We are already onto NFL Week 12 and with so many people missing out on their season-long fantasy football playoffs, it’s time to put more focus on winning money playing DFS. If you’re ready to move on and build some winning DFS lineups, then it’s time to dive head-first into the best NFL DFS Week 12 Watch List. 

 

 

 

The player pool gets reduced this week with six teams on a bye and to make things even crazier, we are losing a lot of high-profile talent. No more leaning on Josh Allen or Ja'Marr Chase. No Bijan Robinson or Alvin Kamara. No more sneaking in Garrett Wilson or even Darnell Mooney. We lose the Bills, Bengals, Falcons, Jets, Saints and Jaguars this week. 

Obviously, no one cares about losing Jacksonville, though Brian Thomas was a great value pick for a while, but now it’s time to take the smaller-than-usual player pool and whittle it down even further in the best NFL DFS Week 12 Watch List.

 

 
 

 

Best NFL DFS Week 12 Watch List For 2024

Before we get to the NFL DFS Week 12 Watch List, let's take a quick look back to last week and see where we hit and where we may have missed. I was preaching to “be a goldfish” after a rough Week 10, but were we able to? Of course we were.

The biggest hits came at the quarterback position as my two featured players were Jared Goff and Bo Nix. I also had Justin Herbert in there for the FanDuel-only crowd and that was a big one too, especially when we love getting that late-night hammer. 

We dazzled in the mid-to-lower tiers at the running back position, shined bright in the top-tier and value wide receivers, and hit on all three levels at the tight end position. If you were able to combine some of the Watch List plays with the final Playbook and Dart Board, you probably came out on top and cashed. If not, we move on to Week 12 and get ready to dominate.

We’ll be dissecting of the matchups over the next few days, but for now, let’s get to the best NFL DFS Week 12 Watch List.

 

 

 

Top DraftKings DFS Week 12 Watch List

Baker Mayfield, QB Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($6,100)

While you would expect the Giants to spend their bye week planning for Baker and the Bucs, the obvious focus for New York seems to be the shift at quarterback, going from Daniel Jones to Tommy DeVito. The defense is on its own and considering some of the numbers, that’s not going to be a good thing. 

Well, it is for those of us using Mayfield in DFS as the Giants rank 24th in DVOA against the pass and allow the ninth-most fantasy points per game to the quarterback position. They aren’t allowing a ton of yards through the air, so don’t expect a 300-yard bonus, but opposing quarterbacks are posting a 104.7 QB-rating against them which means strong efficiency and lots of scoring.

Kareem Hunt, RB Kansas City Chiefs ($5,700)

Could this be the last hurrah for Hunt as the Chiefs featured back? Very possible as the practice window is open for Isiah Pacheco. But while many are buzzing about Pacheco’s return, late-November seems like a much more realistic target date which puts Hunt front-and-center against a Panthers team that is horrendous against the run. 

Carolina is allowing the most rushing yards per game and have allowed 17 rushing touchdowns on the season. Hunt should feast the week before Thanksgiving.   

Jordan Addison, WR Minnesota Vikings ($5,100)

Addison left last week’s game with cramping in his leg, so don’t let the early questionable tag fool you. He should be just fine for this game against the Bears. While Jaylon Johnson and the safeties stress over containing Justin Jefferson, Addison should see a ton of one-on-one coverage and find ways to expose the holes in Chicago’s coverage. 

The Bears rank 30th in DVOA against the opposing WR2 and they’re allowing an average of 54 receiving yards per game to them. Addison should surpass the yardage totals and will likely do some end zone dancing as well.

Theo Johnson, TE New York Giants ($2,900)

Ready to take a deep dive? Personally, I love paying up for Travis Kelce this week, but if you can’t afford it and want to pay down, Johnson finds himself in a very good spot. He’s spent time with Tommy DeVito at practices and we know how inexperienced quarterbacks like to lean on their tight ends, so this match-up might be even better than how it looks on paper. 

For the record, the Buccaneers rank 30th in DVOA against the tight end, allow an average of 60 receiving yards per game to them and also give up the fifth-most fantasy points per game to the position. For this price, it’s definitely worth a shot in GPP tournaments. 

 

 

 

Best FanDuel DFS Week 12 Watch List

Patrick Mahomes, QB Kansas City Chiefs ($8,400)

Take everything I said about Jared Goff last week and apply it to Mahomes. Yes, there’s the “any given Sunday” cliche, but there are some games on the schedule a coach looks at an immediately understands the “get right” opportunity in front of him. Andy Reid is going to let Mahomes sling the rock in this one and get his work in with his receivers. 

The Panthers will give way to the run early and much in the way the Lions destroyed the Jaguars, the Chiefs are going to do the same. I expect Mahomes to have a spectacular outing this week and all of his pass-catchers will reap the benefits. Us too!

Brian Robinson, RB Washington Commanders ($7,900)

He’s on the cover for a reason, right? We just watched Joe Mixon destroy the Cowboys run defense for 109 yards and three touchdowns. Given the recent struggles for Jayden Daniels, this seems like an opportune time for the Commanders to take some of the pressure off their rookie quarterback and put the ball into Robinson’s hands. 

Dallas is giving up the third-most fantasy points per game to the running back position, they’re allowing the second-most rushing yards per game and have allowed a league-high 18 rushing touchdowns this season. Expect a strong performance this week.

DeVonta Smith, WR Philadelphia Eagles ($7,700)

Obviously, you can get your late-game hammer from high-end plays like Jalen Hurts or A.J. Brown, but a healthy Smith saves you some salary and he’s actually in a smash-spot this week against the Rams. Despite some defensive improvements thanks to health, the Rams still rank 22nd in DVOA against the pass and if you look at it at a more granular level, you’ll see that they rank 16th against the WR2 and 30th against the slot receiver. 

Smith actually lines up in the slot 54-percent of the time. We’ve seen big games out of him before and there’s little reason to believe we won’t see more of a shootout with the way Stafford has been slinging the rock. Hurts is going to have to throw.

Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE Carolina Panthers ($4,900)

Again, more than willing to pay up for Kelce, but if there’s a position to punt, it’s the tight end spot. The Chiefs have given up big plays to tight ends in the past and even this far into the season they’re still allowing the third-most fantasy points per game to the position. 

With Ian Thomas landing on IR, Sanders will be working alongside Tommy Tremble, but should still see the majority of the targets, specifically inside the red zone. For this price, it’s a solid move in GPP tournaments, especially when you know the Panthers are going to have to throw to even remotely try to keep up.

 

 
 

 

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