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Fantasy football stock watch: Bucs, Jets enjoying White noise

It isn’t often two NFL teams can find such a colorful solution to their offensive issues, but that was the case this past week with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets. One had a starting running back sidelined by injury, the other had its starting quarterback benched for ineffectiveness.

And in stepped a pair of knights named White.

WEEK 12 WINNERS, LOSERS: Eagles bounce back, Ravens’ flaws revealed

These players saw their fantasy values increase or decrease most based on their performances in Week 12:

Sizzlers

RB Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Starter Leonard Fournette did not play on Sunday, but White has been a bright spot for the Bucs in back-to-back games. Along with his 64 yards rushing against Cleveland, he caught all nine of his targets for an additional 45 yards receiving.

QB Mike White, New York Jets: Rarely does a single player elevate an entire team, but White did just that in his first start of 2022. Behind his 315 passing yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers, the Jets looked dominant against the Bears. New York’s upcoming schedule features a string of soft secondaries, too. 

QB Jared Goff, Detroit Lions: Goff hasn’t turned the ball over in his past three games. Even while facing a tough Buffalo defense, the veteran threw for 240 yards and a pair of touchdowns and almost led the Lions to an upset win.

RB Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles: Sanders rolled up 160 yards of total offense and two touchdowns on the Packers. Running room will be a bit harder to find with Tennessee up next, but this Eagles ground game looks to be peaking at the perfect time.

RB Brian Robinson, Washington Commanders: Just as it was starting to look like Robinson was hitting the rookie wall, he rumbled for 125 total yards and caught a TD pass against Atlanta. Washington seems to have found a spark on both sides of the ball, with Robinson one of the primary contributors.

Fizzlers

RB Kareem Hunt, Cleveland Browns: Cleveland has turned into the Nick Chubb show. Over the past few weeks, Hunt just hasn’t seen enough touches to be a consistent fantasy performer. His only value right now is as Chubb insurance.

WR Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals: The impending return of top wideout Ja’Marr Chase should torpedo Boyd’s involvement in the Bengals offense. Even in the backfield, Cincy has more choices with Samaje Perine playing well enough to deserve more touches, even when injured starter Joe Mixon returns.

WR Allen Lazard, Green Bay Packers: Green Bay has tried to force-feed Lazard targets all season long — with poor results. While he can be a good complementary option, he isn’t a true Alpha receiver like the departed Davante Adams was. With Aaron Rodgers nursing sore ribs and the Packers’ playoff hopes dwindling, Lazard’s situation grows increasingly dire.

TE Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars: As quarterback Trevor Lawrence looks more and more confident, Engram’s role as a check-down receiver is minimized. He had one catch for 4 yards in Sunday’s upset of the Ravens and no longer seems to have the upside he once had.

TE Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams: The Rams’ passing game has been decimated by injuries and even though Higbee has remained relatively healthy, he saw no targets in Week 12.

Tony Holm, FantasySharks.com

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