Week 12 Top Performers At Each Position

This was a great week of watching football.  On Thursday night in a game that beforehand looked like was going to be Kansas City's chance to crush someone, they were in a tight game they ended up losing.  Sunday didn't let us down either with some fantastic finishes to the Denver game, as well as the Sunday night Dallas game.  Sure the fantasy performances were not above 30 points this week, but that doesn't take away from some great football.  Remember there is still a chance for someone to breakout in either of the two Monday night games.

After going over my thoughts on the top performers at each position, I will also select a few other players who either performed above expectations, or maybe have you questioning whether you should continue starting him or not.

The goal of this article is to highlight those top guys, and if you can expect some similar performances in the future from them or if it was a flash-in-the-pan, and also whether you should be worried about top picks in drafts that put up less than stellar performances.  So without rambling on longer in this intro, let's take a look at those who performed well in week 10.

QB - Peyton Manning 257 Passing Yards, 4 TD's, 1 Two Point Conversion 28 Fantasy Points

Peyton Manning makes his return to the list this week, and did so in dramatic fashion.  In what was a great game to watch because of the QB play from both teams, more on Tannehill later, Manning showed why he is one of the best fantasy options there is.  Even though the yardage output may be a little light, he did his damage by throwing four TD's.  Now the leading point scorer, Manning will be surely be on this list a few more times before the season is over.

QB - Ryan Tannehill 228 Passing Yards, 3 TD's and 1 INT, 4 Rushes for 15 Yards and 1 TD, 26 Fantasy Points

Going into this week, Tannehill was the 10^th highest scoring QB on the year.  Most weeks you felt confident in knowing that Tannehill would go out there and maybe not light the world on fire, but give you a very solid performance.  I didn't see anything out of him in this game that told me he will put up multiple 20 point outings the rest of the season.  Miami is still a heavy run team, so his yardage totals will be limited.  I would rate Tannehill in the backend of the top 10 at best right now, but realize he is more dependent than other guys around him, like Philip Rivers.

RB - Eddie Lacy 25 Carries for 125 Yards and 1 TD, 2 Catches for 13 Yards and 1 TD, 25 Fantasy Points

The second straight week that Lacy has made this list and now he tops it out of the Running Backs.  He ran hard against the Vikings, posting his second 100 yard rushing performance on the year.  Again Lacy made his mark in the passing game by catching a TD.  The Packers were trying hard to establish the run early in the game, and because they were successful I see them trying to continue that trend.  Lacy is a top 10 back the rest of the way, and is a guy that will continue to post good numbers each week.

RB - C.J. Anderson 27 Carries for 167 Yards and 1 TD, 4 Catches for 28 Yards, 24 Fantasy Points

Yet again Anderson has a great performance as the main back in Denver.  He probably won't get as many carries as he did in this game again, but he doesn't need it to be successful.  His impact on the passing game, and his explosiveness through the hole will allow him to make the most out of however many touches he gets.  A borderline top 10 option at Running Back the rest of the way for me, as I am not worried about Montee Ball or Juwan Thompson taking away from him.

RB - Latavius Murray 4 Carries for 112 Yards and 2 TD's, 23 Fantasy Points

I mentioned in this column last week to use a speculative add on Murray if you had the roster space to do so, but now he is a must add for anybody.  I would have loved to see what he could have done the rest of the game if he didn't sustain a concussion so early on.  His 90 yard TD run was spectacular as it showed his patience to let his blockers get in position, and then his amazing speed to burn past the defense as he ran down the field.  Murray has the starting Running Back job wrapped up now, the question is just how much they will give him the ball.  I foresee around 20 touches a game going forward with 16 carries and 4 receptions.  I would say he is a top 20 back for sure, and potentially more if he can get enough blocking behind the Raiders line.

WR - Demaryius Thomas 13 Targets, 10 Receptions for 87 Yards and 3 TD's, 26 Fantasy Points

After going seven straight games with over 100 yards receiving, Thomas was only able to get 87 yards on his 10 receptions.  I don't think fantasy owners are angry about this though as he scored four TD's after going the last four games without one.  As long as Manning his behind center, Thomas will be putting up great performances.  He is a top 3 receiver the rest of the way, and you could easily make the argument for him to be number one.

