Tyler Lockett or DeVonta Smith: Who should I start in Fantasy Football Week 12?

Fantasy football managers may have to choose between starting Tyler Lockett or DeVonta Smith on Week 12 teams. Both wide receivers are the WR2 for their respective NFL teams and staples in the weekly fantasy lineup. Moreover, they both have an upside in their upcoming games due to reasonably favorable matches.

Choosing the right wide receiver to plug into starting lineups this week can potentially be the difference between winning and losing. With the fantasy football playoffs right around the corner, these decisions can be crucial. The following breakdown can help managers make this difficult decision between Smith and Lockett by analyzing each of their performances.

Is Tyler Lockett a good fantasy pick in Week 12?

Tyler Lockett has been a reliable contributor to the Seattle Seahawks offense for his entire career. His high-volume role as a dependable WR2 next to DK Metcalf has continued during the 2023 NFL season. He has exceeded five targets in nine of his ten games so far this year, totaling four touchdowns along the way.

His steady contributions have also turned into solid fantasy football production for Lockett, turning in four finishes among the top 20 wide receivers in PPR leagues. This includes his season-best game two weeks ago, setting season-highs with eight receptions on ten targets for 92 yards.

Up next for Lockett is a home matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football to cap off a Thanksgiving triple-header on the NFL schedule.

While the 49ers have one of the best overall defenses in the entire NFL, one of their weaknesses has been defending wide receivers. They allow the eighth-most fantasy points per game to the position, giving Lockett a sneaky-good Week 12 matchup.

Is DeVonta Smith a good fantasy pick in Week 12?

While AJ Brown has emerged as one of the best wide receivers in the entire NFL as well as one of the most consistently dominant fantasy football assets, DeVonta Smith has still carved out a solid and reliable role as well. He has finished among the top 20 wide receivers in PPR leagues five times this year, including in each of the past three consecutive weeks.

During his last three games, he has had 16 receptions on 18 targets for 249 yards and two touchdowns. He has definitely seen his role in the Eagles' offense grow recently, and it could grow even more now that tight end Dallas Goedert is slated to lose significant time. Smith is a possible replacement for several of those vacated targets.

His next opportunity to do so will come in an intriguing Week 12 matchup with the Buffalo Bills. They have consistently been one of the top passing defenses over the past few seasons, including allowing the eighth-fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers this year. This gives Smith a difficult matchup this week, but his strong recent form gives him a good chance to overcome it.

Tyler Lockett vs. DeVonta Smith: Who should I start in Week 12 fantasy football?

According to the Start/Sit Optimizer, DeVonta Smith makes for a better wide receiver option than Tyler Lockett in fantasy football lineups for Week 12 of the 2023 NFL season. This valuable tool weighs every variable for any player in a given week to generate fantasy projections and lineup suggestions.

In this case, the Optimizer predicts that Smith will score 14.7 fantasy points in PPR leagues, and Lockett will trail him with 10.2 points in the same format.

The tool believes this is due to Smith's expected volume, forecasting that he will have approximately two more receptions and 25 yards than Lockett.