The Perfect Lineup: Week 12's FantasyScore Team

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If you've never played before and aren't sure who to pick, our fancy algorithms have you covered for Week 12. Take a look at this week's FantasyScore Perfect Lineup.

Quarterback

Josh McCown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
You may not be aware, but McCown has at least two touchdowns (passing or rushing) in every game he's completed this season. As a result, he's been a very usable quarterback. Over his last two games, McCown's scored over 40 standard fantasy points, and gets a Chicago defense in Week 12 that ranks 27th against the pass according to our Net Expected Points (NEP) metric.

Against his old team, McCown should be able to use his monster weapons and find holes in a porous secondary. And at his price - tied as the 23rd-most expensive quarterback on FantasyScore - there's no better quarterback value.

Running Back

Matt Forte, Chicago Bears
Using McCown allows the lineup to have a handful of studs. One of them is Forte, who's failed to score 11 PPR fantasy points just once this year. The Buccaneers rush defense actually comes in as the second-best in the league according to our analytically-driven power rankings, but only seven teams have faced more rushing attempts than Tampa Bay this year. In other words, though they've been tough against the run, volume makes fantasy football running backs relevant against them. That's why they rank 22nd against the position in terms of fantasy points against - Forte is a fine play.

DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys, off a bye, will take on the Giants on Sunday night. New York's rush defense has been gashed over their last five games, allowing 159 running back yards per game over this time span. Meanwhile, Murray continues to carry the load for Dallas, who own the sixth-best rushing offense according to NEP. Expect Murray to be effective ones again versus one of the league's worst run-stuffing units.

Wide Receiver

Brandon Marshall, Chicago Bears
Marshall's rather inconsistent play has been frustrating for fantasy owners, but we can't deny his beautiful matchup this week. Tampa Bay ranks dead last - and they have all year - against the pass, and have given up the fourth-most fantasy points to the wide receiver position this season. As long as Jay Cutler shows up, B-Marsh will put up enough points to live up to his $6,900 price tag.

Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers
It's tough to stay away from the Packers offense regardless of opponent, and this week is no different. Though their opponent, Minnesota, comes in with a competent 12th-ranked secondary, the Packers are rolling over anyone through the air right now. Nelson has a ridiculous five 20-plus PPR performances this year, and has scored in more games than not. He's a top receiver option each week.

Tight End

Owen Daniels, Baltimore Ravens
Tight end is a wasteland right now in fantasy football, but Owen Daniels brings a relatively high floor to the unpredictable position - he has 22 targets over his last three games. The Saints have been strong at defending tight ends this year, which is why you may be hesitant to use Daniels, but the algorithms project him to be the sixth-best tight end in fantasy this week.

Flex

Anquan Boldin, San Francisco 49ers
Anquan Boldin has been the best San Francisco 49ers wide receiver this year, and it's really not even close. He's yet to dip lower than six targets in a single game this year, and has scored double-digit PPR points in each of his last seven games. At a price tag of just $4,700 on FantasyScore, Boldin is a steal.

Kicker

Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis Colts
Our algorithms typically don't like paying anything above the minimum at kicker, but this week seems to be an exception to that rule. Vinatieri and the Colts will face the Jaguars this week, a team that's allowed the second-most kicker fantasy points this season. Paying a few extra hundred dollars at kicker should pay off this week.

Defense

Philadelphia Eagles' Defense
The Eagles are priced reasonably low on FantasyScore after getting blown out by the Packers, but have one of the best matchups of the week against Tennessee. The Titans offense ranks 27th according to our numbers this year, and have been the 10th-best matchup for fantasy defenses. Philly continues to create turnovers, and despite last week's performance, are still the best defense in fantasy football. They make for a great play at home.