Week 12 Fantasy Football PPR Rankings & Projections: Josh Allen To Punish Chargers Defense

Week 12 is a week without byes, and we have three Thanksgiving Day games and the usual primetime games to give us a limited Sunday slate. With everyone available for rankings this week, there are actually not many slam dunk matchups, and injuries are a factor. Drew Brees hit the IR, and we saw Taysom Hill thrived last week, and then Joe Burrow is now done for the season. Towards the end of the week, the Chiefs take on the Buccaneers in what should have been a primetime game compared to seeing the Bears again. The slate of Thanksgiving Day games could be some of the worst in a long time as the Ravens are dealing with a covid issue and have been struggling offensively. Matthew Stafford looked not right with his thumb injury, and the skill position players in Detroit took a hit. There are many question marks in Week 12 but a lot of matchups that are key for the playoff run.

Week 12 Quarterback Rankings

This is an interesting week for quarterbacks. We have some battles between Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady, and then Josh Allen and Justin Herbert. Lamar Jackson continues to struggles and now faces the Steelers defense on a short week. Jackson still ranks top-ten in scoring, but the numbers obviously will feel down after a historic 2019 season. He falls out of the top-ten this week, though. As far as Brady and Mahomes, we are looking at two tougher pass defenses on paper and in terms of fantasy points allowed, but this is a high scoring game where the quarterbacks will thrive. It is a matter of how many touchdowns they will combine for.

Matt Ryan Vs. Derek Carr is a battle I didn’t expect to be excited for this week, but here I am. This is a matchup big for fantasy purposes. The Falcons are allowing the most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season. The Raiders are allowing the 9th most to quarterbacks. Matt Ryan and this unit is coming off a dud week against the Saints and can rebound. There is a chance Falcons are without Julio Jones. Josh Allen and Justin Herbert are the other battle this week as the Chargers and Bills allow the 5th and 6th most fantasy points to quarterbacks.

Week 12 Running Backs Rankings

Dalvin Cook continues to roll, and he faces the Panthers this week and then the Jaguars next week. What a tremendous matchup for him coming up. The Panthers are allowing the 6th most fantasy points per game to running backs this season. Cook is now over 1,000 yards in nine games and has 14 total touchdowns as he surpassed Kamara in PPR scoring this week. Antonio Gibson is now up to RB11 on the season and has eight touchdowns in ten games with over 700 all-purpose yards. Now he faces a struggling Cowboys defense allowing over five yards a pop to running backs. Todd Gurley has a good matchup, and the upside is there. The Raiders are one of the worst run defenses in the league, and running backs generally find the end zone each week.

Nick Chubb had a monster rush last week where he crossed the 100-yard mark. Both him and Kareem Hunt are in a great spot against the Jaguars defenses this week, who have struggled against the run dating back to last season. Opposing running backs have averaged 20.5 PPR points against them this season. Alvin Kamara had just one target last week and wasn’t much of a factor. He faces the Broncos this week, who have allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to running backs in the last five games. Kamara’s target could be a random fluke, but it was odd that this happened and Hill under center. However, I am not putting a ton of stock into this.

Week 12 Wide Receivers Rankings

The big news over the weekend is Joe Burrow being done for the year. The Bengals WRs take a pretty significant drop moving forward as it was pretty clear Ryan Finley is not going to cope with the offensive line being as bad as it is. Tyler Boyd might be the one who can still have a decent finish, but Tee Higgins and AJ Green I am worried about. Luckily, the Bengals will have plenty of garbage time, but it won’t matter if the quarterback play is like what we saw. DK Metcalf & Tyler Lockett are on Monday Night Football this week as they both rank top-five in scoring. The Eagles rank 21st in pass defense DVOA.

Now while Kamara had a down game receiving, Michael Thomas bounced back with a strong outing. We weren’t quite sure how this offense would do. They get the Broncos this week, who are middle of the road in fantasy points allowed to receivers. Thomas looked healthy and certainly fit with what Sean Payton was doing. Robby Anderson & DJ Moore are excellent plays this week against the Vikings. They have allowed the 4th most fantasy points per game to them on the season.

Stefon Diggs gets the Chargers secondary, and their pass defense has struggled in a major way. This has shootout written all over it as all wideouts in this game are intriguing, although the Bills secondary is better suited to stop the Chargers. Calvin Ridley could be in line for a monster week if Julio is out and he gets the Raiders secondary, which doesn’t have many options to slow them down. Terry McLaurin is primed for a monster week as the Cowboys secondary has allowed 19 touchdowns to wide receivers this season.

Week 12 Tight Ends Rankings

Travis Kelce continues to run away with the position as he has 131.6 fantasy points over the ten games. Jonnu Smith is next closest with 81.9. Kelce gets the Buccaneers this week, allowing the 12th most fantasy points per game to tight ends, which is before the Rams game. Kelce should have another big week. Darren Waller is next in line as he gets the Falcons, who have given up some big games this season. Dalton Schultz, Jimmy Graham, and Robert Tonyan all put up big numbers against this group, which is not the strongest group to do that with either. Dallas Goedert is coming off a great week and is a great play again against Seattle. The Bills have struggled against tight ends this season, allowing the 6th most fantasy points. Hunter Henry comes into town with two touchdowns over the past two games.

Week 12 Kicker Rankings

Wil Lutz is also in Denver, who has allowed 27 attempts in ten games this season. This is a strong matchup for Lutz, who is the third-ranking kicker in scoring this year. He will remain a top option even with the Saints offense going through some changes at quarterbacks the next few weeks. Mason Crosby is at home against the Bears, allowing the 5th most fantasy points per game to kickers on the season. Crosby averages 7.4 fantasy points per game this season. Joey Slye has 27 attempts in 11 games this season and is 8th in scoring on the year. They play the Vikings, who have allowed 25 field goal attempts in 10 games and 9.5 fantasy points per game.

Week 12 Defense Rankings

The Saints have been playing better defensively of late and are now top-ten in fantasy scoring among defenses. They get the Broncos this week, who have turned the ball over 23 times in ten games this season. New Orleans is a strong option this week. The Browns get another solid matchup this week for the defense, although this one won’t have dreadful weather behind it. The Browns have a strong pass rush and get the Jaguars, who have allowed three sacks per game this season. The Rams are on a short week but get the 49ers, allowing the 9th most fantasy points to quarterbacks.