Week 12 Fantasy Football Quarterback and Tight End Rankings: Studs, Sleepers, and Must-Starts (Ep. 1855)

Summary

FantasyPros Week 12 Fantasy Football Quarterback and Tight End Rankings: Studs, Sleepers, and Must-Starts

Podcast: FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
Hosts: Chris Welsh, Pat Fitzmaurice, Andrew Erickson
Date: November 20, 2025
Episode: 1855

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the Week 12 fantasy football landscape, focusing on quarterback and tight end rankings, streaming options, and which "studs, sleepers, and must-starts" can help fantasy managers through critical matchups. The trio breaks down consensus top 12 players at each position, highlights key debates—especially for those in need of streaming help—and provides actionable context on trending names like Jacoby Brissette, Daniel Jones, Baker Mayfield, and Taysom Hill. Tight end talk includes detailed tiers, upside plays, and the ever-elusive touchdown chase.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The State of Quarterback & Tight End For Week 12

• Quarterback Depth Concerns

  • "Quarterback does drop off a cliff pretty quickly. So there might be some people making some pretty uncomfortable quarterback starts this week." (Pat Fitzmaurice, 01:14)

• Tight Ends: Streaming is Tricky

  • Andrew Erickson prefers streaming quarterbacks: "Definitely quarterbacks, I like them a lot more... With Taysom Hill, you might be in play this week." (01:48)

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Taysom Hill: The "Bigfoot" Upside Dart Throw

• Erickson's Pitch:

  • "He had his most usage in the Saints offense this season. Seven carries for 20 yards, 37% snap rate... If you don't feel great about some of your tight ends this week... who has more upside than Taysom Hill does if he gets that role back?" (Andrew Erickson, 02:22)
  • Hill's penchant for red zone usage is highlighted, especially since the Saints are home favorites.

• Who To Start Taysom Over?

  • Over Chigoziem Okonkwo? "Oh yeah, easy." (Andrew Erickson, 03:14)
  • But not over Brock Bowers: "I'm starting Brock Bowers." (Andrew Erickson, 03:33)

Notable Moment: Chris Welsh jokes about the elusive "Taysom Hill week" and possible prizes for those entering “Taysom Hill” in YouTube giveaways (05:01).

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Quarterback Top 12 Rankings & Streaming Debates

Top Tier (As Discussed)

• Drake Maye (#1), Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff, Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Jacoby Brissette, Daniel Jones, Caleb Williams

Jacoby Brissette: A Premier Streamer

• Welsh: "Brissette comes in at number 10 and I love this... if you had a bye week or injury, Brissette is a great streaming option." (07:00)

• Fitzmaurice:

  • "I don't want it to seem like I'm chasing last week's points... But this is another pretty good matchup for Brissette. The Jaguars are a pass funnel... Cardinals are probably going to let Brissette air it out." (Pat Fitzmaurice, 07:38–08:17)

• Erickson:

  • "Brissette's been top 10 in four of five games started this season... He’s scoring fantasy points, which we like. That’s one concern, but everything else is perfect for him to be a top 12 QB again.” (08:48)

Daniel Jones: Is the Floor Enough?

• Erickson:

  • Has Jones at QB16: "I think this is a tough matchup... Daniel Jones has zero top 10 finishes on the road this season. He's been more of a floor play." (08:48–09:49)

• Fitzmaurice:

  • “Last two games, Daniel Jones: four interceptions, 12 sacks, six fumbles... But he's averaged just under 300 passing yards with two touchdowns, and run for 57 yards and a TD." (10:31)

Baker Mayfield: Making the Case

• Erickson:

  • “He’s been a top seven quarterback back to back weeks... This is like the perfect spot to back Baker Mayfield. I just can't bring myself to start Jacoby Brissette over Baker Mayfield.” (11:42–12:47)

• Fitzmaurice:

  • “Baker’s in a mini-slump... tough matchup against the Rams, who have the fifth-lowest opponent passer rating... Only given up 12 passing TDs all year. Bad trajectory.” (12:53)

