Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Week 12 Predictions

Start: TE Cameron Brate at 49ers

Sit: TE Kyle Rudolph vs. Packers

With O.J. Howard sidelined for the rest of the season, it opens up an opportunity for Cameron Brate. The Bucs tight end has proven to be fantasy relevant in the past, especially with Jameis Winston under center. Aside from scoring a touchdown in three straight weeks earlier this season, Brate has been mostly silent this season.

Brate's lack of production has less to do with his ability and more to do with the lack of opportunities he has had in 2018. Brate has been behind a number of Bucs offensive weapons but now has a chance to shine with Howard out.

"Exactly. I guess it's going to switch week to week based on what the game plan is on offense," Brate explained to TampaBay.com. "We have so many skill position players and an elite receiver like Mike [Evans]. He deserves double-digit targets every week. You've just got to be patient. Whether it's your turn that week or not, your turn is coming."

The Bucs are going to start Jameis Winston at quarterback which is good news for Brate given the connection they have had in the past. Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter spoke about why the team decided to go with Winston again this week.

"He played better," Koetter said per the Bucs website. "He got us in the end zone four straight times. For the most part he made good decisions with the football...Our quarterback play in general has been spectacular at times and not good enough at times. That's just the story of where we're at on offense right now. Almost every game we get some beautiful, beautiful play at quarterback, some tremendous throws, some great decision-making, some beautiful adjustments. But at other times we've had some bad decision-making that has resulted in turnovers, and that's hurting our team."

Tampa Bay faces a middle-of-the-road Niners defense which should not be a concern in starting Brate this week in fantasy.


Kyle Rudolph Has Been a Disappointment This Season

This offseason, Rudolph was a popular tight end to draft after the top couple players at the position were selected. Rudolph has failed to live up to these expectations. The Vikings tight end has only had two receptions in each of the last two weeks for the Vikings. Things are unlikely to go better this week with the Vikings facing a Packers defense that ranks inside the top five in passing yards allowed.

It is not just Rudolph that has struggled but the entire Vikings offense has failed to find its footing. Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer spoke about what he sees from an offense that is not clicking the way the team wants.

"I don’t know if learning to play together is quite the thing," Zimmer said per Vikings.com. "We do have a lot of guys going in different spots. It might be, what is the best way to say this, it might be a little volume. A little too much volume...Let’s just play football. You run a really good out route, you run the out route. He runs a good curl, you run the curl. You know what I mean? So, maybe we just need to focus a little bit on not trying to trick the other team quite so much."

For now, Rudolph needs to remain on your bench or on your league's waiver wire.