Fantasy Football Buzz: RB Hampton's practice window is open

John Metchie III is now the New York Jets' clear No. 1 wide receiver. The Jets started Metchie and Adonai Mitchell against the Baltimore Ravens with both Garrett Wilson and Josh Reynolds on IR, and both receivers played over 80% of the offensive snaps. Metchie operated as the Z receiver and led the group with seven targets and 18.5 fantasy points. Mitchell worked as the X receiver but didn't rotate as much in the slot-heavy packages. Metchie's roster percentage is sure to rise this week, and he's worth an add in deeper leagues. The Jets also have the 11th-easiest remaining schedule for fantasy wide receivers

Luther Burden III played over 50% of the offensive snaps for the Chicago Bears for the first time this season, finishing with five targets and 9.1 fantasy points. However, it was DJ Moore who led the way with a season-high 23.4 fantasy points, while Rome Odunze led the team with nine targets but disappointed with just 8.3 fantasy points in a favorable matchup against the Steelers. If Burden's role continues to grow, it will become even more difficult to trust the Bears receiver in fantasy lineups.

The New England Patriots have spent most of the season heavily rotating their wide receivers, causing their snap counts to fluctuate. Just as fantasy managers were gaining confidence in Stefon Diggs after five straight games with at least 10 fantasy points, including two with 15 or more, he finished Week 12 with only three targets, which tied his season low, and just 4.0 fantasy points against the Bengals. His snaps also dropped significantly. Move cautiously when deciding whether to place Diggs in your lineup going forward.

Jameson Williams finished with a disappointing three targets and zero fantasy points, but he played the same number of offensive snaps as Amon-Ra St. Brown and ran a similar number of routes. More productive days should be ahead for Williams, especially with a Lions team that has the fifth-easiest remaining schedule for fantasy wide receivers.

With Calvin Ridley on IR and Elic Ayomanor sidelined, Chimere Dike and Van Jefferson operated as the Tennessee Titans' top two receivers in Week 12 based on snaps played and routes run. Dike led the group with seven targets and 21.4 fantasy points and should be Tennessee's No. 1 option moving forward. He's worth rostering but remains a volatile fantasy start.

Brenton Strange returned from IR in Week 12 and immediately reclaimed his role as the Jaguars' top tight end. He played 71% of the offensive snaps and led the tight end room in routes run. Strange also led Jacksonville in receiving yards with 93. The Jaguars have the sixth-easiest remaining schedule for fantasy tight ends, and Strange's roster percentage is sure to rise this week.

Week 12's fantasy winners and losers: Gibbs notches highest score of season; Taylor, Jefferson, Jackson go quiet

Always insure your top RBs: Wilson shines as fill-in for Jacobs

By Tristan H. Cockcroft

Emanuel Wilson's 26.5 fantasy points on Sunday, a career-best number posted in his first NFL start as an injury fill-in for Josh Jacobs (knee), served a reminder of a critical fantasy football mantra: Always insure your top running backs for these important weeks of the season.

Wilson's outburst isn't alone in reiterating that point. Before him, Sean Tucker (34.0 fantasy points in Week 11) and Kyle Monangai (22.8, Week 9) were fill-in starters who enjoyed big scores, and TreVeyon Henderson (73.0 points in Weeks 9-11) proved the same in his three weeks as Rhamondre Stevenson's stand-in, ultimately claiming the role for himself this week.

This isn't to say that Wilson has now "Wally Pipp-ed" Jacobs in Green Bay, but Wilson proved effective enough on Sunday that the Green Bay Packers might feel more patient in working their veteran running back into the lineup, especially with the short week ahead of them heading into their 1 p.m. ET Thanksgiving Day game against the Detroit Lions. Wilson's 107 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 30 rushing yards over expected (per Next Gen Stats) and 4 explosive runs all matched or exceeded Jacobs' best single-game numbers in 2025, and Wilson's five missed tackles forced were within range of Jacobs' 2025 single-game best of seven (Weeks 2, 6, 9 and 10).

Keep Wilson on hand in your fantasy league, as there's a good chance we'll be seeing more of him in that Thanksgiving divisional showdown, though the matchup is challenging enough that he'd warrant your start only if the backfield is again all his.

Additionally, with the fantasy playoffs now two weeks away -- they begin in Week 14 in ESPN standard leagues -- insuring your most critical players is effectively mandatory, certainly so if you have the bench space to burn. Wilson, Tucker and Monangai are still must-stash running backs, and it's important to also roster Tank Bigsby (Saquon Barkley's backup), Tyler Allgeier (Bijan Robinson), Ray Davis (James Cook III), Blake Corum (Kyren Williams), Brian Robinson Jr. (Christian McCaffrey) and Ollie Gordon II (De'Von Achane), if you have their corresponding starter.

