Week 12 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Fantasy Football Stars to Play and Bench

Raise your hand if every player on your fantasy team is active this week. Most hands should be in the air right now due to just two inactive teams—the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers—in Week 12.

While bye weeks are coming to an end, fantasy owners now face greater challenges of deciding which players would combine to shape their ultimate lineup. After all, there are more options to choose from now.

Of course, your usual fantasy studs will headline your team each and every week. The likes of Aaron Rodgers, DeMarco Murray or Demaryius Thomas will continue to be cemented in all lineups; however, what should you do with fringe starters? Should you ride the hot streak of Jonas Gray despite a tough matchup against the Detroit Lions, or should you gamble with the recent increased usage of Isaiah Crowell in a crowded backfield?

Those are just two examples of the many difficult decisions fantasy owners will have to make during this final stretch before the fantasy football playoffs. In an effort to ease the burden of these tough choices, let's take a look at some fringe players to add to your lineup, and others who should be relegated to the bench, heading into Week 12.

Start 'Em

Pos.	Player	Team	Opponent
QB	Ryan Tannehill	Miami Dolphins	Denver Broncos
RB	Isaiah Crowell	Cleveland Browns	Atlanta Falcons
RB	Jeremy Hill	Cincinnati Bengals	Houston Texans
WR	Kendall Wright	Tennessee Titans	Philadelphia Eagles
WR	Sammy Watkins	Buffalo Bills	New York Jets
TE	Larry Donnell	New York Giants	Dallas Cowboys

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill hasn't exactly lit up the fantasy scene this season, throwing for less than 300 yards in each contest; however, he has tremendous upside against the Denver Broncos in Week 12.

Tannehill has flourished against weaker secondaries this season, accumulating 23 fantasy points against the Chicago Bears and 27 against the San Diego Chargers, for example. He'll face a similar pass defense Sunday, as the Broncos are allowing an average of 17.2 fantasy points per game to opposing signal-callers.

Due to Denver's stingy run defense, expect Tannehill to throw more often than usual this week, giving him plenty of opportunities to come away with a big performance for his fantasy owners.

The backfield in Cleveland thinned out a bit prior to Week 12, as running back Ben Tate was released from the team, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter:

That's great news for owners of Isaiah Crowell, who is currently trending upward. The ball-carrier received 12 and 14 carries in his last two games, respectively, reaching the end zone once. Without Tate in the fold, expect his touches to increase against an Atlanta Falcons defense that gives up an average of 21.5 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs, second-most in the league.

Cincinnati Bengals rookie running back Jeremy Hill is exactly as advertised. He doesn't have great breakaway speed, but he's a tough, between-the-tackles ball-carrier who has great acceleration through the line of scrimmage. That's allowed him to compile over 150 rushing yards in two of his last three outings.

Hill's workload is set to decrease slightly in Week 12, as ESPN's Coley Harvey reported Giovani Bernard was back at practice this week:

That should put him on schedule to play Sunday.

However, Hill's recent success should earn him a larger role going forward, especially with Bernard fresh off an injury. That makes the rookie a solid fantasy play this week against a Houston Texans defense that's giving up an average of 17.3 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs.

Kendall Wright appears to have emerged as the favorite target of rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger. On Monday night against the Steelers, Wright hauled in four passes for 70 yards on eight targets. His receptions and targets were both team highs.

According to Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean, Wright's production could have been even larger, but a couple throws were missed due to inexperience:

Wright has a favorable matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12. The Eagles are allowing 26.2 fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers, third-most in the league. They were just trounced by Green Bay Packers wideouts for 35 fantasy points in Week 11.

This is a great week to roll with Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver Sammy Watkins. Owners may be skeptical to start him following two down performances; however, his last two contests were against two of the league's best secondaries. Now, Watkins is up against a New York Jets team that he torched for 157 yards and a touchdown on three receptions the last time around.

Expect a big rebound from Watkins this week.

