Week 12 Fantasy Football Projections: Predicting Top Performers at Each Position

Anyone who has played fantasy football long enough knows that one star performer can save your week. That one guy who posts 30 points can bail out several players who decided to not show up and can thus be the difference between a close win and a blowout loss. 

Here, I've attempted to locate the players at every position I think are most likely to post huge numbers this week. Plus, I've honed in on one intriguing player at each position that some folks might question this week. 

To the projections!

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints	Atlanta Falcons	30
2	Matt Stafford	Detroit Lions	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	26
3	Tony Romo	Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants	25
4	Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos	New England Patriots	24
5	Tom Brady	New England Patriots	Denver Broncos	20

Breaking Down Tom Brady

You might be jumping back off the Tom Brady bandwagon after he managed just 13 fantasy points on Monday night, but taken in context, it was actually an impressive performance. Brady threw for 296 yards and a touchdown (also an interception) against the Carolina Panthers, one of the best defenses in all of football. 

This week, he faces off against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in a game that seems destined to be a shootout. The Broncos have given up 18 or more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks six times this season and are allowing 279 passing yards per game, 28th in the NFL.

With his weapons healthy—Shane Vereen was the latest to return, and his eight receptions for 65 yards highlight just how important he is in this offense—Brady should continue to be a consistent fantasy producer. 

Don't read too much into Monday night's modest performance—big things are on the horizon for Brady. 

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Matt Forte	Chicago Bears	St. Louis Rams	25
2	Frank Gore	San Francisco 49ers	Washington	24
3	Adrian Peterson	Minnesota Vikings	Green Bay Packers	21
4	Chris Johnson	Teneessee Titans	Oakland Raiders	20
5	Zac Stacy	St. Louis Rams	Chicago Bears	20

Breaking Down Zac Stacy

In Finding Forrester, William Forrester tells Jamal Wallace, "The key to a woman's heart is an unexpected gift at an unexpected time."

Well, the key to a fantasy football player's heart is an unexpected performer at an unexpected time during the season. And since he was named the starter for St. Louis in Week 5, Zac Stacy has been that unexpected performer. 

The Rams runner has posted six straight games with seven or more fantasy points, four straight games with double-digit points and has rushed for 75 yards or more four times. Even better, he faces a Chicago Bears defense that has given up 20 or more fantasy points to opposing running backs in six of the past seven weeks. 

With Kellen Clemens under center, the Rams would be wise to keep feeding Stacy the rock. That's great news for fantasy owners who had the foresight to add him on waivers earlier in the season. Stacy's ascension to fantasy relevance was unexpected, but this week you can expect him to post 20 points against the Chicago Bears.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Calvin Johnson	Detroit Lions	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	27
2	Andre Johnson	Houston Texans	Jacksonville Jaguars	22
3	Josh Gordon	Cleveland Browns	Pittsburgh Steelers	20
4	Dez Bryant	Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants	19
5	Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos	New England Patriots	18

Breaking Down Andre Johnson

The biggest fear for Andre Johnson owners wasn't his recent production—he has 66 fantasy points in three games since the Houston Texans' Week 8 bye—but rather the possibility that Matt Schaub could return as the starter after replacing Case Keenum in the second half of Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders.

But never fear, fantasy owners, for Keenum has been named the starter next week. From the team's Twitter account:

That's great news for fantasy owners. With Schaub starting the first seven weeks, Johnson averaged 7.7 fantasy points per week. With Keenum starting, Johnson has put up an impressive 22 fantasy points per contest (though that number is somewhat inflated based on his 40 points in Week 9).

Johnson had double-digit fantasy points just twice in seven weeks with Schaub. He's registered double-digit points every week with Keenum under center.

With Keenum getting the nod, Johnson is assured of remaining an elite option at the position. It's a happy day for his owners. 

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Vernon Davis	San Francisco 49ers	Washington	18
2	Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots	Denver Broncos	17
3	Julius Thomas	Denver Broncos	New England Patriots	15
4	Jimmy Graham	New Orleans Saints	Atlanta Falcons	13
5 (tie)	Jason Witten	Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants	12
5 (tie)	Tony Gonzalez	Atlanta Falcons	New Orleans Saints	12

Breaking Down Jimmy Graham

The concerns with Jimmy Graham are obvious—he's clearly not at 100 percent health, and he doesn't have a touchdown reception in the past two weeks after notching 10 in his first eight games. He's gone from being one of the most valuable players in all of fantasy football to a player that may no longer be the top option for owners at his position.

That being said, it isn't time to do anything crazy like trading him. This past week, he still managed six receptions for 41 yards (on 11 targets, a team high) against a tough San Francisco defense. It doesn't look like he's so banged up that he'll only be played in limited snaps inside of the red zone, a good sign.

Plus, the Atlanta Falcons have been dreadful on defense this season and are giving up 249.2 passing yards per game (22nd in the NFL) and have allowed 21 passing touchdowns, 30th in the league. This is a juicy matchup for Graham, and one he will exploit in a big way.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Carolina Panthers	Miami Dolphins	18
2	San Francisco 49ers	Washington	17
3	Tennessee Titans	Oakland Raiders	17
4	Kansas City Chiefs	San Diego Chargers	15
5	Baltimore Ravens	New York Jets	14

Breaking Down the Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are a pretty inconsistent fantasy defense, with seven or more fantasy points in six weeks and four or less points in their remaining games, but they have an excellent matchup against the New York Jets—at home, mind you—on tap. 

Geno Smith is fresh off of a horrid, four-turnover performance against the Buffalo Bills, hasn't thrown a touchdown in three games (he has five interceptions in that time), has a dreadful 56.3 completion percentage and lacks weapons in the passing game. 

The Jets are an odd team—they have alternated wins and losses every week since the start of the season—so Smith could surprise us all and post huge numbers, but more than likely the Ravens will have a field day against the rookie quarterback and his poor offense.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Matt Prater	Denver Broncos	New England Patriots	15
2	Stephen Gostkowski	New England Patriots	Denver Broncos	14
3	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers	Minnesota Vikings	12
4	Garrett Hartley	New Orleans Saints	Atlanta Falcons	12
5	Dan Bailey	Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants	11

Breaking Down Mason Crosby

You would think that the loss of Aaron Rodgers to injury would hurt Mason Crosby, as the Green Bay Packers have really struggled to move the ball without their superstar under center. 

Not so. 

In the past three games, Crosby is averaging a solid 7.3 fantasy points and should see ever more opportunities for field goals and extra points against a Minnesota Vikings defense so bad even Scott Tolzien should be able to carve them up. 

Don't be afraid to stick with the Packers' kicker this week.

Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy lineup questions, tweet random fantasy musings and lament Ray Rice producing after I finally benched him this week. Bah humbug.