More Sunday takeaways

• Speaking of Monangai, his Week 12 had more of a "backfield takeover" than insurance policy look to it, as he played more offensive snaps than D'Andre Swift (56% to 43%), had more rushing attempts (12 to 8) and had more total touches (12 to 9). Monangai also has six gains of at least 5 yards, whereas Swift never ran for more than 4 yards on any single carry, as the rookie has continually looked like the more explosive back between the two in recent weeks. For fantasy purposes, this development shifts the Chicago Bears' backfield into frustrating committee territory, not an ideal thing with matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers up the next two weeks, but it's a signal that Monangai could soon see an amount of work that might vault him into weekly fantasy RB2 status.

• Lamar Jackson finished with fewer than 10 fantasy points for a second consecutive week, totaling 7.22 against a much better matchup in the New York Jets than the one the week before (Cleveland Browns, and 4.72 points). It's the first time since he took over as starter midway through 2018 that he has fallen short of that threshold in back-to-back games. Jackson has looked tentative on rushing plays the past two weeks, totaling only 21 yards on 11 rushing attempts in that time with an average speed of 9.3 mph, per Next Gen Stats (he averaged 13.6 in his first six games of 2025), which could point to the effects of the ankle issue that has hampered him during the practice week. A fully healthy Jackson is capable of carrying fantasy teams on his back, but that's somewhat more in question now. Fortunately for him, he has a dream matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals up next, but he'll need a big bounce-back score in that one in order to recapture his managers' faith heading into our playoffs.

• Fantasy managers love those high-scoring, overtime games, and the New York Giants-Detroit Lions meeting didn't disappoint in that regard. The two teams accounted for four of the top five scoring totals, as well as a 55.4 point performance by Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, tied for 12th-best all time at the position and tied for 22nd-best among all skill positions. Gibbs carved up the Giants' defense for 145 more rushing yards than expected, four explosive runs and two clocked at least 20 mph. More than anything, the game continued to expose the Giants' issues defending the run, and the Lions' problems stopping the pass, things fantasy managers should tuck away for the upcoming playoff weeks. The next three weeks see Jordan Love, Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford as the Lions' three opposing quarterbacks, while TreVeyon Henderson faces the Giants next week before New York hits its bye week.

Week 12 scoring leaders through 1 p.m. ET games
1. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Lions -- 55.40 fantasy points
2. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seahawks -- 37.10
3. Jameis Winston, QB, Giants -- 32.24
4. Wan'Dale Robinson, WR, Giants -- 30.60
5. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Lions -- 29.90
6. Emanuel Wilson, RB, Packers -- 26.50
7. Hunter Henry, TE, Patriots -- 24.50
8. Rashee Rice, WR, Chiefs -- 24.10
9. Cam Ward, QB, Titans -- 23.94
10. DJ Moore, WR, Bears -- 23.40

Is Thanksgiving still Joe Burrow's likeliest return date?

By Stephania Bell

Burrow (turf toe) won't be activated off IR for Week 12's game against New England after putting in back-to-back full practices this Wednesday and Thursday, the first time he had done so since undergoing surgery in September. Burrow was limited on Friday, ceding the full reps to Joe Flacco. With the Bengals playing on Thanksgiving Day against Baltimore in Week 13, there are only three recovery days between their next two games, which factored into the decision to hold Burrow out on Sunday.

There is no question Burrow is ready to return as it relates to medical clearance. After all, his clearance to participate in practice last week was the first indication that his surgeon and the Bengals' medical staff were satisfied he had met the criteria to begin football activity. His ability to practice all week and then ramp up to full practices this week shows he has checked all the boxes necessary to progressively increase his workload. So what's left?

The final test is return to play, and, as with any return from injury, there is no way to fully replicate the demands of being chased by opposing defenses whose goal it is to bring a player to the ground or the endurance of four quarters of football. 

The concern with that type of stress so soon after returning might not be so much for the repair but rather for the risk of secondary injury as a result. An average recovery from turf toe repair -- which includes reconstruction of the fibrous plantar plate that reinforces the joint at the base of the big toe -- ranges from 10 to 14 weeks, if all goes well. In other words, range of motion at the big toe has to be adequately restored to allow for push-off, the calf strength has to be at least 90-plus% of the opposite side, and the functional ability to play football has to be in place.

For Burrow to be this far along at just shy of 10 weeks is a testament to everyone involved in his case, but especially Burrow himself -- his work ethic is well established. Reports out of practice indicate he looks like his pre-injury self and is throwing the ball well. One advantage for him was that his injury was to his left foot, not the right foot, where he would be required to drive the ball through his repaired toe. He also will likely be wearing a carbon-fiber insert that increases the rigidity of the shoe, particularly along the medial side, where the repair is, helping mitigate hyperextension stress.

But Burrow can help himself by avoiding the takedowns that would have him caught in a pile, particularly in a position that would reproduce the same stress that caused his initial turf toe injury. Burrow has proved he is ready to return, but taking all the factors into consideration surrounding his recovery, pushing it back to Thanksgiving and buying a little extra time makes sense.