Week 12 was a fantastic week for rookie quarterbacks once again with three of the top six fantasy football high scores coming from first-year quarterbacks heading into Monday Night Football. While we may not be ready to call 2024 a repeat of 2004 yet (Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning), it’s clear that three guys (and maybe four) have what it takes to be productive starters in this league. Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, and Bo Nix were all top-ten producers this week and have been for the better part of a month. Drake Maye looks like he has the skills, but just needs a new offensive line and wide receiver corps to succeed.
In addition to big rookie numbers, Week 12 provided a number of unique and interesting usage notes for players as we approach the fantasy football playoffs.
This weekly piece will look at an interesting usage note for each team during every NFL week. If you have interesting usage notes, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter/X (@CableBoxScore) and let me know. Let’s dive into the NFL Week 12 usage!
NFL Week 12 Usage Trends
ARIZONA CARDINALS
Where are Marvin Harrison’s Catches?
That’s now six of the last seven games with five or fewer catches for Marvin Harrison Jr. It’s now clear that the Week 2 and Week 8 games should be considered outliers until proven otherwise.
ATLANTA FALCONS
Atlanta Did Not Play in Week 12
Sorry, we were on bye week…
MUSSSSTAAAAARRRRRRRDDDDD pic.twitter.com/fRfi9Dpd2c
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) November 25, 2024
BALTIMORE RAVENS
Drop Diontae Johnson
Diontae Johnson, the talented wide receiver the Ravens traded for over a month ago, does not deserve a place on fantasy rosters anymore. He played six of 65 snaps on Monday Night Football and had one target.
BUFFALO BILLS
Buffalo Did Not Play in Week 12
Bye Week Sunday vibes. 😍#GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/4g6vruhbSs
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 24, 2024
CAROLINA PANTHERS
Jonathan Brooks Not Ready Yet
Rookie Jonathan Brooks only played in 8% of snaps in Week 12 and it’s clear he has a long way to go before he is ready to have a featured role with Carolina in his return from a knee injury.
CHICAGO BEARS
Roschon Johnson Doesn’t Go Away
Roschon Johnson scored on another short touchdown run and played 38% of snaps again against Minnesota. For as much fantasy goodness as the new offense is giving us in the passing game in Chicago since Shane Waldron left, the running game is allowing both Johnson and D’Andre Swift to thrive as well.
CINCINNATI BENGALS
Cincinnati Did Not Play in Week 12
Steelers week.
Uni Combo | @PennStationSubs pic.twitter.com/yv8qo882mt
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 25, 2024
CLEVELAND BROWNS
Nick Chubb Bounces Back
After playing just 30% of snaps in Week 11, Nick Chubb bounced back with 66% and two touchdowns in Week 12. There may be weeks where he is rested more, but the upside is still there.
DALLAS COWBOYS
Luke Schoonmaker Role Increase
Luke Schoonmaker has seen his snaps increase from 18% to 53% to 65% in Week 12 while Jake Ferguson is out. After scoring a touchdown in Week 12, he will be a hot waiver pickup this week.
DENVER BRONCOS
Courtland Sutton’s Superstar Streak
Courtland Sutton is averaging just under 10 targets per game in his last five contests. In that span he has recorded fewer than 75 receiving yards once and has three touchdowns.
DETROIT LIONS
Gibbs Takes Montgomery’s Snaps After Injury
With David Montgomery leaving early with an injury, Jahmyr Gibbs played on 67% of snaps. Expect around another 70% of snaps on Thanksgiving if David Montgomery is ruled out for that game.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
Most Efficient Josh Jacobs Game Ever?
Josh Jacobs got his 106 rushing yards and three touchdowns despite playing just 53% of the Packers’ snaps on Sunday. The blowout score at the end likely had something to do with that, but this was the definition of an ultra-efficient game.
