Week 12 is here, and if your fantasy football roster looks anything like the Thanksgiving dessert table—half empty, vaguely chaotic, and relying on one uncle who definitely shouldn’t be carrying this much responsibility—you’re not alone. Bye weeks, injuries, and depth-chart plot twists are testing everyone’s patience.
To help you separate the sneaky starts from the “please don’t ruin my week” sits, we turn to the Featured Pros. Their expert picks for Week 12 Sleepers and Duds will help stabilize your lineup, calm your nerves, and maybe even prevent that annual holiday meltdown we pretend is “tradition.”
Let’s dig in.
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Fantasy Football Week 12 Start/Sit Advice
Sleepers
Which player outside of the top 100 in the FantasyPros Flex rankings is a good sleeper start, and why do you think he has upside this week?
Bhayshul Tuten (RB – JAC)
“This will be a popular answer in Week 12, but I have to go with the crowd with the selection of Jacksonville’s Bhayshul Tuten. By eye test alone, the rookie back has looked like the more dynamic option in the Jaguars’ backfield. An ankle injury has him questionable early in the week, but it doesn’t bother me none. Ultimately, coaches like their guys. Liam Coen drafted Tuten, not Travis Etienne. The writing’s on the wall in favor of Tuten this week and for the rest of the season.”
– Matt De Lima (Athlon Sports)
“Bhayshul Tuten seems like an easy Flex this week after he went off in Week 11. I know the Jags were inexplicably up big early against the Chargers, but Tuten also saw a career-high 15 carries and ripped off five yards per carry and a touchdown in the process. I get it. Travis Etienne also looked great himself, but the Cardinals this week won’t be much scarier as they’re giving up the ninth-most fantasy points to the running back position this season. Etienne should still operate as the starter, but the overall 141st fantasy player this week seems woefully undervalued given his production last week and his matchup this week.”
– Jeremy Shulman (Fantasy Football Universe)
Andrei Iosivas (WR – CIN)
“Andrei Iosivas is likely the biggest benefactor from Ja’Marr Chase‘s one-game suspension. He should slot into the starting role opposite Tee Higgins. And he could rack up some targets in a game that the Bengals could be throwing often to keep up with the high-powered Patriots offense. Iosivas has some fantasy potential to do good things in Week 12. He already has two games this year with 13+ fantasy points as the third option in this passing game.”
– Jeff Paur (RTSports)
“The one-game suspension of Ja’Marr Chase is why Andrei Iosivas is about to have a breakout week, and is my top sleeper. With gunslinger Joe Flacco under centre, this is a big advantage, as Flacco leads the league in passing yards over his last four starts and has already shown a promising connection with Iosivas. It was only a few weeks ago that they connected for five catches, 66 yards and a touchdown. Career day for Iosivas incoming.”
– Luke Renton (The Franchise Tag UK)
“Andrei Iosivas is the obvious streamer with the most upside in Week 12 with Ja’Marr Chase suspended. It’s not a smash spot for a receiver against New England’s defense, but top cornerback Christian Gonzalez will be all over Tee Higgins, leaving Iosivas as a second option. He’s quietly seen 11 targets the last two games, even with Chase active, so there’s good reason to expect PPR production.”
– Pierre Camus (Fantasy Endgame)
“The player outside of the top 100 in the FantasyPros flex rankings that is a good sleeper start is Andrei Iosivas. This is clearly a spot start in your fantasy football lineup for this week only. Ja’Marr Chase is serving his one-game suspension this week, creating the potential for Andrei Iosivas to see increased targets in Week 12. It’s a great matchup against New England. Iosivas has two games this season with double-digit fantasy points.”
– Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire)
“It’s possible that Andrei Iosivas could be to Week 12 what Michael Wilson was to Week 11. With Marvin Harrison Jr. out of the lineup last week, Wilson drew 18 targets and had 15 catches for 185 yards against the 49ers. Ja’Marr Chase has been suspended for Week 12 after spitting on the Steelers’ Jalen Ramsey last week. Tee Higgins becomes the Bengals’ No. 1 receiver, but Higgins is likely to see a lot of the Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez, one of the better cover men in the league. That could open opportunities for Iosivas. Joe Flacco has averaged 42.6 pass attempts over his five starts with the Bengals, and Iosivas could get a pretty substantial target share for Cincinnati this week.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)
Duds
Which player inside the top 40 in the FantasyPros Flex rankings is likely to disappoint fantasy managers this week?
Ashton Jeanty (RB – LV)
“Ashton Jeanty faces a stiff matchup against the Cleveland Browns in Week 12, and he’s coming off one of his worst games of the season. He posted just seven rushing yards and, luckily for PPR managers, collected six catches for 27 yards. Jeanty has five finishes outside of the top 20 this season. I’m avoiding those odds against Cleveland because the Browns’ defense allows the third-fewest PPR points to running backs per game.”
– Matt De Lima (Athlon Sports)
“Ashton Jeanty ran just six times for seven yards last week. It was his worst rushing game of the season. The only positive is that he had a career-best six receptions. This salvaged his fantasy day a little. Still, you have to worry about Jeanty’s production and workload in this offense. He has been more up and down than you would like. And he could have a down game this week against the Browns. Cleveland allows the sixth-fewest fantasy points to running backs. The Browns have allowed fewer than 100 rushing yards in five of 10 games.”
– Jeff Paur (RTSports)
“Ashton Jeanty is the top-40 play most likely to disappoint this week. He’s coming off his worst rushing outing of the season and has now logged eight games under four yards per carry, highlighting his growing inefficiency. Despite owning the fourth-highest opportunity share in football, he ranks just 38th in fantasy points per opportunity, largely due to poor run-blocking support and consistently negative game scripts. Now he draws the Browns, who rank No. 1 in rush defense DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) and present the 28th-easiest matchup for fantasy running backs. Everything points to another tough day for Jeanty and a likely letdown for fantasy managers.”
– Ryan Linkletter (Blitz Sports Media)
“The clear answer is Ashton Jeanty. The Las Vegas Raiders’ offensive line is not great. Now, they will go up against the first overall defense in estimated points added against the run. I doubt Jeanty will find any success against this great Browns defense.”
– Ryan Prosick (Fantrax)
“It’s gotta be Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty can always get there if he manages to score, but his offensive line has suffered multiple, high-profile losses after already being awful. It’s impacted the passing game as well, so it’s hard for this team to move the football when it matters. Geno Smith and company managed to punch in a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys, but against a suddenly mediocre Dallas Defense, Jeanty accrued just 6.4 half-PPR points largely thanks to his six receptions for 27 yards. Against Cleveland’s fifth-stingiest fantasy run defense this week, it could look even worse. I don’t hate the player, but I do hate this game for Jeanty in Week 12.”
– Jeremy Shulman (Fantasy Football Universe)
“This is not the week for an Ashton Jeanty explosion. After being completely stifled on the ground Monday versus Dallas, Jeanty now gets a matchup against a Browns team that has completely dominated against running backs this year, only allowing four rushing scores to backs in 2025. Poor offensive line play and really poor offensive play in general have limited Jeanty’s upside in 2025. Cleveland will not be blowing out Vegas like Dallas did. Even with a healthy dose of carries, it is hard to see Jeanty returning an efficient performance in Week 12.”
– Ed Birdsall (Talking Points Sports)
“I hate to say it, but Ashton Jeanty. We just saw it against the Dallas Cowboys. I will acknowledge that this version of the Dallas defense is much different than the one we saw earlier this season. They have gotten multiple starters back from injury and acquired three starters via trade. But this is about the Raiders and their offense. They are struggling with injuries on the interior of their offensive line. Jeanty is averaging about one yard before contact, with him being hit behind the line of scrimmage on most plays. We also see that Geno Smith is really struggling, and this offense is not efficient. His scoring opportunities also lower his upside. His 22nd overall Flex ranking is too high.”
– David Heilman (Sports Gambling Podcast Network)
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