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Hayden's fantasy football risers, breakouts, waiver wire sleepers for Week 12 of 2025. Are these unexpected booms legit for Sean Tucker, Bryce Young, Kenneth Gainwell, others?
Football fans witnessed quite a few fantastic finishes in Week 11. The Dolphins and Panthers emerged victorious after hard-fought overtime contests, and three more teams won on field goals right at the end of regulation. We nearly saw a fourth, too; the Seahawks fell 21-19 to the Rams after Seattle kicker Jason Myers missed a 61-yard field goal attempt as time expired.
Some individual players also put forth stellar stat lines to leave audiences in awe. Buffalo QB Josh Allen threw for 317 yards, rushed for 40 more, and totaled an incredible six touchdowns. Moreover, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey gained 121 total yards with three scores, and Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan caught eight balls for 130 yards and two TDs.
Not all of the great outings were had by stars like Allen, McCaffrey, and McMillan, though. Numerous players who can be found on fantasy football waiver wires dominated defenses on Sunday. Let's take a look at five of this week's unexpected booms to assess their prospects in fantasy football leagues moving forward.
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Sean Tucker, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers starting RB Bucky Irving has not played since Week 4 due to a shoulder subluxation and a foot sprain. Rachaad White stepped into the team's top RB role, leading the team's running backs in snaps in each of Tampa Bay's next five games. Tucker served as the team's RB2 during that span, though he did rush 12 times for 42 yards and a score in Week 8.
Tucker did a lot more than that on Sunday against Buffalo, however. The third-year back rushed 19 times, setting a new career-high in the process. Tucker gained 106 yards and scored twice on those carries, giving him his second 100-yard game ever and his first this season. He also caught both of his targets for 34 yards and a receiving TD, bringing him to three total touchdowns on the day.
SEAN TUCKER. 43-YARD TD.
TBvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/O0chu1HMdk
— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025
Despite the Buccaneers falling 44-32 to the Bills, Tucker piled up 33.0 half-PPR points. That makes him Week 11's RB1 through Sunday Night Football. Tucker's 21 opportunities surpassed White's 13, but White outsnapped Tucker 43 to 31 according to PFF. Tucker certainly made a case for more snaps moving forward, though.
Unfortunately, that case will likely be insufficient if Irving returns this week. Fantasy managers have gotten frustrated with the uncertainty of Irving's return date, but he will take over as the team's lead running back when healthy. If he cannot suit up for Week 12 against the Rams, though, Tucker will be an interesting fantasy option. Adding Tucker off waivers this week would make sense.
Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers
Panthers QB Young has struggled to gain traction in his third season in the league. Through Week 10, he had posted just two weekly finishes as a top-10 QB. Moreover, in his first two games after Carolina's Week 8 bye, Young totaled just 226 passing yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Young righted the ship on Sunday in a huge way. He completed 31 of his 45 pass attempts for 448 yards and three touchdowns with no picks. Young also converted a two-point attempt on a pass to Jalen Coker late in the fourth quarter. His huge performance propelled Carolina to a 30-27 overtime victory over Atlanta.
448 passing yards
3 TDs
31/45@_bryce_young had a career day in the OT win. @FedEx pic.twitter.com/2Fhdzf8BPj— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025
Young finished the game with 31.82 fantasy points, making him the week's QB2 entering Monday. This marked the second-best fantasy performance of Young's career thus far. It was also Young's first 400-yard passing game in the NFL, and it was just his third time surpassing 300 yards. Young had not even reached 200 yards passing since Week 2 this year.
While Young undeniably dominated the Falcons on Sunday, he is generally not an appealing fantasy option for the rest of the season. His poor track record this season outweighs this performance.
However, Young and the Panthers will take on San Francisco in Week 12. The 49ers just gave up 452 passing yards to Arizona's Jacoby Brissett and are dealing with injuries on defense. Thus, Young will see a favorable matchup for fantasy managers seeking a streamer at QB.
Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
When Steelers running back Jaylen Warren missed the team's Week 4 matchup with a knee injury, backup Gainwell stepped up. Gainwell totaled 134 yards and two touchdowns for Pittsburgh in their 24-21 win over Minnesota in Dublin that week.
