We're almost in the clear with bye weeks. Almost. This week only sees two teams off, but they are the Rams and the Chiefs. Both Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff are consistently top-five or at least top-10 options, so missing them will hurt a little bit. But generally speaking, our Week 12 fantasy QB rankings are as strong as ever and contain many potential streamers and sleepers that can be used as starters. If anything, the hardest choice fantasy owners will have to make will be who to start or sit among two good options at this point in the season.
Per usual, we like Baker Mayfield (@ Bengals) and Mitchell Trubisky (@ Lions) as two of the better streamers. Both Mayfield and Trubisky have played well in recent weeks, and Mayfield's Browns get an easy matchup with a woeful Bengals defense that has been shredded relentlessly in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Trubisky gets to face the Lions, who he hung 42 fantasy points on last time the two teams squared off. If you're looking for an option that might be less owned, Ryan Fitzpatrick (vs. 49ers) continues to see a high volume of passes, and though he turns the ball over, he can make up for it with TDs.
Week 12 Rankings:
Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker
Closer to the bottom of the QB rankings, there are some notable changes. For starters, Alex Smith is no longer included after he suffered a gruesome leg injury that ended his season. Colt McCoy will take over for him and will more or less provide the same fantasy impact that Smith has this season. In other injury news, Marcus Mariota may have aggravated the nerve issue in his elbow that plagued him earlier in the year. For that reason, we're expecting Blaine Gabbert to get the start in Week 12 and have him ranked near the bottom. These moves may not seem major, but it definitely did thin out the ranks of potential streamers just a bit for this week's games.
Note: We'll adjust these rnakings throughout week, so check back often for the latest player movement updates and player analysis.
WEEK 12 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Week 12 Fantasy Football Rankings: QBs
These rankings are for standard leagues with 6-point passing TDs.
| 1 | Drew Brees, Saints vs. Falcons. Brees has scored four TDs in the past three games. Last time he played the Falcons, he had almost 400 passing yards and five TDs. The Falcons are one of the worst defenses in the league, so Brees should easily be the top QB in fantasy this week. |
| 2 | Andrew Luck, Colts vs. Dolphins |
| 3 | Russell Wilson, Seahawks @ Panthers. In the past three weeks, the Panthers have given up a combined 93.24 fantasy points to QBs. Wilson has multiple TDs in every game since Week 4. He should continue to succeed even though the Seahawks throw less than any team in the NFL (27.8 passes per game). |
| 4 | Matt Ryan, Falcons @ Saints |
| 5 | Cam Newton, Panthers vs. Seahawks |
| WEEK 12 DFS GPP LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKings | |
| 6 | Kirk Cousins, Vikings vs. Packers. Cousins had his best game of the season in Week 2 against the Packers, throwing for 425 yards and four TDs in a tie game. The Packers defense hasn't gotten better, so Cousins could have a chance to replicate his success in Week 12. |
| 7 | Aaron Rodgers, Packers @ Vikings |
| 8 | Philip Rivers, Chargers vs. Cardinals |
| 9 | Tom Brady, Patriots @ Jets. In the three games before the bye week, Brady only totaled a combined one TD. The Patriots running game did most of the damage in their wins while the offense sputtered in the loss to the Titans. We're expecting a better outing for Brady against the Jets, who allow 20.1 fantasy points per game (FPPG) to QBs but were absolutely shredded by Matt Barkley ahead of their bye week. If Barkley can beat the Jets bad, Brady should have a chance to double that damage. |
| 10 | Carson Wentz, Eagles vs. Giants. Wentz was a massive disappointment last week against the Saints as he posted only 0.84 fantasy points and threw three interceptions. He should be able to bounce back against the Giants, but the Eagles' offense hasn't looked good for a few weeks. For that reason, we have him ranked lower than normal, but he could still post 30-plus points like he did last time these two teams squared off. |
| WEEK 12 DFS CASH LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKings | |
| 11 | Baker Mayfield, Browns @ Bengals. The Bengals have given up a ton of fantasy points to QBs this year and Mayfield is coming off a bye that was preceded by his best start as a pro. Mayfield should have a chance to keep throwing on the Bengals and if he can toss at least a couple of TDs, he will be a QB1 this week. He's definitely a top streamer and can be started with confidence -- especially if he's backing up Patrick Mahomes or Jared Goff for your fantasy team. |
