The Chris Olave Fantasy Dominance helped many fantasy gamers in Week 12! Thanksgiving games, a Black Friday game, and some high-profile matchups on Sunday, all gave us a fantastic Week 12 of NFL Football!
With the trade deadline being passed in most leagues, this takeaway article will sort of morph from a “buy or sell” lens into more of a “start or sit” one in terms of how I talk about players and situations.
QUICK Takes Starting Lineup
QB: Dak Prescott and C.J. Stroud continue to be the guys you need.
RB: Our Saquon Barkley take feels good from last week. I hope you sold him.
RB: Kyren Williams picked up where he left off and then some!
WR: One of these Texans WRs is always going to put up numbers.
WR: Our Calvin Ridley take from last week feels great again too. I hope you bought him.
TE: Coincidence that Pat Freiermuth has 11 targets, nine catches for 120 yards in the first game Matt Canada is out as OC?
FLEX: Who would you rather have on your team ROS – Michael Pittman or Tee Higgins?
SFLEX: Is Trevor Lawrence finally becoming what we thought he’d be?
Takeaway No. 1: Don’t Feel Like You Have to Play Ja’Marr Chase Every Week
The final box score for Ja’Marr Chase this week reads six targets, four catches and 81 yards. Not bad by any means, but that doesn’t tell the entire story.
The two of the catches that Chase had against the Steelers came from tipped passes that had no business being caught. In other words, they were pretty fluke plays that inflated his stats, leading you away from what the truth really is. As good as a talent that Chase is, he’s a slightly above average fantasy asset at best when Joe Burrow isn’t playing.
Coming into this game, the Steelers defense had allowed the No. 10 most points to wide receivers this season. Going forward, Chase’s schedule is about middle of the pack when it comes to fantasy points allowed to wide receivers. However, just like Saquon Barkley, I don’t know if he can give you any week winning performances given the offense that he’s in.
So yes, Chase might have a fairly decent floor each week, but so does a guy like Christian Kirk. And the big difference between those two going forward is that Kirk is way more likely to score a touchdown in a given week.
I would say the same about guys like Calvin Ridley, Tank Dell and Deebo Samuel.
I know it’s hard to sit a guy like Chase, but if you have these guys on your bench, and you are looking for upside, I’d highly urge you to reconsider starting one of them over Ja’Marr Chase.
Takeaway No. 2: Chris Olave is a Must Start Until Further Notice
In the first half against Atlanta, Chris Olave had eight targets, seven catches, and 114 yards. He did leave the game with a concussion in the second half, but if he plays in Week 13, he has to be in your lineup.
Chris OlaveAdvanced Stats & Metrics Profile
Michael Thomas is on IR. Rashid Shaheed left the game with an injury as well, and the Saints only receivers left are guys like A.T. Perry and Lynn Bowden Jr.
I know that Olave has been very up and down this season, but I think we are on the verge of a massive Olave workload. He’s literally the only guy who is worth throwing the ball to in New Orleans that’s not named Alvin Kamara.
What we saw in that first half against Atlanta this week is what he’s going to be the rest of the season as long as Michael Thomas remains on IR.
Get ready folks, it’s FINALLY blast off time for Olave!
Takeaway No. 3: Start Texans Pass Catchers!
It’s just unbelievable how a quarterback like C.J. Stroud can uplift an entire franchise almost single-handedly. Guys like Tank Dell, Dalton Schultz, Nico Collins, and even Noah Brown have all shined at one point or another this season and are definitely more than viable options in your lineup week-in and week-out.
That being said, knowing which ones to play can be a little tricky.
Here are the highest scoring Texans WRs by each week (PPR Scoring)
Highest Scoring Texans WR – Week by Week
Week 1: Nico Collins – 11/6/80/1, WR24 overall on the week
In Week 2: Nico Collins – 9/7/146/1, WR5 overall
Week 3: Tank Dell – 7/5/145/1, WR7 overall
In Week 4: Nico Collins – 9/7/168/2, WR3 overall
Week 5: Tank Dell – 4/3/57/0, WR47 overall
In Week 6: Nico Collins – 6/4/80/0, WR31
Week 7: BYE
In Week 8: Noah Brown – 5/3/57/0, WR55 overall
Week 9: Tank Dell – 11/6/114/2, WR1 overall
In Week 10: Noah Brown – 8/7/172, WR6 overall
Week 11: Tank Dell – 10/8/149/1, WR3 overall
In Week 12: Nico Collins – 9/7/104/1, WR5 overall
So, the Texans have had a top 10 scoring wide receiver in seven of 11 games and a top 24 scoring wide receiver in eight of their 11 games. That’s unbelievable.
The big takeaway from all of this is if you start a Texans pass catcher, your odds of cashing in on any one of them are pretty good.
Obviously, it’s hard to predict which one is going to go off, but we know that one of them will more than likely do so.
If you play DFS, these guys should be littered across all your teams.
If you have Tank Dell or Nico Collins, I don’t see how you can keep them out of your lineup knowing they could go for 20+ points at the drop of a hat.
Ride these guys until the wheels fall off baby.
Conclusion
That’s all I have this week. Thank you to everyone for reading!
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