However, when Warren returned after Pittsburgh's Week 5 bye, Gainwell returned to his backup role. From Week 6 through Week 10, Gainwell averaged 3.4 carries for 13.2 yards on the ground and 3.2 catches for 11.6 yards through the air.
In Week 11, Warren suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter. While he did return to the game, he played just one snap after that. Gainwell took the opportunity to shine. He had already scored on an 11-yard reception in the first quarter, but he tacked on a second TD in the fourth quarter of Pittsburgh's 34-12 win over Cincinnati.
Rodgers to Gainwell starts the scoring in Pittsburgh!
CINvsPIT on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/GyFZrsr9XW
— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025
Gainwell finished the contest with just nine carries for 24 yards, but he did most of his damage in the passing game. He caught seven of his eight targets for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Gainwell's big day amounted to 26.0 half-PPR points, making him Week 11's RB5 ahead of Monday Night Football.
The biggest factor determining Gainwell's value for Week 12 and beyond will be Warren's availability. Unless early-week reports about Warren point to him being fine, Gainwell should be among the top targets on waiver wires this week. He would be a strong fantasy option against the Bears if Warren is unable to play.
Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers
Packers receiver Watson tore his ACL in Week 18 of last season, resulting in him missing Green Bay's first six games of 2025. He made an impact in his Week 8 debut with four catches for 85 yards. However, as Watson's snap shares grew, his production shrank. Watson caught just two balls for 58 yards the following week, and he had merely two receptions for 45 yards in Week 10.
Watson had his best fantasy game of the season on Sunday against the Giants. He caught four of his season-high five targets for 46 yards and two touchdowns. His second score was a 17-yarder that gave Green Bay a fourth-quarter lead. The Packers would not relinquish their advantage, prevailing 27-20.
CHRISTIAN WATSON ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/neLjeU1zvJ
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 16, 2025
Watson scored 18.6 half-PPR points in the victory. He currently stands as the week's WR4. Watson led all Packers receivers in snaps for the second week in a row per PFF, though Romeo Doubs saw more targets with eight. Watson's touchdowns were also his first since Week 6 of last year; he had gone 13 straight appearances without scoring.
While there are several interesting waiver wire candidates at receiver this week, Watson should be among the top options. He has emerged as a top-two wideout on the Packers alongside Doubs. With tight end Tucker Kraft out for the year since tearing his ACL in Week 9, the Packers have also had many targets that have needed to be redistributed. Look for Watson to continue to cement his role in Week 12 against Minnesota.
Michael Wilson, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Third-year wideout Wilson had a modest first half of his 2025 campaign. He entered Week 11 third on the Cardinals in targets, receptions, and receiving yards, but he was only averaging 2.4 catches on 4.2 targets for 25.7 yards per game. Star tight end Trey McBride and top receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. both had achieved substantially more production through the season's first 10 weeks.
Harrison missed Arizona's Week 11 matchup against San Francisco after undergoing an emergency appendectomy, and Zay Jones was also out due to a season-ending Achilles injury he suffered in Week 10. These absences paved the way for Wilson to receive a larger role versus the 49ers.
Arizona went down 13-0 early and spent the rest of the game playing catch-up. The game script led Cardinals quarterback Brissett to attempt 57 passes and complete 47 of them, breaking the NFL single-game record for completions. Wilson caught 15 of his 18 targets from Brissett for 185 yards, smashing his career-bests in all three categories.
35-yard pickup from Jacoby Brissett to Michael Wilson!
SFvsAZ on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/eFtO17j8UV
— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025
Wilson's monster numbers brought him 26.0 half-PPR points and the week's WR2 slot after Sunday's games. This was Wilson's first game this season with more than eight half-PPR points. His explosion was not enough to help the Cardinals win, though, as they were defeated 41-22.
Wilson should be a top target on waivers this week. No, he will not see this volume again; between the injuries and game script, the stars aligned for a monster performance. However, Jones will still be out, and Harrison may miss more time as well. If Harrison is out for another game, Wilson will be poised for another strong showing in Week 12 against Jacksonville.
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