Updated Fantasy Football QB Rankings Week 12: Who to start, best sleepers, injury updates, waiver wire picks

It was a roller coaster of a week for the quarterback position in Week 11 of fantasy football. Weekly standouts like Jayden Daniels and Lamar Jackson put up duds, relatively speaking. Upstart rookie Bo Nix had the best passing day of his young career against the Falcons, putting up 300+ yards and four touchdowns. Some of Nix's most fantasy-friendly games have come with plenty of rushing production, but all of his significant damage was done through the air in this one. 

While the Lions did pull off an epic comeback against the Texans last week, Jared Goff inexplicably threw four interceptions. He shook that off in a major way against the overmatched Jaguars in a 52-6 blowout. In fact, Goff was so efficient that the Lions scored a touchdown on each of its first seven drives of the game. The Jags are a bad defensive unit, but that's still a ridiculous accomplishment. 

But perhaps the biggest surprise of the week came from Taysom Hill. While it's hard to imagine any fantasy managers playing Hill in the QB position of their fantasy teams, he is both QB- and TE-eligible in some leagues, including Yahoo!. Ironically he did throw an interception on one of his two throws, but he also hauled in eight catches for 50 yards and 138 rushing yards on seven carries. Whether he was played as a QB or TE, that is massive fantasy production. 

Will the studs go back to being studs in Week 12? Who will be this week's biggest surprise? Let's start digging in.

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Fantasy QB Rankings Week 12: Who to start, sit at quarterback

These rankings are based on four-point passing TD scoring. These rankings were updated on Nov. 21 and will be updated throughout the week, so check back often. 

Who are the best fantasy QBs for Week 12?

Jayden Daniels encountered a tough test last Thursday night against a suddenly stout Eagles defense. And that came after facing the always-tough Steelers in Week 10. Things get much softer against the Cowboys this week, though. Dallas is coming off a bye and getting healthier -- Micah Parsons returned in Week 10 -- but the team in general is an absolute mess right now. Mike McCarthy is assumed to just be coaching out the string at this point. Dak Prescott is done for the year. CeeDee Lamb is dealing with a back injury. And Daniels will likely be itching to get the taste of the Philly loss out of his mouth. Look for Daniels to try and pepper Terry McLaurin with targets after the Eagles shut down his favorite target.  

Jalen Hurts didn't have his best game against Washington as he was off target on some throws and just flat out didn't see some open receivers on some other plays. But he has all of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert healthy, and he's still vulturing TDs left and right from Saquon Barkley, so there should be plenty of opportunities for him to bounce back against the Rams on Sunday Night Football. 

Speaking of wanting to get the taste of last week out of his mouth, Lamar Jackson is another top candidate to rebound this week. Mike Tomlin and the Steelers continue to give the reigning MVP fits, but other than the Chiefs, Jackson typically has the answers for just about every other defense. He'll have a tough test against the Chargers in the Harbaugh Bowl, but we're going to bet on a redemption game here. 

Who are the QBs on byes in Week 12?  

Atlanta Falcons: Kirk Cousins and company are on bye this week, but they should return in good health to take on the Chargers in what should be a tough matchup.

Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen gets Week 12 off, which is probably a good thing since it will give his banged up receivers some time to heal up. Keon Coleman just missed his second straight game, and Amari Cooper is still dealing with a wrist issue. Cooper's mere presence seems to have opened things up a big for the Buffalo offense, so Allen should be looking forward to getting his pass catchers healthier after the week off.   

Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow has been red hot lately, so having to sit him with the bye this week is a tough pill to swallow. And they'll have their hands full in Week 13 as they take on the Steelers. The week off will likely do Tee Higgins some good, though, as the wide receiver has been dealing with a quad injury.  

