Week 12 Fantasy Football Rankings: Positional Overview, Guide and Advice

Fantasy football playoffs are fast approaching. It's the time of year when the right starters and waiver-wire pickups are critical to your late-season success.

This week is crucial because injuries are playing a factor late in the season. Star running backs are hurt, quarterbacks are banged-up and defenses don't appear as dominant as they did back in Week 4.

Here are the top fantasy rankings for Week 12.

Quarterback

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Blake Bortles	vs. Chargers
2	Aaron Rodgers	vs. Bears
3	Matthew Stafford	vs. Eagles
4	Cam Newton	at Cowboys
5	Carson Palmer	at 49ers
6	Tom Brady	at Broncos
7	Tony Romo	vs. Panthers
8	Brock Osweiler	vs. Patriots
9	Derek Carr	at Titans
10	Philip Rivers	at Jaguars
11	Drew Brees	at Texans
12	Ben Roethlisberger	at Seahawks
13	Ryan Tannehill	at Jets
14	Eli Manning	at Redskins
15	Matt Ryan	vs. Vikings

Good news for the Jacksonville Jaguars: They won a critical Thursday night game against the Tennessee Titans this past week and are one game back for first place in the AFC South.

Bad news for fantasy owners who have Blake Bortles as their starting quarterback: He had his worst fantasy game of the season, according to ESPN, with only nine points. Hopefully you weren't in a position like ESPN Big 12 reporter Max Olson this week:

Bortles has topped the 20-point mark four times in ESPN leagues. Look for him to return to form on Sunday against a San Diego Chargers defense that's allowed 28.2 points per game and just gave up 33 to the Kansas City Chiefs. Alex Smith threw only five incompletions and for 253 yards against the Chargers. If Smith can put together a performance like that, good things lie ahead for Bortles this upcoming Sunday.

The Brock Osweiler hype train is set to leave the station, as well. Playing in place of the injured Peyton Manning in Sunday's win over the Chicago Bears, Osweiler faces his first real test against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. There was much to like from Osweiler's performance against a good Chicago pass defense, as he threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns and didn't turn the ball over.

Those kinds of numbers aren't familiar to the Broncos this year, as ESPN's Trey Wingo notes:

New England allows 255 yards per game through the air. The Patriots, however, only give up 18.8 points per game. If Osweiler is to succeed this week, he needs to get the ball in the end zone. If he can do that, even in a loss to the Patriots, that should extend Osweiler's audition as Denver's starter for the rest of the year.

Running Back

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Thomas Rawls	vs. Steelers
2	Jonathan Stewart	at Cowboys
3	LeSean McCoy	at Chiefs
4	Chris Johnson	at 49ers
5	Adrian Peterson	at Falcons
6	Doug Martin	at Colts
7	Todd Gurley	at Bengals
8	Giovani Bernard	vs. Rams
9	Darren McFadden	vs Panthers
10	Charcandrick West	vs. Bills
11	Devonta Freeman	vs. Vikings
12	Eddie Lacy	vs. Bears
13	Jeremy Langford	at Packers
14	T.J. Yeldon	vs. Chargers
15	Latavius Murray	at Titans
16	Chris Ivory	vs. Dolphins
17	DeMarco Murray	at Lions
18	Spencer Ware	vs. Bills
19	Lamar Miller	at Jets
20	Alfred Blue	vs. Saints
21	Robert Turbin	vs. Panthers
22	LeGarrette Blount	at Broncos
23	C.J. Anderson	vs. Patriots
24	Frank Gore	vs. Buccaneers
25	Matt Jones	vs. Giants
26	Ronnie Hillman	vs. Patriots
27	James White	at Broncos
28	Jeremy Hill	vs. Rams
29	Javorius Allen	at Browns
30	Ahmad Bradshaw	vs. Buccaneers

Here are the two best rushing games in the history of the Seattle Seahawks:

1) Shaun Alexander - 266 yards in 2001

2) Thomas Rawls - 209 yards on Sunday

Marshawn Lynch is not on that list. Rawls ran over the San Francisco 49ers defense and led all players with 36 points in ESPN leagues. This is a rookie running back who was not even an all-conference selection when playing at Central Michigan, as NFL.com's Gil Brandt notes.

The 5'9", 215-pound Rawls isn't just using his speed (he had four plays of 20 yards or more on Sunday, with 112 yards coming off-tackle, per Pro-Football-Reference.com), but he had 89 yards after contact. He's started four games this year and has totaled 72 fantasy points, per ESPN's Tristan H. Cockcroft.

Any comparisons to Rawls? Head coach Pete Carroll has one, even if he's just a rookie, per ESPN's Sheil Kapadia:

After three straight games of less than 100 yards, Doug Martin exploded for 235 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles. The 23 points he had on Sunday was the most he's had since the 33 recorded in Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars

If not for Jameis Winston's five-touchdown day, Martin may have found himself in the end zone once or twice and would've had just as many points as Rawls. But Martin's productivity helps Winston and the Bucs offense. Martin could be in line for another big day against an Indianapolis Colts defense that allows 113 rushing yards per game.

