Fantasy Football Week 12 Rankings: Top Players, Sleepers and Positional Guide

The good news for fantasy football owners in Week 12 is that there are no teams on bye, meaning you'll finally have your lineup back at full strength after a few weeks of seeing at least one of your starters collect dust on the bench. 

But Week 12 also brings us three Thanksgiving Day games, so it's crucial that you acquire any waiver-wire picks and surf the injury report early this week, lest you sit down to eat your turkey without having finalized your lineups. 

Let's break down the top players (and sleepers) in fantasy heading into Week 12 of the season.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Team	Week 12 Opponent
1	Tom Brady	NE	@NYJ
2	Russell Wilson	SEA	@TB
3	Drew Brees	NO	LA
4	Aaron Rodgers	GB	@PHI
5	Dak Prescott	DAL	WAS
6	Derek Carr	OAK	CAR
7	Marcus Mariota	TEN	@CHI
8	Cam Newton	CAR	@OAK
9	Kirk Cousins	WAS	@DAL
10	Matt Ryan	ATL	ARI
11	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	@IND
12	Eli Manning	NYG	@CLE

Top Player: Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks

If you consult the scoring leaders for the entire 2016 fantasy season, Seattle's Russell Wilson isn't incredibly high on the list. The passer ranks as the No. 17 quarterback on the year, with 167.86 overall points.

However, fantasy is about trends, and in recent weeks, Wilson has trended upward. The Seattle passing offense is not necessarily a prolific one, but Wilson is moving the ball through the air more and more.

In Week 11, Wilson was fifth in scoring among fantasy quarterbacks, with 24.28 points from his 272 passing yards and passing touchdown. He also, in a spectacularly tricky play, caught a touchdown pass from wide receiver Doug Baldwin: 

Seattle plays the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12—a team that has allowed 267 passing yards and 25.9 points per game.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Team	Week 12 Opponent
1	David Johnson	ARI	@ATL
2	Le'Veon Bell	PIT	@IND
3	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL	WAS
4	Jay Ajayi	MIA	SF
5	DeMarco Murray	TEN	@CHI
6	Melvin Gordon	SD	@HOU
7	Spencer Ware	KC	@DEN
8	Lamar Miller	HOU	SD
9	Matt Forte	NYJ	NE
10	Devonta Freeman	ATL	ARI
11	LeSean McCoy	BUF	JAC
12	LeGarrette Blount	NE	@NYJ
13	Todd Gurley	LA	@NO
14	Rashad Jennings	NYG	@CLE
15	Rob Kelley	WAS	@DAL
16	Frank Gore	IND	PIT
17	Thomas Rawls	SEA	@TB
18	Doug Martin	TB	SEA
19	Jordan Howard	CHI	TEN
20	Devontae Booker	DEN	KC
21	Carlos Hyde	SF	@MIA
22	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	@OAK
23	Latavius Murray	OAK	CAR
24	Theo Riddick	DET	MIN
25	Jeremy Hill	CIN	@BAL
26	Terrance West	BAL	CIN
27	Chris Ivory	JAC	@BUF
28	Tim Hightower	NO	LA
29	Mark Ingram	NO	LA
30	James Starks	GB	@PHI
31	Darren Sproles	PHI	GB
32	Isaiah Crowell	CLE	NYG

Sleeper: Rob Kelley, Washington

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

We consider Rob Kelley a sleeper because, heading into Week 12, he is owned in just 48.3 percent of leagues.

If you need running back depth or have an opening for your flex position, then Kelley would make a fantastic pickup in Week 12.

Kelley was the leading running back in Week 11, rushing for a whopping 137 yards and three touchdowns against the Packers' Swiss-cheese secondary. 

While he may not quite repeat that level of production against the Dallas Cowboys defense, Kelley is worth a look as an RB2 or flex this week.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Team	Week 12 Opponent
1	Antonio Brown	PIT	@IND
2	Odell Beckham	NYG	@CLE
3	Julio Jones	ATL	ARI
4	Dez Bryant	DAL	WAS
5	Doug Baldwin	SEA	@TB
6	Amari Cooper	OAK	CAR
7	Mike Evans	TB	SEA
8	Jordy Nelson	GB	@PHI
9	T.Y. Hilton	IND	PIT
10	Michael Crabtree	OAK	CAR
11	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	@ATL
12	Kelvin Benjamin	CAR	@OAK
13	Allen Robinson	JAC	@BUF
14	Julian Edelman	NE	@NYJ
15	Brandin Cooks	NO	LA
16	Stefon Diggs	MIN	@DET
17	Brandon Marshall	NYJ	NE
18	Terrelle Pryor	CLE	NYG
19	Rishard Matthews	TEN	@CHI
20	Michael Thomas	NO	LA
21	Jamison Crowder	WAS	@DAL
22	Donte Moncrief	IND	PIT
23	Tyrell Williams	SD	@HOU
24	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	KC
25	Steve Smith	BAL	CIN
26	Jarvis Landry	MIA	SF
27	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	SD
28	Davante Adams	GB	@PHI
29	Jordan Matthews	PHI	GB
30	Randall Cobb	GB	@PHI
31	Mike Wallace	BAL	CIN
32	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	KC