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Tight End Rankings, Tiers & Analysis

Top 12 Consensus

1. Trey McBride vs. Jaguars
2. George Kittle
3. Brock Bowers
4. Tyler Warren
5. Travis Kelce
6. Hunter Henry
7. Dallas Goedert
8. Jake Ferguson
9. Kyle Pitts
10. Theo Johnson
11. Mark Andrews
12. Cade Otton

Jake Ferguson: Volume Woes, Touchdown Hope

• Fitzmaurice:

  • “He might be the guy who is closing the door behind himself on the streamer class... not set-it-and-forget-it, but a notch above pure streamers.” (16:53)

• Erickson:

  • “I think he's more in that touchdown boomer-bust, Mark Andrews-type tier... He’s been kind of nuked since Ceedee Lamb came back… this is not a good spot for Jake Ferguson.” (17:27–18:16)
  • Provides Eagles matchup history: “5 for 23 [this year], 4 for 24 and 3 for 18 [last year]. Woof.” (17:27–18:18)

• Fitzmaurice:

  • “Seven touchdowns in his last seven games... even though the target share has shrunk, his targets are so close to the line of scrimmage.” (19:04)

Kyle Pitts: A Volume Play Out of Necessity

• Erickson:

  • Ranks Pitts at TE6: “With Kirk Cousins, Pitts was 9 for 9 on targets... I think this is a volume play, wouldn't surprise me if he sees 9–10 targets.” (20:13)

• Fitzmaurice:

  • “I might have to flex Kyle Pitts in a league... Without Drake London, it’s hard to imagine Pitts not getting 7–8 targets at minimum.” (21:48)

Cade Otton: An Under-the-Radar Volume Streamer

• Erickson:

  • “Pretty steady seeing a lot of targets and receptions from Baker Mayfield... I’d keep an eye on Rams safety Quinton Lake’s injury, which could open things up. Otton still hasn’t scored a TD despite heavy usage.” (23:19)

• Fitzmaurice:

  • “Cade’s caught the touchdown allergy... He just can’t get into the end zone no matter what.” (24:36)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Taysom Hill’s Weekly Appeal:

  • Chris Welsh: “It’s like chasing Bigfoot… but if you get the footage, you’re a billionaire, and that’s how it works with fantasy and Taysom Hill.” (01:58)

• On Garbage Time QBs:

  • Andrew Erickson on Brissette vs. Bortles: “Again, [Bortles] was basically a top five fantasy quarterback off all garbage time for an entire season... you get exposed eventually.” (08:48)

• Drama for Daniel Jones:

  • Pat Fitzmaurice: “The clock has struck 12 on Daniel Jones… In his last two games, four interceptions, 12 sacks, and fumbled six times... But for fantasy, still putting up numbers.” (10:31)

• Kyle Pitts as a Desperation Flex:

  • Pat Fitzmaurice: “I might have to flex Kyle Pitts in a league where I am super banged up... Seems hard to imagine Pitts wouldn’t get 7–8 targets at minimum.” (21:48)

• On Jake Ferguson’s Profile:

  • Pat Fitzmaurice: “Seven touchdowns in his last seven games… his targets are so close to the line of scrimmage. He still has nine catches over the last two games with Lamb and Pickens in the lineup.” (19:04)

• Chris Welsh’s Favorite Reaction:

  • Chris Welsh: “One of my top three reactions on the planet is going woof. Like, it’s one of my favorite things on the planet… Thank you, Macaulay Culkin.” (18:50)

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Segments & Timestamps

• [01:14] – Quarterback drop-off & streaming comfort
• [01:58] – Taysom Hill as the ultimate upside dart throw
• [06:00] – Top 12 Quarterback rundown and Brissette streamer pitch
• [08:48] – Jacoby Brissette vs Daniel Jones deep dive
• [11:42] – Baker Mayfield vs other streamer QBs
• [15:35] – Top 12 Tight End rundown
• [16:53] – Jake Ferguson’s tier & outlook
• [17:27] – Ferguson’s volume concerns and Eagles matchup
• [19:04] – Ferguson’s touchdown luck
• [20:13] – Kyle Pitts’ target volume upside
• [23:19] – Cade Otton streamer case & matchup notes