WR - Odell Beckham Jr. 11 Targets, 10 Receptions for 146 Yards and 2 TD's, 26 Fantasy Points

I absolutely love watching Beckham Jr. play.  This is what owners were hoping for when they drafted Victor Cruz, but since his injury Beckham Jr. has stepped up into that role and done it better.  This is his fourth straight game with at least 6 receptions and 90 yards.  He may not provide a TD every week, but he will almost surely come close to 100 yards each week, and that makes him a top 15 receiver the rest of the way.

WR - Dez Bryant 9 Targets, 7 Receptions for 86 Yards and 2 TD's, 20 Fantasy Points

It seems as though whenever the Cowboys need a TD late in a game, Bryant will be the one to get it.  This now marks the second straight game where Bryant has eclipsed the 20 point mark, and there should be another chance or two for this to happen again before the season is over.  He is a borderline top 5 WR on any given week, and is doing great since Romo has been healthy.

TE - Tim Wright 6 Targets, 5 Receptions for 36 Yards and 2 TD's, 15 Fantasy Points

I had said in my TE rankings on Thursday that whenever Wright has caught a pass in his last six games, he has caught a TD.  This now makes it five straight games when he has caught a pass that he has scored in.  The best part about this game was that he was not only targeted in the redzone, but also when the Patriots were in there own end or outside of the redzone.  Maybe this is a sign for what is to come, but I don't believe it is.  At best I can rank him around the top 15 TE's next week, but the inconsistency all year can't warrant a higher ranking for him.

TE - Delanie Walker 9 Targets, 5 Receptions for 155 Yards and 0 TD's, 15 Fantasy Points

Walker picked up chunk yardage on his receptions.  He showed that he has the ability to run past linebackers and some defensive backs if given the opportunity on Sunday.  Going into this game, Mettenberger had looked shaky behind center, but the arm had been there.  Walker won't catch a high percentage of his targets going forward, but if he sees enough of them, he can do some damage with it.  Walker will find himself ranked around the top 10 next week and going forward.

Now a look at a couple of other performances that stood out to me from Sunday's games:

QB - Robert Griffin III 106 Passing Yards, 0 TD's, 4 Rushes for 11 Yards, 3 Fantasy Points

The only good that has come from RG3 starting, is that Alfred Morris plays great with him.  If you still own Griffin III, use that roster space for someone on the waiver wire who has more upside than him.  I would rather own almost any other QB than him at this point, and if either of the next two guys are available in your league, I would drop RG3 for them as soon as possible.

RB - Daniel Herron 12 Carries for 65 Yards, 5 Catches for 31 Yards, 1 Fumble Lost, 7 Fantasy Points

Just when I thought Richardson would be given a chance to show the Colts that he isn't worth starting, he isn't even given the start.  Herron got the start on Sunday for the Colts, and also received more work than Richardson.  Richardson did get the one goaline score, but we assumed that was going to happen regardless.  Herron has earned more touches in future weeks, and could show the Colts that he can fill the Bradshaw role.  I would pickup Herron if you are in need of a RB, and if you are desperate for a FLEX play next week, he plays the Redskins.

WR - Charles Johnson 11 Targets, 3 Receptions for 52 Yards and 1 TD, 1 Two Point Conversion 13 Fantasy Points

As a Vikings fan, I watched all of this game against the Packers and one guy kept standing out to me.  Charles Johnson is a relatively unknown guy who had bounced around practice squads since being drafted by the Packers in 2013.  The Vikings signed him away from the Browns early in September, and has been getting more involved in the gameplan the last few weeks.  Mike Zimmer had said about Cordarrelle Patterson that if he wanted the ball more, he needed to get open and catch it.  Well I think Zimmer has implemented Johnson now into the role he thought Patterson was ready for before the season.  A very quick player who showed a knack for getting open the last two weeks is someone I would consider getting off the waiver wire.  Bridgewater has underthrown and overthrown him a few times each game, but he seems to always be open when that happens.  If a few of those passes are on target, he could really start to rise up in my WR ranks.

Want thoughts on a specific player?  Leave a comment on who it is, and I will respond with my thoughts on that guy's performance and where he stands going forward.