With just Monday Night Football still to happen, now is that glorious time of the week when we turn our attention to Week 12 and attack the fantasy football waiver wire.
To be as helpful as possible to you dear readers, I’ve ranked my top 5 players at each position, ranging from a little over 50% rostered in Sleeper leagues to well under the 30% mark. No matter your league size, there’s someone in here for you.
Let’s begin!
Quarterbacks
1. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns (53% rostered): Watson’s suspension for sexual assault and misconduct ends Week 13.
2. Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders (63%): Carr has thrown for 245-plus yards and 2 touchdowns in three-straight weeks and has finished a top-10 QB option in two of those three games.
3. Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers (58%): As of Week 10, Jimmy G ranks top 5 in both NECC consistency rating and PER rating (0.48 points per attempt).
4. Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans (24%): Since his Week 10 return, Tannehill has finished a QB1, throwing at least 255 yards and 2 touchdowns in each game.
5. Andy Dalton, New Orleans Saints (14%)
Running Backs
1. Latavius Murray, Denver Broncos (25%): Murray has been one of the most consistent and efficient fantasy backs this year. He’s a rock-solid flex play with RB1 potential any given week. And now Melvin Gordon is out of Denver.
2. Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs (66%): Clyde Edwards-Helaire left Sunday night with an ankle injury. Even if CEH doesn’t miss time, Pacheco now has seen 15-plus carries in back-to-back games. If CEH does miss time, Pacheco becomes a weekly start with RB1-upside.
3. Samaje Perine, Cincinnati Bengals (11%): Joe Mixon left Sunday with a concussion. Perine proceeded to play 70% of snaps and wound up recording three touchdowns. Notably, he played in every third-down and two-minute drill situations. Perine ranked a top-10 back in PER rating heading into Week 11 (0.95 points per touch). A larger workload for him will come with a lot more fantasy points.
4. Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams (38%)
5. James Cook, Buffalo Bills (25%)
Wide Receivers
1. Treylon Burks, Titans (41%): Since returning from injury in Week 10, Burks has seen 14 total targets which ranks 9th-most among WRs during that time.
2. Josh Palmer, Los Angeles Chargers (68%): Even with Mike Williams and Keenan Allen back, Palmer still ate, finishing Sunday night with 8 catches on 10 targets for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns. With Williams re-injuring himself, this is your last chance to add Palmer. (Also shoutout to our own Nic Bodiford for crystal balling Palmer’s WR1 performance.)
3. Donovan Peoples-Jones, Browns (57%): DPJ has finished with either 70 yards receiving or a touchdown in every game since Week 6. And he’ll get a QB upgrade in two weeks.
4. Darius Slayton, New York Giants (57%): Wan’Dale Robinson is sadly done for the year with a torn ACL. Slayton becomes Daniel Jones’ top target after already seeing 10 targets in Week 11, catching 5 for 86 yards.
5. DeMarcus Robinson, Baltimore Ravens (10%)
Tight Ends
1. Dawson Knox, Bills (68%): Knox tied with Gabe Davis for most team lead in targets Sunday with seven. He’s now seen six-plus targets and over 55 yards in back-to-back weeks. The Bills take on the Lions and Patriots next, both of whom struggle guarding TEs.
2. Juan Johnson, Saints (31%): Over the last three weeks, Johnson has had at least 42 yards and a touchdown in every game. That’s the definition of consistency folks. Since Week 7, he’s been the TE3 in .5PPR.
3. Logan Thomas, Washington Commanders (11%): Since Week 9, Thomas has seen a total of 13 targets, 7th-most among TEs during that time.
4. Greg Dulcich, Broncos (61%)
5. Taysom Hill, Saints (39%)