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Takeaways

• Quarterback Streaming: Jacoby Brissette is a strong play; Daniel Jones has floor/turnover risk; Baker Mayfield is situational but offers upside and rushing back in his profile.
• Tight End Landscape: After the elite few, it quickly becomes about chasing touchdowns and target volume—Kyle Pitts and Cade Otton have volume paths; Jake Ferguson is touchdown-dependent with little yardage expectation.
• Wildcard Play: If desperate for tight end upside, Taysom Hill is a “billionaire lottery ticket” type play for Week 12.

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For more in-depth breakdowns and updated rankings, visit fantasypros.com/rankings.

Transcript

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[Chris Welsh]

Hello friends and welcome into Fantasy Pros, the fantasy football podcast. I'm Chris Welsh. We got Pat Fitzmaurice and Andrew Erickson for the quarterback and tight end ranks for week 12. We are going to be looking at the Top ranked top 12 of each of those position. Probably going through another player or two outside that you might be wanting to stream. This is the stream segment section of the show for quarterbacks and tight ends which the soothsayer tight end ranker I believe is Erickson. I might be one of the worst quarterback rankers on the planet. I think that has maybe become official, I don't know. But Fitzy, how are we feeling about the overarching quarterback tight ends for week 12?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Okay. Better than we're feeling about the wide receiver situation, I think. Although quarterback does drop off a cliff pretty quickly. So there might be some people making some pretty uncomfortable quarterback starts this week.

[Chris Welsh]

Erickson, do you feel better about having to stream either a quarterback or tight end? You know, the top 12 quarterback. Top 12. Both position are pretty solid. The tight ends have kind of fallen off a little bit. But it is also hard to argue that there's a lot of the same guys. Like probably 11 through 20 are relatively same. So what do you like in the streaming market? More quarterback or tight end?

[Andrew Erickson]

Definitely quarterbacks, I like them a lot more. I was talking about on the running back show that dude Taysom Hill, you might be in play this week.

[Chris Welsh]

I mean, you know what, just do it because I don't have them on the sheet here. Give us, give us a 10 cent tour on Taysom Hill. Erickson thinks it's Taysom Hill week. You are, you're chasing. It's like it's like chasing Bigfoot. You're sitting out there. How many days in the woods with the camera do you have to go? But if you get the footage, you're a billionaire and that's how it works with fantasy and taste some Hill. You think it's Taysom Hill week. So sell us.

[Andrew Erickson]

Well, he's coming Off a game where he had his most usage in the Saints offense this season. He had, I believe it was nine total opportunities. I'm just pulling up my notes here because I wasn't prepared to go on my Taysom Hill soliloquy. Seven carries for 20 yards, 37% snap rate. And every time the coaches talk about him in press conferences, it's, we love Taysom Hill in the red zone. So the Saints are favorites at home. Theoretically speaking, if the Vegas is right about them winning this game, they're going to find themselves in the red zone where they like to use a certain tight end slash quarterback slash running back named Taysom Hill. So look, if you don't feel great about some of your tight ends this week and you're just like, throw a dart, who has more upside than Taysom Hill does if he gets that role back? Not many tight ends.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

So, yeah, would you start Taysom Hill over Chig Okonkwo this week at tight end?

[Andrew Erickson]

Oh, yeah, Easy.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Even though. Even though the Titans are really banged up at wide receiver and maybe Chig has a little bit of a target bump as a result.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yes, because I don't think Che can be the tight end one on the week. Taysom Hill can.

[Chris Welsh]

All right, big one, Would you start Taysum Hill or Brock Bowers this week?

[Andrew Erickson]

Okay, I'm starting Brock Bowers.

