Fantasy Football Week 12 Rankings: Projections and Matchups to Love

Owners feasted in more ways than one Thursday when Week 12 started with a special three-game holiday slate. 

Outburst after outburst fired opening salvos across the fantasy landscape, which is about to bleed right into a stacked weekend of action featuring other notable matchups and stars in tantalizing positions.

While owners recover from potential food comas, let's break down each position with projections based on standard league scoring. After each table, we'll focus on a few stars in epic matchups who are sure to light up scoreboards for owners.

Week 12 Schedule

Sunday, November 27	Time (ET)
Monday, November 28
N.Y. Giants at Cleveland	1 p.m.
San Francisco at Miami	1 p.m.
L.A. Rams at New Orleans	1 p.m.
Tennessee at Chicago	1 p.m.
Jacksonville at Buffalo	1 p.m.
Arizona at Atlanta	1 p.m.
Cincinnati at Baltimore	1 p.m.
San Diego at Houston	1 p.m.
Seattle at Tampa Bay	4:05 p.m.
Carolina at Oakland	4:25 p.m
New England at N.Y. Jets	4:25 p.m
Kansas City at Denver	8:30 p.m.
Green Bay at Philadelphia	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Russell Wilson	25
2	Marcus Mariota	24
3	Derek Carr	21
4	Cam Newton	19
5	Carson Palmer	18
6	Drew Brees	18
7	Aaron Rodgers	17
8	Tom Brady	17
9	Tyrod Taylor	16
10	Matt Ryan	14
11	Eli Manning	14
12	Colin Kaepernick	12
13	Jameis Winston	12
14	Ryan Tannehill	12
15	Philip Rivers	12

This is just getting silly.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota entered Week 12 ranked fourth in scoring at his position.

He's owned in just 83.5 percent of leagues.

Look, Mariota had a terrible start to the season from a fantasy standpoint, but he's on fire, posting 21 or more points in each of his last three games. Owners need to get used to the idea of seeing him near the top of the leaderboard—especially this week, when he gets to torch a struggling Chicago Bears defense that has coughed up two or more passing scores in three of its last four outings.

It's a similar tune for Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. He's a few spots below Mariota and has six outings of 21 or more points this year.

Carr crushes it in great matchups—look at his 35-point outburst in Week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Week 12 is poised to be another big outing thanks to a game against the Carolina Panthers, who allow the eighth-most points to opposing quarterbacks on average.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	David Johnson	23
2	Melvin Gordon	21
3	DeMarco Murray	20
4	Jay Ajayi	18
5	LeSean McCoy	17
6	Thomas Rawls*	16
7	Todd Gurley	15
8	Spencer Ware	14
9	Rashad Jennings	13
10	Jonathan Stewart	12
11	Devontae Booker	12
12	LeGarrette Blount	12
13	Lamar Miller	12
14	Isaiah Crowell	11
15	Devonta Freeman	11
16	Jordan Howard	11
17	Doug Martin	10
18	Matt Forte	10
19	Carlos Hyde	10
20	Darren Sproles*	10
21	Jeremy Hill	9
22	Mark Ingram	9
23	Terrance West	8
24	Latavius Murray	8
25	Tim Hightower	8
26	Duke Johnson Jr.	7
27	Wendell Smallwood	7
28	Chris Ivory	7
29	Tevin Coleman*	6
30	James Starks	6

Some owners might cringe at the sight of Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi being projected to score among the big boys again.

Fair enough, as Ajayi has posted a pair of seven-point outings in bad matchups over his past two weeks.

However, he is back to seeing quality matchups in Week 12, thanks to the San Francisco 49ers. They just can't help themselves—they allow the most points to opposing backs on average, with all but two opposing backfields hitting on at least 130 rushing yards.

Owners might have similar feelings toward Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams, which is fair. Supposedly the next big thing, he nevertheless has seven single-point outings this year.

