Fantasy football: Week 12 start/sit advice for Team Outsports Equality

With fantasy football so popular, we decided to start our own Outsports team comprised of players who are LGBT supportive.

With no openly gay players in the league, the idea is to form a fantasy team from players who have shown their support for LGBT issues in interviews with us and other media.

Keep in mind that all of the players on our roster have expressed support of LGBT equality. Players benched are not against LGBT equality, but simply the players we do not feel you should start on your fantasy team this week.

The team scored 130.32 points last week, which ranked first in the Outsports fantasy league once again. Hopefully we will see more success during this Thanksgiving week.

Week 12 start/sits

Quarterback

Start: Russell Wilson vs. 49ers

It’s a condensed week for Wilson coming off of Monday Night Football, but he gets a favorable matchup against a sad San Francisco defense. With Seattle’s defense depleted by injuries, the offense will feel the pressure to step up. Wilson is one of the few healthy stars on the team and he is going to play better. Look for him to play big against the Niners this week.

Start: Cam Newton vs. Jets

Watch out for Newton this week. The Jets on the road are a trap game for him. New York has an underrated defense and the best unit for the team is the secondary, lead by rookie safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye. Wilson is so dominant right now and is in line to potentially be a fantasy football MVP that it would not be smart to play Newton over Wilson right now.

Running back

Start: Jordan Howard vs. Eagles, DeMarco Murray vs. Colts

We are sticking with our starting lineup from last week despite Murray’s poor performance against the Steelers. He has a more favorable matchup this week as he faces Indianapolis and their poor run defense. Howard has a difficult matchup this week but he is the best running back on our roster and remains a must-start.

Sit: Doug Martin vs. Falcons, Frank Gore vs. Titans, Giovani Bernard vs. Browns, Mike Tolbert vs. Chiefs

Martin and Gore has less favorable matchups than Murray and were the only guys worth considering a start over Murray as our RB2. Bernard and Tolbert are backups but are only fantasy-relevant in the deepest of fantasy football leagues. Bernard is a more intriguing option, especially if Joe Mixon goes down with an injury.

Wide receiver

Start: DeAndre Hopkins vs. Ravens (Monday), T.Y. Hilton vs. Titans

Back to our dynamic duo for this week. Hopkins has been one of the most consistent receivers in fantasy football this year and he can always be dangerous. Hilton returns after his bye week and has the same ability to go off like Hopkins, but he does it less frequently. The chances of him going off is enough for us to start him every week.

Sit: Marquise Goodwin vs. Seahawks, Kenny Stills vs. Patriots, Eric Decker vs. Colts

All three guys have the chance to have great games on Sunday. Decker has a favorable matchup against the Colts, and Goodwin and Stills have emerged to be top weapons for their respective offenses in the past few weeks. However, they fail to be better than Hopkins and Hilton, so they remain on the bench.

Tight end/flex

Start: Rob Gronkowski vs. Dolphins, Travis Kelce vs. Bills

Gronk and Kelce both face poor defenses this week. New England’s offense has been close to unstoppable in the past few weeks and Kansas City is due for a bounce back game after its terrible performance against the Giants. Buffalo has allowed 135 points in their last three games, which is one of the worst three-game stretches in NFL history.

Sit: Coby Fleener vs. Rams, Delanie Walker vs. Colts, Martellus Bennett vs. Dolphins

Fleener and Walker showed fantasy pulses last week with over 90 receiving yards each and it makes me hopeful that we have depth at tight end again. They are not better starts than Kelce and Gronkowski but they can add some major points off the bench.

Defense

Start: Baltimore Ravens vs. Texans (Monday)

Terrell Suggs and Co. are coming off of a shutout facing Tom Savage. Look for another strong performance from the Ravens’ defense.

Kicker

Start: Matt Prater vs. Vikings (Thursday)

Prater continues to be a huge part of the Lions and a huge part of Team Outsports Equality by sinking field goals in every week.

Sit: Brandon McManus vs. Raiders

McManus is stuck in Denver where they need points like camels in a desert need water.

LGBT focus
Coby Fleener

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Read more on these players’ LGBT views:

• 14 NFL Pro Bowlers say they would welcome a gay teammate (from 2017)
• NFL players react to Michael Sam coming out (from 2014)
• 62 active NFL players who have made statements in support of gays (from 2013)
• Carson Palmer, 12 Indianapolis Colts Would Embrace Openly Gay Teammate (from 2013)

Jeremy Brener is a student at the University of Central Florida who writes for Outsports. He can be reached via email (jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com) and followed on Twitter.