Last week was a slow week overall for tight end production, but there are always fantasy football sleeper options who emerge as big producers. With 22 teams in the player pool on the Week 12 DFS fantasy football main slate on DraftKings, there are again many fantasy football sleeper plays to consider as you set your lineups for Week 12.
Since the one-week DFS fantasy football salaries on DraftKings go lower at TE than at WR and RB, going with a bargain at the position or using a second TE in your FLEX can free up more salary cap space for stars in other spots. It’s possible to go cheaper at this position than at any other besides defense.
Each Saturday here at DKNetwork, I list out my top fantasy football sleeper tight ends from the main slate of the week to help you find the biggest production for the lowest salary.
The picks in this post can be excellent values for DFS contests and can also serve as sneaky plays in your season-long league since they are in a position to exceed expectations. Earlier this week, I highlighted my top-15 starters at tight end, and in this list, we’ll focus on players mostly outside those 15 players who still bring a high fantasy football ceiling in their Week 12 matchups.
Week 12 Fantasy Football Sleeper TEs (analysis below):
- Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars ($3,400)
- Brock Wright, Detroit Lions ($3,000)
- Gunnar Helm, Tennessee Titans ($2,700)
- Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals ($2,600)
- Josh Whyle, Green Bay Packers ($2,500)
Week 11 Results:
- Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills ($3,300; 3.3 FPTS)
- Noah Fant, Cincinnati Bengals ($3,200; 7.6 FPTS)
- Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers ($3,200; 2.9 FPTS)
- Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams ($2,700; 3.3 FPTS, injury)
- Johnny Mundt, Jacksonville Jaguars ($2,500; 4.5 FPTS)
Whether you’re looking for value plays in your DFS contests like the NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st] or looking for a last-minute addition from the waiver wire, here are my top five fantasy football sleeper tight ends for Week 12 of the 2025 season:
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars ($3,400)
The Jaguars traded Evan Engram last offseason, leaving Strange as the starter. The third-year tight end from Penn State got off to a strong start, catching 19 of 23 targets for 182 receiving yards in the first four weeks of the season. He had back-to-back six-catch weeks and was becoming a go-to option for Trevor Lawrence ($5,100).
That came to a screeching halt in Week 5, though, when he left the game with a hip injury against the Chiefs and was placed on the IR. He’s officially questionable this week, but expected to play on Sunday, according to the latest reports.
If Strange is ready to return at 100% of his workload, he has the potential to deliver huge value at this salary. There’s definitely risk of rust since he hasn’t played in a while, but getting him under $3,500 could be a great move, especially with a favorable matchup against the struggling Cardinals defense, that has allowed five tight end touchdowns in their last seven games, including two last week to George Kittle.
Brock Wright, Detroit Lions ($3,000)
The Lions placed Sam LaPorta (back) on IR last week in a surprise move, and coach Dan Campbell said he is likely done for the season after needing surgery. In his place, Wright only had two catches for eight yards in his first game as the top tight end, but he did get seven targets, which could be a good sign for his value going forward.
Dan Campbell is also high on him:
Wright should continue to start and get plenty of chances, and this week against the Giants, the Lions will look to bounce back at home and erase the sting of last week’s loss to the Eagles. It looks like a “Get Right” spot, so it makes sense to get Wright in your lineup.
Gunnar Helm, Tennessee Titans ($2,700)
The Titans are shorthanded at wide receiver, as I detailed in my fantasy football sleeper post focused on receivers, and one way they can try to jump-start the passing game is by leaning more heavily on their tight ends.
Helm has been sharing time with Chig Okonkwo ($3,700) over the last few weeks, and the rookie from Texas has multiple catches in five of his last six contests, including three games with four catches. He had one of those four-catch games last week against the Texans, hauling in four of his five targets for 29 yards.
Helm played 45% of snaps last week, so there’s definitely risk in him sharing too much time for peak effectiveness. However, in an offense that is short on pass catchers, he should still get enough looks to be a strong bargain play this week against the Seahawks, who have allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to tight ends this season.
Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals ($2,600)
Like Strange, Gesicki is ready to make his return this week after spending time on the IR. He won’t be joined by Joe Burrow (toe), who will get another week to recover. Burrow’s absence leaves Joe Flacco ($5,500) at QB for another week, which actually should set up extremely well for Gesicki.
Flacco has been airing it out for Cincinnati since arriving with the team, and he won’t have his go-to option Ja’Marr Chase this week since he’s serving his one-game spitting suspension. We’ve seen Flacco utilize his tight end extensively at almost every stop he’s made in the NFL, and he could work this week go get Gesicki and Noah Fant ($3,100) both in on the action.
Gesicki will return just in time to face his former team, the Patriots, who have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season.
As mentioned above, there’s some extra risk rolling out a starter in their first game back, but as a fantasy football sleeper play with upside, Gesicki definitely deserves a look at this salary barely over the minimum.
Josh Whyle, Green Bay Packers ($2,500)
If you want to or have to go all the way to the minimum, there’s an option on the board this week for that as well. The Packers are without Tucker Kraft (knee) for the rest of the season, and they’re taking a look at all their options at the position. Luke Musgrave ($3,200) started in Week 10 and played most of the snaps, but last week, John FitzPatrick ($2,500) and Josh Whyle ($2,500) both played more snaps than Musgrave.
Whyle only joined the team’s active roster in Week 10, and his snaps jumped from just six snaps (9%) in Week 10 to 20 snaps (36%) in Week 11. Whyle also caught his only target of the day for an important play:
Whyle flashed some potential in the last two seasons with the Titans, and he’s a decent fantasy football sleeper to take a flier on this week if you’re looking to strike gold (and green?) with a tight end at the minimum salary, which gives you all the extra space to grab superstars in other spots.
