Fantasy Football Week 12 Takeaways: Surprises & Disappointments (2024)

It was a busy week for byes in Week 12. Still, there were some standout performances for favorable and unfavorable reasons. Namely, a tight end and rookie running back were among the pleasant surprises in Week 12. Conversely, another rookie running back and a high-powered offense were two of the more disappointing storylines in Week 12. Finally, defensive streamers are in luck because of the landscape of quarterbacks in 2024.

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Fantasy Football Week 12 Surprises

Jonnu Smith is Locked In

Jonnu Smith had a monstrous showing in Week 11. He had eight targets, six receptions, 101 receiving yards and two touchdowns against the Raiders. It was Smith’s biggest effort of the season after teasing his potential in Miami’s offense with at least 45 receiving yards in four of their previous five games before Week 11.

The Dolphins didn’t attempt to put the toothpaste back in the tube with Smith. Instead, they fed him again on Sunday. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), in Week 12, Smith played 47 snaps and ran 30 routes. His 30 routes were the third-most for the Dolphins, trailing only Jaylen Waddle‘s and Tyreek Hill‘s 36.

However, Smith had the most targets (11), the most receptions (nine), the second-most receiving yards (87), one receiving touchdown and a rush for zero yards. Waddle had an explosive performance, parlaying nine targets into eight receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown. Nevertheless, Hill had a quiet effort, and De’Von Achane had 10 rush attempts, 32 rushing yards, four targets, three receptions, 24 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Achane will likely have better days, and Hill might as well, assuming his wrist injury doesn’t hamper his play. Still, Smith is a genuine weapon in Miami’s offense and a no-brainer starter at tight end.

It’s Wheels Up for Bucky Irving

All three of Tampa Bay’s running backs punched a rushing touchdown in against the Giants in Week 12. Yet, Sean Tucker fumbled his second goal-line opportunity, and Bucky Irving’s usage was unequivocally the most encouraging after Tampa Bay’s Week 11 bye. According to PFF, Tucker had five snaps, one route, and four carries yesterday, bested by Rachaad White‘s 32, 11 and 12 but bested by Irving’s 34, 20 and 12.

Irving also made the most of his usage. The shifty rookie running back had 87 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, six targets, six receptions and 64 receiving yards. White, per usual, had an inefficient 37 rushing yards at 3.1 yards per carry. White is a talented pass-catching running back, but Irving isn’t a slouch and bested his veteran teammate on Sunday. The Buccaneers will play the Cowboys and Panthers in Week 16 and Week 17. Both of those matchups are mouthwatering, making Irving a potential league-winning player.

Fantasy Football Week 12 Disappointments

Tyrone Tracy is in the Danger Zone

Tyrone Tracy had 70 scrimmage yards and four receptions against the Buccaneers. His box score wasn’t horrendous. Sadly, the rookie running back’s ball-control woes persisted. Tracy lost a fumble in the red zone on a wildcat trick play. He dubiously lost a fumble in an overtime loss in Germany against the Panthers in Week 10 before Big Blue’s bye in Week 11. Tracy also failed to corral a pass thrown slightly behind him in Week 10, directly resulting in an interception.

The G-Men’s backfield was a three-way committee in Week 12. Tracy had 24 snaps, eight routes and nine rushes compared to 21, 13 and two for Devin Singletary and 15, nine and one for Eric Gray. Tracy might have briefly been in Brian Daboll’s doghouse after the fumble. However, Tracy ultimately played after the fumble despite watching Singletary and Gray share backfield duties in the following series. Nevertheless, to the shock of no one, Tommy DeVito didn’t fix Big Blue’s offensive issues. A running back with a robust role can be trusted in a lousy offense. However, one in a committee in a pathetic offense is a tough pill to swallow. Thankfully, no teams have a bye in Week 13. So, gamers should be able to sit Tracy for a week to see how the backfield usage is distributed after another costly mistake by Tracy.

Don’t Be Fooled by Washington’s Final Numbers

The Commanders scored 26 points and had 412 total yards. Everything is fine, right? It might not be. Washington had only nine points entering the fourth quarter against Dallas’s pathetic defense. Additionally, they had an 86-yard touchdown reception by Terry McLaurin on a Herculean effort, erasing Dallas’s angles along the sideline in a miraculous touchdown.

Brian Robinson hurt his ankle early. Still, none of Washington’s running backs reached even 25 rushing yards against a defense, which has been non-existent against the run most of this season. Jayden Daniels ran for 75 yards and a touchdown. He also completed 25 of 38 pass attempts for 275 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Yet, again, McLaurin’s 86-yard touchdown reception shouldn’t throw gamers off a familiar scent.

The scent in question is the stink of Kliff Kingsbury’s offense eroding. Kingsbury’s offenses for the Cardinals routinely showed promise early before wilting late. Sadly, this movie might have the same ending with the Commanders. Daniels and McLaurin are still desirable fantasy options, but their floors might be lower until Kingsbury can shake his reputation of being unable to make late-season adjustments. Moreover, the ancillary options aren’t particularly intriguing, and Robinson’s game-script-dependent value could be in jeopardy if the offense can’t stake the Commanders to positive game scripts.

Miscellaneous Note

The Landscape is Flush with Sack-Taking Quarterbacks

Taking sacks is a plague across the NFL. According to Pro Football Reference, among qualified quarterbacks entering Sunday, Will Levis had the second-highest sack rate (13.11%), Caleb Williams was fourth (11.20%), Russell Wilson was fifth (9.70%), Gardner Minshew was eighth (8.97%), C.J. Stroud was ninth (8.79%), Sam Darnold was 10th (8.72%), Drake Maye was 11th (8.25%) and Geno Smith was 12th (7.88%). They took eight three four, three, four, three four, four, and five sacks in Week 12. DeVito, who had a comical 17.21% sack rate in 2023, also took four sacks on Sunday. Gamers should be aware of these quarterbacks when steaming defenses, especially when those signal-callers are underdogs and projected to be in negative game scripts.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.