[Chris Welsh]

What a perfect player to talk about in the quarterback tight end ranked show. Because he's like both. He's both of those guys. But Taysum Hill, you think it's Taysom Hill week? We're not even talking about tight ends. We're going to go to quarterbacks. But it's. It's all in. You got to start them. And we'll, we'll come back. We'll come back to this next week and we'll see if you were given a Thanksgiving treat with the Taysum Hill week. All right, we're going to go into quarterbacks here in just a second. Top 12. But first, giveaway time. If you want a chance to win one of the most unique pieces of NFL fan gear out there, the large NFL PA wall Smack. Courtesy of our friends at Trophy Smack, the number one destination for epic fantasy football hardware, then this is your shot. Their oversized, officially licensed NFLPA wall smackdown. They're bold, statement pieces that are perfect for your fan cave office or living room wall. It's not just decor. It's a way to rep your favorite players in style. To enter, all you've got to do is subscribe to The Fantasy Pros YouTube channel right now and drop a comment below on any of our videos. That's it. You could just type in Taysom Hill and boom, you're set. We'll be announcing a winner right here on the channel, so make sure to turn on notifications so you don't miss a chance to win and claim this epic prize. It does not have to be a Taysom Hill Wall Smack, but if Ericsson were to win, that would be required, I think. Or if you type in Taysom Hill in the comments and win, I think then I'm making the executive order that you have to be sent to Taysom Hill Wall Smack. That's just.

[Andrew Erickson]

Especially if this is the week, then.

[Chris Welsh]

Yes, if it is the week. Yes, you're correct. All right, fantasypros.com rankings if you guys would like to follow along and if you want to see more. We're only going through the top 12 in each position, but there's plenty more to peruse and they will change throughout the week. So fantasypros.com rankings quarterback ranks. How about them apples? All season long, Drake May has been moving and moving and moving up the list. He has reached the pinnacle number one quarterback this week because he's also got the Bengals. He has gotten there. Shout out to Fitzy again. Lamar Jackson comes in at number two. Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes and Matthew Stafford is your top six. Jared Goff at seven. Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Jacoby Brissette, Daniel Jones and Caleb Williams. So unfortunately, I set up. You know what? We're going to talk about the top 10. Fitzy. I give you 15 seconds. Podium. If you want to have an acceptance speech of Drake May getting to the number one overall spot. This is just your moment for just one second.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I don't know if I can because I don't have DRAKE May ranked QB1 this week.

[Andrew Erickson]

Wow.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I've got. I've got Lamar Jackson against the jets coming off a bad game. I think Lamar goes nuclear this week against. Against the Jets.

[Chris Welsh]

Erickson, do you have him at number one?

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, because I'm not a hypocrite.

[Chris Welsh]

Erickson, I'm gonna give you 15 seconds. Would you like to have an acceptance speech as an actual Patriots fan, too, for Drake May? Anything you'd like to. Anybody you'd like to thank.

[Andrew Erickson]

Bengals. He could be throwing to me out there. He could throw for four touchdowns.

[Chris Welsh]

Come on, number one, you're a pretty good receiver. We play football together pretty good. All right. But we're not gonna really talk about the top end. Guys, there's, you know, there's not a ton of question in it unless you are like, do I start Drake May or Patrick Mahomes? The most of the guys are chalk though. I will say like Brock Purdy has gotten up to eight, but he's got a phenomenal matchup against the Carolina Panthers. The guy we're going to start with. I love this one because I said early in the week, I think this is one of the really great streaming options if you are in need of a quarterback, if you had a bi week situation or an injury or whatever you're dealing with. Jacoby Brissette comes in at number 10 and I love this. You guys are in agreement he's going up against the Jaguars past the ever living crap against the 49ers and NFL record. I don't think a ton is going to change, especially with the running game here. I think at least pre week I thought Brissette was like, this is a great streaming option, but he comes in at number 10 if he's floating out there. Daniel Jones was actually the very specific player which we're going to talk about in a second. I said I would rather Jacoby Brissette start over and I got chastised by Mr. Scott Bachman, but I'm Brissette, Stan here. Fitzy, why don't you kick us off? You've also got him at 10.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

