Fantasy Football Player Notes

Saquon Barkley continued his bizarre trend of alternating top-two fantasy weeks with weeks outside the top 20. Does that mean fantasy managers should fade Barkley in Week 12? In a word, no. Barkley leads the NFL in scrimmage yards and is second among running backs in fantasy points. He faces a Rams defense in Week 12 that has performed better of late against running backs. But they are still giving up an average of 135.2 scrimmage yards per game to opposing running backs. Keep Barkley locked in as a high-end RB1 this week.

Some negative touchdown regression is largely to blame for A.J. Brown finishing 36th or worse among wide receivers in fantasy points in three of his last four games. A Week 12 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams could help cure Brown's recent end zone drought. The Rams have allowed 13 receiving touchdowns to opposing wide receivers this season. Only three NFL teams have allowed more. Brown is always a threat to score, and a touchdown would push him into WR1 territory this week.

In Philly's run-centric offense, Smith has dropped to the WR31 in fantasy points per game. He has failed to surpass seven fantasy points in three of his last five games. Yes, he has three scores across his last seven games, but you can't count on touchdown production like that when the player's red zone has essentially been zilch, and they are dependent upon big plays. Since Week 3, Smith has had one red zone target. Since Week 6, Smith has had a 20.1% target share, a 24.4% air-yard share, 1.86 YPRR, and a 28.4% first-read share. It's a great matchup this week for Smith, so maybe he can rattle off a big play or two and pay off despite my volume concerns. Since Week 6, the Rams have allowed the eighth-most receiving yards per game and the seventh-most fantasy points per game to perimeter wide receivers.

Godert has remained a steady option despite Philly's run-heavy offense. He is the TE7 in fantasy points per game and has at least 10.5 PPR points in four of his last five games. Goedert has a 17.9% target share, has averaged 55.3 receiving yards per game, has 2.32 YPRR, and has a 21.1% first-read share. He should be a solid TE1 again this week against a Rams secondary that has allowed the fifth-most receiving yards per game and the sixth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends.