Week 12 Fantasy Flames RB: The Third is the word

SIGN UP: Get the best player prop and game betting projections at BetAlytics. Use code JUICE for a special promo rate.

Each week the Noise highlights under-started names who he believes are destined to torch the competition. To qualify, each player must be started in fewer than 60 percent of Yahoo! leagues. Speaking as an accountability advocate, I will post results, whether genius or moronic, the following week (Scoring thresholds – QB: 18 fantasy points; RB: 12 fantasy points [10 for shockers], WR: 11 fantasy points: TE: 10 fantasy points; .5 PPR).  

Kenneth Walker III, Seahawks 

Possibly next to gridlock traffic at 5 PM on a party-minded Friday, RBBCs are the bane of our existence. 

They ramp up frustration. They pump anxiety. And they drive us to seek therapeutic consultations -- whether from Gentlemen Jack or your local practicing psychiatrist. 

Admittedly, advertising a committee back in this space is a gamble. However, speaking as someone who often fires multi-leg parlays, the enhanced risk isn’t akin to walking a tightrope across the Grand Canyon. No, it’s more aligned with taking a shot of raw milk. Some will escape unscathed. Others, however, will deal with a lovely case of E. coli. 

Take a deep breath. Squint your eyes. And insert Walker III into your starting lineups. 

He’s a strong candidate to greatly exceed league-site projections. 

Giving proper credit, the Titans showed significant improvement defending the run in Week 11. Against Houston, they limited Woody Marks and Nick Chubb to a mere 2.90 yards per carry. In terms of run-gap coverage, it was arguably their finest effort of the season.

Still, the full body of work suggests Tennessee’s defensive stand last Sunday was anomalous. This season, it's No. 26 rush EPA D, allowing 4.74 yards per carry, 134.0 total yards per game, 14 total touchdowns and the fifth-most fantasy points to the position. Week 11 was likely a mirage. It’s not like the Texans offensive line paves consistent roads. 

Seattle’s above average offensive line should own the trenches. Mike McDonald’s lockdown defense will likely also offer an assist, creating a favorable game script. 

On a per touch basis, Walker is better than what the surface data may indicate. He’s generated 63.8% of his rush yards after initial contact and forced the 12th-most missed tackles in the league (29). 

String it all together and he should be viewed as a concrete RB2 in12-team formats. Off his first double-digit fantasy performance since Week 4, Walker reduces resentment with another strong effort. 

Fearless Forecast: 15 carries, 63 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 2 receptions, 12 receiving yards, 14.5 fantasy points 

Woody Marks, Texans  

Whether talking about a hole-in-the-wall joint with the arguably best burger in town, an AI video placing a political figure in an uncompromising position or the 7-3 record attached to the AFC East-pacesetting Buffalo Bills, looks can be deceiving. 

Sean McDermott's club shouldn't be taken at face value. In what has become of the most wide open AFC playoff races in some time -- Kansas City is no longer invincible -- most casual fans are banking on Buffalo to finally conquer its postseason demons. 

Josh Allen -- evidenced by his six total touchdowns last week against the Bucs -- may again be squarely in the MVP mix, but his team is littered with problems. Undoubtedly his receiving corps is one, but most damning is the Bills' permeable defense. Routinely plowed through like kegs at a fraternity party, Bobby Babich's unit enters Week 12 No. 30 in rush EPA D. In 10 games, they've allowed 5.36 yards per carry, 147.1 total yards per game, 15 combined touchdowns and the second-most fantasy points to RBs. 

The wet-cardboard front will lead to their undoing. 

Drink up, Bills mafia. Knowing your table-smashing ways, that's probably a welcomed ask. 

Marks ran into repeated brick walls last week in Nashville. Against Tennessee's flimsy front, he managed to total a rather useless 44 rush yards on 18 carries. That volume, however, shouldn't be overlooked. Dwarfing Nick Chubb by 15 totes, he's indisputably become Houston's main running man. Glenn Powell agrees. 

Yes, the young rusher's yards before contact per attempt (1.83) and yards after contact per attempt (2.39) numbers remain rather abhorrent. It speaks to not only his personal inefficiencies, but also the persistent run blocking issues that continue to plague Houston. Still, the battered Bills would allow a plump basset hound waddle to appreciable ground production. 

In a must-win scenario for the playoff-teetering Texans, Marks is a viable RB2. Throw in his stats-padding contributions as a receiver and it only further drives home the argument. 

Take a shot with the Texan on a #TequilaThursday. 

Fearless Forecast: 15 caries, 68 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 13 receiving yards, 1 touchdown, 14.1 fantasy points

Deep league dive: Tyler Allgeier, Falcons (14% started, at Saints) - Michael Penix, relegated to the IR with a potential season-ending knee injury. Drake London, sidelined for at least a week with a PCL sprain. A once promising campaign has Raheem Morris' group nearly living in the NFC South dungeon alongside the sorrowful Saints. It's over. It's done. Take your high draft pick and attempt to rebound next season, Atlanta. In a jockeying-for-draft-position contest with last place New Orleans, a heavy ground-and-pound approach will likely be OC Zac Robinson's strategy. In for the sidelined Penix, Kirk Cousins is barely effective stone statue. In an attempt to stop the bleeding, anticipate steady servings to Bijan Robinson and Allgeier. Double-digit carries for the second fiddle seem likely. The Saints' No. 7 ranking in rush EPA D may suggest avoiding, but they've also allowed a healthy 4.09 yards per carry, 105.5 rush yards per game and 11 total TDs to RBs. Allgeier, who's tallied 239 of his 280 yards after initial contact (85.3%), should repeatedly crack pads to an RB2-level day in 12-team formats. (FF: 12-49-1, 1-4-0, 11.8 fpts)