One tight end with great Week 12 upside is Larry Donnell. He's facing a Dallas Cowboys defense that hasn't been too good against opposing tight ends this season, allowing an average of 10 fantasy points per game to the position. Donnell has found the end zone twice in his last three games, and it shouldn't come as a surprise when he reaches paydirt again Sunday.

Sit 'Em

Pos.	Player	Team	Opponent
QB	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons	Cleveland Browns
RB	Chris Ivory	New York Jets	Buffalo Bills
RB	Jonas Gray	New England Patriots	Detroit Lions
WR	Andre Johnson	Houston Texans	Cincinnati Bengals
WR	Cordarrelle Patterson	Minnesota Vikings	Green Bay Packers
TE	Owen Daniels	Baltimore Ravens	New Orleans Saints

Unfortunately for the owners of Matt Ryan, this may be the week to look elsewhere for a starting quarterback. Ryan really should have lit it up through the air over the past two weeks with favorable matchups against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers; however, he only came away with 14 fantasy points in each contest.

This week, things will get more difficult for Atlanta's passing game, as the team is set to face a Cleveland Browns team allowing an average of just 12.9 fantasy points per game to opposing signal-callers, the fourth-fewest in the league. It's best to keep Ryan on the bench this week.

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

Chris Ivory is coming off a bye week to face a Buffalo Bills team that he scored 16 fantasy points against the last time around. However, don't base your decision to start him on that performance. He was the lucky recipient of a couple goal-line carries, as he only produced 43 rushing yards otherwise.

The Bills have been very stout against the run this season and are allowing an average of just 12.1 fantasy points to opposing ball-carriers, the third-fewest in the league. Ivory is a huge risk this week, because if he doesn't get more goal-line work, he won't produce much at all for his owners.

AJ Mast/Associated Press

Jonas Gray burst onto the fantasy scene in a big way in Week 11, torching the Indianapolis Colts to the tune of 201 yards and four touchdowns on 37 carries, leading all players for the week with 44 fantasy points. Well, don't expect a repeat performance in Week 12 against a stingy Detroit Lions defense.

Gray racked up his huge numbers due to the Colts selling out against the pass. The Lions have a well-rounded defense and won't be making that same mistake. So far this season, Detroit is allowing an average of 12.6 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs and has only given up one rushing touchdown to the position in its last six games.

Rotoworld's Adam Levitan appears to agree with the call to bench Gray in Week 12:

Andre Johnson hooked up seven times for 68 yards with new quarterback Ryan Mallett Sunday against Cleveland; however, the speedy DeAndre Hopkins was the receiver to benefit from the quarterback's big arm.

Johnson will see his targets once again in Week 12, but he's facing a Bengals defense that gives up the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, allowing just 16 per game. Cincinnati has given up more than one touchdown to wideouts in just one contest this season. Expect another single-digit showing from Johnson.

Don't let the allure of the Minnesota Vikings passing more against the Packers fool you into starting Cordarrelle Patterson in Week 12. The wide receiver and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater haven't been on the same page this season, leading to just one receiving touchdown and zero 100-yard games from the second-year player.

The Packers haven't been very good this season against opposing wide receivers, but the last time these teams faced off, Vikings wideouts were held to a total of just 12 receptions for 130 yards—Patterson caught two of those passes for a grand total of eight yards.

Here's what head coach Mike Zimmer had to say about the receiver's play this year, via Matt Vensel of The Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Aside from Greg Olsen, pretty much every viable tight end is in play this week, so fantasy owners should be good at the position. If you're hurting for whatever reason, stay away from Baltimore Ravens tight end Owen Daniels.

Daniels had one nice outing this season, going for 58 yards and a score against Atlanta, but don't expect him to find that kind of success against a New Orleans Saints team that gives up just 4.4 fantasy points per game to the position, the second-fewest in the league. Those two touchdowns they gave up in Week 11 to Jermaine Gresham were the first allowed since Week 1.

All fantasy numbers and statistics courtesy of ESPN.com and current as of Nov. 19.