HOUSTON TEXANS
Cade Stover Role Ascending
Rookie tight end is becoming the favorite over Dalton Schultz as the season progresses. He has played at least 43% of snaps in six of his last seven games and scored his first touchdown of the year in Week 12.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Wide Receivers Role Diminishing
With Anthony Richardson still struggling with accuracy, the Colts’ offensive philosophy is shifting to maximize the run. No wide receiver on the roster played more than 74% of snaps on Sunday while Jonathan Taylor saw 96%.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Jacksonville Did Not Play in Week 12
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) November 20, 2024
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Chiefs Spreading the Love
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
Ameer Abdullah One Week Workhorse
For one week at least, Ameer Abdullah played the role of a workhorse, getting 90% of snaps. He was extremely efficient on the ground and also caught a passing touchdown.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Palmer Gets Ahead of Johnston
Joshua Palmer got more run than Quentin Johnston on Monday night. Palmer played eight more snaps, saw three more targets, and had 38 yards to Johnston’s zero. It was a bad game for Johnston so we will have to see if that trend continues.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
Only Kyren in the Red Zone
Of the Los Angeles Rams opportunities in the red zone in Week 12, Kyren Williams had four of them and the rest of the team had just one. Call me crazy, but I might try and target Cooper Kupp or Puka Nacua in that area.
MIAMI DOLPHINS
Jonnu Smith Explosion
For the second week in a row, Jonnu Smith had a massive game, this time with nine catches, 87 yards, and a touchdown. He has been at more than 70% snaps for two weeks, and it’s clear Smith has found a role with Tua Tagovailoa back.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Justin Jefferson Disappears
After eight straight games with at least eight targets, Justin Jefferson only had five against Chicago on Sunday. They did a good job bracketing him and doubling him, but this is now five weeks without a touchdown for Jefferson.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Rhamondre Sees the Bench When Behind
With the New England Patriots behind for most of this game against Miami, Rhamondre Stevenson only played 42% of snaps while Antonio Gibson outpaced him with 43%.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
New Orleans Did Not Play in Week 12
#Saints Thanksgiving memories 🦃 pic.twitter.com/rrDQSBsQNE
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 25, 2024
NEW YORK GIANTS
Don’t Sleep on Theo Johnson
The Giants may be a dumpster fire right now, but don’t sleep on the appeal of rookie tight end Theo Johnson. He has three straight games with at least six targets and 10 catches in his last three games.
NEW YORK JETS
New York Did Not Play in Week 12
🗣️ @AaronRodgers12 pic.twitter.com/BHm5NrC0iL
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 21, 2024
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Another Impressive Saquon Barkley Stat
One of the underreported stats from Saquon Barkley’s 255-rushing yard, 47-receiving yard, two-touchdown game was that he did it while playing just 68% of the Eagles’ snaps. If he had received Kenneth Gainwell’s snaps and touchdown, we could have been talking about one of the best fantasy games of all time.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Jaylen Warren Takes Over RB1 Role
With Najee Harris taking a backseat while the Steelers trailed, Jaylen Warren played 57% of snaps and accumulated 64 total yards and a touchdown. He looked like the most efficient back on Pittsburgh on Thursday so we will see how his role is changed going forward.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Drop in Deebo Snaps
Perhaps it was the score and perhaps it was lack of production, but Deebo Samuel only played in 67% of snaps on Sunday. Both Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings played more and Samuel hasn’t scored since Week 6.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Charbonnet Red Zone Role
Of the Seattle opportunities in the red zone in Week 12, Jaxon Smith-Njigba got one and Zach Charbonnet saw the only other two. Kenneth Walker was completely shut out in the red zone.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Running Backs in the Red Zone
Speaking of running backs in the red zone, Rachaad White (2), Bucky Irving (4), and Sean Tucker (2) combined for eight while the rest of the Tampa Bay team had just two between all of them.
TENNESSEE TITANS
Pollard Goes Full Bell Cow
With no Tyjae Spears, Tony Pollard played 94% of snaps and touched the ball 27 times en route to 129 total yards and a score. No word yet on when Spears will return from a concussion, but Pollard is shedding the “better with fewer snaps” narrative this year.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
Noah Brown Targets Grow
Noah Brown now has more targets than Terry McLaurin in each of the last four games. McLaurin is making the big plays, but Brown is a sleeper the rest of the way with a relatively soft schedule ahead.
Data Sources: Pro Football Focus, NFL Next Gen Stats, Football Guys Snap Summary, FTN Air Yards, Pro Football Reference, Team Rankings, Fantasy Points Data Suite
Make sure to check out all of our Week 13 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!