Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 12: Wide Receivers

Fantasy managers considering who to start in fantasy football at the wide receiver position are staring down some tough decisions in Week 12. The first half of the season has seen many of the NFL’s 32 teams dogged by widespread injury. This has specifically been a problem for managers weighing who to start at WR, since many of those injuries have sidelined key wideouts or their star quarterbacks.

Not only have we seen top QBs like the Bengals’ Joe Burrow, the 49ers’ Brock Purdy, the Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz, the Commanders Jayden Daniels and many more taken out of action, but we’ve also some of the top options at the wide receiver position go down: Malik Nabers, Tyreek Hill, Mike Evans and Puka Nacua have all lost time — or their seasons — to injury.

Stuck wondering who the top wide receivers to start for Week 12 are, or which players should be riding your bench this week? Here’s our fantasy football start ’em sit ’em Week 12 wide receivers guide to help you get an edge in your league this week.

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Start ‘Em/Sit ‘Em Week 12, 2025 – Wide Receiver

So, who should you absolutely slot into your lineup for Week 12, and who’s better of left on your bench? Let’s take a look.

Start of the Week

Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers (at San Francisco 49ers): Tet had his best week of the season so far against Atlanta, correcting the script against a divisional rival from earlier in the season, and he has an appetizing matchup in San Francisco this week. The 49ers secondary has been leaky against wideouts, especially slot receivers like McMillan. We’re playing him wherever we can this week.

Wide Receivers to Start in Week 12

Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears (vs. Pittsburgh Steelers): Odunze has emerged as the undisputed No. 1 receiver on the Bears and has been a generally safe play most weeks, though he’s had a few let-downs for sure. This week, he’ll face a Pittsburgh defense that’s currently ranked as the worst pass defense in the league. Easy call, here.

Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions (vs. New York Giants): Jameson Williams didn’t do, well… much of anything for the first half of the season, with targets from Jared Goff going elsewhere in a new-look Detroit offensive scheme. That is no longer the case, and Williams has reasserted himself a bona fide fantasy start over the last few weeks. He’ll put that renewed status to work against a relatively weak Giants pass defense.

More Wide Receivers to Start: AJ Brown, Davonta Smith, Stefon Diggs, Zay Flowers, Chris Olave 

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Sit of the Week

Michael Pittman, Jr., Indianapolis Colts (at Kansas City Chiefs): Pittman’s been a solid option over the last few weeks, but the Colts face an aggressive Kansas City defense that knows how to put immense pressure on the quarterback and shut down receivers in the end zone. Neither of those things bodes well for Pittman, and we’re opting to sub someone else in for this matchup. You can bench Alec Pierce too, while you’re at it.

Wide Receivers to Sit in Week 12

DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers (at Chicago Bears): Metcalf has been a bit of an enigma this season: He projected as Aaron Rodgers favorite target ahead of the season and has mostly made good on that. Yet, he hasn’t exactly been great for fantasy, especially over the last few weeks, and there’s a chance he’ll have Mason Rudolph throwing to him against the Bears. We’ll let him sit, thanks.

Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs (at Indianapolis Colts): Pittman might be our sit of the week, but we’re not starting one of Kansas City’s top wideouts in the matchup against the Colts, either. He’s been generally unproductive for fantasy since the return of Rashee Rice, the team’s clear No. 1, and the Colts are a tough matchup for big-play receivers. Not worth the risk this week.

More Wide Receivers to Sit: Ricky Pearsall, Jordan Addison, Tre Tucker, DJ Moore

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Week 12 WR Matchups: Avg. Fantasy Points Allowed to WR by Team

To help you make your WR start or sit decisions, here’s how many fantasy points on average every team in the league has given up to the wide receiver position through Week 10. Higher numbers typically indicate a favorable matchup for wideouts:

Team	Avg. Fantasy Points Allowed to Wide Receivers
Dallas Cowboys	33.1
Las Vegas Raiders	32
Pittsburgh Steelers	31.6
Washington Commanders	30.8
Chicago Bears	30.7
New York Giants	30.3
San Francisco 49ers	29.8
Tennessee Titans	29.6
Baltimore Ravens	29.3
Indianapolis Colts	28.6
Detroit Lions	27.6
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	27.4
Jacksonville Jaguars	27
New England Patriots	26.9
Atlanta Falcons	26.5
Los Angeles Rams	25.5
New Orleans Saints	25.3
New York Jets	25
Cincinnati Bengals	24.7
Philadelphia Eagles	24.5
Arizona Cardinals	24.4
Buffalo Bills	24.4
Green Bay Packers	24
Cleveland Browns	23.8
Seattle Seahawks	23.5
Minnesota Vikings	21.9
Kansas City Chiefs	21.8
Carolina Panthers	21.5
Miami Dolphins	21.5
Houston Texans	21.3
Los Angeles Chargers	21.1
Denver Broncos	19.8

