2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 12: Jameis Winston, Jonnu Smith, More

Week 12 is here. That means the dreaded Bye-Pocalypse is upon us. Well, Bye-Pocalypse Part 1 at least as there are six teams on bye week for Week 12, zero on bye for Week 13 for Thanksgiving, and then six teams on bye again in Week 14. 

Regardless, you’ll likely have to make some moves on the 2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 12 to fill some holes. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of moving and shaking this week in terms of the options available. We’ll focus on guys we can spot-start this week and we’ll go even deeper in our Streamers article as always. 

Just remember that guys like rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown or Isaiah Likely last season didn’t get their opportunity until this time of year. So, there are potential breakouts still hiding in plain sight as well!

2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 12 Top Targets

If this 2024 fantasy football waiver wire for Week 12 is your first time seeing this series, here’s a little idea of how we break it down. 

There are too many articles out there that don’t take into account YOUR team's needs. Whether you just want the best player, you want someone to start now, or you are loaded and you want the best upside stashed, we have you covered. And we break it down like this:

• 2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 12: This is the current article where we focus on the best waiver wire picks for any format or team needs. Guys that can potentially be started now but also have season-long upside.
   
• 2024 Fantasy Football Streamers Week 12: These are players that are decent starts for Week 12 but might not have great long-term upside (perhaps it’s just a good matchup or the starter has a short-term injury, for instance).
   
• 2024 Fantasy Football Stashes Week 12: These are players that are very difficult to trust in a lineup right now. But we believe in the talent and the possibility of upside down the stretch. Every year there are certain rookies or backups that get a big opportunity and run with it at some point - like Trey McBride last year.

The 2024 fantasy football waiver wire for Week 12 you are currently looking at is free for everyone. The Week 12 waiver wire stashes and Week 12 waiver wire streamers articles are for Fantasy Alarm members only.  

If you aren’t a Fantasy Alarm member yet, you can not only get 40% off your annual membership if you sign up right now or 50% off your first month with promo code LETSGO, but we are offering a 7-day free trial RIGHT NOW! You can check out everything we have to offer this week and decide if it's right for you!

P.S. At the very bottom of this article, I will update my Yin & Yang Tight End chart each week!

NFL Week 12 Waiver Wire Quarterbacks

Jameis Winston - Cleveland Browns, Yahoo: 12% | ESPN: 9% | Sleeper: 18%  

There’s something to be said for a guy who is just willing to let it fly. We watched Joe Flacco operate that way with this offense just last year. And now Jameis Winston is willing to wheel and deal, throwing for nearly 400 yards this week.

We continue to recommend guys like David Njoku and Cedric Tilman as starting options. And guys like Elijah Moore and Jerry Jeudy as streamers. None of that is possible without Jameis Winston running an uptempo, high volume offense.

The matchup this week isn’t ideal against Pittsburgh or Denver the following week but I’m just not sure there is a variation of this offense that isn’t a high-volume pass attack. And they should have to keep throwing with the opponents on the schedule rest of way. 

Drake Maye - New England Patriots, Yahoo: 14% | ESPN: 3% | Sleeper: 25%

If Anthony Richardson or Bo Nix are out there, you probably should make them the priority in terms of mobile QBs. They simply have better weapons at their disposal at this time. But that doesn’t mean that Maye doesn’t also offer some mobile upside that can make a difference at times.

We like what we have seen so far from Maye, no doubt. It’s especially promising for dynasty leagues if the team can build around him. Even if he has had some tough turnovers, he’s at least escaping pressure better than Jacoby Brissett was and that leads him to rip off some chunk plays with his legs. 

The problem here is his schedule as he still has his bye week in Week 14 and some tough matchups against the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers to close out fantasy playoffs. 

• Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Will Levis - Tennessee Titans, Yahoo: 9% | ESPN: 3% | Sleeper: 13%  

We talked about this one last week and how it probably applies to either deeper leagues or superflex/2QB formats. But there are some leagues out there where QBs are hard to come by. 

Will Levis was obviously hurt for a stretch earlier, but he’s actually looked okay in the healthy matchups. Just this week he threw for nearly 300 yards. Calvin Ridley is catching stride at the right time and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine-Ihkine has a nose for the endzone.