Gurley halted this skid in Week 11, going for a score and 13 points. Now he might start a new streak when he visits the New Orleans Saints, who allow the fourth-most points to backs on average.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Julio Jones	18
2	Mike Evans	18
3	Odell Beckham Jr.	16
4	Larry Fitzgerald	16
5	Jordy Nelson	15
6	Amari Cooper	14
7	Brandin Cooks	14
8	Demaryius Thomas	14
9	Emmanuel Sanders	13
10	Kelvin Benjamin	13
11	DeAndre Hopkins	12
12	Michael Crabtree	12
13	Allen Robinson	11
14	Jordan Matthews	11
15	Brandon Marshall	11
16	Terrelle Pryor Sr.	11
17	Doug Baldwin	10
18	Julian Edelman	10
19	Willie Snead	10
20	Kenny Britt	10
21	DeVante Parker	9
22	Rishard Matthews	9
23	Michael Thomas	8
24	Cameron Meredith	8
25	Jarvis Landry	8
26	Steve Smith Sr.	8
27	Tyrell Williams	8
28	Sterling Shepard	8
29	Michael Floyd	7
30	Travis Benjamin*	7
31	Corey Coleman	7
32	Mike Wallace	7
33	Tajae Sharpe	6
34	J.J. Nelson	6
35	Quincy Enunwa	6

Call Week 12 the revenge of the veteran wideouts.

Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals hasn't had the strongest season, boasting just four trips to double-digit production. He hasn't even passed the 13-point mark since Week 5.

Week 12 seems ready to change this trend. Fitzgerald gets the defense that is allowing the fifth-most points to wideouts on average, otherwise known as the Atlanta Falcons.

As if that isn't enough, a meeting between these two bird-based teams figures to be a shootout inside a dome, which means Fitzgerald will see a healthy dosage of targets as the Cardinals try to keep pace.

Green Bay Packers wideout Jordy Nelson is another veteran who had a sluggish start to the year. He hit double digits just twice through Week 7 and then had three weeks of 15 points or more.

It sounds great, but Nelson regressed with eight points in Week 11. A Monday game against the Philadelphia Eagles should fix this, as Nelson faces a defense that has let opposing receiving corps hit 22 or more points six times.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Delanie Walker	13
2	Jimmy Graham	12
3	Zach Ertz	11
4	Antonio Gates	10
5	Tyler Eifert	10
6	Greg Olsen	8
7	Travis Kelce	8
8	C.J. Fiedorowicz	8
9	Dennis Pitta	7
10	Martellus Bennett	7
11	Jared Cook	6
12	Charles Clay	6

Tight end Delanie Walker, one of Mariota's favorite targets, is a good example of the position.

He scored 10 or more points in back-to-back weeks and then fell off a cliff in Week 11 with three points despite being in a great matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.

Yet owners can't afford to ignore fantasy's second-highest scorer at the position. He's rock-solid more often than not and projects well against the miserable Bears, who have allowed touchdowns to tight ends in each of their past two outings.

Zach Ertz of the Eagles is the opposite of Walker. While hyped, he has yet to post a double-digit outing on the season.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel, though, as Ertz has hit nine points in two of his last three games and scored a touchdown in Week 11. The momentum should translate well to the game against the Packers, who allow the sixth-most points to tight ends on average.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Giants	12
2	Titans	10
3	Patriots	9
4	Dolphins	9
5	Chargers	8
6	Bills	7
7	Ravens	7
8	Chiefs	6
9	Eagles	6
10	Broncos	6

Another week, another focus on the New York Jets.

Well, more like poking fun at the Jets. Thanks to New York's ineptitude, the New England Patriots are one of the best units to trot out in Week 12.

The Jets allow the most points to opposing D/ST on average. Over the past two weeks, they have given up a minimum of 13 points, which isn't so bad when one realizes they have coughed up five double-digit outings overall.

Kickers

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Caleb Sturgis	12
2	Dan Carpenter	10
3	Sebastian Janikowski	9
4	Matt Bryant	9
5	Nick Novak	8
6	Stephen Gostkowski	7
7	Steven Hauschka	7
8	Justin Tucker	6
9	Graham Gano	6
10	Andrew Franks	6

Like the Jets and defenses, owners should always seek out the team that is playing the Jacksonville Jaguars when it comes to kickers.

The Jaguars allow the most points to opposing kickers on average by more than a full point, which makes Buffalo Bills kicker Dan Carpenter one of the top plays of the week.

Carpenter isn't too shabby even without an elite matchup; he has scored 10 or more points four times, including posting a 12-point showing in Week 11. Consistency, momentum and the Jaguars mean a big day for the veteran.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.