Week 12 Fantasy Football WR Rankings (PPR)

Here are the rankings for the top wide receivers for Week 12:

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Proj. Fantasy Points
1	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	SEA	at TEN	21
2	Puka Nacua	LAR	vs. TB	20
3	Amon-Ra St. Brown	DET	vs. NYG	19.9
4	Rashee Rice	KC	vs. IND	17.5
5	CeeDee Lamb	DAL	vs. PHI	16.7
6	Emeka Egbuka	TB	at LAR	16.4
7	Nico Collins	HOU	vs. BUF	16.1
8	Davante Adams	LAR	vs. TB	16.1
9	Tee Higgins	CIN	vs. NE	16.1
10	Stefon Diggs	NE	at CIN	15.7
11	Chris Olave	NO	vs. ATL	15.5
12	Tetairoa McMillan	CAR	at SF	15.4
13	Justin Jefferson	MIN	at GB	14.6
14	DeVonta Smith	PHI	at DAL	14.5
15	George Pickens	DAL	vs. PHI	14.2
16	Wan’Dale Robinson	NYG	at DET	14.2
17	A.J. Brown	PHI	at DAL	14.1
18	Michael Pittman Jr.	IND	at KC	13.5
19	Jameson Williams	DET	vs. NYG	13.4
20	Zay Flowers	BAL	vs. NYJ	13.3
21	Rome Odunze	CHI	vs. PIT	12.8
22	Michael Wilson	ARI	vs. JAC	12.6
23	DK Metcalf	PIT	at CHI	12.5
24	Jauan Jennings	SF	vs. CAR	12.1
25	Khalil Shakir	BUF	at HOU	12
26	Romeo Doubs	GB	vs. MIN	11.2
27	Alec Pierce	IND	at KC	10.9
28	Christian Watson	GB	vs. MIN	10.6
29	Ricky Pearsall	SF	vs. CAR	10.5
30	Jordan Addison	MIN	at GB	10.3
31	Darnell Mooney	ATL	at NO	10.2
32	Xavier Worthy	KC	vs. IND	10.1
33	Jakobi Meyers	JAC	at ARI	10
34	Tez Johnson	TB	at LAR	9.6
35	Tre Tucker	LV	vs. CLE	9.5
36	DJ Moore	CHI	vs. PIT	9.4
37	Parker Washington	JAC	at ARI	9.3
38	Jerry Jeudy	CLE	at LV	9.2
39	Josh Downs	IND	at KC	9.2
40	Mack Hollins	NE	at CIN	9.1
41	Luther Burden III	CHI	vs. PIT	9.1
42	Greg Dortch	ARI	vs. JAC	8.8
43	Andrei Iosivas	CIN	vs. NE	8.8
44	Rashid Shaheed	SEA	at TEN	8.7
45	Brian Thomas Jr.	JAC	at ARI	8.4
46	Cooper Kupp	SEA	at TEN	8.2
47	Jayden Higgins	HOU	vs. BUF	8.2
48	Xavier Legette	CAR	at SF	8.1
49	Jalen Coker	CAR	at SF	8
50	Kayshon Boutte	NE	at CIN	7.8
51	Matthew Golden	GB	vs. MIN	7.7
52	Cedric Tillman	CLE	at LV	7.6
53	Joshua Palmer	BUF	at HOU	7.5
54	Marquise Brown	KC	vs. IND	7.3
55	DeMario Douglas	NE	at CIN	7.2
56	Tyler Lockett	LV	vs. CLE	7.2
57	Sterling Shepard	TB	at LAR	7.1
58	DeAndre Hopkins	BAL	vs. NYJ	6.9
59	Roman Wilson	PIT	at CHI	6.9
60	Isaiah Hodgins	NYG	at DET	6.7
61	Devaughn Vele	NO	vs. ATL	6.7
62	Jalen Nailor	MIN	at GB	6.7
63	Tyrell Shavers	BUF	at HOU	6.6
64	Calvin Austin III	PIT	at CHI	6.5
65	Adonai Mitchell	NYJ	at BAL	6.4
66	Elic Ayomanor	TEN	vs. SEA	6.4
67	Van Jefferson	TEN	vs. SEA	6.2
68	John Metchie III	NYJ	at BAL	6.1
69	Chimere Dike	TEN	vs. SEA	6.1
70	Gabe Davis	BUF	at HOU	6
71	Christian Kirk	HOU	vs. BUF	5.8
72	Dontayvion Wicks	GB	vs. MIN	5.8
73	Kyle Williams	NE	at CIN	5.7
74	Olamide Zaccheaus	CHI	vs. PIT	5.6
75	Jaylin Noel	HOU	vs. BUF	5.6
76	Kendrick Bourne	SF	vs. CAR	5.4
