The New England Patriots have a new star in Jonas Gray, but for fantasy football owners, Shane Vereen is the better start in Week 12 at RB, as the Lions are a tough rushing matchup and the Pats may use Vereen in the passing game more along with Rob Gronkowski and Brandon LaFell as Tom Brady tries to keep the winning streak going on Sunday.
Gray had a career day on Sunday against the Colts with over 200 yards rushing and four TDs and while he is a strong sleeper start option moving forward, this week could be different. The Colts were a good matchup to rush the ball straight up and the Pats did that with Gray, but the Lions have one of the best rush defenses in the league and that same game plan may not work. Vereen is a better pass catcher than Gray and that could be one way the Pats try and counter the punishing front line of the Lions.
Gray is the hot name right now and he is worth picking up in fantasy and he is worth starting in this game if owners have no other solid options, as he should still get a nice amount of carries. Gray had 37 carries last week against the Colts, but it's likely the Patriots will not rush it that much against the Lions. Vereen is the main PPR option for the Patriots and he currently has 328 yards on 70 carries this season. Vereen had 18 yards on the ground against the Colts and he also adder four catches for 58 yards in the matchup.
This season Vereen has 35 catches for 305 yards and three TDs and he will be the third down and passing down back for the Pats on Sunday. Vereen has only had two games this season with double digit carries and one of those came two weeks ago against the Broncos. Vereen has at least three catches in all but two games this season and over the past three weeks he has made 12 receptions, matching his carries from the past two games. The Lions rank first in rushing yards per game while allowed just 68 per contest and that is why the Pats likely will change up their game plan this week.
Gray had 201 yards and four touchdowns against the Colts and that was more than half of his total rushing yards for this season. Gray has played in four games and he is a much better option than Brandon Bolden or James White for fantasy owners. Tom Brady also will be looking to throw the ball quite a bit, even with the fifth ranked passing defense coming in for the Lions. The return of Rob Gronkowski to full health has been one of the biggest reasons for the Patriots success and he likely will factor heavily into the matchup on Sunday.
The Patriots have not lost since the Chiefs game on MNF and they have looked great doing it. The team now has the top defense in the league coming in and they are playing as well on offense as anyone apart from the Packers. Tom Brady and the offense will have to get it done on Sunday and the play of Vereen, Gray and Gronk likely will dictate how that goes.