Fantasy football projections, Week 12: Bengals-Ravens featuring Jeremy Hill, Tyler Eifert, Steve Smith, more

The Week 12 matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens features two underachieving division rivals facing off. We’ve got the fantasy projections, courtesy of numberFire.

While it was initially feared wide receiver A.J. Green would miss the rest of the season with a torn hamstring, it turns out the injury is a week-to-week thing. Still, it means tight end Tyler Eifert becomes the team’s most reliable pass catcher for the time being. He’ll be especially useful as a safety valve against the Ravens.

Eifert caught three passes for 37 yards against the Buffalo Bills in Week 11. Through four games, he still has just one touchdown on the season, but now that Green is out, Eifert should see more red zone targets moving forward. Baltimore is really good against opposing fantasy tight ends, but the Bengals are short on options this week. For that reason, owners can expect that Eifert will top his projections against Baltimore.

Running back Jeremy Hill should do the same. That’s because teammate Giovani Bernard is indeed done for the season, thanks to a torn ACL he suffered in Week 11. There have been times this season when the fantasy community thought Hill might lose his starting job, but now he’s going to get a lot of touches.

Against the Bills, Hill was held to just 62 yards on 16 carries and he failed to find the end zone for the first time in three weeks. Only one team is better at defending the run than Baltimore, but what Hill does have going for him is the high-volume usage he’s about to experience. He may just top his projections in Week 12.

Terrance West is apparently still the Ravens’ starting running back, though things in the backfield are starting to look more and more like a timeshare with rookie Kenneth Dixon. West rushed eight times for 42 yards and a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11. He picked up most of those yards on his first three carries, 34 to be exact.

The Ravens moved away from the run as the game wore on, which has been the case the last couple of weeks. As long as the team gets subpar play from the backfield and insists on throwing more often, West will continue to fall short of his projections. Whether he does against Cincinnati depends on if he’s able to find the end zone.

In light of Baltimore’s insistence on passing the ball, perhaps wide receiver Steve Smith will be more productive for fantasy owners. Smith caught eight of nine targets for 99 yards and a touchdown last week. He’s found the end zone in four of the last five games, though one of those instances was for a two-point conversion. Still, it appears Smith may have enough in the tank to provide value to owners right through the fantasy postseason. He’ll be Joe Flacco’s favorite target in Week 12, and that should lead Smith beyond his projections.