Week 12 Waiver Wire: Fantasy Projections for Top Pickups and Sleeper Targets

Fantasy football owners are going to be scrambling yet again heading into Week 12, with a number of high-profile players succumbing to late-season injuries.

Injuries are commonplace in the NFL. Week in and week out, they force fantasy owners to find new players to fill out their rosters. Week 11 saw a number of key players go down, including A.J. Green, Giovani Bernard, LeSean McCoy and Andrew Luck, to name a few.

Not all of these players are fantasy luminaries, but it’s nevertheless created holes on rosters while also opening up opportunities for other players to shine.

Here’s a look at the top pickups in Yahoo and ESPN fantasy football leagues heading into Week 12. To account for the larger league formats, players owned in more than 50 percent of leagues are not included in the table below.

Fantasy Projections for Week 12

Wendell Smallwood, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

Injuries have cleared a path for Wendell Smallwood to take on a major role in the Philadelphia Eagles offense in Week 12. Running backs Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles both suffered injuries in Week 11. Mathews suffered an MCL sprain and is considered day-to-day, per ESPN.com’s Tim McManus.

Sproles is also day-to-day after fracturing a rib, but McManus reported that Eagles head coach Doug Pederson “sounded optimistic” that the veteran back could play Monday against the Green Bay Packers.

In any case, Smallwood stands to be the featured back against the Packers, who are mired in a slump and allowed Washington Redskins running back Rob Kelley to carve them up for 137 rushing yards and three touchdowns in Week 11.

Smallwood has performed well when given the opportunity. He has 118 rushing yards on 26 carries over the last two weeks, and he flashed potential earlier this season with 79 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 25. 

Smallwood’s production will depend heavily on the availability of Mathews and Sproles. Mathews is an injury-prone back who is productive when healthy. It’s easy to see the Eagles protecting him for a week with the goal of having him around for what should be a crowded battle for an NFC wild-card spot.

While Sproles saw more backfield snaps in Week 10 against the Atlanta Falcons than either Mathews or Smallwood, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Zach Berman, a fractured rib should have the Eagles looking to greatly reduce his workload, if he even plays at all.

Look for the rookie Smallwood to get plenty of productive touches in Week 12 against a reeling Packers team.

Projection: 20 carries, 100 yards; 3 receptions, 20 yards

   Tyler Boyd, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals’ frustrating season got that much tougher when two key offensive players—Green and Bernard—went down with injuries in Week 11 against the Buffalo Bills. Green’s injury was initially thought to be severe, but head coach Marvin Lewis had some positive news on that front on Monday, per the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Paul Dehner Jr.: 

Marvin Lewis: Gio Bernard has torn ACL. A.J. Green has strained hamstring. Won’t play this week for sure.

— Paul Dehner Jr. …

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