| 12 | Mitchell Trubisky, Bears @ Lions. Last time out against the Lions, Trubisky put up a whopping 42 fantasy points. He may have trouble replicating that success on Thanksgiving, but he still has the scrambling ability and TD upside to put forth a solid game. |
| 13 | Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers @ Broncos. Road Ben showed up against last week against the Jaguars. Roethlisberger had an ugly game, throwing two TDs and three picks, but his fantasy day was solid because the Steelers were trailing the whole game and had to throw the ball 47 times. The Broncos are a solid defensive unit, so they may be able to slow the Steelers' offense, especially with Pittsburgh on the road. That makes Big Ben a riskier start this week, but he can still be trusted as a fringe QB1. |
| 14 | Deshaun Watson, Texans vs. Titans. The Titans defense was torched by the Colts last week after generally looking solid throughout the first half of the season. Watson threw for 310 yards and two TDs the last time these teams met in Week 2. He should have a chance to replicate that success, but it is a bit difficult to trust him behind his shaky offensive line. |
| 15 | Jameis Winston, Buccaneers vs. 49ers. Winston has officially taken the starting job back from Ryan Fitzpatrick, and he has a matchup that will make him a top streamer this week. San Francisco has struggled against QBs this year and allowed Eli Manning to throw for 188 yards and three TDs before their bye last week. Winston should have a chance to throw the ball a lot (the Bucs throw the second-most out of any team in the league at 41.1 pass attempts per game) so he could have a big day against a weaker defense. |
| MORE WEEK 12 DFS: Values | Stacks | Lineup Builder | |
| 16 | Dak Prescott, Cowboys vs. Redskins. Prescott largely disappointed against the Falcons from a fantasy perspective, but a rushing TD did salvage him and make him a middle of the road starter. The Redskins have been tough on QBs this year and have allowed 14.64 points or less to QBs in three of their last four games. Prescott put up 22.22 last time these teams played, so he's merely an average option this week. |
| 17 | Matthew Stafford, Lions vs. Bears. Since the Golden Tate trade, Stafford is averaging only 13.94 FPPG in three contests. In recent weeks, the Bears have only allowed garbage-time TDs to Kirk Cousins and Stafford himself. So, while Stafford could pile up some garbage points, it's hard to trust him in a bad matchup against a great defense. |
| 18 | Andy Dalton, Bengals vs. Browns. The Browns have allowed at least 20.1 fantasy points in four-straight games. Dalton may get his favorite weapon, A.J. Green, back from a toe injury this week too. If that does happen, Dalton should have a chance to put up strong numbers and re-emerge as a quality streamer after a couple tougher weeks. |
| 19 | Lamar Jackson, Ravens vs. Raiders. Jackson ran for 117 yards last week, and he should have a chance to continue to succeed running the ball against the weak Raiders defense. He'll need to score a TD to have relevance as a potential streamer, but concerns about his ability as a passer keep him a bit lower on this list. That said, he's a great high-floor, high-ceiling type player in DFS because of his scrambling ability. |
| 20 | Nick Mullens, 49ers @ Buccaneers. This is probably the only week that you should consider starting Mullens. The Buccaneers give up the most FPPG to QBs and this game could be a shootout. That said, it's hard to realistically recommend Mullens as anything more than a deep sleeper. |
| 21 | Case Keenum, Broncos vs. Steelers |
| 22 | Blake Bortles, Jaguars @ Bills |
| 23 | Eli Manning, Giants @ Eagles. Yes, the Eagles have been bad against QBs in the last four games. No, don't trust Eli Manning as a starting option in fantasy. |
| 24 | Josh Rosen, Cardinals @ Chargers |
| 25 | Colt McCoy, Redskins @ Cowboys. McCoy takes over for the injured Alex Smith. Smith hadn't been doing much in fantasy this season, and it's likely that McCoy will continue at roughly the same clip, though he may take more risks and get some more TDs as a result. Either way, you're not starting him on a short week against a tough opponent. |
| 26 | Blaine Gabbert, Titans @ Texans. We're projecting Gabbert as the Monday night starter for the moment, as Marcus Mariota is dealing with a stinger. We'll be updating this consistently throughout the week but if Mariota plays, he may not be fully healthy. So, neither Tennessee QB is a great play this week. |
| 27 | Josh Allen, Bills vs. Jaguars |
| 28 | Derek Carr, Raiders @ Ravens |
| 29 | Brock Osweiler, Dolphins @ Colts |
| 30 | Sam Darnold, Jets vs. Patriots |