And I think I have him one spot ahead of Daniel Jones. I don't want it to seem like I'm chasing last week's points with Jacoby Brissette a week after he set the NFL record for most completions in the game with 47. But this is another pretty good matchup for Brissette. The Jaguars do have a better pass rush than the 49ers, who don't have one at all. But the Jaguars are a pass funnel. Opponents are throwing against Jacksonville at the second highest rate in the league. And the Jaguars run defense is pretty good. So I think the Cardinals are probably going to let Brissette air it out rather than slam Bam Knight into a pretty good run defense 20 times.

[Chris Welsh]

Erickson, you're going to have to put Jacoby Brissette in over, you know, a few other big names, Daniel Jones being one of them, which, which, you know what, Actually, let's just kind of float it in here and we'll come back to you on this as well. Fitzy. But Erickson, you've got. You've got Daniel Jones at 16 and you've got Jacoby Brissette. At 11. So you're even kind of further off on this. I think I feel pretty confident matchup base wise about Brissette. But talk to us about Brissette and then feel free Erickson to throw your Daniel Jones discussion in it as well.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, Brissette's been top 10 quarterback in four or five games started this season. So there's always the concern that garbage time points sometimes run out as we know famously by Blake Bortles. Again, he was like basically a top five fantasy quarterback off all garbage time for an entire season. But then you get exposed eventually. So that is always a concern that the rug gets pulled out underneath us with Jacoby Brissette at some point because he's not good. But he's just like he's scoring fantasy points which we like. So that's like one concern. But besides that, everything else is is perfect for him to be a top 12 quarterback again. And then you asked me about Daniel Jones as well. Welsh. Yep. So Jones, I just, I think this is a tough matchup for him on the road at kc, A dome team. Just look, Daniel Jones has been outside the top 15 quarterbacks in his last two games and he has zero top 10 finishes on the road this season. He's better under dome conditions when the Colts offense can operate at a higher level. And I think if the Colts want to go into KC and win the game, it's give the ball to Jonathan Taylor 30 times. Right. That is the strategy. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. So yes, Jones has a lot of talented playmakers, but I just don't think this is a ceiling type game for him. And really Daniel Jones has been more of a floor plays like a back end fantasy QB1 and I just don't think that this is a great spot for him to have a QB1 performance.

[Chris Welsh]

And Fitzy coming back to you on that, you are closer in it that you, you have Daniel Jones, but it's one spot lower than Brissette. But both of them are QB1s where Erickson has pushed Daniel Jones outside the top 15. So you know you are in agreement that Brissette would be someone you would play over Daniel Jones, but you still like him as a QB one. What level of worry do you have on this matchup?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, so there's some concern about the matchup for sure. And there's also some concern that the clock has struck 12 on Daniel Jones and the carriage has turned into a pumpkin and the glass slippers shattered into a million little pieces. In his last two games, Daniel Jones, four interceptions, he's taken 12 sacks, and he's fumbled six times in his last two games. But then again, over those last two games, Daniel Jones has averaged just under 300 passing yards with two touchdown passes, and he has run for 57 yards and a touchdown. So he's still doing the things we like for fantasy, even though he's certainly not doing the things the Indianapolis Colts and their fans want to see.

[Chris Welsh]

All right, Daniel Jones, Brissette, in here. Here's a quarterback that ranked higher like a day ago and has been pushed outside of the top 12. It's Baker Mayfield who comes in at ECR 14. Fitz, that is where you have him. But Erickson, you have Baker Mayfield higher than either the two quarterbacks we talked about, Brissette, or Daniel Jones, even though he doesn't show up on this list. So, Erickson, why don't you hit us with Baker Mayfield for Week 12?

