We have officially hit Week 12 of the NFL season and the slate for this weekend’s matchups includes the Steelers vs. Browns on Thursday Night, Eagles vs. Rams on Sunday Night, 49ers vs. Packers, and Cowboys vs. Commanders as marquee matchups this week. The money is there to be made this week, especially at the quarterback position for your lineups. Here are my picks for Week 12.
Quarterback Must Starts For Week 12
Jalen Hurts ($7,800 Draft Kings, $9,300 FanDuel)
Hurts has performed well against the Rams in his career to this point, and he’s been on a roll as of late averaging over 29 fantasy points per game on Draft Kings these last four weeks. Hurts is facing the 17th-ranked defense against QB production this season in the Rams. Jalen Hurts is one of those quarterbacks who is always a must-start in your DFS lineups if you want to win and you do want to win right? Hurts should continue his huge streak of success this weekend.
Jayden Daniels ($7,000 Draft Kings, $9,000 FanDuel)
Daniels is coming off his WORST performance of his career against the Eagles, and something has been off about Daniels since the rib injury that he suffered against Carolina a few weeks ago. But the Commanders play the Dallas Cowboys at home this weekend and Dallas’s defense has been horrible this season which means this could be the get right game for Daniels and his fantasy value.
Justin Herbert ($5,400 Draft Kings, $7,400 FanDuel)
Monday night this week is the Harbaugh Bowl, and Jim’s quarterback, Herbert should have a field day against the worst passing defense in the NFL. Herbert has been a solid quarterback but not the best fantasy option but this week will change that because quarterbacks have had their best games of the year against this Ravens secondary as of late. Expect Herbert to be exponentially above his 16.4 FPPG on Monday Night.
Quarterback Must Sits For Week 12
On the flip side of things, here are a few of the players we are sitting in this one.
Tommy Devito ($4,000 Draft Kings, $7,000 FanDuel)
The Giants finally decided to bench Daniel Jones, and they have decided to bring Tommy Cutlets back to the starter position, hoping he can recreate that magic from last year. But a Todd Bowles defense, even though they have been a bottom half defense against opposing quarterbacks this season will create a lot of trouble because of the blitz packages. This Giants offense will not be able to take advantage of the Buccaneers’ weakness in my eyes. Even though the Budget will be SUPER FRIENDLY, avoid the temptation of playing Devito this week.
Will Levis ($4,900 Draft Kings, $6,700 FanDuel)
The Titans will travel to Houston to play the Texans in an AFC South tilt. The Texans’ defense is coming off a great fantasy day. They had a defensive touchdown, a fumble recovery, an interception, and five sacks against Dallas this past Monday night. The Texans’ defense will create havoc against Levis this weekend and force multiple turnovers.
Matthew Stafford ($5,900 Draft Kings, $7,200 FanDuel)
Stafford has been solid this season but this is not the week to play him. The Rams are facing the BEST DEFENSE IN THE NFL in the Philadelphia Eagles this week. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper Dejean will be tough matchups for Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp this weekend and the Rams’ offensive line will have problems with that young defensive line from the Eagles. I REPEAT SIT STAFFORD at all costs. I would’ve put him as the fade for the week but I got another NFC West QB in mind for that role this week.
Lock of Week 12
Jared Goff ($6,600 Draft Kings, $8,500 FanDuel)
Jared Goff is coming off the highest output week for the position in Week 11 and is facing a Colts defense that can be susceptible to the pass. Yes, as a result of those two factors combined, Goff is the obvious pick for the Lock of the Week for the quarterback position. Expect Goff to have over 20 fantasy points.
Fade of Week 12
Brock Purdy ($6,400 Draft Kings, $8,100 FanDuel)
Purdy is currently dealing with a shoulder injury in his throwing arm, he’ll most likely be limited in practice this week leading up to the matchup in Green Bay. Plus Green Bay has been opportunistic with the turnovers this season and Purdy has struggled without Brandon Aiyuk since he tore his ACL a few weeks ago. So fade Purdy on the road in Lambeau this weekend if you want to make the most money possible.
Sleeper of Week 12
Baker Mayfield ($6,100 Draft Kings, $7,900 FanDuel)
Baker Mayfield is facing the woeful Giants and potentially could have his number one receiver back in Mike Evans, who was seen practicing on Monday. So Mayfield might have a key weapon back and the Giants’ defense has been not very efficient, Mayfield is a valued sleeper play for this weekend. IF Evans doesn’t play, I still would consider Mayfield as a sleeper play for the weekend because of the matchup for week 12.
Conclusion
Week 12 is one of those weeks this year where the games may be a little bit lopsided, and easy to predict so it might be one of those easy predictions for the quarterback position. But The NFL is unpredictable and I expect Week 12 to continue that trend of unpredictability especially in some of the headliner matchups. It’s also important to follow along this week here at Total Apex Fantasy for the DFS Game Slates and the Other Positions Slates for a complete lineup picture.
