Week 12 Fantasy Football Rankings: Top Players, Sleepers and Positional Guide
It's the most treacherous time of the year.
Or it might feel that way to fantasy football managers, at least, as Week 12 will be one of the busiest bye weeks of the entire 2024 NFL season. Six different teams are off this week: Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets.
While this level of inactivity could send you to the waiver wire in search of temporary roster replacements, it also increases the importance of your regulars delivering. Waiver-wire pickups are always a coin flip, so you'll need all the stability you can get from the players you drafted to provide it.
To help put your roster in the best possible shape, we're running through our early Week 12 rankings and spotlighting a sleeper at each of the three marquee positions.
Quarterback
1 of 3
Top 10
1. Jalen Hurts, PHI (at LAR)
2. Lamar Jackson, BAL (at LAC)
3. Justin Herbert, LAC (vs. BAL)
4. Jayden Daniels, WAS (vs. DAL)
5. Jared Goff, DET (at IND)
6. Kyler Murray, ARI (at SEA)
7. Bo Nix, DEN (at LV)
8. Patrick Mahomes, KC (at CAR)
9. Baker Mayfield, TB (at NYG)
10. C.J. Stroud, HOU (vs. TEN)
Sleeper: Russell Wilson, PIT (at CLE)
Week 11 was, admittedly, a letdown for Wilson. Despite a favorable matchup against Baltimore, the veteran managed just 205 passing yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
Even with that quiet outing, though, his first four starts have still yielded seven touchdowns (including one rushing). He has a real chance to get back on track against a Browns defense that has allowed multiple touchdowns to the last five quarterbacks it has faced.
Running Back
2 of 3
Top 10
1. Saquon Barkley, PHI (at LAR)
2. Christian McCaffrey, SF (at GB)
3. Joe Mixon, HOU (vs. TEN)
4. Derrick Henry, BAL (at LAC)
5. De'Von Achane, MIA (vs. NE)
6. Kenneth Walker III, SEA (vs. ARI)
7. Kyren Williams, LAR (vs. PHI)
8. Jahmyr Gibbs, DET (at IND)
9. David Montgomery, DET (at IND)
10. Jonathan Taylor, IND (vs. DET)
Sleeper: Javonte Williams, DEN (at LV)
Are we setting ourselves up for failure by trying to make sense of the Broncos' backfield? Maybe, but you'd think Williams just bought himself more opportunities with the way he played in Week 11 (13 touches, 87 scrimmage yards and a score), especially when rookie Audric Estime wasn't nearly as effective (nine touches, 25 yards).
If Williams can lead this group in touches again, he should be primed for another big day against a Las Vegas defense allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to running backs, per Yahoo.
Wide Receiver
3 of 3
Top 10
1. Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET (at IND)
2. Justin Jefferson, MIN (at CHI)
3. A.J. Brown, PHI (at LAR)
4. Puka Nacua, LAR (vs. PHI)
5. George Pickens, PIT (at CLE)
6. Nico Collins, HOU (vs. TEN)
7. Tyreek Hill, MIA (vs. NE)
8. Cooper Kupp, LAR (vs. PHI)
9. Mike Evans, TB (at NYG)
10. DK Metcalf, SEA (vs. ARI)
Sleeper: Quentin Johnston, LAC (vs. BAL)
Johnston may not catch a lot of passes—his season-high is six receptions—but he knows how to find the end zone. He is currently riding a three-game scoring streak and has six touchdowns on the season (on only 22 receptions).
With Baltimore potentially short-circuiting L.A.'s running game, the Chargers might be airing it out more than usual. That should only mean good things for Johnston, who just saw a season-high eight targets his last time out.
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