Week 12 Waiver Wire Rankings - Fantasy Football Pickups Include Christian Watson, Emanuel Wilson, Chris Rodriguez, Sean Tucker, Kenneth Gainwell, Bam Knight, Bhayshul Tuten, Devin Singletary, Tyjae Spears

November 18, 2025

Fantasy football waiver wire rankings for Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season. Top free agent options to add off waivers, and our rankings will help you prioritize.

The fantasy playoffs are rapidly approaching as we are already in Week 12 of the NFL regular season. There were many injuries on Sunday, and fantasy managers will have to deal with bye weeks again as the Broncos, Chargers, Dolphins, and Commanders are on a bye. At RotoBaller HQ, we kick off the week early with our Week 12 fantasy football waiver wire rankings for Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season. Nick Mariano has ranked the top 85 free agent options to help you prioritize who to add off the waiver wire.

Several players still have low roster percentages and could have an immediate impact on fantasy teams in 2025. Is Kenneth Gainwell Pittsburgh's primary running back with Jaylen Warren sidelined? Where does Michael Wilson rank in our waiver wire rankings after erupting for 15 catches and 185 receiving yards against the 49ers? With Bucky Irving still sidelined, has Sean Tucker surpassed Rachaad White in Tampa Bay's backfield?

We have answers to these questions and will guide you with our top 85 fantasy football waiver wire pickups list for Week 12. Time to go make some moves, tweak your fantasy teams, and grab some waiver wire stashes. Good luck, RotoBallers!

Who To Pickup for Fantasy Football Week 12?

Waiver wire pickup options, including how to prioritize them for your league - depending on the league size. Quarterbacks and Defenses (D/ST) are grouped together at the bottom of the list:

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks

Some of the top names include Kenneth Gainwell, Sean Tucker, Michael Wilson, Tyrell Shavers, and Chris Rodriguez Jr., and more.  We recap why these players rostered under 55% in Yahoo! leagues should be on your waiver wire radar for Week 12.

Sean Tucker, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 12 Waiver Wire Rankings: 7

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker had 19 carries, 106 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns during Sunday's loss against the Buffalo Bills. He also caught two passes for 34 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder) was sidelined again this week, and Tucker established himself as the primary option out of the backfield over Rachaad White.

The 24-year-old showed plenty of explosiveness, as two of his three touchdowns came from 28+ yards. The Bucs can make a case for having the best backfield in the NFL, as Irving, Tucker, and White have all shown that they're capable of being an RB1 in fantasy football.

Irving should reclaim the lead-back role when healthy, but both White and Tucker deserve to handle a large dose of touches, too. Tucker is a fantasy RB2 with Irving sidelined and an RB3/flex with Irving healthy. Tampa Bay takes on the Los Angeles Rams in Week 12.

Michael Wilson, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Week 12 Waiver Wire Rankings: 6

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson caught 15 of his 18 targets for 185 yards during Sunday's loss to the San Francisco 49ers. We knew Wilson was going to take on an expanded role with Marvin Harrison Jr. (appendix) sidelined, but nobody could have predicted that he would be this involved and productive against the Niners.

He benefited from Jacoby Brissett setting a new record for most completions (47) in a single game in NFL history. It's unlikely that Brissett throws the ball as much next week, and it's also too early to tell whether Harrison will miss additional time. Nevertheless, Wilson's big game will keep him in the WR3/flex tier with WR2 upside for Week 12 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Tyrell Shavers, WR, Buffalo Bills
Week 12 Waiver Wire Rankings: 47

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Tyrell Shavers caught four of his five targets for a team-high 90 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His biggest play of the game was a 43-yard touchdown that temporarily gave Buffalo the lead in the second quarter.

Shavers capitalized on an increased opportunity to produce with Keon Coleman (coach's decision) inactive. The third-year receiver played 53.6% of the offensive snaps, setting a new career-high. Coleman should return to action next week, but Shavers has shown that he deserves to compete for more opportunities alongside Coleman, Khalil Shakir, and Joshua Palmer.

Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 12 Waiver Wire Rankings: 1

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell was a stud through the air during Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Gainwell saw increased playing time with Jaylen Warren (ankle) barely playing in the second half. The 26-year-old rushed the ball nine times and was held to 26 yards on the ground.

However, Gainwell was excellent in the receiving game this weekend. He hauled in seven of his eight targets for 81 yards and scored two touchdowns in the win. Gainwell could see a larger workload if Warren is forced to miss time. Fantasy managers will need to check back for another update. Gainwell could be a popular waiver wire addition ahead of the Week 12 matchup against the Chicago Bears.

Chris Rodriguez, RB, Washington Commanders
Week 12 Waiver Wire Rankings: 38

Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. rushed for 79 yards on 15 carries during Sunday's loss against the Miami Dolphins in Madrid. He also converted his lone target into a six-yard reception. Washington has operated out of a backfield committee for most of this season, but it now appears that Rodriguez has taken over as the team's lead back.

Not only did he have more carries than Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Jeremy McNichols combined, but he also had more yards per carry than each of them. Rodriguez is now averaging 9.9 fantasy points (full-PPR) over his last three games, and he handled a season-high 44.8 percent snap share on Sunday morning. Fantasy managers should view Rodriguez as a high-end RB3/flex on the other side of his Week 12 bye.

Running Backs - Week 12 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Wide Receiver - 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:

More Waiver Wire Articles

After diving into the Week 12 rankings, read about some other free waiver wire resources available at RotoBaller:

• 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

Each week, our NFL team puts out a complete array of fantasy football waiver wire articles to compliment our slick Who Should I Pickup? Waiver wire player comparison tool. Bookmark it!

In addition, be on the lookout for our other waiver wire articles all season long. We will be releasing weekly waiver wire articles for each position, FAAB bidding recommendations, streamers and more throughout the week.

Who Should I Pickup Tool

Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool:

Who Should I Pickup for Week 12?

PPR Half-PPR STD

Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...

Who To Pickup?

Reset

Choose From The Top Ranked Players

Overall

QB

RB

WR

TE

K

DST

Rookies

Popular Searches

Overall

QB

RB

WR

TE

K

DST

Rookies

2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: Kenneth Gainwell, Sean Tucker, Michael Wilson, Tyrell Shavers, Chris Rodriguez Jr., Emanuel Wilson, Trey Benson, Alec Pierce, Christian Watson, Colston Loveland, and Xavier Legette. 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.

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 Kenneth Gainwell, Sean Tucker, Michael Wilson, Tyrell Shavers, Chris Rodriguez Jr., Emanuel Wilson, Trey Benson, Alec Pierce, Christian Watson, Colston Loveland, and Xavier Legette:

LIKE ROTOBALLER?

CLICK HERE, ENTER ROTOBALLER.COM, THEN CHECK THE BOX

More Waiver Wire Analysis