns with 11 interceptions. It’s just not a good matchup for Mayfield.
Week 12 fantasy football start and sit: Running backs
Start
Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
While his yardage numbers are not great (239 over the past four games), Mixon has scored a touchdown each time out. He’s now a top-end RB2 heading into Week 12 against a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that has surprisingly struggled stopping running backs (110.1 yards per game). In a game that’s going to be lower-scoring, look for Cincinnati to rely on Mixon more than we’ve seen in the recent past.
Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
Williams has not suited up since suffering an ankle injury back on Oct. 15 against the Arizona Cardinals. His practice window for return from injured reserve opened last week and there is now a great chance Williams goes against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. If so, he’s a must play. Arizona has yielded the third-most fantasy points to running backs on the season. Prior to going down to injury, Williams had put up 561 total yards and seven touchdowns at a clip of 5.1 yards per touch in six games. You can do the math.
Sit
James Cook, Buffalo Bills
Cook has been good the past two weeks (222 total yards, 1 TD). However, he did fumble the ball two times in an ugly Week 10 loss to the Denver Broncos. Inconsistency has been an issue. We dislike his Week 12 matchup against a Philadelphia Eagles team that is giving up an average of 66.3 rushing yards per game. Buffalo will likely rely more on Josh Allen beating a questionable Eagles pass defense through the air in this one.
Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
Some might be inclined to go with this rookie from UCLA in Kenneth Walker’s stead Thursday night. Walker is going to miss some time with an oblique injury. We’re just not buying it. First off, Geno Smith’s status for Thanksgiving night is questionable. Secondly, San Francisco ranks in the top five of the NFL stopping fantasy running backs. This is not a good matchup for Charbonnet.
Week 12 fantasy football start and sit: Wide receivers
Start
CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
Lamb has pretty much been the most-productive wide receiver in the NFL over the past five games, catching 47-of-60 targets for 655 yards and four touchdowns. There is absolutely no reason to believe this will change come Thanksgiving with the Washington Commanders giving up 2,110 yards and 15 touchdowns to wide receivers in 11 games. That’s just disastrous.
Odell Beckham Jr., Baltimore Ravens
With star tight end Mark Andrews sidelined to injury, the Ravens will need some wide receivers to step up for Lamar Jackson. At least this week against the Los Angeles Chargers, OBJ is a big-time play. Los Angeles has given up a 65% completion to wide receivers on the season. Players at this position are also averaging nearly 200 yards per game. Yeah, that’s bad.
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Sit
Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos
Sutton is rightfully in the news after his game-winning touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. But the idea of relying on him from a fantasy football perspective makes no sense. This is especially true against a Cleveland Browns defense that has allowed wide receivers to catch just 52% of their targets on the season. They are also averaging just 8.6 catches per game as a unit.
Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns
With Dorian Thompson-Robinson starting for an injured Deshaun Watson last week, Cooper caught 4-of-8 passes for 34 yards. In reality, it’s not Cooper’s fault that he lacks fantasy relevance with Watson sidelined for the season. Relying on any wide receiver to be relevent with a rookie mid-round pick starting is foolish.
Week 12 fantasy football start and sit: Tight ends
Start
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Kittle caught 8-of-9 targets for 89 yards with a touchdown last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Over the past three games, he’s hauled in 20-of-24 targets from Brock Purdy for 364 yards and two touchdowns. It doesn’t hurt that he’s taking on a Seahawks defense that’s given up a 76% completion to tight ends on the season.
Sit
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Regardless of who is starting under center for the Patriots in Week 12, Henry is not a decent fantasy play against the New York Giants. They rank in the top eight of the NFL stopping fantasy tight ends. Meanwhile, Henry ranks a mere 17th at his position in the fake football world.