Fantasy Football Start ’em, Sit ’em: Week 12 RBs Include Kareem Hunt

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It’s a tough week when it comes to fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em due to six NFL teams being on bye. It certainly doesn’t help that it is Week 12 and the push towards the Fantasy Football Playoffs is as heated as ever. As far as running backs are concerned, several managers will likely be facing some difficult decisions with the likes of Breece Hall, Bijan Robinson, James Cook and Chase Brown all on bye this week. Choosing the right players to fill out your lineup could make or break your entire season, so it’s important to make weel-researched and informed decisions!

As a reminder, players like Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey and Derek Henry will still be started in lineups weekly. It’s the RB2 and FLEX spots where things can get a bit trickier. To help you make some of these tough decisions, check out our weekly fantasy football rankings and read on for our Week 12 fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em analysis at RB.

Wide Receivers — Week 12 Fantasy Football Start/Sit

Tight Ends — Week 12 Fantasy Football Start/Sit

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Fantasy Football Start ’em, Sit ’em: Week 12 RBs

Start: Kareem Hunt Fantasy Outlook vs Panthers

Expert Consensus Ranking (ECR) Rank: 20

Although Isiah Pacheco is nearing his return from IR, it doesn’t look like that will come this week. The second-year pro has been sidelined since Week 2. Similar to last week, he practiced in a limited fashion on Wednesday. This coupled with Andy Reid’s comments suggest that his return to game action likely won’t happen this coming Sunday. If we trust that Reid isn’t being deceptive with his comments (and why would he when the matchup is against the Carolina Panthers), then Kareem Hunt has to land firmly on the positive side of the fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em spectrum.

Since rejoining the Chiefs and being promoted to the active roster in the wake of Pacheco’s injury, Hunt has had at least 14 carries in every game. He has produced to a level that has led Reid to suggest he will still be involved in the offense even when Pacheco does return to the fold. Perhaps last week’s quieter fantasy performance is a reason why Hunt is only being ranked as the RB20 in this week’s ECR. However, it can easily be chalked up to the fact that he was not targeted in the passing game and also did not find the end zone. Both of these notions represent statistical anomalies from what he has been doing weekly as the lead RB.

In Week 12, Hunt has a prime opportunity to get back on track against a bum-ass Carolina outfit. The Panthers are allowing well over 30 PPR points per game to opposing RBs and rank dead-last in rushing yards allowed at 160.1 per game. There’s a real argument to be made that Hunt should be viewed as an upper-echelon RB2 this week.

Start: Bucky Irving and Rachaad White Fantasy Outlook vs Giants

ECR Ranks: 21 and 23

Having two top-25 RBs on the same offense is a fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em rarity. Entering Week 12, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can’t quite claim to have this, but they are pretty damn close. On the season, Rachaad White ranks as the RB23 in PPR scoring while rookie backfield cohort Bucky Irving checks in as the RB27. Neither player has been on the field for more than 64% of the team’s offensive snaps since way back in the first couple weeks of the season. Yet, they are still putting up healthy production. This trend figures to continue this Sunday in a healthy matchup against the New York Giants.

While the Giants have been a bad football team for what feels like a whole decade, they largely have had a decent defense over that span. That is not the case in 2024. Outside of stud defensive tackle, Dexter Lawrence, New York lacks much game-wrecking talent and is also poorly schemed. As a result, opponents have run the ball with great success on the G-Men this year. The Giants have allowed the fourth-most rushing yards per game (147.1) and have allowed over 23 PPR points to opposing RBs.

Thanks to the different skill sets that Irving and White bring to the table, it has been easy for the Bucs to utilize both backs. Although neither has true workhorse-esque snap counts, both are seeing plenty of touches when on the field. It should be more of the same in Week 12. Look for Irving to do most of his damage on the ground running between the tackles while White exploits a defense that has given up nearly 500 yards receiving to the RB position.

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Sit: JK Dobbins Fantasy Outlook vs. Ravens

ECR Rank: 22

By and large, JK Dobbins continues to provide managers with steady fantasy production on a weekly basis. However, there are some legitimate concerns when it comes to the nature in which he Los Angeles Chargers lead back is scoring his fantasy points. There have been four games this season in which the fourth-year pro failed to reach pay-dirt. It’s no coincidence that those are the same four games in which he failed to crack double-digit PPR points. Last week, it took two rushing touchdowns to send him into the double-digit threshold.

As far as Dobbins’ fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em outlook in Week 12, there are a couple of other factors to consider. The first is that Gus Edwards is still lingering. While he has taken on a clear second-fiddle role to Dobbins in his first two games back, one has to believe that he could at least be in line for more goalline opportunities. Heck, the fact that the Chargers were willing to give Hassan Haskins such chances in the past two games would seem to indicate that Dobbins’ finding the end zone is an extremely volatile proposition.

From a matchup standpoint, this week couldn’t be much tougher for Dobbins and the entire Bolts backfield. It is a revenge game for both he and Edwards as they go against the Baltimore Ravens. How much revenge they can enact remains to be seen. The Ravens have allowed only 77.5 rushing yards per game on the season and have only surrendered five rushing scores to opposing RBs. Dobbins is tough to trust as an RB2 this week.

Sit: Tony Pollard Fantasy Outlook vs. Texans

ECR Rank: 25

To begin the 2024 campaign, his first as a Tennessee Titan, Tony Pollard logged at least 16 carries in seven of eight games. The last two weeks, that minimum number has nearly been cut in half. Pollard has only toted the ball nine times in both games since Tyjae Spears returned from an injury absence. Last week against Minnesota, Pollard could only muster 15 yards on those nine carries. While he is still getting a stable target share in the passing game, it’s difficult to trust that this will do much more than keep his fantasy floor from falling out entirely.

Now, there is one wrinkle that does potentially boost Pollard’s fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em prospects this week. Spears sustained a concussion in last week’s contest and did miss practice on Wednesday as he works to clear the protocol. If he fails to do so, Pollard’s workload figures to once again get a major bump. Unfortunately, it could be tough for him to turn it into much more than low-end RB2 production against a stingy Houston Texans defense.

Entering Week 12, the Texans have allowed the fifth-fewest PPR points per game (17.87) to opposing RBs. They also boast a top-10 run defense in terms of total yards allowed to opponents. Needless to say, this isn’t an ideal matchup for Pollard as he looks to get back on track. If Spears is out, he probably has to be started. Just don’t expect much more than low-end RB2 production even if this is the case.

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Henry’s passion for sports dates all the way back to childhood and has ultimately led to a full-fledged career as an analyst and content creator. After getting his start penning fantasy football articles, he forrayed into the betting side of the business in early 2019. His love for sports and statistics proved to be an ideal match with the dedicated research and strategy that handicapping requires. Henry currently specializes in betting analysis and picks for college football, college basketball and NASCAR. He counts the NFL, the WNBA, and NBA player props as additional leagues/markets of interest. Henry graduated from SUNY Buffalo in 2021 with a Communication Studies degree and a Psychology minor. A native of the Finger Lakes region in Upstate New York, he and his pup, Harold, have since relocated to Laramie, Wyoming. Thanks to his professional goals within the sports betting industry, there has been a whole lot of steam on the odds for a move to Las Vegas in 2023! Most of Henry’s free time is spent on outdoor adventures, playing chess, snowboarding, or reading a good book. He is also a competitive powerlifter and aspires to qualify for the USAPL Nationals meet within the next 2-3 years.

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