Week 12 Fantasy Football Takeaways: Bucky Irving takes over Bucs' Backfield? Is Dolphins' High-Flying Offense Back? Saquon Barkley is the Fantasy MVP, and More

Week 12 of the NFL regular season has delivered some entertaining games and interesting results.

Let’s discuss some fantasy football takeaways from Sunday’s games.

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Is Noah Gray a Legit Fantasy Contributor?

The Chiefs barely squeaked by the Panthers, and it was Noah Gray who delivered another big game for KC.

Gray had 66 yards and two touchdowns on four catches and targets. It was his second straight game with two touchdown grabs.

Gray has only topped 50 receiving yards in a game twice now, but with four touchdowns in the past two games, he’s definitely caught the interest of fantasy owners. The matchups don’t favor Gray going forward, but in a pinch or a deeper league, Gray absolutely might get some fantasy starts.

Jordan Addison Goes Off

Addison had his best game of the season in week 12. He caught eight of his nine targets for 162 yards and a touchdown.

It was Addison’s first time over 75 yards in a game this season, but with his third touchdown in the past four games, Addison’s fantasy stock is on the rise.

He’ll always have Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson to contend for targets with, but Addison is looking like a pretty good starting option most weeks after what he’s done recently.

Is the Dolphins’ Offense Back?

Without Tua Tagovailoa most of the season, the Miami offense has struggled to get going, meaning its best fantasy players struggled too. Over the past couple weeks, things have been trending up though, and several players went off on Sunday.

Tagovailoa completed 29 of his 40 passes for 317 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. It was his first time over 200 yards since returning from the injured reserve list. It was the second time he finished with over two passing touchdowns, with the other coming in week 11.

Tagovailoa is starting to look like a great weekly starting option again, even if the matchup isn’t super favorable.

De'Von Achane had 56 total yards on 13 touches, but caught two touchdowns to deliver a big fantasy score. He’s a must-start weekly fantasy option.

Jaylen Waddle got going Sunday with 144 yards and a touchdown on eight catches and nine targets. He went over 100 yards for just the second game, but looks like a weekly starting option again after the big week 12 performance.

Jonnu Smith was great too, catching nine of his 11 targets for 87 yards and a touchdown. He’s got some tougher matchups ahead, but with at least three catches and 45 yards in four straight games, along with three touchdowns in that span, Smith is looking like another weekly starting option.

Tyreek Hill was held mostly in check, but in PPR leagues, 48 yards on five catches and six targets is still pretty solid. It’s hard to not start Hill every week given his upside, and with the Dolphins’ offense starting to take off, some big fantasy showings could be coming.

Bucky Irving the Clear Leader in the Bucs' Backfield?

The Buccaneers crushed the Giants on Sunday, and Irving was a big reason why.

Irving gained 87 yards on 12 carries, while also scoring once on the ground. He added 64 receiving yards on six catches and targets.

It was the most scrimmage yards he’s produced in a game this season, topping his previous high by 46 yards. He also led the backfield with 34 snaps played, and probably would have gotten more if the Bucs weren’t winning by several scores.

Rachaad White played 32 offensive snaps, while Sean Tucker only got five.

White had 37 rushing yards and a score on 12 carries, while adding a 10-yard reception on his lone target. Tucker had three rushing yards and a score on four carries, while catching his lone target for seven yards.

Irving was definitely the most efficient running back for the Bucs on Sunday, and he should remain the most utilized back moving forward as a result. White is still going to get plenty of touches too, but he just isn’t the same dynamic player with the ball in his hands. Tucker probably will be limited to a handful of touches behind those two.

Nix is the Real Deal

Bo Nix continued to play well in week 12, helping the Broncos past the Raiders.

Nix completed 25 of his 42 passes for 273 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. He added a five-yard rush on his lone attempt.

Nix has now passed for over 200 yards in five straight games, with three of those over 270 yards. He’s thrown multiple touchdowns in three straight, and has no interceptions over that span.

It doesn’t matter the matchup right now, Nix is playing well enough to start in all league types every week. There’s more favorable matchups ahead too, so Nix might just win some of you a fantasy title.

Barkley is the Fantasy MVP

Saquon Barkley had delivered a fantastic fantasy season through 11 weeks, but he’s the clear fantasy MVP after a monster showing on Sunday night.

He rushed for 255 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries and added 47 receiving yards on four catches and targets. The 302 total yards and two scores definitely carried some fantasy teams to wins.

Barkley has even more favorable matchups ahead too, so he definitely could continue to deliver big fantasy totals every week.