Week 12 Waiver-Wire Pickups: Available Sleepers in Most Yahoo Leagues

By Week 12 of the 2019 NFL season, you've surely thrown enough darts at the waiver wire to understand not all of them will hit.

But hopefully you've hit on enough of them by now to appreciate how much these sleepers can help.

With the Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals all on a bye this week, you might be staring at the dartboard once again.

Here are three names, available in 50-plus percent of Yahoo leagues (per FantasyPros), who might help you nail a bullseye.

Sam Darnold, QB, New York Jets (22 Percent Owned)

The football gods work in mysterious ways, folks.

How else does one explain Sam Darnold's transition from "seeing ghosts" to now frightening opposing defenses? Yes, the same quarterback who threw seven interceptions and only two touchdowns over a two-game stretch has now rebounded (and then some) with six scores against two picks in the three games since.

Sure, the 22-year-old has taken advantage of good matchups in this stretch, but he's not the only one facing generous defenses. There simply aren't many passers matching his production of late. He was QB7 in Week 10 and held the same spot in Week 11.

Plus, even if he's only someone worth streaming when he draws an exploitable defense, that should still make him usable this week (and maybe the next couple).

Darnold gets the Raiders this week, then the Bengals and Dolphins after. All three allow at least the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, per Yahoo Sports.

Derrius Guice, RB, Washington Redskins (48 Percent Owned)

It isn't often a player will surface as a waiver-wire target after an eight-touch week, but Derrius Guice isn't the typical streamer.

The 59th pick in 2018, his talent is obvious. It's just that injuries have rarely allowed him to show it. A torn ACL derailed his rookie season before it even started, and a meniscus tear cost him two-plus months of this campaign.

But Guice finally saw action this Sunday—and saw daylight in the process. The explosive back turned a screen pass into a 45-yard score, showing he can do a lot with a little, which is important when Adrian Peterson and Wendell Smallwood also factor into this backfield.

Still, the 22-year-old is the most dynamic of the three. That should mean at least a decent amount of touches this week, and he may not need much to make a big impact against a leaky Lions defense.

"Only the Chiefs and Panthers have surrendered more than the 32.8 fantasy points per game the Lions have allowed to backfields since Week 7," Jim McCormick wrote for ESPN.com. "Opposing backs are averaging 101.6 yards on the ground against the Lions and a rushing touchdown per game during this five-game sample."

Randall Cobb, WR, Dallas Cowboys (15 Percent Owned)

Who knew Randall Cobb's days of fantasy relevance weren't all behind him? You could've fooled us between Weeks 2 and 7, when he never had more than six targets, five receptions or 53 yards in any game.

But with teams focusing on Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, Cobb has suddenly found a fantasy pulse. He hasn't been targeted fewer than eight times in each of the last three weeks, and over the last two, he's delivered both triple-digit receiving yards and a score.

Could this be a flash in the pan or something more sustainable? Yes. And no.

The 29-year-old's own game log can attest to his boom-or-bust prospects, and he's far from being the first option in this offense. But the latter part might actually help him this week, assuming Cooper and Gallup get the attention of Stephon Gilmore and Jason McCourty.

Dak Prescott might need a safety valve, and it's clear he has confidence in Cobb to play that role.