Top Player: Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Believe it or not, it's not Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown or Atlanta's Julio Jones who leads all wide receivers in fantasy points; it is Tampa Bay's Mike Evans.

Pro Football Focus was especially impressed with Evans' performance in Week 11:

Heading into Week 12, Evans has 141.60 points on the year, due largely to his eight touchdown receptions.

You can temper your expectations for Evans somewhat heading into Week 12 because he'll face the Seattle secondary, which is only allowing 237 yards per game to wide receivers. That's why Evans is seventh in these rankings.

However, Evans is still a high-upside WR1 because he's Jameis Winston's favorite target and a frequent red-zone threat.

Tight Ends 

Rank	Player	Team	Week 12 Opponent
1	Jimmy Graham	SEA	@TB
2	Greg Olsen	CAR	@OAK
3	Jordan Reed	WAS	@DAL
4	Delanie Walker	TEN	@CHI
5	Tyler Eifert	CIN	@BAL
6	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	@DET
7	Eric Ebron	DET	MIN
8	Antonio Gates	SD	@HOU
9	Travis Kelce	KC	@DEN
10	Rob Gronkowski	NE	@NYJ
11	Martellus Bennett	NE	@NYJ
12	C.J. Fiedorowicz	HOU	SD

Deep Sleeper: Ben Braunecker, Chicago Bears

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

You may not be familiar with Bears tight end Ben Braunecker, who is owned in literally zero percent of fantasy leagues heading into Week 12.

But you may be hearing his name a lot from here on out.

The Bears signed the Harvard tight end as an undrafted free agent this spring, though he had been projected to come off the board in Rounds 5 or 6. In his last year at Harvard, Braunecker had 48 catches for 850 yards and eight touchdowns.

With Zach Miller missing the rest of the season due to his broken foot, Braunecker will have his chance to step up and produce in the Bears offense.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Week 12 Opponent
1	Bills	JAC
2	Seahawks	@TB
3	Titans	@CHI
4	Dolphins	SF
5	Chiefs	@DEN
6	Giants	@CLE
7	Vikings	@DET
8	Patriots	@NYJ
9	Broncos	KC
10	Ravens	CIN
11	Cardinals	@ATL
12	Steelers	@IND

Top Unit: Buffalo Bills

Gary Landers/Associated Press

There's no question that the Minnesota Vikings have the best defense in football this season, but in Week 12, the Buffalo Bills are the unit that you want to start if you have them.

That's because the matchups don't look great for some of the other top units in fantasy this week. 

The Bills have allowed 213 points on the season so far, but they allowed just 12 in Week 11 and added two interceptions to become the fourth highest-scoring team in fantasy that week.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Team	Week 12 Opponent
1	Cairo Santos	KC	@DEN
2	Matt Bryant	ATL	ARI
3	Dan Bailey	DAL	WAS
4	Steven Hauschka	SEA	@TB
5	Dustin Hopkins	WAS	@DAL
6	Justin Tucker	BAL	CIN
7	Adam Vinatieri	IND	PIT
8	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	@NYJ
9	Will Lutz	NO	LA
10	Mason Crosby	GB	@PHI
11	Caleb Sturgis	PHI	GB
12	Josh Lambo	SD	@HOU

Top Player: Matt Bryant, Atlanta Falcons

Jason Behnken/Associated Press

Atlanta's Matt Bryant retains his spot atop all kickers in fantasy in 2016, with 104 total points on the season. He's the only player to have hit the 100-mark so far on the year.

Bryant benefits from a high-octane Atlanta offense that gives him the opportunity to make lots of extra points (31 on the season, tied with New Orleans' Will Lutz for the most among all kickers).

But even when Atlanta isn't reaching the end zone, the Falcons usually get Bryant into field-goal position. He's a reliable producer of points in a position most people don't give a second thought to.

Rankings, scoring leaders, average draft position and ownership stats via NFL.com, unless otherwise noted, and are current as of Nov. 23.