The Tennessee Titans will face the Houston Texans in Week 12. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Titans and Texans skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 12 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Tennessee Titans Start-Sit Advice
Will Levis, QB
Will Levis averaged a career-high 9.5 yards per pass on Sunday against the Vikings (topping his 9.3 YPA in Week 11 last season — consider this your reminder to bet on Levis in Week 11s), but let’s not go overboard.
The counting numbers from last week look fine, but they were greatly inflated by the 98-yard touchdown to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. For the season, Levis has as many touchdown passes as interceptions (eight). While there is some mobility in his profile, he’s been held under 20 yards on the ground in four of his past five games.
This Texans defense on short rest doesn’t scare me. Levis’ inconsistencies, however, do, and that keeps him easily outside of the streaming radar — even with six teams on a bye.
Tony Pollard, RB
The Titans have lost consecutive games by 10 points, and that, naturally, caps the volume of their lead back, Tony Pollard. In most situations, I’d tell you not to worry, as the game script tends to level out with time for the majority of the league — but this isn’t most situations.
This is the first of three games in a four-week stretch where the Titans take on a quarterback more than capable of lighting up the scoreboard (C.J. Stroud this week, Jayden Daniels next, and Joe Burrow in Week 15), thus putting Pollard’s rushing equity in major doubt.
I’m not sounding the alarm, as he does have multiple receptions in every game this season, but without a solid rushing foundation, dud weeks like Week 11 are going to happen. Pollard has been the lead in Tennessee all season and he has three weekly finishes outside of the top 30 at the position.
A fantasy team is no different than a “real” team in that every player has his role. Pollard’s role for you is to give you a reasonable floor and that’s fine as long as you aren’t expecting him to be a week winner.
Tyjae Spears, RB
Tyjae Spears entered concussion protocol on Monday. While he has been on the field a decent amount after missing a month (47.1% snap share in Week 10 and 43.6% on Sunday), this offense isn’t strong enough to support a secondary role.
I remain intrigued by what it is that Spears brings to the table, but that’s a conversation to be had this summer for 2025, not for helping you win over the next six weeks. You can feel just fine about moving on from Spears in most formats, assuming that there is a role/matchup that you find intriguing on the wire.
Calvin Ridley, WR
Calvin Ridley has made some splash plays recently (his 21-yarder last week against the Vikings was proof of having Will Levis’ trust), and that is going to happen for the NFL leader in air yards. However, that is very much a dual-edged sword when operating in an inconsistent offense that lacks a secondary playmaker to attract defensive attention.
The Texans allow the fewest yards per deep pass attempt this season and have greatly reduced their blitz rate over the past two weeks. The only way Houston loses this game is by giving up big plays, making Ridley the focal point in an area of strength. He’s on the Flex radar due to a lack of viable options this week, but I do have Cedric Tillman ranked higher if you are looking for some context.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR
Every season, we get spreadsheet breakers — Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is the favorite in the clubhouse for that award in 2024.
Season ranks, 2024:
- Ninth in receiving touchdowns
- 116th in receiving yards
- 163rd in targets
- 177th in receptions
Make it make sense. His 98-yard touchdown last week was just the continuation of a season that I can’t grasp. Despite limited involvement in a low-octane offense, Westbrook-Ikhine has scored in five of his past six games, routinely returning viable numbers without a sniff of sustainability attached to what he is doing.
I’m going to continue to dismiss him — if Westbrook-Ikhine is my downfall in 2024, I’ll live with it. We are approaching Thanksgiving and 66.9% of his PPR production has come via scoring plays in a Will Levis-led offense.
Houston Texans Start-Sit Advice
C.J. Stroud, QB
Nico Collins returned last week, and the results for C.J. Stroud were … well, they were nothing like what we expected.
With his WR1 back, I didn’t expect a zero-TD, lowest-aDOT-of-the-season performance against the vulnerable Cowboys. Of course, all of that changes if the 77-yard touchdown to Collins on the first play stands, but it didn’t and this offense was far more conservative than I thought we’d see.
I don’t think what we saw last week was a sign of things to come, but the Titans are the second-best defense in terms of yards per pass against, making them a less-than-perfect opponent for this offense to hit its stride.
All of that said, I do expect the rust to be knocked off and for Stroud to come out with more aggression this week than last. I’m starting him where I have him, though I do have him ranked closer to QB12 than QB5.
Joe Mixon, RB
Joe Mixon’s volume didn’t flinch with the return of Nico Collins on Monday night (22 touches for 153 yards and three scores), and he’s essentially an older version of what Kyren Williams was at the end of last season and the beginning of this one.
Do I love a veteran running back on a short week? Not usually, but we have no reason to doubt this profile.
Mixon’s carry projection was set at 21.5 by sportsbooks last week; if we get a line like that this week, I’ll again bet the under as this could be a pass-centric game based on matchup (the Titans are allowing just 3.7 yards per carry to opposing running backs this season, third-fewest) and rest situation with the bye coming up (Week 14),
Even with me committing to that angle, I have Mixon ranked as a top-10 RB this week due to the floor that comes with being featured in this offense.
Nico Collins, WR
Nico Collins was on the field for 46.7% of Houston’s offensive snaps in his return to action on Monday night, and it took him one whole play to remind us of what we were missing.
77-yard screen pass, touchdown. Easy game.
A little too easy, as an ineligible man downfield brought the play back, but the point remains that there is some elite explosion in this profile, and the Texans are very much in getting him up to alpha playmaker speed as soon as possible.
Even in a game that ultimately required little aggression through the air, Collins led this team in catches, targets, receiving yards, and yards per route, a sign of things to come. It goes without saying that he’s locked into your lineup and if you’re at all concerned about the Titans allowing the second-fewest receptions of 15+ yards to receivers per game this season, it’s worth noting that L’Jarius Sneed sat out Week 11 with a quad injury.
It’s wheels up for Collins managers!
Tank Dell, WR
Might Tank Dell just kind of be an ordinary receiver? In seven of 10 games this season, he’s finished in the WR32-52 range. While that is more usable than it sounds, it’s certainly not growth from a strong rookie campaign.
As expected, his average depth of target regressed in favor of a slightly more involved role on Monday night with the return of Nico Collins, but it consistently resulted in the same basic production that landed him around 10 PPR points.
The Titans are the toughest deep-ball matchup that Dell can face (second-fewest yards per deep pass allowed this season, trailing only the Texans), and that’s not ideal for a breakout spot. However, he was schemed up to open both halves last week, and that gives me confidence we see another game with 6-8 targets and 9-12 PPR points. Viable? Yes. Special? No.
Dalton Schultz, TE
Dalton Schultz saw seven targets in Monday’s dismantling of Dallas (his second-highest total of the season), but he managed just 33 yards. His regular-season scoring drought is now over a calendar year, and without much equity in that regard, his path to upside isn’t clear for standard leagues.
There’s a reasonable PPR floor that is worth chasing, as he is pretty clearly the third option in this passing game, but do so with the understanding that Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and Joe Mixon will soak up the vast majority of opportunities in scoring position.