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Updated mid-week fantasy football waiver wire rankings for Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season. Top fantasy football free agents and streamers to add off waivers.
The fantasy football regular season only has a few weeks left, and it's time to examine your roster and determine which player to add to help improve your roster. There were many injuries last week, and four teams are on bye: the Broncos, Commanders, Dolphins, and Chargers. At RotoBaller HQ, we break down the waiver wire with our updated waiver wire rankings for fantasy football Week 12 of the 2025 season to help fantasy managers find those bye week and injury replacements.
With four teams on the bye, fantasy managers could have some holes in their lineup to fill. Is Emanuel Wilson or Chris Brooks Green Bay's primary running back with Josh Jacobs sidelined? Is Bam Knight or Michael Carter Arizona's running back to add with Trey Benson on IR, and Emari Demercado set to miss time? Is Darnell Mooney a must-add with Drake London being week-to-week with a sprained PCL? We have answers to these questions and will guide you with our updated waiver wire rankings.
These Week 12 waiver wire rankings are updated by Nick Mariano, RotoBaller's lead fantasy football analyst and forecaster. For those who are not familiar, he brings you his weekly waiver wire rankings and priority adds for the top 85 options to consider across various positions and league sizes. Good luck in Week 12 on the waiver wire!
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
Who To Pick Up for Fantasy Football Week 12?
Quarterbacks (QB) and Defenses (D/ST) are grouped together at the bottom of the list:
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks
Some of the top names include Emanuel Wilson, Michael Carter, Christian Watson, Darnell Mooney, and Bhayshul Tuten. We recap why these players should be on your waiver wire radar for Week 12.
Emanuel Wilson, RB, Packers
Green Bay Packers running back Emanuel Wilson stepped into a lead role in the second half on Sunday in the Packers' 27-20 victory over the New York Giants because Josh Jacobs (knee) was injured and did not return in the second half of the game. Reports have suggested that Jacobs' knee injury is not "season-ending."
However, he is expected to get additional testing done on Monday, and it appears likely that Wilson will be in line for RB1 duties in this offense, making him a clear, top-25 running back in fantasy football while Jacobs is out.
MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring) is also injured, and Wilson is a must-add in all formats, and could be a plug-and-play option for your team as an RB2 or flex spot heading into Week 12 against the Minnesota Vikings. Even with Jacobs healthy in 2025, Wilson has 53 rush attempts and 220 rushing yards on the season, and has been playing roughly 24% of the snaps, so he does have some exposure.
Christian Watson, WR, Packers
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson could be set up for a few weeks as the team's top pass-catcher before the potential return of Jayden Reed (collarbone/foot) from IR. In his growing role, he makes a nice addition if he's on the waiver wire in your leagues. The fourth-year receiver from North Dakota State missed the first seven weeks of the season but has played four straight games, logging multiple receptions and over 40 yards in each contest.
On Sunday, he scored his first two touchdowns of the year to help power the Packers past the Giants. Watson and the Packers have tough receiver matchups against the Vikings and Lions in the next two weeks, but then he has three favorable matchups in the last four weeks of the fantasy season against the Bears twice and the Ravens.
Michael Carter, RB, Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter recorded a season-high five receptions on seven targets in his team's 41-22 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. With Cardinals running back Emari Demercado (ankle) likely to miss the team's Week 12 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Carter could be in line for a sizable role for a second straight week.
The 26-year-old is unlikely to factor much on early downs, as Carter has fallen behind Arizona back Bam Knight in the pecking order for carries. However, Carter has recorded at least five targets in three out of six games played for the Cardinals this season.
One wrinkle for Carter is the potential return of Trey Benson (knee), who could be returning soon from the knee injury that has kept him on Injured Reserve since Week 4. However, if Benson and Demercado are out in Week 12, Carter could have some deep-league fantasy appeal.
Darnell Mooney, WR, Falcons
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney almost had the second 1,000-yard season of his career in 2024 with the Falcons, but this year has been an entirely different story. In eight games played, Mooney has only 16 receptions on 42 targets for 224 yards and no touchdowns. The 28-year-old former fifth-round pick has had four one-catch games and just has not been trustworthy for fantasy purposes.
However, Mooney is now on the waiver-wire radar going into a Week 12 divisional contest against the New Orleans Saints after teammate Drake London (knee) sprained his PCL in Sunday's overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers. Mooney also injured his ribs in that game, but he was able to return after halftime and finished with three catches on four targets for 34 yards.
Rostered in 31% of Yahoo leagues, Mooney might now become a more attractive flex play for however long London is out. The catch is that veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins is now taking over the offense with Michael Penix Jr. (knee) likely done for the year.
Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten (ankle) exited during the third quarter of Sunday's contest against the Los Angeles Chargers with an injury, as the Jaguars went on to dominate the Chargers 35-6. A large part of their dominance was mainly due to the offensive line, Travis Etienne, Tuten, and the Jaguars' defense.
At the time of his departure, he was having a career day, rushing for a career high 74 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown on 15 carries. Backfield mate, ETN, also rushed for 73 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. According to Jamal St. Cyr, Storts Anchor for News4JAX, when asked about his ankle, Tuten said, "It's good," which is a good sign for his availability heading into Week 12 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Tuten was involved fairly early in this contest, and his 15 carries were not due to the game being out of hand. He was clearly splitting touches with ETN early in the game, and it's something to monitor moving forward. Regardless, Tuten becomes a must-add in all formats based on his volume on Sunday, and immediately enters the RB3 conversation, especially if we can expect 8-12 carries from him.
Running Backs - Week 12 Waiver Wire Rankings
Pickups are in priority order:
Wide Receivers - Week 12 Waiver Wire Rankings
Pickups are in priority order:
Tight Ends- Week 12 Waiver Wire Rankings
Pickups are in priority order:
Quarterbacks - Week 12 Waiver Wire Rankings
Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 12:
Defenses (D/ST) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Rankings
Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 12:
Week 12 Waiver Wire Articles
In addition to the Week 12 waiver wire rankings, here's a look at some other free waiver wire resources available at RotoBaller. Each week, our NFL team puts out a complete array of fantasy football waiver wire articles to complement our slick new Who Should I Pickup? Waiver wire player comparison tool - bookmark that! Here are more detailed Week 12 waiver wire articles:
- Week 12 waiver wire pickups (all positions)
- Week 12 running back waiver wire pickups
- Week 12 wide receiver waiver wire pickups
- Week 12 tight end waiver wire pickups
- Week 12 quarterback waiver wire pickups
- Week 12 FAAB waiver wire bids
- Week 12 defense (D/ST) streamers and pickups
- Week 12 kicker streamers and pickups
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...
Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2025 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Emanuel Wilson, Michael Carter, Bam Knight, Christian Watson, Darnell Mooney, Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Brooks, Juwan Johnson, Trey Benson, and Brenton Strange. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2025. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pick up... all free! Make the right decisions.
2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players -Emanuel Wilson, Michael Carter, Bam Knight, Christian Watson, Darnell Mooney, Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Brooks, Juwan Johnson, Trey Benson, and Brenton Strange. These are some common searches for 2025 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
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 Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Recent Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2025. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. 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.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Emanuel Wilson, Michael Carter, Bam Knight, Christian Watson, Darnell Mooney, Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Brooks, Juwan Johnson, Trey Benson, and Brenton Strange:
More Waiver Wire Analysis
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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.
