With only three weeks left in most leagues’ 2025 fantasy football regular season, it’s time to start stacking wins or you’ll be in serious danger of missing out on the playoffs. After 11 weeks, workloads, target shares, and other trends have been established across the league. With all of that in mind, let’s break down my start/sit Week 12 fantasy football picks.
Quarterbacks
Start ‘Em: Jared Goff (Detroit Lions) vs. New York Giants
Coming off arguably the worst performance of his career, I’m a big proponent of buying the dip on Jared Goff. Heading into Detroit’s Week 11 clash with the Eagles, there were plenty of concerns swirling around Goff’s ability to play in the cold.
Unfortunately, he proved the haters right.
With a glove on his throwing hand due to the temperature, the veteran completed just 14 of 37 pass attempts. He amassed 255 yards and a touchdown, but also threw a pick. On the bright side, even on his worst day, Goff still managed north of 13 fantasy points. Thankfully, he’ll ditch the glove this Sunday and return to the dome in Detroit to take on the Giants. New York is surrendering the second-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, setting the stage for a massive bounce-back effort from Goff.
Sit ‘Em: Sam Darnold (Seattle Seahawks) at Tennessee Titans
So… yeah. That was a tough watch on Sunday.
Darnold was my Sit of the Week heading into a highly-anticipated clash with the Rams, and it’s safe to say he delivered on that prediction. He managed 279 passing yards on a decent completion percentage, but threw a whopping four interceptions. The 28-year-old was, dare I say… seeing ghosts out there?
The Seahawks are still 7-3, but Darnold has now failed to score double-digit fantasy points in three of his last four outings. That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in a bounce-back attempt, even against the Titans. Tennessee has actually been pretty solid against the pass this season, making Darnold an easy sit as he tries to put the pieces back together.
Running Backs
Start ‘Em: Sean Tucker (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) at Los Angeles Rams
Sean. Tucker. Must. FLY.
In Bucky Irving’s extended absence, Rachaad White had been receiving a bellcow’s workload over the last few weeks while Tucker saw minimal opportunities. Yet, every time the third-year back touched the ball, he flashed a certain burst that White simply doesn’t have. So, Tucker started seeing a few more carries across Weeks 9 and 10. Then, finally, he broke out.
Tucker almost carried the Bucs to a win over Buffalo by himself, surpassing White as the new lead back. He took 21 touches for 140 yards and three total touchdowns, looking like the best playmaker on either team that day.
Irving has been sidelined since Week 5 with foot and shoulder injuries. If the star back isn’t able to return Sunday night, Tucker becomes a must-start RB1. Even if Irving does suit up, the Bucs will almost certainly ease him back, opening the door for 12-15 touches for the Syracuse product. The matchup isn’t ideal, but L.A. did just allow Kenneth Walker III to rush for 67 yards and a touchdown. I expect Tampa Bay to feed the hot hand.
Sit ‘Em: Tyrone Tracy AND Devin Singletary (New York Giants) at Detroit Lions
Tracy and Singletary took a combined 35 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns last week, putting up a valiant effort against the Packers.
Unfortunately, that successful committee approach doesn’t exactly set them up for similar production this week. Detroit surrenders the fewest fantasy points to running backs, allowing under 100 rushing yards per game. This is a defense that just held Saquon Barkley to 3.2 yards per carry, putting together a fantastic showing in Philly.
If Barkley couldn’t get anything going, I don’t expect Tracy and Singletary to be able to while splitting carries. Tracy was by far the more impressive of the two last week, but it was Singletary who found the end zone both times. That’s not an ideal dilemma to be facing heading to Detroit. Consider the upside for both guys capped, regardless of their respective workloads.
Find the rest of my start/sit RB picks for this week here!
Wide Receivers
Start ‘Em: Michael Wilson (Arizona Cardinals) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Raise your hand if you expected Michael Wilson to be the single-game receiving yards leader over halfway through the 2025 campaign. Now put your hand down, you liar.
With Marvin Harrison Jr. sidelined after undergoing an appendectomy, Wilson was the primary beneficiary of Jacoby Brissett’s new NFL-record single-game 47 completions. This was truly one of the most bizarre contests in league history.
Wilson didn’t find the end zone in Arizona’s defeat to the 49ers, but he hauled in a ridiculous 15 catches for 185 yards. The third-year receiver has been a capable option throughout the entire season, but this type of production came out of nowhere. Initially, reports suggested Harrison Jr. may only miss one week, but that’s almost never the case with an appendectomy. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the star receiver miss another two or three games, setting the stage for Wilson to continue producing at an elite level. He’s the top waiver wire target this week and should be in all starting lineups on Sunday.
Sit ‘Em: Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) vs. Indianapolis Colts
Year 2 of the Xavier Worthy experience has been a complete 180 from Year 1. After establishing himself as one of the most dangerous playmakers in the league, Worthy has failed to get involved consistently throughout the entirety of the 2025 season.
In Week 11, the speedster recorded his worst performance of the current campaign, catching only three balls for 25 yards. It was the third time in the last four weeks Worthy has failed to score eight fantasy points. Yet, his start percentage across a majority of redraft leagues has hovered around 35-60% due to his ceiling.
Even in a potential shootout against the Colts, Worthy’s inconsistent target share and production makes the risk not worth the reward as we get into must-win fantasy matchup territory.
Check out all of my WR start/sit picks for Week 12 here!
Looking for more start/sit Week 12 fantasy football advice? Check out our NFL page! It will be updated with start/sit Week 12 articles every day.
Tight Ends
Start ‘Em: Hunter Henry (New England Patriots) at Cincinnati Bengals
Hunter Henry hasn’t scored double-digit fantasy points since Week 4, yet he still ranks at TE12 on the season. Sometimes, a decent floor is all it takes, and that’s exactly what the veteran possess on a game-to-game basis. While Henry is pretty touchdown-dependent to turn in an elite showing, he’s scored at least seven points in four of New England’s last five contests.
This week, the matchup sets him up to finally deliver another high-level performance.
The Bengals’ defense is atrocious in general, but it’s specifically horrible against tight ends. Cincy is allowing by far the most fantasy points to the position and has surrendered 12 touchdowns to tight ends, five more than any other squad. If Henry isn’t going to produce elite numbers against this team, he never will.
Sit ‘Em: Cade Otton (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) at Los Angeles Rams
After scoring at least 12 fantasy points four times from Weeks 5-10, Otton came back down to earth against the Bills. The fourth-year tight end saw his typical snap share and did earn five targets, but only hauled in two of them for 28 yards. It was a massive dip in production following his best performance of the season against New England.
This week, things won’t get any easier. The Rams have absolutely smothered their opponents’ passing attacks as of late, most recently forcing Sam Darnold into four interceptions. With Tampa Bay’s offensive line so beat up, Chris Shula will certainly bring pressure nonstop. If the Bucs are going to pull off this upset, it will come through success in the running game. Otton could return to strong fantasy form down the line, just not this week.
Those are my start/sit Week 12 fantasy football picks! Stay tuned for more start/sit Week 12 positional analysis over the coming days.
