Fantasy football advice, Week 12: Who to start/sit for San Francisco 49ers vs. Miami Dolphins

Fantasy owners already had enough to deal with on Thanksgiving, whether it’s polarizing dishes, cliché racist uncles, or scalding themselves in the kitchen. So no one wants to add “being served a slice of awful fantasy lineup” to their list of gripes, which is completely understandable. So when the 49ers take on the Dolphins during the first slate of Sunday’s football games, it’s best for fantasy owners to at least attempt avoiding that outcome.

The 49ers’ run defense has been the NFL’s worst in 2016, but The Dolphins’ hasn’t been much better. It could mean good fantasy fortune for Carlos Hyde, who remains a capable back in a run-first offense, and one who gets the benefit of facing a defense allowing 126.1 rush yards per game. Hyde is a high-end RB2 for Week 12.

At first glance, the Dolphins’ eighth-ranked pass defense looks like an awful matchup for Colin Kaepernick, but their stats are skewed from facing awful performances by Jared Goff, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and facing Cody Kessler in his NFL debut. Kaepernick has been a solid if unspectacular quarterback to own in fantasy since taking over as a starter. In fact, Kaepernick has averaged the ninth-most fantasy points per game among quarterbacks since then, which puts him in QB1 territory. He can be considered a low-end, but volatile, QB1 for Sunday.

Torrey Smith, Jeremy Kerley and Vance McDonald have been entirely too boom-or-bust to trust in Week 12 with no teams on bye. They can stay on the bench for Sunday.

Jay Ajayi is good; the 49ers’ run defense is not. People reading this fantasy football column already know that all too well, but against a defense that is averaging 179 rushing yards per game allowed, Ajayi is firmly on the RB1 radar.

DeVante Parker is a talented receiver who has put together good stretches of games in his young career, but hasn’t yet earned the trust to remain an every-week starter. Parker is riding another one of his hot streaks after two straight 10-point games in standard formats. He deserves another look as a WR3 with considerable upside for Week 12, as does Jarvis Landry.

Ryan Tannehill, even in a plus matchup, should not be near any fantasy lineups for Week 12 and beyond. He and Kenny Stills can remain on benches across the fantasy spectrum.