Rachaad White or Kenneth Walker?

Week 12 is pivotal for fantasy football players and John Laghezza is here to help. Drop your questions here and John will pick the best to answer below in our weekly live blog.

John Laghezza

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Summary

Week 12 is pivotal for fantasy football players and John Laghezza is here to help. Drop your questions here and John will pick the best to answer below in our weekly live blog. Is Samaje Perine worth a start? What will happen with the Denver backfield? WHAT ABOUT TIGHT END??!!

Strap in and gird yourselves for the stretch run. Only two more weeks until the playoffs!

And be sure to check out Jake Ciely's award-winning rankings, which can answer a lot of your start/sit questions.

(Photo: Robert Deutsch / USA Today)

Rachaad White or Kenneth Walker?

Q: PPR Rachaad White or Kenneth Walker? Already played my others. — Allen Z

Please find room to play both. Walker by a hair.

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Bench Cole Kmet with Justin Fields out?

Q: Non-PPR. How does no Justin Fields effect Cole Kmet? Deciding between Kmet and Taysom Hill …

Hill for the outside chance he goes off. Jets defense is the truth and may shut the Bears out today, with Kmet going 2-11-0.

Keenan Allen or Samaje Perine?

Q: Non-PPR flex spot - Keenan Allen or Samaje Perine? — Ryan L.

Keenan Allen.

Keenan Allen, Michael Pittman Jr. or Antonio Gibson?

Q: Half PPR pick two players flex question: Keenan Allen, Michael Pittman Jr. or Antonio Gibson? -John N.

Allen and Gibson. I'm worried about Pittsburgh pressuring Matt Ryan.

Nico Cannon or Cam Akers?

Q: Half PPR flex question: Nico Cannon or Cam Akers?

Cam Akers.

Samaje Perine or Rachaad White?

Q: Hope you had a good Thanksgiving! Who should I start: Samaje Perine or Rachaad White? -Ryan D.

Getting me all sentimental Ryan … thank you, my friend. It’s the genuinely kind and engaged readers like yourself that make this possible for me. Yes, I had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a part of that is due to the interactions I experience doing this work. OK, enough of the mushy stuff, let’s win you that fantasy title.

I’ve covered a lot of the pertinent stats involved in your RB question below but to oversimplify, it comes down to the matchup. In fact, from that perspective, maybe you’re lucky the decision between Cleveland (135 rushing yards per game, 5.25 running back yards per attempt) and Tennessee (82.2 rushing yards per game, 3.79 running back yards per attempt) is so lopsided.

(Photo: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)

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Wide receiver help

Pick two - Chris Olave, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Brandon Aiyuk, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Treylon Burks. Standard. — Thomas R.

Olave and Smith-Schuster.

Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel?

Q: Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel PPR? Been waiting all season for Deebo and now he's questionable with a different hamstring injury apparently. — Ryan R.

I’m starting Aiyuk everywhere I have him after posting three top-15 WR finishes in his last five contests. He’s run a route on over 96% of dropbacks the last month, earning 30% of San Francisco’s air yards, good for the team lead. Maybe things will break right for you today and Deebo will get the day off to rest.

D'Onta Foreman or Gus Edwards?

Q: Gus Edwards or D'Onta Foreman in full PPR? -Max P.

I'm starting Foreman for sure, it’s becoming so rare to get a game script conducive to his usage. He’s been a really productive runner since taking over (4.6 yards per carry, 3.2 yards after contact per rush), it’s just that once the Panthers fall behind he becomes an afterthought. Luckily for Foreman owners, the Broncos offense still cannot find its footing having only scored more than 20 points once this season.

Wide receiver help

Q: Flex, PPR. Marquise Brown, DeVonta Smith, Garrett Wilson. — Derk R.

Great job building your WR stable, by the way, Derk. I think your patience holding Brown or your savvy in adding him is about to pay off. Kyler Murray is lined up to start, Rondale Moore is out and Deandre Smith is drawing tons of attention from opposing defenses. Remember, Hollywood Brown was going nuclear before he got hurt. I think we’ll see him lined up in the slot as well as out wide, causing all sorts of havoc today.

Samaje Perine and Antonio Gibson over Dameon Pierce?

Q: Half PPR. Need your best three out of the following: DK Metcalf, Samaje Perine, Antonio Gibson, Dameon Pierce, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Allen Lazard (with at least one RB and one WR). -Jonathan R.

You actually listed your players in the order I have them ranked for this weekend, Jonathan. The first two I locked in easily. Metcalf’s a must-start against LV (77 percent completion, 109 opposing passer rating last four games). I know I’ve been typing all morning not to expect a ceiling game from Perine but he still has a solid floor as the Bengals' goal-line back so you have to play him as well.

After that, it’s a matter of matchups and opportunities. I went to the projections and they were no help, sorry. I have Gibson and Pierce projected for the same 15.3. If I were choosing I’d go with the Gibson against a Falcons rush defense allowing 168 yard per game the last month rather than Pierce and a two-TD underdog with Kyle Allen under center.

