Should I Pickup and Start Logan Thomas For Fantasy Football Week 12? Waiver Wire Oulook

The Washington Commanders are one of the hottest teams in the NFL, and their top tight end is coming off his best game of the season.

Logan Thomas had a breakout year in 2020. The quarterback-turned-tight-end came out of fantasy obscurity to set career-highs across the board when he racked up 72 receptions for 670 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Unfortunately, his 2021 season was ruined by a torn ACL that limited him to 18 catches for 196 yards and three touchdowns in a half-dozen games.

Thomas had struggled mightily this year as he returned from his major knee surgery. He only managed 113 receiving yards over his first seven outings and was probably rostered in only one percent of fantasy leagues heading into Week 11. His five receptions for 65 yards against the Houston Texans last Sunday put him back on fantasy radars, though. If you need a tight end, should you pick up and start Thomas this week? Here is my take:

• Quarterback fantasy football rankings
• Running back fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
• Tight end fantasy football rankings
• Kicker fantasy football rankings
• FLEX fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Superflex fantasy football rankings
• IDP fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Should I Pick Up and Start Logan Thomas In Fantasy Football?

No, you should not jump on Thomas like a cat jumps on a scratching post. Sure, Thomas resembled his old self against Houston. The Texans make a lot of skilled-position players look good, though. They allowed New York’s Lawrence Cager to score a TD in Week 10. He has four catches for 29 yards on the season. Should you have picked him up last week when you had the chance? No. One good game does not mean as much when the first seven were so subpar. Thomas had been invisible (31 yards?) the past month before his decent Week 11 showing.

Thomas is behind a ton of people in Washington’s target pecking order, too. No. 1 WR Terry McLaurin has been on fire since QB Taylor Heinicke took over the offense and has two-and-a-half times the targets (80 to 33) Thomas has. Versatile Curtis Samuel has 72 targets to go with 24 rushes.

Washington running backs Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic also have more targets out of the backfield, and rookie receiver Jahan Dotson would have more targets if he did not miss a couple games due to injury. You cannot count on Thomas to provide fantasy value on a weekly basis when he might only see a handful of targets in certain contests, especially when Washington is not a pass-first team.

I know Thomas is slated to face an Atlanta Falcons defense that has been putrid against the pass all season long. He also looks like he has regained some of the speed sapped by his ACL tear. That does not mean you should pick him up and start him with the hopes he will have 60 yards and a touchdown, though. There are better options on your league’s waiver wire, and possibly on the bench on your own fantasy roster.

More Fantasy Football Analysis