New Orleans Saints: The Saints did put up 35 against the Browns in Week 11, but New Orleans is also pretty banged up and can use the time to get healthy. Rashid Shaheed is out for the year, Chris Olave is dealing with concussion issues, Bub Means landed on IR, and Alvin Kamara seems to be the only healthy running back. Taysom Hill stepped up in a big way against the Browns, and Alvin Kamara has been a steadying force, but the break should help the Saints come out strong against the Rams in Week 13. 

New York Jets: The Jets are in shambles right now. It looked as though Aaron Rodgers and company were going to escape Week 11 with a win over the Colts, but in Anthony Richardson's return to the starting QB role, he led the Colts on a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. Aaron Rodgers has some great weapons in Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and Davante Adams, but the Jets are broken. Perhaps they can put some pieces together over the bye week. 

Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence has been dealing with an injured non-throwing shoulder, so Mac Jones has been under center for Jacksonville the last couple of weeks. There is some optimism that Lawrence may return following the bye, but there's a good chance there will be a new head coach, as it was reported before Sunday's game that should the Jags lose to the Lions, Pederson was as good as gone. Not only did the Jags lose, but they allowed the Lions to score seven TDs on their first seven drives. They'll host the Texans in Week 13.   

Who are the best fantasy QB waiver pickups Week 12?

Anthony Richardson is still rostered in just 47 percent of Yahoo! leagues, but don't expect that to be the case following this week. AR was 20-for-30 for 272 yards and a touchdown against the Jets. He also added 32 yards on 10 carries including two more scores. And the cherry on top was that he led a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Richardson is definitely not all the way back, but if he can stay healthy, his athletic gifts alone will give him the chance to be productive each and every week. 

The Patriots are typically a team to avoid when looking for fantasy assets, other than Rhamondre Stevenson and Hunter Henry. But Drake Maye continues to go overlooked. He's rostered in just 14% of Yahoo! leagues, but he can be very productive in plus matchups despite a lack of potent offensive weapons. Against the Rams in Week 11, Maye compiled 282 yards and connected on two touchdowns. He also added 28 yards on three carries on the ground. Especially in games where Maye uses his legs more, he should have plenty of opportunities to return value.  

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Who are the best fantasy QB sleepers Week 12?

Both of our sleepers come from the same game, and it's a little risky considering the AFC North battles can often devolve into defensive struggles. But since Jameis Winston is fearless, for better or worse, we can expect him to be throwing it all over the field. That could result in some picks, but it could also result in some scoring as he continues to develop chemistry with Cedric Tillman, Jerry Jeudy, David Njoku, and Elijah Moore. They've struggled to get things going in the running game, so look for the Browns to keep slinging it.

And if that's the case, then Russell Wilson will likely need to take to the air to keep pace as well. The Browns have a reputation of being one of the league's elite offenses, but they've struggled at times this year and just gave up 35 points to a severely banged up Saints offense. Look for Wilson to try to deliver some of his trademark moon balls to George Pickens in what could be a surprisingly high-scoring affair. 

What are the biggest QB injuries Week 12?

As mentioned earlier, Trevor Lawrence continues to deal with an injured non-throwing shoulder. The Jaguars are on bye in Week 12, but there has been some optimism that he may be able to return in Week 13. 

Brock Purdy is dealing with an injured right shoulder. Purdy was limited Wednesday and Thursday, but Kyle Shanahan is holding out hope he can go Sunday. We've leaving him in the rankings, but we have downgraded him several spots. 

#49ers coach Kyle Shanahan on @knbr says QB Brock Purdy did "a little more" today than yesterday in practice but by no means did his normal workload. Shanahan said he's hopeful Purdy will feel better and be able to go on Sunday.

— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) November 21, 2024

The Giants also decided to bench Daniel Jones coming out of their bye week. This could indirectly be tied to an injury situation as the Giants would be on the hook for $23M dollars if Jones were to suffer a season-ending injury. But right now Jones is indeed healthy, but he's been demoted to QB3. Head coach Brian Daboll has said he's going with DeVito over Drew Lock because DeVito has had some success in this system previously, but we don't see him having any success when it comes to fantasy performances.