Monday Night Fantasy Football Start Decisions and Rankings: Rico Dowdle, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings and More

The 12th week of the NFL regular season ends with a big game between the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers. Let's break down the fantasy football offensive players from the contest.

Check back in a bit for a Monday night DFS lineup!

Use the FantasySP start/sit tool for help with any last-minute lineup decisions.

Quarterbacks

Bryce Young will guide the Panthers, while Brock Purdy leads the Niners.

Both were on the injury report this week, but practiced in full and are good to go for tonight.

Purdy was my No. 6 fantasy QB for week 12, while Young was 21st. Fantasy owners also like Purdy notably more than Young. 

This should be a no-brainer start/sit decision if you are trying to decide between both guys. Purdy does have a bit tougher matchup, while Young's matchup is more favorable, but I'm still taking Purdy easily between the two.

Running Backs

Rico Dowdle is the top running back for the Panthers, while Christian McCaffrey powers the Niners.

This is actually a pretty close decision between the two top backs. While CMC ranked first for me, Dowdle was at No. 6. I'd be starting both guys every chance I could. Fantasy owners are taking CMC over Dowdle, but starting both nearly 96% of the time.

McCaffrey has the better fantasy matchup - it's a bit above average overall. Dowdle's matchup is just above average overall.

I don't have any other backs from this game ranked in my top 30 for the week. Chuba Hubbard is the top backup for Carolina, while Brian Robinson is there for the Niners.

Robinson has 17 touches over the past two games, so he has a little deep-league fantasy value if he can get there again. I'd take him over Hubbard.

Hubbard has five or less touches in three straight games, so that's why I'd take him after Robinson.

Wide Receivers

Each team had wide receivers on the injury report, but everyone practiced in full and is good to go for Monday night.

Carolina is led by Tetairoa McMillan, who is coming off a monster showing. Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker are the next-best fantasy options.

San Francisco has Jauan Jennings who has been leading the way. Ricky Pearsall is back in the mix now too. Demarcus Robinson and Kendrick Bourne are also worth mentioning.

The San Fran wideouts have a tougher test on paper, as Carolina only allows 26 fantasy points to the position per game. The Niners allow wideouts to score 36 points a game. 

McMillan was my top-ranked wideout from this contest, coming in 15th overall. Jennings sat in 25th, and was the only other guy mentioned.

Pearsall is pretty close to Jennings in my eyes, but after a down showing in his first game back, he's a risky standard league option for week 12 - I'd much rather play him in deeper leagues.

Legette and Coker are very close in my eyes, but are again better deep-league options. Legette was better last week, but I think I actually prefer Coker over him by a little bit.

Robinson has been more involved than Bourne of late, so I'd take him first of those two.

So to rank all the wideouts from tonight's game, I got: McMillan, Jennings, Pearsall, Legette, Coker, Robinson and Bourne.

There's a couple inter-team start/sit decisions that fantasy owners are trying to figure out today.

Jennings is starting over Pearsall, with fantasy owners rostering both guys starting them both in 24% of leagues. The projections only have them separated by 0.3 points, with Jennings getting the edge.

Legette is preferred over Coker in the projections, but fantasy owners agree with me and are starting Coker over Legette. They are not starting together in any instances where fantasy owners roster both Carolina wideouts.

Tight Ends

George Kittle is the best fantasy tight end in tonight's game, and he has a stellar projection, at 17.54 PPR points. 

Ja'Tavion Sanders, Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans are all options at tight end for the Panthers.

Kittle has settled in after working his way back from injury, and is the San Fran pass catcher I like most in fantasy now. He's coming off a two-TD game, so I'd keep riding with him in week 12.

Tremble played the most snaps among the Carolina tight ends, and he finished with 54 yards on a single catch and two targets last week. Sanders had 22 yards on four grabs and targets, while Evans had 28 yards on two grabs and targets.

Carolina threw the ball a ton last week, so I'd not put a ton of stock into those stats. Tremble has four targets over the past four games, while Sanders has 13 and Evans three. This is the stat I'd trust, so I'd take Sanders first, Tremble after that and Evans last of that trio.

Kittle was my No. 2 tight end for week 12. None of the Carolina tight ends made my top-25 list.

The Carolina tight ends have the better matchup, but Kittle has a pretty similar matchup, despite it looking more average. 

Kittle is the tight end you want to be playing from tonight's game. I'd avoid the Panthers' tight ends in standard leagues. I'd take Sanders in deeper leagues, and try to avoid Tremble or Evans.

Defenses/Special Teams

The 49ers DST is projected for the better fantasy night, at six points. They are starting in 21% of fantasy leagues synced here at FantasySP.

The Panthers DST is projected for five points tonight. They are starting in just under 3% of leagues.

San Fran has allowed 22.9 points per game and has 10 takeaways (with three coming last week). The Niners have 12 sacks on the season.

Carolina is allowing 22.6 points per game so far. The Panthers have 11 takeaways and 16 sacks on the year.

The San Fran offense is better in my eyes, so I prefer to avoid the Panthers DST, like most fantasy owners are. The Niners DST is an OK starting option tonight, but weren't an overwhelmingly good option coming into the week.

I like the San Fran DST over the Carolina DST if I needed to make a choice between the two.

Kickers

Ryan Fitzgerald kicks for the Panthers, and is projected for seven fantasy points. Eddy Pineiro is out for the Niners, so Matt Gay will kick for the team tonight. 

Fitzgerald is 17-of-20 on field goals and 16-of-19 on extra points this season. Gay was 13-of-19 on field goals and made all 22 of his extra points across 10 games with the Commanders earlier this season.

It's a bit risky as he just joined the Niners, but I think Gay is the best fantasy kicker in tonight's game. I just think the Niners score more, so he's lined up for a better fantasy showing.

Other Start/Sit Decisions

We covered most of the trending decisions on our start/sit tool already, but there's a couple flex-level options on there to briefly go over.

Kittle is involved in both, going against McMillan and Dowdle.

McMillan is preferred over Kittle, but both are starting 94% of the time. I'd want to start both, but if forced to choose between the two, I like Kittle.

Kittle is the favorite over Dowdle, but again, 94% of fantasy owners are starting both guys. I agree with fantasy owners, liking Kittle over Dowdle, but trying to start both guys. 

Offensive Overall Rankings (OP or Flex Spots)

1. Christian McCaffrey

2. Brock Purdy

3. George Kittle

4. Rico Dowdle

5. Tetairoa McMillan

6. Bryce Young

7. Jauan Jennings

8. Ricky Pearsall

9. Jalen Coker

10. Xavier Legette

11. Ja'Tavion Sanders

12. Brian Robinson

13. Chuba Hubbard

14. Demarcus Robinson

15. Kendrick Bourne

16. Tommy Tremble

17. Mitchell Evans