Three Up, Three Down: Week 12

Hope you started Taysom Hill last week! With the trade deadline mostly behind us, waivers and lineup decisions are the most important factors going forward. In this week's article, we'll focus mostly on players near the starting lineup bubble, forcing some managers into difficult decisions down the stretch.

And check out today's episode of The Footballguys Fantasy Football Show where Alfredo Brown and I discuss Anthony Richardson, Taysom Hill, and so much more!

Three Up

QB Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

Bryce Young benefited from his mid-season timeout with the Panthers, and the same appears to be true with Anthony Richardson. Many people will quickly point out the improvements to Richardson's accuracy and fantasy production from Week 11, but Shane Steichen deserves much credit here. Week 11's game plan relied on a heavy dose of lay-up passes early (screens, slants, and curls) to get him going. Once Richardson found his rhythm, the rest of the game slowed down. Designed runs off play-action kept defenses honest, which opened up deep shots. This is precisely what most of Richardson's supporters dreamed of, as it's very similar to Steichen's usage of Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia. In the small doses we saw last year, Richardson displayed a very high potential fantasy ceiling. But his early-year usage was perplexing. Fewer designed runs, more intermediate throws, and less play action made for a bumpy start. However, Steichen tailoring a game plan to Richardson's strengths and weaknesses could lead to him hitting his high-end range of outcomes. Richardson has a handful of tough matchups down the stretch, but his playstyle could make him near matchup-proof if he continues getting designed runs and goal-line touches like last week.

WR Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers

Maybe Quentin Johnston is a flawed player. He may have benefited from a handful of broken-coverage touchdowns this year. But he's averaging 11.3 half-PPR points per game over the seven full games he's played. To put that into perspective, that's more than Ladd McConkey and nearly as many as Darnell Mooney and Brian Thomas Jr. Many pundits had Johnston ranked as the 2023 Draft class's WR1. And the Chargers saw enough promise to draft him in Round 1. But Johnston had a brutal rookie season. It was especially disappointing because every veteran weapon was injured, and he couldn't grasp the available opportunity. He consistently struggled to get open and dropped passes. In Year 2, however, he's become much more productive. There are traits in Johnston's game that can be nitpicked, but he's a fast and athletic receiver who has scored on multiple big plays this year. Week 11's touchdown showed why some of his perceived deficiencies don't matter. Johnston lulled the defense to sleep with an underneath drag route before turning it upfield and finding a crease in the zone defense. He was only open for the blink of an eye and deep downfield. But luckily for Johnston, his quarterback is one of the few on the planet who could make the throw. Herbert zipped a laser between three defenders to Johnston in the end zone. So, while Johnston may lack some nuance as a route runner and doesn't have the best ball skills, he's operating as the big-play option with a quarterback who can make big plays happen.