Getty Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers
Welcome to Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 12 of the NFL season. Our wide receiver edition features a budding star out of San Francisco, along with a slot-maven from Gang Green.
* Reminder: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em is intended to present you with the non-obvious choices for your fantasy lineup. We dig deep into player matchups, scoring trends, and other factors to best help you with your fantasy decisions. Superstars such as Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins will not be found in this column. If you’re looking for players of their caliber check out our weekly fantasy football wide receiver rankings.
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WR: Start ‘Em
Start of the Week: Chris Godwin at ATL
After averaged a whopping 149.3 yards over a three-game span prior to his bye week, Chris Godwin has averaged just 56.25 yards since returning from the bye. If there was any game to get back to his dominant ways, it would be in Week 12 vs. the Atlanta Falcons. While Atlanta has garnered plenty of publicity for their improved defensive play over the past two weeks, they’ve still managed to allow an average of 10.5 receptions, 123.5 receiving yards, and 22.85 fantasy points to opponents’ leading receivers over that span.
Jamison Crowder vs. OAK
Crowder has been brilliant of late, in fact, from a fantasy perspective, no wideout has been better over the last three weeks. Sam Darnold’s favorite target has averaged 20 points per game since Week 8, scoring a touchdown in each of the three contests. The Raiders have allowed four receivers to register 104+ receiving yards over their last four games, and surrendered four receiving touchdowns to the position over that same span.
Deebo Samuel vs. GB
Deebo has officially arrived. The second-round draft pick has now eclipsed 111 receiving yards in each of his past two games and averaged 20.3 fantasy points since Week 9. The Packers have allowed an average of 115.5 receiving yards to opposing leading receivers over the last two weeks.
Calvin Ridley vs. TB
Ridley finally came alive last week after a mostly disappointing 2019 campaign. His 28.3 fantasy points were by far his highest total of the season. Ridley will look to keep the magic going against a horrendous Tampa Bay secondary. No defense allows more fantasy points to the wideout position than the Bucs have this year. They have allowed four receivers to eclipse 110 receiving yards against them over their last three games.
Allen Robinson vs. NYG
ARob has totaled a putrid 7.1 fantasy points in two of his last three games. We’re not here to point any fingers, however, it’s safe to say those numbers don’t lie solely on the shoulders of Robinson. A matchup with the New York Giants this week should do wonders for the wideout’s fantasy prospectives. The G-Men allow the second-most fantasy points to receivers this season. They’ve surrendered six receiving touchdowns to wideouts over their last three games.
Sleeper: Josh Gordon at PHI
Last time we saw the Seahawks on a football field, Josh Gordon stepped in for an injured Tyler Lockett and stepped up in a big way, making a few clutch catches to help his new team come away victorious. Reports are, Lockett is prepping to play this week, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Seattle holds him out another week as a precaution. If Gordon draws the start, he’ll be taking on an Eagles defense that has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to WRs this season.
WR: Sit ‘Em
Sit of the Week: Michael Gallup at NE
Gallup has been on a tear of late, register 148 yards receiving or a touchdown in three straight games. Unfortunately, he will travel to Foxborough this week, the place where offensive skill players go to die. No team has allowed fewer fantasy points to receivers this year than the Patriots. They’ve also surrendered a single receiving touchdown to the position all season.
Mohamed Sanu vs. DAL
Speaking of the Patriots, Mohamed Sanu came crashing down to earth a week ago, after many had him pegged as a WR2 to close out the fantasy season. Sanu has now totaled just five receptions in three of his last four games. Dallas allows the third-fewest fantasy points to the wide receiver position this season, with only four WRs registering four-plus receptions against them since Week 2.
Darius Slayton at CHI
Slayton has been one of the few bright spots in what appears to be a lost season for the Giants. With that said, he is still extremely inconsistent. While he has scored four touchdowns over his past three games, he’s averaged just 4.2 fantasy points in three of his last five games. The Bears have allowed just two receiving touchdown all season to the wideout position.
Buyers Beware: John Brown vs. DEN
Brown balled out in Week 11, finishing as the highest-scoring player in all of fantasy, regardless of position. With that said, the wideout had been held out of the endzone in seven of his other nine games prior to last week. Denver allows the fourth-fewest points to WRs this year.
READ NEXT: Fantasy: Wide Receiver Rankings Week 12