Last-Minute Fantasy Football Picks for Week 12: Target Brissett-Wilson in Arizona
At various times during the fantasy football season, injuries, bye weeks, and breaking news may cause you to need reinforcements to your fantasy football lineup. Every Friday throughout the 2025 NFL season, Matt Bowen will offer some late-week pick-and-roll options to help fill those gaps, with an emphasis on deeper leagues.
For this reason, this column will focus mostly on players listed in less than 50% of ESPN leagues, with occasional exceptions.
Justin Herbert and Bo Nix are on bye this week, so we’ll start with three available quarterbacks who have strong matchups. There is a group of wide receivers that offer both size and upside worthy of consideration, as well as some receivers that I see as potential flex options for deeper formats. As always, I’ll give you a tight end prospect to stream, and I’ll focus on the defense facing a rookie quarterback in his first NFL start.
Quarterback
Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals (34.4% rostered; vs. Jaguars)
Brissett had 21.9 points, plus 452 yards, in a Week 11 loss to the 49ers. He’s averaging 21.3 PPG in his five starts this season with multiple touchdown throws in each. Yes, the flow of the game forced Brissett to throw very aggressively against San Francisco (57 attempts), but the tape tells us he has upgraded this Cardinals offense. Brissett suits up this week as the league’s starter against a Jaguars defense that ranks in the bottom 10 against opposing quarterbacks (20.1 PPG).
Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks (46.1% rostered; at Titans)
The past two weeks have been rough on Darnold, as he has had fewer than five points and three or more turnovers in back-to-back games. But I like Darnold as a rebounder in Week 12 against a Titans defense that ranks in the middle of the pack against opposing QBs (17.4 PPG). Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba provides the ability to compete at all three levels of the field for Darnold, and don’t be surprised if Darnold starts connecting with Rashid Shahid in the verticals striped in the Seahawks playbook.
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (10.9% rostered; at 49)
Young had his best game of the season in the Week 11 win over the Falcons, throwing for 448 yards and three touchdowns (31.82 points). We also saw upside from wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan in this one (eight receptions, 130 yards, two touchdowns). With a Week 12 matchup against a 49ers defense that has given up an average of 283.7 yards over their past five games, Young deserves to play in a deeper league on Monday night.
Wide receivers
Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals (33.6% rostered; vs. Jaguars)
With Marvin Harrison Jr. (appendectomy) scheduled for his second straight game, let’s keep Wilson in the lineup. He had a career-best 33.5 points in a Week 11 loss to the 49ers, scoring 15-of-18 for 185 yards. Managers shouldn’t expect a repeat of those numbers, but Wilson will once again be the primary target for Brissett against the Jags.
Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers (43.2% rostered; vs. Vikings)
We wrote about Watson in this space last week and he put up numbers in the win over the Giants, scoring on four of five targets for 46 yards and two touchdowns (20.6 points). Watson will remain a boom/bust WR3 against the Vikings on Sunday as the vertical stretch target for quarterback Jordan Love. Take the positive side from Watson here.
Andre Iosefas, Cincinnati Bengals (5.7% on roster; vs. Patriots)
With Ja’Marr Chase missing (suspension) for Sunday’s game at New England, there is an open door for Iosivas to see a bump in targets opposite Tee Higgins. Iosifas scored three of four in last week’s loss to the Steelers, and he had 18.0 points in Week 9 against the Bears. Iosivas fits as a flex player in the league’s deeper position in Week 12.
Back running
Devin Singletary, New York Giants (33.3% rostered; to Lions)
Singletary had 17.3 points in Week 11 against the Packers, his second straight game with 10 or more points, and saw his usage increase in the low red zone. Singletary rushed for two touchdowns on six straight drives against Green Bay, finishing with 17 touches. His upside is limited by the back split with Tyrone Tracy Jr., plus the Lions’ defense looms large on Sunday. But with at least 10 touches in three straight games, Singletary has value in deeper leagues.
Sean Tucker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (36.0% rostered; at Rams)
With Bucky Irving likely back in the lineup Sunday night, it’s difficult to gauge Tucker’s value for Week 12. But after he recorded 140 total yards and three touchdowns (34.0 points) against the Bills last week, I expect Tucker to play a role here, even if Irving returns. Yes, the Rams’ defense is a tough matchup for opposing running backs (14.3 points per game), but I’m still willing to try and attack Tucker as the deepest option in the league.
Tyjay Spears, Tennessee Titans (36.2% rostered; vs. Seahawks)
Spears only had four carries in the Titans’ Week 11 loss to Houston, but his game-winning passing numbers kept him in the mix. Spears had five receptions for 31 yards against the Texans and has caught at least three passes in each of his past three games, with nine or more touchdowns in each. He’s the league’s deepest flex on Sunday against the Seahawks.
Tight end
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints (43.3% rostered; vs. Falcons)
Johnson scored 19.2 points in his last game against the Panthers in Week 10, scoring all four of his targets for 92 yards and a touchdown. He has 10 or more points in four straight games, with touchdowns grabbed in each of his past two. A reliable target who can expose rookie quarterback Tyler Shugh, while also working on the seams, Johnson would suit up playing in the league’s deeper position against Atlanta.
D/st
Las Vegas Raiders (18.1% on roster; vs. Brown)
Let’s play the game here against rookie quarterback Shader Sanders, who will be making his first professional start. Sanders played frantically when he relieved injured Dillon Gabriel in the Week 11 game against the Ravens, completing just 4 of 16 passes for 47 yards and an interception. With the Raiders expected to mix up their coverages and pressures to cloud Sanders’ post-snap look, Vegas would love to make some big plays on defense.