Fantasy Football Week 12 Cheat Sheet: Waiver, Rankings, Projections and More

As Josh McCown sets the fantasy world ablaze for the second consecutive year, Week 12 signals the home stretch toward the fantasy football playoffs.

Now is the time to cheat. 

As in, rankings and waiver cheat sheets to make the final leg of the journey easier. The NFL sure isn't making it easy on owners—not with players such as McCown, Mark Sanchez and Kenny Britt exploding into the realm of relevance while old reliable names such as Calvin Johnson fade.

To combat the ever-changing environment and put owners at an advantage, the time is now for some Week 12 cheat sheets.

Skill Position Rankings

Rank	QB	RB	WR	TE
1	Aaron Rodgers, GB	DeMarco Murray, DAL	Alshon Jeffery, CHI	Rob Gronkowski, NE
2	Tom Brady, NE	Jamaal Charles, KC	Jordy Nelson, GB	Jimmy Graham, NI
3	Peyton Manning, DEN	Matt Forte, CHI	A.J. Green, CIN	Julius Thomas, DEN
4	Drew Brees, NO	Justin Forsett, BAL	Dez Bryant, DAL	Antonio Gates, SD
5	Jay Cutler, CHI	Mark Ingram, NO	Mike Evans, TB	Martellus Bennett, CHI
6	Andrew Luck, IND	Eddie Lacy, GB	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	Travis Kelce, KC
7	Andy Dalton, CIN	LeSean McCoy, PHI	Jeremy Maclin, PHI	Dwayne Allen, IND
8	Mark Sanchez, PHI	Andre Ellington, AZ	T.Y. Hilton, IND	Larry Donnell, NYG
9	Tony Romo, DAL	Jeremy Hill, CIN	Brandon Marshall, CHI	Jason Witten, DAL
10	Colin Kaepernick, SF	Denard Robinson, JAX	Randall Cobb, GB	Zach Ertz, PHI

Look at Tom Brady go.

Brady is the sixth-highest scorer at the position this year but deserves a spotlight this week because owners may shy away from him in a tough matchup against the Detroit Lions.

Try not to do that.

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

The Lions may surrender the second-fewest points to quarterbacks this season. Brady may be coming off his lowest output since Week 4 thanks to just 14 points against the Indianapolis Colts. But try to keep in mind that Brady has scored in double digits in five of his last six outings and that Detroit just allowed a pair of touchdown passes to Drew Stanton.

In that same vein, owners of Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte can feel comfortable with the notion that his slow return to elite form will only continue. Forte registered 16 points last week and now gets to go against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that allows the 10th-most points to backs and just gave up its highest point total since Week 6.

To keep the theme of up-and-down fantasy studs going, Dez Bryant owners should be quite comfortable going into Week 12. While two of his last three games have seen him fail to reach double digits, keep in mind that Week 10 before a bye saw a 27-point explosion for his highest output of the year.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett laid down some wisdom owners surely concurred with, as captured by Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News:

Bryant is a matchup-proof option, but it sure doesn't hurt that he is coming off a week of rest and gets a New York Giants team that has allowed three receiving touchdowns to wideouts over the course of its last three games.

Speaking of those Giants, that matchup in particular means a continued return to form for tight end Larry Donnell, too. One of the season's bigger surprises was quiet until last week, which saw him nab a cool 11 points.

Donnell is sure to go streaking now that he gets the Cowboys, a team that allows the fourth-most points to tight ends. Like any star with an elite matchup, Donnell is a player to get in lineups without hesitation.

Sleeper Projections

Pos.	Player	Team	Opp.	Projection
QB	Josh McCown	TB	CHI	250 Pass Yds., 2 TD
RB	Denard Robinson	JAC	IND	105 Rush Yds, 1 TD
WR	Mohamed Sanu	CIN	HOU	75 Rec. Yds, 1 TD
TE	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TB	CHI	55 Rec. Yds, 1 TD
D/ST	Buffalo Bills	BUF	NYj	5 Sacks, 2 Turnovers

Sleepers are all about track records and matchups, with the latter outweighing everything else.