(Photo: Philip G. Pavely / USA Today)

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Ja'Marr Chase inactive for the Bengals

Cincinnati wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase will miss his fourth consecutive game Sunday against the Titans. Running back Joe Mixon is also out.

Which wide receivers should I start?

Q: Full PPR. Pick two: Christian Watson, Diontae Johnson and Garrett Wilson. Also, should I start Rachaad White over Najee Harris (the other running backs are Ken Walker and James Conner) — Matt.

I spoke to Watson in the last question, I’d lock him in first for the quality of the QB targets. Wilson vs. Johnson is really close but I’d go with Wilson for the ceiling game. Johnson is yet to have a single finish better than WR26 this season and I doubt that changes against an improving Colts’ defense.

Everyone’s been talking about Mike White targeting RBs (which is true), but he also loves to throw to the slot (24% slot targets) and I expect Wilson to have a good game against a struggling Chicago pass defense that’s the NFL’s worst in defensive EPA/dropback (-0.54), and opposer passer rating (117.7) the last four games.

Also yes 100% star Rachaad White over Najee Harris.

Justin Fields officially out for the Bears

Trevor Siemian is expected to start for Chicago against the Jets, who will be starting Mike White at quarterback.

Who to sit — Christian Watson, Rachaad White or Dameon Pierce?

Q: Christian Watson, Rachaad White, Dameon Pierce. I can only play two. Who should I leave off? -Eric S.

White is the easy button for you today, lock him in. As much as I like Pierce (he’s an excellent player), I think Houston’s in a downward spiral and has the easier path to the dreaded zero.

As good as the Eagles' defense has been, give me Watson. We know Aaron Rodgers will be chucking in his direction regardless of the game script, so in my opinion, he has the higher floor. In the last two games since bursting on the scene, Watson is averaging seven targets per game (25 percent team share), 132 air yards per game (45 percent team share), and 66 percent of the Packers' red zone targets.

Miles Sanders or Samaje Perine

Q: Miles Sanders vs. Green Bay or Samaje Perine vs. Tennessee?

Even though I was pretty tough on Perine’s matchup today, the emergence of Kenneth Gainwell for Philadelphia is making me tentative on Sanders. He was already splitting carries (including high-value RZ attempts) with Jalen Hurts and once a third mouth needs feeding I’m pivoting away when possible. Perine’s involvement in the passing game should give him a solid floor, even if I have recommended some other RBs over him today.

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Where does Jimmy Garoppolo rank rest of season?

Q: Value of Isiah Pacheco over the few weeks while Clyde Edwards-Helaire is out? Jimmy Garoppolo a rest-of-season auto-start? -Reid L.

Pacheco’s easily a solid RB2 the rest of the way. He’s overtaken the lion’s share of carries and the production has been there (5.4 yards per carry, 2.3 yards before contract per rush). That said, his ceiling will continue to be capped without more work in the passing game (three receptions year to date) combined with the Chiefs' refusal to run near the goal line.

If you were streaming QBs and landed on Jimmy G, stay with him. If you lost Justin Fields and added Garoppolo, stay with him for now. If you’re disgusted with Lamar Jackson and auto-starting Jimmy G over him, I’m drawing the line. He has three top-eight QB finishes in his last six contests, but I think that’s the ceiling; he’s not going to win us weeks anytime soon.

(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)

Running back help

Start one (Half PPR): Rachaad White, Parris Campbell, Samaje Perine, Curtis Samuel, Darnell Mooney or Hollywood Brown — Chad D.

Talk about an embarrassment of riches, Chad. If your trade deadline hasn’t passed yet, you have the goods to bring back first-round talent. As far as today goes for me, it’s White over Brown and Perine; the others are a tier below.

Fournette is out, so opportunities will be there. Rachaad White has the trust Tom Brady as a dual-threat RB who projects to get all of the high-value work today in a smash matchup vs the Browns.

Alvin Kamara vs. Antonio Gibson

Q: Full PPR - Antonio Gibson or Alvin Kamara? And Christian Watson or Parris Campbell? -Randy

That first one is as tough as a fantasy football decision can get; seriously, I almost skipped over it, Randy.

I try to never say never, but I never sit first/second-round studs if they’re healthy. I’d just start Kamara. That said, I do have Gibson (16.3) projected for a hair higher than Kamara (16.2) and Washington’s team total is a full five points higher than New Orleans’ 16.5.

I do think fortune favors the bold but if there was no way to get them both into my lineup I’d start Kamara. Though the Falcons have struggled the last month versus the run (168 rushing yards allowed per game, eight rushing TDs allowed), we saw how the Commanders went with a super-heavy run package against Philadelphia. It was Brian Robinson that was featured in that game and I fear we see that again.

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