Fantasy Football Week 12 Rankings: Latest Position-by-Position Rundown

Week 12 represents one of the final regular-season weeks in most fantasy football leagues, which means there isn't much time left for playoff bubble teams to make a big run.

In fact, many owners simply can't afford another loss, so good lineup decisions are an absolute necessity. Things could get a bit tricky this week since some high-profile players are dealing with injuries, but most owners likely have enough assets to piece together a winning team.

Here is a full rundown of rankings at every position for Week 12, as well as some further analysis regarding some of the week's most intriguing plays.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Andrew Luck	IND	JAC
2	Aaron Rodgers	GB	MIN
3	Peyton Manning	DEN	MIA
4	Drew Brees	NO	BAL
5	Tom Brady	NE	DET
6	Jay Cutler	CHI	TB
7	Matthew Stafford	DET	NE
8	Tony Romo	DAL	NYG
9	Russell Wilson	SEA	ARI
10	Philip Rivers	SD	STL
11	Colin Kaepernick	SF	WAS
12	Matt Ryan	ATL	CLE
13	Mark Sanchez	PHI	TEN
14	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	DEN
15	Joe Flacco	BAL	NO
16	Eli Manning	NYG	DAL
17	Josh McCown	TB	CHI
18	Kyle Orton	BUF	NYJ
19	Brian Hoyer	CLE	ATL
20	Robert Griffin III	WAS	SF

With nearly 3,400 passing yards and 28 touchdowns to his credit already, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is in the midst of a career season. He manages to put up big-time stats against essentially every team, but he is especially proficient at picking apart the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Luck racked up 370 yards and four scores on nearly 80 percent passing against the Jags back in September. As seen in this graphic courtesy of StatMilk, Jacksonville has struggled mightily to slow down the passing game all season long:

Despite Luck's dominance over the Jags, he isn't taking anything for granted. According to Vito Stellino of The Florida Times-Union, Luck has no intention of becoming complacent.

"

The games in the past hold no bearing to what’s going to happen Sunday. We watch the film to scout a team, but I know what I think of Jacksonville when we watch the film. They play their butts off. They're tough. They're physical. They know what they're doing. They're disciplined. We know we're going to have our hands full.

"

Praising the opponent is typical of Luck, but there is no question that he and the Indy offense have a huge advantage over Jacksonville's defense. Add in the fact that the Colts are playing indoors at home, and there is every reason to believe that Luck will be a fantasy stud Sunday.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Matt Forte	CHI	TB
2	DeMarco Murray	DAL	NYG
3	Eddie Lacy	GB	MIN
4	LeSean McCoy	PHI	TEN
5	Arian Foster	HOU	CIN
6	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	ARI
7	Rashad Jennings	NYG	DAL
8	Mark Ingram	NO	BAL
9	Andre Ellington	ARI	SEA
10	Justin Forsett	BAL	NO
11	C.J. Anderson	DEN	MIA
12	Denard Robinson	JAC	IND
13	Frank Gore	SF	WAS
14	Ryan Mathews	SD	STL
15	Alfred Morris	WAS	SF
16	Lamar Miller	MIA	DEN
17	Jeremy Hill	CIN	HOU
18	Tre Mason	STL	SD
19	Isaiah Crowell	CLE	ATL
20	Jonas Gray	NE	DET
21	Steven Jackson	ATL	CLE
22	Giovani Bernard	CIN	HOU
23	Trent Richardson	IND	JAC
24	Joique Bell	DET	NE
25	Chris Ivory	NYJ	BUF
26	Jerick McKinnon	MIN	GB
27	Shane Vereen	NE	DET
28	Fred Jackson	BUF	NYJ
29	Darren Sproles	PHI	TEN
30	Bishop Sankey	TEN	PHI

While Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy hasn't been as dominant from a rushing perspective this season as many expected, there is no question that he has developed into a valuable fantasy commodity since battling through a slow start.

Lacy has just 547 rushing yards thus far, but he is developing into an excellent receiver as well. With nearly 250 receiving yards over his past three contests, Lacy is quickly becoming a favorite of quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the passing game.