77	KhaDarel Hodge	ATL	at NO	5.3
78	Xavier Hutchinson	HOU	vs. BUF	5.2
79	Isaac TeSlaa	DET	vs. NYG	5
80	Mitch Tinsley	CIN	vs. NE	4.7
81	Ryan Flournoy	DAL	vs. PHI	4.7
82	Jalin Hyatt	NYG	at DET	4.6
83	Tyquan Thornton	KC	vs. IND	4.6
84	Kalif Raymond	DET	vs. NYG	4.6
85	David Sills V	ATL	at NO	4.6
86	Dyami Brown	JAC	at ARI	4.1
87	Jordan Whittington	LAR	vs. TB	4.1
88	Jahan Dotson	PHI	at DAL	4
89	Isaiah Bond	CLE	at LV	4
90	KaVontae Turpin	DAL	vs. PHI	4
91	Jack Bech	LV	vs. CLE	3.9
92	Xavier Weaver	ARI	vs. JAC	3.7
93	Demarcus Robinson	SF	vs. CAR	3.4
94	JuJu Smith-Schuster	KC	vs. IND	3.4
95	Darius Slayton	NYG	at DET	3.3
96	Isaiah Williams	NYJ	at BAL	3.1
97	Tim Patrick	JAC	at ARI	3
98	Dont’e Thornton Jr.	LV	vs. CLE	2.9
99	Chris Godwin Jr.	TB	at LAR	2.8
100	Tyler Johnson	NYJ	at BAL	2.8
101	Mason Kinsey	TEN	vs. SEA	2.7
102	Malachi Corley	CLE	at LV	2.6
103	Savion Williams	GB	vs. MIN	2.5
104	Elijah Moore	BUF	at HOU	2.5
105	Rashod Bateman	BAL	vs. NYJ	2.5
106	Mason Tipton	NO	vs. ATL	2.5
107	Tory Horton	SEA	at TEN	2.4
108	Jalen Tolbert	DAL	vs. PHI	2.4
109	Arian Smith	NYJ	at BAL	2.4
110	Brycen Tremayne	CAR	at SF	2.4
111	Jimmy Horn Jr.	CAR	at SF	2.3
112	Devontez Walker	BAL	vs. NYJ	2.2
113	Adam Thielen	MIN	at GB	2.2
114	Casey Washington	ATL	at NO	2.1
115	Tylan Wallace	BAL	vs. NYJ	1.9
116	Konata Mumpfield	LAR	vs. TB	1.9
117	Andre Baccellia	ARI	vs. JAC	1.9
118	Kameron Johnson	TB	at LAR	1.8
119	Charlie Jones	CIN	vs. NE	1.8
120	Jermaine Burton	CIN	vs. NE	1.8
121	Drake London	ATL	at NO	1.8
122	Ashton Dulin	IND	at KC	1.7
123	Gunner Olszewski	NYG	at DET	1.6
124	James Proche II	TEN	vs. SEA	1.6
125	Ryan Miller	TB	at LAR	1.3
126	Hunter Renfrow	CAR	at SF	1.2
127	Cody White	SEA	at TEN	1.2
128	Jamari Thrash	CLE	at LV	0.8
129	Allen Lazard	NYJ	at BAL	0.8
130	Ben Skowronek	PIT	at CHI	0.5
131	Bo Melton	GB	vs. MIN	0.4
132	Gage Larvadain	CLE	at LV	0.2
133	Xavier Smith	LAR	vs. TB	0
134	Dante Pettis	NO	vs. ATL	0
135	Darius Cooper	PHI	at DAL	0
136	Skyy Moore	SF	vs. CAR	0
137	Austin Trammell	JAC	at ARI	0
138	Bryce Oliver	TEN	vs. SEA	0
139	Kevin Austin Jr.	NO	vs. ATL	0
140	Xavier Gipson	PHI	at DAL	0
141	Devin Duvernay	CHI	vs. PIT	0
142	Brandin Cooks	FA	–	0
143	LaJohntay Wester	BAL	vs. NYJ	0
144	Jamal Agnew	ATL	at NO	0
145	Anthony Gould	IND	at KC	0
146	Scotty Miller	PIT	at CHI	0
147	Jordan Watkins	SF	vs. CAR	0
148	Alex Bachman	LV	vs. CLE	0
149	Nikko Remigio	KC	vs. IND	0
150	Efton Chism III	NE	at CIN	0
151	Jake Bobo	SEA	at TEN	0
152	Tai Felton	MIN	at GB	0
153	Myles Price	MIN	at GB	0
154	Ke’Shawn Williams	PIT	at CHI	0

Looking for complete fantasy football rankings for other positions each week, too? Check out our full fantasy football rankings guide.

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