On top of that, the Titans have the second-best schedule for passing down the stretch behind only the New York Giants and it’s safe to say that their options are slightly riskier. The Titans get the Jaguars, Bengals, Colts, and Jaguars again to close the fantasy season and it doesn’t get much easier. 

NFL Week 12 Waiver Wire Running Backs

Ameer Abdullah - Las Vegas Raiders Yahoo: 0% | ESPN: 1% | Sleeper: 0%

Alexander Mattison has looked best of these backs. If he were healthy, he’d be our guy. But he was quickly ruled out with an ankle injury. If he were to miss serious time, it would be Zamir White on run downs with Ameer Abdullah on pass downs. Unfortunately for the Raiders, Zamir White ALSO suffered a quad injury this game. So the depth chart could be pretty thin if those guys can’t go.

White might be the “long term” play since he gets the early work and goal line which is usually the more valuable gig. But this team will likely be playing from behind in most cases so Ameer Abdullah should factor into the equation. If both Mattison and White are out, maybe Dylan Laube will get activated - we’ll talk about him in our Stashes article, but he might have the most upside of any of them. In the short term, for a Week 12 with six bye weeks, Abdullah has the most relevance. 

Keep an eye on news on Mattison and White over the next 24 hours. If it turns out White is good to go for Week 12, but the Mattison injury is serious, White might be the better add, especially in standard leagues. 

• Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Gus Edwards - Los Angeles Chargers, Yahoo: 27% | ESPN: 26% | Sleeper: 32%

We talked about this last week. The guy that is readily available in leagues that offers the most floor right now is Gus Edwards. He’s not the sexiest play by any means and doesn’t move the needle in shallower leagues. But this guy is set to get a few carries every week with this team.

The Raiders want to be a run heavy team. Greg Roman is familiar with Edwards (and Jim Harbaugh would not have signed him without at least checking with his brother Jim, who coached him for years). And he has upside if anything were to happen to JK Dobbins, who has an extensive injury history.

Not that Gus Edwards would all of a sudden be Christian McCaffrey if Dobbins would go down - they would likely still deploy a pass-catching back with him. But he’d be the starting running back for a playoff caliber team. 

• Waiver Priority: Free Add or Late Priority
• FAAB: 0-5%

Cam Akers - Minnesota Vikings, Yahoo: 17% | ESPN: 17% | Sleeper: 22%

We mentioned Cam Akers last week both here and in the Streamers article. And the idea is pretty simple. They traded for Cam Akers because they like him in this scheme. He surpassed Ty Chandler right away. And, with Aaron Jones dealing with a rib issue, he could mix in at a fantasy relevant level.

And that’s exactly what happened. Aaron Jones is obviously your starter, so he got 15 carries and ran 14 routes. Cam Akers however got 10 carries himself and ran 13 routes. There are basically two schools of thought here. 

As Aaron Jones gets healthy, he might take more of that role back. Or, as the team gets ready for playoffs, maybe Cam Akers gets more work so that they can keep Jones fresh. Either way, I think Akers is at least in the “handcuff plus” realm while a lot of guys have no standalone value. 

• Waiver Priority: Free Add or Late Priority
• FAAB: 0%

NFL Week 12 Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

Quentin Johnston - Los Angeles Chargers Yahoo: 41% | ESPN: 51% | Sleeper: 58%

He’s rostered in a lot of leagues, but we have to mention him just in case. He was slow for folks to pick him up because of the brutal metrics tied to him last year. But he was also a raw prospect which can take time to develop. 

His production has been largely touchdown dependent but he’s an every down wide receiver for Justin Herbert who is getting hot at the right time, so he has to be rostered.

Christian Watson would fall into a similar category as a fairly high rostered guy playing with a QB we like. The difference is that Watson does find himself rotating with Dontayvion Wicks at times. But his per route metrics have been excellent and he can blow up in any given week, as we’ve seen.  

