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Top fantasy football risers and fallers heading into Week 12 of the 2023 NFL season. Joey Pollizze identifies players at QB, RB, WR, and TE whose value for fantasy football is rising or falling.
It's crazy to think about how fast this fantasy football season has gone. 11 weeks are down, and we are just a few weeks away from the fantasy playoffs. Most leagues will start their playoffs in Week 15 with the championship happening two weeks later in Week 17.
That makes these last few regular season games almost must-win. Fantasy teams will likely be fighting for playoff spots or a first-round bye over the next few weeks. So, if your trade deadline has not ended yet, now is the perfect time to bolster your roster one final time down the stretch.
This risers and fallers column could help you identify those players that you should target. Most risers are players that are trending up in fantasy and could be great trade candidates to buy, while you might be looking to trade some of the fallers from the list below.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Week 12 Fantasy Football Risers
QB Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had the worst three-game stretch of his career from Week 6 to Week 8, he has bounced back in a big way following the team's Week 9 bye. In Week 10, Purdy threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns while finishing as the QB6 in fantasy.
He then followed that up with arguably the best performance of his career in Week 11 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Purdy completed 21-of-25 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns in the 49ers' 27-14 victory. The 23-year-old quarterback also finished as the QB2 on the week, which is the highest fantasy finish of his career.
Purdy has been red-hot over the past two games and remains a strong fantasy QB1 moving forward. He is a borderline must-start every week with some nice matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13 and the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the fantasy playoffs in Week 15.
RB Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet was already trending up in fantasy football after logging 50-plus percent of the team's offensive snaps in three straight games. From Week 8 to Week 10, Charbonnet averaged 55.3% of Seattle's snaps and outsnapped Kenneth Walker in every game during that span.
After Week 11, the rookie is rising even higher in fantasy. After Walker left the contest early last week, Charbonnet went on to play 85% of the Seahawks offensive snaps against the Los Angeles Rams. He saw 55-of-65 possible snaps while totaling 21 touches for 69 yards in the contest.
Charbonnet put up workhorse numbers following Walker's early exit, and there's a real chance the second-year back does not play on Thursday against the San Francisco 49ers. That means the rookie could be in for another big role on offense. The matchup isn't the best, but he should see enough volume to be an RB2 moving forward – depending on how much time Walker misses.
WR Tank Dell, Houston Texans
Throughout the season, Puka Nacua has been seen as the waiver wire league winner. He's currently the WR9 in PPR formats and has averaged 17.8 PPR fantasy points per game this season. That title might slowly be heading toward Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell.
Dell has been on a nice stretch dating back to Week 9 and that continued in a career day in Week 11. He caught eight passes for 149 yards and one touchdown last week while seeing another 10 targets in the game. The rookie has now totaled 20 catches for 319 yards and four touchdowns over the past three games.
In that same stretch, Dell has finished as the WR1, WR11, and WR3. The rookie is putting up crazy numbers in his first season and remains a must-start in fantasy. He appears to be C.J. Stroud's favorite target in the passing game, and their connection will only continue to grow.
Other Fantasy Football Risers:
Week 12 Fantasy Football Fallers
WR Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
Fantasy managers that drafted Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase early in the first round, look away. Chase had his worst game of the season in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens, totaling just two catches for 12 yards and one touchdown in the loss.
That's not entirely why Chase is on this list. It's because of Joe Burrow's (wrist) season-ending injury, which immediately drops the wideout's value in fantasy. Going from Burrow to Jake Browning is not great fantasy news for the Pro Bowl wide receiver.
Chase will still be heavily involved in the offense and should have a solid floor moving forward, even with Browning under center. However, he no longer has that high ceiling. The 23-year-old wideout will likely not be able to put up first-round fantasy numbers with a backup quarterback.
WR Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
Like Chase, the Week 11 production is not entirely why New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson is on this list. Last week, Wilson scored -.10 fantasy points in half-PPR formats after catching two passes for nine yards and losing a fumble. It's not just Week 11. The quarterback switch makes me nervous for the wideout.
It was announced earlier in the week that Tim Boyle would be taking over as the Jets starting quarterback, and it could be considered a downgrade for Wilson. Boyle has thrown for 607 yards, three touchdowns, and six interceptions in his NFL career while completing 60.8% of his passes. His college numbers are even worse, though, after throwing just 12 touchdowns with 26 interceptions in four combined seasons at Connecticut and Eastern Kentucky.
Zach Wilson wasn't getting the job done for the Jets, but he was at least getting the ball to Wilson. The wideout had four straight fantasy finishes inside the top 24 from Week 6 to Week 10. With Boyle taking over, though, that might not be attainable.
WR Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
It has not been the season of giving for Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp. Following a four-game absence to begin the year due to a hamstring injury, Kupp started the season with a bang. He finished as the WR12 in Week 5 and then the WR3 in Week 6.
However, since then, Kupp has failed to finish inside the top 44 for wide receivers in four straight games. During this span from Week 7 to Week 11, he has caught a combined nine passes for 109 yards. That's brutal numbers for a player that many thought would be a top-five wideout in fantasy.
Kupp did only play 27% of the Rams' offensive snaps last week after hurting his ankle early in the game. Before his exit, he wasn't doing much either. He had just one target at the time. It's been a headache to roster the veteran this year, and despite the good news of him dealing with just a low-ankle sprain, there's a chance he could miss Week 12. That puts his value trending down once again.
Other Fantasy Football Fallers:
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