[Andrew Erickson]

He's been the top seven quarterback back to back weeks since he came back from the bye week. And although he didn't put up monster passing yards last week, the rushing was back last week. He was scrambling more after he'd been dealing with some injuries and he wasn't running more. So give me all the Baker Mayfield you can have, right? He is on the road as an underdog off a loss in a revenge game spot. This is like the perfect spot to back Baker Mayfield. So I like going with him here. I think that he is one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. And I can't bring myself to start Jacoby Brissette over Baker Mayfield. I. I just can't do it because I know one guy is so clearly head and shoulders above the other one in terms of playing the quarterback position. And it's not like Baker Mayfield has been bad in fantasy. Yeah, he had a couple down weeks, but, you know, that happens. His receivers were hurt a couple things. He was also banged up, but he's been a top seven guy last two weeks. Like I said, potential shootout against the Rams. The Buccaneers know they're going to have to score points if they're going to want to keep up with la. Matthew Stafford on the road in the Dome. Yeah, I'm all about buying the dip on Baker Mayfield after he's been pretty good the last couple of weeks.

[Chris Welsh]

Bitsy, what do you think about Baker? You got him at ECR at 14, so a little bit less optimistic.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

And this does seem like a spot where maybe Baker Mayfield could get into a duel with Matthew Stafford and put up like really big numbers. But Baker Mayfield's been in kind of a mini slump over his last four games. He's averaging just 5.7 yards per pass attempt. And now it's a tough matchup against the Rams, who have the fifth lowest opponent passer rating in the league. And the Rams are giving up 6.6 yards per pass attempt. They've only given up 12 touchdown passes all year. So tough matchup and kind of a bad trajectory for Baker as a passer lately.

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[Chris Welsh]

Let's go over to Tight Ends. Let's look at the big board, the top 12 tight ends for the week. We kick it off with Trey McBride going up against the Jaguars at number one, George Kittle at number two, Brock Bowers, Tyler Warren, Travis Kelce and Hunter Henry. That's your Six bottom half of the starters. You've got Dallas Goddard, Jake Ferguson, Kyle Pitts, Theo Johnson, Mark Andrews and Kate Otten. Boy, the top half, not quite like the second half there. You know your big chalk players in here. Jake Ferguson, disappointing game from a yardage standpoint, from a prop standpoint, me personally in that last game. So that was what the disappointment was, a touchdown. That's fine. But Ferguson comes in at number nine on this list going up against the Eagles. What's interesting is I think he's kind of the start of like the next tier. Maybe he's a tier of his own because Henry's got a phenomenal matchup, Goddard's got a phenomenal matchup against the Cowboys. The guys above them are all the big chalk plays. Then it's like is Ferguson his own tier? Maybe with Pitts, and then it goes to like dart throws and Theo Johnson and Mark Andrews. Or does he belong in that lower tier with this matchup? Fitzy, let's start with you. You've got him at 9, Ericsson's got him at 10. Is he the start of like the eh, tiers of tight ends or is he his own little bag?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, he's just, he might be the guy who is closing the door behind himself on the streamer class of tight ends. So he's one above the streamer, but he's certainly not in the set it and forget it category or the category of guys like Hunter Henry just have phenomenal matchups.

[Chris Welsh]

Erickson, what do you think about Jake Ferguson? You've got him at 10. Do you have Kyle Pitts above him?

[Andrew Erickson]

Yes, I do have Kyle Pitts above Jake Ferguson.

[Chris Welsh]

Okay, we'll talk about Pitts in a second then. But what do you think about Ferguson coming off of the low target role last week?

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, I'm pretty worried about Ferguson in terms of his just targets because they've been kind of nuked since Ceedee Lamb came back into the lineup. So he's kind of that distant third option for Dak Prescott. Now when you're attached to the Dallas Cowboys offense, you always have touchdown equity. So when you were asking about where does Ferguson kind of fall in the tiers, I think he's more in that touchdown Boomer bust, Mark Andrews type of tier because I think that's ultimately if Ferguson pays off, it's because hey, he scored a touchdown because he just hasn't seen a lot of targets again. 12.2% target share in the last three games since Lamb has come back, I don't see him Seeing a ton of volume. And this matchup against the Eagles, he has been not involved in whatsoever earlier this year. 5 for 23 two games last year against the Eagles. 4 for 24, 3 for 18.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Woof.

