Taysom Hill plunged the fantasy world into chaos when it was announced he would be starting at quarterback for the Saints. Hill, sporting dual TE/QB eligibility in ESPN leagues, instantly became a big-time waiver pickup and streamer option at the TE position. That, plus a great matchup with a porous Falcons, defense made him a top target. This week, though, Hill is now just listed as a QB across all leagues, and he's facing a much tougher matchup. That's why he lands among our Week 12 bust picks along with other potential players to avoid like Matt Ryan, Kalen Ballage, Jerry Jeudy, Jonnu Smith, and more.
As always, our bust picks are just recommendations of players to avoid based on a variety of factors, including poor matchups, workload issues, or players who have just gone cold. You're welcome to trust any of these candidates, especially if you don't have a comparable option on your bench, but be aware that their floors and ceilings may be lower than some of the other available streamers, sleepers, and fill-in options.
WEEK 12 FANTASY: Sleepers | Start 'em, sit 'em
Our bust picks were on point in Week 11. Mark Ingram and Ronald Jones both had poor showings, and it appears that the former has been replaced as the starter. Tom Brady had prime-time issues again, and Matthew Stafford (thumb) couldn't score against the Panthers. Jarvis Landry didn't do much at receiver, and Hayden Hurst laid an egg at tight end. We had some misses, including Salvon Ahmed, Jared Goff, and the Rams D/ST, so we'll look to cut down on those in the upcoming week.
WEEK 12 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Week 12 Fantasy Busts: Running backs
Melvin Gordon, Broncos vs. Saints (Jacob Camenker). Gordon is coming off a two-TD game and one of his best outings of the year, but it's hard to recommend trusting him against the Saints. New Orleans has allowed just 660 rushing yards to RBs this season, second fewest to only the Buccaneers, and RBs have only scored five total TDs against them, the fewest in the NFL. Gordon may get more opportunities to score in the future, but this matchup isn't a good one for him, especially considering that he's still splitting touches with Phillip Lindsay. (Update: With Denver starting either Kendall Hinton or Royce Freeman at QB because of COVID complications with all of its quarterbacks, Gordon will likely see more overall touches but is less likely to score and will likely face stack defensive lines. The extra volume gives him a slightly higher floor, but he's still in a bad offensive situation and tough matchup all around.)
Kenyan Drake, Cardinals at Patriots (Vinnie Iyer). The Patriots tightened up against the run last week, and this game screams for more of Kyler Murray running around and passing downfield.
Kalen Ballage, Chargers @ Bills (Matt Lutovsky). We originally had Nyheim Hines here, but with Jonathan Taylor being placed on the COVID list, Hines's outlook got a lot better. We'll pivot to Ballage, who's dealing an ankle injury and could lose significant touches if Austin Ekeler (hamstring) returns like he has a chance to.
WEEK 12 DFS TOURNAMENT LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
Week 12 Fantasy Football Busts: Quarterbacks
Kirk Cousins, Vikings vs. Panthers (Camenker). Cousins has thrown three TDs in three of his last five games, so that may lead some to want to start him in this matchup. However, the Panthers are much weaker against the run than they are against the pass and despite the injuries they've dealt with, they shutout Matthew Stafford and the Lions in Week 11. This seems more likely to be a Dalvin Cook game than a Kirk Cousins game, so start one of the better streamer options available at QB.
Matt Ryan, Falcons vs. Raiders (Iyer). Ryan is so tough to trust because of Julio Jones’ hamstring injury, even in a solid matchup at home. He seems to come with higher risk than reward as more of a QB2.
Taysom Hill, Saints @ Broncos (Lutovsky). Hill salvaged his day with two late rushing TDs last week, but his matchup against Atlanta’s 31st-ranked pass defense helped him early on. The Broncos are much tougher against the pass (ninth), so if New Orleans shows an unwillingness to run Hill early again, he could fall behind the eight ball. It’s unclear if he’s a good enough passer to rally, and it’s entirely possible he gets benched. When you put it all together, he’s a risky play this week despite having a decent floor.
WEEK 12 DFS CASH LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
Week 12 Fantasy Football Busts: Wide receivers
Tee Higgins, Bengals vs. Giants (Camenker). Higgins has emerged as a quality wideout during his rookie season, but with Joe Burrow (ACL) out for the rest of the season, Higgins' value will evaporate. He has to work with Brandon Allen at QB, and Allen has completed fewer than 50 percent of his NFL passes to date. That, and a potential matchup across from James Bradberry, should ensure that Higgins won't have a very good week.
Corey Davis, Titans at Colts (Iyer). He delivered in a tough spot last week, but it doesn’t happen again here on the road vs. a secondary ready to make amends for Week 11 struggles at home.
Jerry Jeudy, Broncos vs. Saints (Lutovsky). We originally had Brandon Aiyuk in this spot, but he's now considered unlikely to come off the COVID list and play. We'll make the easy pivot to Jeudy, who will have either WR Kendall Hinton or RB Royce Freeman trying to throw him the ball this week after COVID complications wiped out all of Denver's quarterbacks. It's easy to imagine Jeudy being limited to gadget plays and end-around runs, and if that's the case, he won't have much value at all.
MORE WEEK 12 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder
Week 12 Fantasy Football Busts: Tight ends
Jordan Reed, 49ers @ Rams (Camenker). Reed will get opportunities, but the Rams defense is strong. Brandon Aiyuk (COVID) and Deebo Samuel (hamstring) are questionable, and if they're both out, the Rams can shift their attention to Reed. If even one or both of the receivers play, it's hard to trust Reed since he has yet to play more than 50 percent of the 49ers' offensive snaps in a game.
Jared Cook, Saints at Broncos (Iyer). There was no real connection between Cook and Taysom Hill. Adam Trautman is also getting more involved, and the wide receivers are all healthy, too.
Jonnu Smith, Titans @ Colts (Lutovsky). Look, we’re just gonna keep picking Jonnu until he doesn’t score. He’s burned us with short TDs in each of the past three games, but he’s done very little otherwise in that span (eight catches, 67 total yards). The Colts have been struggling a bit against TEs lately, but they still allow the third-fewest FPPG to the position. Expect a regression to the mean for both parties in this one.
WEEK 12 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Week 12 Fantasy Busts: Defenses
Kansas City Chiefs @ Buccaneers (Camenker). It may seem tempting to target Tom Brady after he threw a couple of interceptions and looked out of sorts against the Rams, but the Chiefs just struggled to slow down the Raiders offense and Brady should bounce back after a loss.
Washington Football Team at Cowboys (Iyer). Dallas’ offense isn’t the same as it was in Week 7 with Andy Dalton.
Chicago Bears @ Packers (Lutovsky). Fewer offenses have been tougher against fantasy D/STs than Green Bay, and that’s despite back-to-back poor games where it allowed a return TD and turned it over six times. That trend won’t continue, putting Chicago in a low-ceiling, low-floor spot on Sunday night.