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Justin's fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 12 of 2025. He looks at surprising performances from Jacoby Brissett, Sean Tucker, Kenneth Gainwell, Michael Wilson, and Tyrell Shavers.
Welcome back to another edition of Fact or Fiction, RotoBaller's weekly look at some of the most surprising performances from around the NFL. Were those surprising shows a Fact, i.e. something fantasy managers need to pay attention to, or were they simply Fiction.
I've been doing this column all season, but this week honestly might be the weirdest one yet. Not a single one of these players was on the fantasy radar when the season began. Heck, most weren't even on it when the week started. But as injuries pile up down the stretch, unexpected names emerge as contributors. Will those names keep it up, or was this just a mirage?
Let's take a look at the Week 11 performances from Jacoby Brissett, Sean Tucker, Kenneth Gainwell, Michael Wilson, and Tyrell Shavers. And if you're sitting there saying "who???," well...I don't blame you!
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Jacoby Brissett, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Week 11 stats: 47-for-57 for 452 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions -- overall QB4
I've always considered Brissett to be an elite backup quarterback, but it turns out he might be an elite quarterback, period.
Alright, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, but Brissett's been excellent since filling in for the injured Kyler Murray. So good that on Sunday, Brissett set an NFL record for completions in a game, completing 47 of his 57 pass attempts for 452 yards and two touchdowns.
Normally, I'd probably chalk this one up as an anomaly. A career backup throwing for 452 yards? That's one of those weird things that you just kind of write off. Not so fast, though: Brissett has thrown 30 or more passes in all five of his starts for Arizona, with 44 or more attempts in three of those games. The Cardinals are allowing Brissett to let it rip, and it's led to him finishing as a top-12 fantasy quarterback in all five of his starts.
Meanwhile, it feels like every NFL quarterback is injured. This week, we'll see Tyrod Taylor, Kirk Cousins, Mason Rudolph, Shedeur Sanders, and Davis Mills all starting games. With so many quarterbacks hurt, Brissett becomes a pretty strong play. He's a borderline top-10 option for fantasy managers in Week 12.
Verdict: Injuries at the position make Brissett a clear Fact going forward.
Sean Tucker, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 11 stats: 19 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns, two catches for 34 yards and a touchdown -- overall RB1
I have a dynasty league where I entered last week 8-2 overall, but Jonathan Taylor's bye week, coupled with the hole Cam Skattebo's injury left in my lineup, had me desperate. Desperate enough that I started Tucker as my RB2.
My reward for starting Tucker? I had the overall RB1 in my lineup after the third year back out of Syracuse, and found the end zone three times.
More than likely, we just witnessed the high point of Tucker's NFL career. He was an outstanding college back, but never really adjusted to the NFL. Having a game like this in his 38th NFL appearance is cool, but if it were sustainable, then it likely would have happened sooner.
His chances of a repeat are also impacted by Bucky Irving's return. The second-year back hasn't played since Sept. 28 due to foot and shoulder issues, but he's returned to practice and seems to be nearing a return. Tucker has fantasy appeal if Irving continues to miss time, but he loses much of that upside the moment Irving steps back onto the field.
Verdict: Fact until Irving is back, but since that could be any time now, well...
Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 11 stats: nine carries for 24 yards, seven receptions for 81 yards, and two touchdowns -- overall RB5
Gainwell hadn't caught a touchdown pass since 2021. He caught two of them this week against the Bengals.
A few things contributed to that. First, starting running back Jaylen Warren left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury and didn't return, giving Gainwell additional opportunities. For example, he had three carries and three targets on Pittsburgh's final drive.
Second, Gainwell was taking on a Bengals defense that's been really bad this year, allowing the most points and second-most yards in the league. It's been relatively easy to have big games against this defense.
Kenneth Gainwell showing off
CINvsPIT on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/zJ8SM5NIex
— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025
SEAN TUCKER. 43-YARD TD.
TBvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/O0chu1HMdk
— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025
It sure sounds like the Warren injury won't be something that lingers, and the Steelers won't have the luxury of facing the Bengals every week. He's been good in both games where he had the bulk of the running back touches, but has just two top-30 finishes outside of that. He's an RB3 play at best if Warren suits up against the Bears.
Verdict: Fiction
Michael Wilson, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Week 11 stats: 15 catches for 185 yards -- overall WR3
Wilson was targeted 18 times against the 49ers. 32.1 percent of his 2025 targets came in this one game. What, uhh, happened?
Well, it happened to be the perfect confluence of events. Marvin Harrison Jr. missed the game after having appendicitis. Zay Jones tore his Achilles and will be out for the rest of the year. Brissett was on a heater and played the best game of his career, setting an NFL record for completions.
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
The latter thing won't happen every week, but Jones won't return this season, and Harrison could still miss more time, so there's definitely something to take note of with Wilson. The rest of Arizona's wide receiver depth chart is very questionable: Greg Dortch, Xavier Weaver, and Andre Baccellia.
Until Harrison returns, you can play Wilson as WR2, and he can still be used as a WR3/4 option once Harrison returns due to the passing volume of this offense, which has been slinging the ball around since moving to Brissett at quarterback.
Verdict: Not a Fact to this level, but he's definitely in play as a fantasy WR2 option, which is a huge step up from before.
Tyrell Shavers, WR, Buffalo Bills
Week 11 stats: four catches for 90 yards and one touchdown -- overall WR7
Keon Coleman was a healthy scratch this week after missing a team meeting. Shavers took advantage of that, posting his best stat line of the season with four receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown.
It feels like Buffalo has struggled all year to figure out who its best wide receivers are. Could Shavers having this kind of game change the pecking order for the Bills?
I don't think so. While the fact that he was tied for most snaps among wide receivers is an encouraging sign, Coleman's absence likely will only be a one-week thing, plunging Shavers back into a complicated mess.
However, it was a good showing this week. Shavers should probably be on your radar, but he's barely in play as a deep-league streaming option this week against a very good Texans defense.
Verdict: Fiction? Probably?
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 12 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Jacoby Brissett, Sean Tucker, Kenneth Gainwell, Michael Wilson, and Tyrell Shavers. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 12. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 12 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Jacoby Brissett, Sean Tucker, Kenneth Gainwell, Michael Wilson, and Tyrell Shavers. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 12.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool, but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 12 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 12 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 12 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 12 for Jacoby Brissett, Sean Tucker, Kenneth Gainwell, Michael Wilson, and Tyrell Shavers:
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