Take the aforementioned McCown for example. The veteran quarterback now has 19 points in each of his last two starts since his re-promotion. Take out a bad game due to injury back in Week 3, and McCown has scored in double digits in all four of his outings this season.

Now McCown gets to go against his old team. As if that were not enough, said old team allows the third-most points to quarterbacks this season. Easy money.

Believe it or not, the Jacksonville Jaguars quietly tout one of the top fantasy sleepers overall this year in running back Denard Robinson. His numbers over the course of the past four weeks since taking over as starter speak volumes about his potential on a weekly basis:

WK	OPP	ATT	YDS	TD	PTS
7	Cle	22	127	1	18
8	Mia	18	108	0	11
9	@Cin	17	94	1	16
10	Dal	15	60	2	17

Robinson is flirting with matchup-proof territory already, but keep in mind he gets a Colts defense that surrenders the fourth-most points to backs and is coming off a debacle in which it allowed 49 last week alone.

Owners are right to be wary of Cincinnati Bengals wideout Mohamed Sanu. After four double-digits outbursts in five games, the former Rutgers star has four total points in his last two games. 

But Sanu deserves one last chance, especially with a matchup against the Houston Texans on deck. Bill O'Brien's defense allows the absolute most points to wideouts this season, meaning A.J. Green is sure to feast. But so is Sanu, who will see even less coverage than his counterpart.

Brian Blanco/Associated Press

Circle back to those Buccaneers for a top sleeper at tight end in Week 12. Rookie Austin Seferian-Jenkins is a touchdown-dependent play, which is emphasized by his goose egg in the fantasy points column last week.

But that will not prove to be a problem against the Bears, a team that allows the most points to the position this season. Chicago has allowed eight touchdowns to tight ends over the course of its last four outings. Seferian-Jenkins is good for at least one.

Waiver-Wire Targets

Pos.	Player	Team	ESPN Ownership percentage*
Josh McCown	QB	TB	8.1
Drew Stanton	QB	ARI	5.1
C.J. Anderson	RB	DEN	77.8
Jonas Gray	RB	NE	8.4
Tre Mason	RB	STL	41.3
Roy Helu	RB	WAS	14.6
Isaiah Crowell	RB	CLE	23.7
Bryce Brown	RB	BUF	9.5
Kenny Britt	WR	STL	12.4
Jordan Matthews	WR	PHI	41.7
Andrew Hawkins	WR	CLE	47.0
Rueben Randle	WR	NYG	35.0
Malcom Floyd	WR	SD	31.2
Jermaine Gresham	TE	CIN	6.2
Coby Fleener	TE	IND	26.1

The waiver wire is quite alive in Week 12, which is nothing short of good news for playoff contenders who need some critical depth. 

Feel free to look at Stanton in Arizona, who pulled off his best Carson Palmer impersonation last week with 16 fantasy points against one of the league's best defenses, Detroit. Perhaps a nugget from coach Bruce Arians, per Peter King, was not just coachspeak after all:

Week 12 is a tough matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, but Stanton is more of a long-term add—not to mention that last week had an even bleaker outlook.

Look to the up-and-down St. Louis Rams for a quality running back add. Tre Mason is undoubtedly the starter at this point, which is nothing but a good thing for owners who abide by the rule that touches equal production. 

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

It certainly did for Mason last week when he found 11 points on 29 carries against a tough Denver Broncos defense. Things look even better in the coming weeks with tests against the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders.

Quarterback Mark Sanchez may have struggled last week for the Philadelphia Eagles, but it is quite clear his favorite target is Jordan Matthews—otherwise known as a guy owned in less than 50 percent of leagues despite posting 10, 25 and 16 points in his last three games.

Matthews has stolen No. 1 status from Jeremy Maclin in a pass-happy scheme with the playoffs approaching, so scoop him up with the quickness.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Tight end is a tad weak on the wire in Week 12, but the Indianapolis' Coby Fleener makes loads of sense.

Fleener has come on in recent weeks as one of Andrew Luck's top targets, scoring 13 and 14 points in his last two outings. He next gets Jacksonville, a team he scored 10 against back in Week 3 as the unit gave up a total of 21 to the position.

Like any good sleeper, Fleener has value right now and projects well down the road.

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