[Andrew Erickson]

Like. Like this is. These are not good spots for Jake Ferguson. So is it enough to bench him for an alternative? I mean, I don't want to roster another tight end. So I think you're just kind of stuck with playing Ferguson unless you already have two tight ends on your roster because you probably don't have a better option on the waiver wire. So I think it's just a matter of, hey, just expect a probably low scoring performance from Ferguson unless he finds the end zone. And you look at the Eagles third lowest passing touchdown rate allowed this season, 0.1 touchdowns per game allowed to tight ends, which is the third lowest. So I'm not optimistic about him this week.

[Chris Welsh]

One of my, like, it's like top three reactions on the planet is going woof. Like it's one of my favorite things on the planet. Like, I'll always laugh. I'll always like it locks me into the thing. Like, I love that type of reaction.

[Andrew Erickson]

Woof.

[Chris Welsh]

Thank you, Macaulay Culkin.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Can I add one thing about Ferguson? Seven touchdowns in his last seven games. Like, there is something to be said for the guy who Dak Prescott seems to look near the goal line. And even though I agree, like, the target share has shrunk, his targets are so close to the line of scrimmage. Like if you're in full point ppr, I mean, he still has nine catches over the last two games with Lamb and Pickens in the lineup. So he's still going to get those catches. You know, you're probably not getting a lot of yardage out of Jake Ferguson, but just purely in terms of catches and touchdowns, like, that's where he kind of saves his profile.

[Chris Welsh]

I think one of the biggest names to talk about on this list, it's Kyle Pitts. The Johnson's on here, he's interesting and things start to fade. I think he had a lot of touchdown equity. We had Kate Odden on this list at one point, you know, and that's probably tied to Baker Mayfield's offense. But Kyle Pitts has kind of got that, like, do we go all in because they have no receivers and Darnell Mooney or are we still just too worried he is tight end 9 you2 are back both higher than consensus. Erickson, why don't you kick us off? You are tight in six on Kyle Pitts.

[Andrew Erickson]

This week. Yes, I I'm probably going to move him one down spot because I want Hunter Henry above him but still going to be above consensus on Kyle Pitts. And it's because we had one game sample size of Kirk Cousins starting and the one guy that was good, not Darnell Mooney. Check out the wide receiver show for for that analysis. But Kyle Pitts was a perfect 9 for 9 on his targets from Kirk Cousins. He's been a floor play most of the season. The last two weeks have just been absolutely atrocious because that's kind of what the Falcons offense has been at this point. But look, if Kirk Cousins can't move the ball downfield with his arm and where it's at, he's going to need to be looking for his underneath target which for the most of the season has been Kyle Pitts in this offense. So I think he's going to get a lot of volume. We know he can make plays after the catch. He is athletic and against the Saints I'm not exactly concerned about that type of matchup. So I think this is a volume play and I think this helps you more at tight end. Right. We can find wide receivers with volume. So that's why I don't feel the need. I got to start Mooney. But if you need a tight end option this week, Pitts is going to see, I think wouldn't surprise me he sees nine or ten targets. Like the last time we saw Kirk Cousins start a game for the Falcons.

[Chris Welsh]

Yeah, that kind of leads to the question I was going to ask you, Fitzy, because you got him in seven, you got him higher than consensus. You like him. You could comment on like what tier he's in, but do you think he's at a level where he might even be a flex play where we don't like the wide receivers? Maybe there's some questions at running backs. Do you think Erickson's not get carried away but you just said he had nine or ten targets. If he has nine or ten targets, that's not a flex play.

[Andrew Erickson]

Nine yards like it's, it's touchdown equity against the Saints compared to tight ends. But I don't know if I love it as a flex.