Wide Receiver

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	DeAndre Hopkins	vs. Saints
2	Antonio Brown	at Seahawks
3	Julio Jones	vs. Vikings
4	Dez Bryant	vs. Panthers
5	Odell Beckham Jr.	at Redskins
6	James Jones	vs. Bears
7	Demaryius Thomas	vs. Patriots
8	Allen Robinson	vs. Chargers
9	A.J. Green	vs. Rams
10	Calvin Johnson	vs. Eagles
11	Allen Hurns	vs. Chargers
12	Larry Fitzgerald	at 49ers
13	Randall Cobb	vs. Bears
14	Terrance Williams	vs. Panthers
15	Amari Cooper	at Titans
16	Mike Evans	at Colts
17	Michael Floyd	at 49ers
18	DeSean Jackson	vs. Giants
19	Devin Funchess	at Cowboys
20	Stevie Johnson	at Jaguars
21	Stefon Diggs	at Falcons
22	Brandon Marshall	vs. Dolphins
23	Anquan Boldin	vs. Cardinals
24	Eric Decker	vs. Dolphins
25	Cecil Shorts	vs. Saints
26	John Brown	at 49ers
27	Leonard Hankerson	vs. Vikings
28	Cody Latimer	vs. Patriots
29	Tyler Lockett	vs. Steelers
30	Jarius Wright	at Falcons

The Houston Texans have won three games in a row and are in a tie for first in the AFC South.

In the midst of that, DeAndre Hopkins is putting together the best season in franchise history. He's shattering every record Andre Johnson has ever set.

Hopkins got his chance to sit atop the wide receiver leaderboard on Sunday with Antonio Brown on a bye, catching five passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns, good for 23 points. Those numbers came against Darrelle Revis.

Five of Hopkins' last eight games have resulted in 100 yards, and he's also scored a touchdown in five of those games. All of this is coming with three different quarterbacks throwing him the ball. One has to think the same way as ESPN's Mike Greenberg, if the Texans had one great quarterback:

Hopkins could have himself another big game on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, who just fired Rob Ryan after allowing 45 passing touchdowns through 10 games.

Antonio Brown, meanwhile, is surely to be blanketed by Richard Sherman for 60 minutes on Sunday in Seattle. Brown has caught 27 passes in his last two games. It's an encouraging sign for Brown to have Ben Roethlisberger back under center, but Brown may have to earn every yard he wants this week.

Tight End

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Rob Gronkowski	at Broncos
2	Kyle Rudolph	at Falcons
3	Greg Olsen	at Cowboys
4	Jason Witten	vs. Panthers
5	Julius Thomas	vs. Chargers
6	Crockett Gillmore	at Browns
7	Tyler Eifert	vs. Rams
8	Jordan Cameron	at Jets
9	Coby Fleener	vs. Buccaneers
10	Delanie Walker	vs. Raiders

Has Julius Thomas finally risen from the fantasy grave?

It wasn't much, but Thomas' five-catch, one-touchdown performance against the Tennessee Titans was good enough to put him in the top 10 of fantasy tight ends last week with eight points.

Thomas has taken a back seat to the emergence of Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, but it's important for the Jaguars to take advantage of their red-zone opportunities. Jacksonville ranks 27th in the NFL in touchdown percentage inside the 20, per TeamRankings.com.

One of those ways to climb up that rank is to take advantage of matchups, especially ones with Thomas, as ESPN's Matt Bowen pointed out:

The winning touchdown against the Titans last Thursday was Thomas' first since Week 6. It may be difficult for Thomas to accumulate more yards with how well the two Allens are playing, but the Jaguars need to use him more in the red zone. That should be the case on Sunday against San Diego.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Team	Opponent
1	Kansas City Chiefs	vs. Bills
2	Carolina Panthers	at Cowboys
3	Green Bay Packers	vs. Bears
4	Detroit Lions	vs. Eagles
5	Seattle Seahawks	vs. Steelers
6	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	at Colts
7	Jacksonville Jaguars	vs. Chargers
8	Houston Texans	vs. Saints
9	Dallas Cowboys	vs. Panthers
10	Indianapolis Colts	vs. Buccaneers

No defense has been on more of a roll in its last four games than the Kansas City Chiefs'.

The Chiefs tied for the top spot with 19 points in ESPN leagues and have scored over 10 points during their four-game winning streak. Look no further than Time Warner Sports' Nick Jacobs, who has these crazy stats over the last month:

It was just two months ago when Kansas City's defense amassed a combined -11 points against the Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals. Now, as Rotoworld's Evan Silva suggests, it's at the top of the charts:

Kansas City, at home, should be primed for another strong showing against the Buffalo Bills. Its defense is the prime reason why the Chiefs are playing such great football.

Kicker

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Stephen Gostkowski	at Broncos
2	Sebastian Janikowski	at Titans
3	Dan Bailey	vs. Panthers
4	Mason Crosby	vs. Bears
5	Jason Myers	vs. Chargers
6	Justin Tucker	at Browns
7	Adam Vinatieri	vs. Buccaneers
8	Chandler Catanzaro	at 49ers
9	Connor Barth	at Colts
10	Robbie Gould	at Packers

Predicting a top kicker is never easy, but it's best to pick one with a high-octane offense. 

A bounce-back week for the Oakland Raiders is expected. They should score more points than the 13 they put up in Detroit. The Tennessee Titans provide that perfect opportunity to get back on track, which could be a good day for Sebastian Janikowski. 

The longtime Raiders kicker has scored more than 10 points four times this year, including 10 against the Lions. He still has that powerful leg, as he made a 56-yard field goal on Sunday. If field position becomes an issue, Janikowski will be relied upon to make the tough kicks.