• Waiver Priority: Late or free add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Kayshon Boutte - New England Patriots, Yahoo: 4% | ESPN: 3% | Sleeper: 7%

We included Kayshon Boutte last week as well, but the needle has only started to move on his rostership so far. The concept here is pretty simple - Drake Maye is an ascending quarterback and we’re hoping he can hit a point where he’s supporting consistent fantasy assets down the stretch.

Of the options in New England, Kayshon Boutte is the best current mix of floor and upside. Demario Douglas offers a decent floor in PPR but he’s a part time slot player. Guys like Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker have intriguing dynasty upside but they hardly play. Boutte has led this team in snaps every week since Drake Maye took over. 

And he’s quietly gotten 6 targets in each of the last three games. When Alex Van Pelt was asked whether he was playing so much because of his talent or his role he said “both”. 

• Waiver Priority: Late or free add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine-Ikhine - Tennessee Titans, Yahoo: 4%| ESPN: 2% | Sleeper: 7%

There is a hierarchy in terms of the statistics we trust to give us consistency. And, although Nick Westbrook-Ikhine-Ikhine is scoring a lot of touchdowns, touchdowns aren’t towards the top of it. They are nice but they can be flukey.

That said, he’s at least been consistent in one aspect - snaps. Snaps are the ground floor that we need to build on. Then we need consistent targets. From there we have the opportunity to produce on a consistent basis. And that is where we will take the touchdowns when they come. Westbrook-Ikhine has played 92%, 97%, 100%, and 85% of the snaps the last four weeks. And he’s also gotten 6 targets in two of the three games. 

First we get the snaps, then we get the targets, then we get the points. The Titans have the second-best playoff schedule behind only the New York Giants, so Westbrook-Ikhine has to be on our radar for waivers. 

• Waiver Priority: Late or free add
• FAAB: 0-5%

NFL Week 12 Waiver Tight End + Yin & Yang TE

Hunter Henry - New England Patriots, Yahoo: 45% | ESPN: 64% | Sleeper: 49%

We said not to drop Hunter Henry after last week. Despite the down game, he still played 89% of the snaps, ran 87.5% of the routes, and had a 16% target share. Those that kept him, and even started him, were rewarded with a 9-target performance. 

He led this team, including the WRs in routes run and targets. This week after a 9-target game you might need to spend up to get him if you want in on our guy. 

• Waiver Priority: Medium to late priority
• FAAB: 5-10% 

Jonnu Smith - Miami Dolphins, Yahoo: 54% | ESPN: 31% | Sleeper: 57%

We have to mention Jonnu again as one of the best waiver wire picks as he was not added in enough leagues, especially on ESPN. 

He not only has increased in snap share and targets but he’s essentially a “double handcuff” for a potential injury to Jaylen Waddle or Tyreek Hill. And both of them have been dealing with various ailments so it’s not a bad bet. 

• Waiver Priority: Medium to late priority
• FAAB: 5-10%

Will Dissly - Los Angeles Chargers, Yahoo: 24% | ESPN: 14% | Sleeper: 29%

It’s time to put some respect on The Dissler’s name. He may not be the flashiest athlete. He doesn’t offer much in the YAC department. But they want to get him the ball when he’s out there. His target totals in recent weeks speak for themselves. 

He’s basically “west coast Zach Ertz” in that regard. The only concern is that Hayden Hurst carves out a role once again. But Dissly has been so effective that I don’t see them going away from him.

With a few tight end injuries and guys like Evan Engram, Kyle Pitts, Dalton Kincaid, and Mike Gesicki on bye this week, you might need to spend extra to get Dissly if you need to start him. I wouldn’t go crazy as it’s hard to label a guy like this a “league winner”. But you can certainly do worse in this environment. 

• Waiver Priority: Medium to late priority
• FAAB: 0-5% (more if he starts for you right away)

Week 12 Rest of Season Tight End Rankings

At this stage in the season, we are gearing up for playoffs. You may still be hanging onto two tight ends using our Yin & Yang tight end strategy, but we will increasingly be focusing on having one guy we can trust for the three weeks of fantasy playoffs. 

With that in mind, we’ll be going with a linear set of “rest of season” rankings for the next few weeks before we start focusing on actual playoff matchups.