[Chris Welsh]

All right, well maybe Fitz does. Do you like him as a flex?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Coincidentally, I might have to flex Kyle Pitts in a league where I am super banged up at running back and wide receiver. So like that might actually happen. Welsh, it's not so hypothetical. Yeah, I mean I've got Pittsburgh a tight end eight right in between Hunter Henry, who has the amazing matchup against the Bengals and Jake Ferguson who has the tough matchup against the Eagles. Kind of a neutral matchup for for Pitts against the Saints. But I mean, look at what the Falcons are going to be rolling out at wide receiver without Drake London this week. It's Darnell Mooney and Kadel Hodge and Casey Washington and David Sills. Yeah, I mean, it seems hard to imagine that Kyle Pitts wouldn't get seven or eight targets at minimum. But then again, you know, the targets are coming from Kirk Cousins. I don't know, it seems like Kyle Pitts as kind of the closer to the line of scrimmage target like that might help because I don't think Kirk Cousins has really got the arm to push the ball downfield that much. So would not shock me if we saw like a seven or eight catch game from Kyle Pitts this week.

[Chris Welsh]

All right, let's do one last quick hitter. Kate Odd and I did mention kind of off and on he's at 12, Fitzy's at 13. Let's just do a quick hit on it. Erickson, you got him higher. I kind of assume this is relative to both of your Baker Mayfield takes Fitzy, you're a little bit lower. You're also lower on Mayfield. Erickson, you're higher on Baker Mayfield, you got him at 10 and you are higher on KDOT and you have him as a top 10 option. So Erickson, what's your take on on.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, I'm not trying to overreact too much to last week because it was the Bills and the Bills shut down every single Titan that they face. So I think that contributed to Kate Owens disappointment last week. But he's been pretty steady seeing a lot of targets and receptions from Baker Mayfield over the last couple games. And I want to point an injury note about the Rams defense. Quinton Lake, free safety, got hurt last week, so he is TBT if he's going to play in week 12 and he's been one of the better safeties and just better defensive players for the Rams all year long. He's allowed just a 68% catch rate, whereas the other free safety, Cam kitchens, allowing a 95% catch rate. And it's interesting because he didn't play in the second half of the game against the Seahawks, who had a massive game last week kind of out of nowhere, A.J. barner, tight end for the Seattle Seahawks, had seven targets, six catches for 47 yards. So if Quinton Lake doesn't play in this game, I think that does open up some of those intermediate over the middle targets for a guy like Kate Otten, who still hasn't scored a touchdown yet this season despite the fact that he has the most receptions, targets yards for a tight end without a score yet. So anytime touchdown bet for Sunday Night Football Cardiocade baby. There it is.

[Chris Welsh]

I love by the AJ Barn is a total stream tight end for me too. He is the tush push quarterback for them and getting targets. I kind of love that Fitzy quick take on Otten.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, I mean I guess Erickson makes some some interesting points about the defensive matchup. I might have to re examine Otten, but it's sort of correlated I guess with my take on Baker Mayfield and just that I'm a little more concerned about him than Erickson is. But yeah, Cade's still a decent volume play, but you know, it's he's caught the touchdown allergy that Trey McBride like Trey McBride got rid of it. It's like, it's like it follows the horror movie. Like Trey McBride is totally passed this on to Kate Otten and now Kate is the guy who just can't get into the end zone no matter what.

[Chris Welsh]

Or another reference would be like the Ring. Like Kate Otten's going to have to give some VHS tape to somebody to just like get away from him so he can score touchdowns again.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Great K horror movie analogies that, you know, someone in the YouTube comments can probably outdo us on those.

[Chris Welsh]

There'll probably be some AI version of it we'll see in the very near future. All right, that is going to do it. Make sure you're subscribed on YouTube and the podcast for any and all of the stuff that we've got going on to help you for week 12. And for Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitz Morris, I'm Chris Welsh. You guys have a fantastic one. Good luck in week 12 and we'll talk to you next time right here on Fantasy Pros.

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