Week twelve was a mess. Everybody seemingly had a terrible game that was in your lineup, and everyone on your bench seemed to ball out. With the fantasy waiver wire beckoning, let’s take a look at some of the players worthy of your scorn and demotion to free agency. To make this list, players must be on rosters in at least 50% of leagues. Let’s dive in.
Quarterbacks
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (69% rostered)
The Seattle Seahawks took a massive L on Thanksgiving night, and Geno Smith was a big part of that. He’s dealing with an elbow injury that is destroying his passing. Combine that with the 49ers’ defense, and he finished with 180 passing yards, no touchdowns, and a pick. It wasn’t just one game, either: he has 13.2 or fewer fantasy points in three of his last four games.
Matthew Stafford, L.A. Rams (51% rostered)
I get to play this both ways, as he was under 50% rostered when I recommended him earlier this week for the one-week stream, and now that he’s over 50%, I can knock him back down. Stafford had an incredible matchup this week, and he took advantage of the Cardinals’ pass defense to the tune of four touchdowns. Unfortunately, he gets the Browns (32nd in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks) and Ravens (31st in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks) in the next two weeks. But, go ahead and pick him back up before week 15: he gets the Commanders and the most fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks per game that week.
Wide Receivers
George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers (85% rostered)
Steelers fans rejoiced as they passed 400 yards for the first time since the Paleolithic Era. Unfortunately, it didn’t mean a whole lot for Pickens, as he finished with 3 catches for 58 yards, cementing his fifth-straight single-digit PPR day (which includes a game with a touchdown, which is impressive). With Pat Freiermuth seemingly coming on, it appears as though Pickens is a poor man’s Gabe Davis at this point.
Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals (64% rostered)
Boyd played his first full game with Jake Browning, and it didn’t go very well at all. He finished with 5 targets, 3 catches, and 23 yards. This was somehow a step forward from last week, where he had 3 catches for 22 yards. Things are going to get bleak in the Bengals passing game very soon, and if/when Tee Higgins returns, there just won’t be anything left for Boyd.
Running Backs
Dameon Pierce, Houston Texans (69% rostered)
Pierce returned to action this week and finished with 5 carries for 14 yards and a catch for 4 yards. Some might want to chalk this up to coming back from injury. That might be true, but Pierce finished the last game he played with 12 carries for 46 yards, after finishing the prior game the Texans played with 13 carries for 34 yards. That, if you’re following along at home, is 30 carries for 94 yards over the last three games, combined.
Miles Sanders, Carolina Panthers (52% rostered)
Sanders keeps squeezing out barely-relevant fantasy days and alternating them with complete uselessness. This is what happens when you’re the 1B on one of the worst offenses in the NFL on a team circling the drain and heading nowhere anytime soon.
Tight Ends
Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons (86% rostered)
Pitts finished with 4.2 fantasy points, catching both of his targets for 22 yards. This will be the fifth straight week that he has finished outside the top 12. The Falcons are also first in the NFC South, meaning that Arthur Smith’s insane play-calling and personnel usage are being rewarded. He’s not getting any better anytime soon.
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens (63% rostered)
Darren Waller, New York Giants (61% rostered)
Both of these guys are on IR, and it’s highly unlikely that we see either of them again anytime soon.
[Image Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Tyler_Boyd.jpg under CC BY SA 2.0