Even though he only has one 100-yard rushing game, there is reason to be bullish regarding Lacy's chances of a big day on Sunday. Much of that is due to the fact that the previous 100-yard game came against the Minnesota Vikings, per the Packers' official Twitter account:

The Pack will take on the Vikes once again in Week 12, and Minnesota happens to be in the lower half of the league against the run. Because of that, Lacy should be in line for another great showing.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Jordy Nelson	GB	MIN
2	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	MIA
3	Dez Bryant	DAL	NYG
4	A.J. Green	CIN	HOU
5	Brandon Marshall	CHI	TB
6	Calvin Johnson	DET	NE
7	T.Y. Hilton	IND	JAC
8	Randall Cobb	GB	MIN
9	Mike Evans	TB	CHI
10	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	TEN
11	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	MIA
12	Julio Jones	ATL	CLE
13	Odell Beckham Jr.	NYG	DAL
14	Josh Gordon	CLE	ATL
15	Sammy Watkins	BUF	NYJ
16	Alshon Jeffery	CHI	TB
17	Reggie Wayne	IND	JAC
18	Jordan Matthews	PHI	TEN
19	Mike Wallace	MIA	DEN
20	Roddy White	ATL	CLE
21	Golden Tate	DET	NE
22	DeSean Jackson	WAS	SF
23	Julian Edelman	NE	DET
24	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	CIN
25	Michael Crabtree	SF	WAS
26	Vincent Jackson	TB	CHI
27	Andre Johnson	HOU	CIN
28	Torrey Smith	BAL	NO
29	Anquan Boldin	SF	WAS
30	Mohamed Sanu	CIN	HOU

The 2014 NFL draft class of wide receivers is already looking like one for the ages, and a big reason for that has been the fantastic play of Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans.

It took the big pass-catcher out of Texas A&M a bit of time to get acclimated to the professional ranks, but he is quickly establishing himself as an elite player. As evidenced by these stats courtesy of NFL.com, Evans has been especially unstoppable over the past three weeks:

Evans has seven catches for 120 or more yards and one or more touchdowns in each of his past three outings. Based on the matchup he has ahead of him in Week 12, there is a very good chance that he will keep the streak alive.

The Bucs take on the Chicago Bears this week, who have given up 24 touchdown passes, which is the second-most in the NFL. Evans also has former Bears quarterback Josh McCown throwing to him, and there is little doubt that he will want to perform well against his old teammates.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Rob Gronkowski	NE	DET
2	Jimmy Graham	NO	BAL
3	Larry Donnell	NYG	DAL
4	Antonio Gates	SD	STL
5	Martellus Bennett	CHI	TB
6	Coby Fleener	IND	JAC
7	Jason Witten	DAL	NYG
8	Owen Daniels	BAL	NO
9	Zach Ertz	PHI	TEN
10	Charles Clay	MIA	DEN
11	Delanie Walker	TEN	PHI
12	Jacob Tamme	DEN	MIA
13	Vernon Davis	SF	WAS
14	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	IND
15	Niles Paul	WAS	SF
16	Jared Cook	STL	SD
17	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	GB
18	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TB	CHI
19	Scott Chandler	BUF	NYJ
20	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	HOU

Most of the focus when it comes to the tight end position is on the likes of New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski and New Orleans Saints great Jimmy Graham. While fantasy owners don't have much to worry about with those players on their team, not everyone is so lucky.

Many owners are forced to dig for strong tight end options on a weekly basis, which is why Larry Donnell of the New York Giants has become so valuable. He was an unknown to start the season, but those who nabbed him off the waiver wire early in the year have been rewarded.

His 44 grabs for 437 yards are solid, and he has outperformed all expectations when it comes to reaching the end zone as well, according to Art Stapleton of The Record:

Donnell made seven catches for 90 yards against the Dallas Cowboys earlier in the season, and he promises to be a main target for quarterback Eli Manning when the Cowboys come to town this week. With that in mind, Donnell is among the best fantasy options outside the usual elites.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Mason Crosby	GB	MIN
2	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	DET
3	Adam Vinatieri	IND	JAC
4	Cody Parkey	PHI	TEN
5	Steven Hauschka	SEA	ARI
6	Dan Bailey	DAL	NYG
7	Phil Dawson	SF	WAS
8	Justin Tucker	BAL	NO
9	Matt Bryant	ATL	CLE
10	Dan Carpenter	BUF	NYJ
11	Shayne Graham	NO	BAL
12	Nick Novak	SD	STL

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Packers	GB	MIN
2	49ers	SF	WAS
3	Bills	BUF	NYJ
4	Eagles	PHI	TEN
5	Colts	IND	JAC
6	Seahawks	SEA	ARI
7	Broncos	DEN	MIA
8	Cardinals	ARI	SEA
9	Patriots	NE	DET
10	Chargers	SD	STL
11	Ravens	BAL	NO
12	Texans	HOU	CIN

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