Week 12 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Jameis Winston, Ameer Abdullah, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Josh Oliver and More

Quarterbacks

Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns

Winston may have a bad matchup this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks this season, but it may just not matter. If you're searching the waiver wire for a QB, he's a strong option on volume alone.

In his three starts, he's thrown for just under 1,000 yards, with six TDs on 133 pass attempts. He's also only thrown three interceptions during that span.

The Steelers' defense may force mistakes and dominate the game, however, that doesn't mean the fantasy production won't be there for Winston in a blowout loss. We've seen this his whole career and it works out more often than it doesn't for fantasy owners who stream Winston. The upside is worth the risk. 

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Miami has yet to put it all together on offense this season, but Tua looks to be rounding into form. Last week, he threw for 288 yards and three TDs.

He has all his weapons and plays well at home. The Dolphins also tend to bully bad teams. The Patriots are just that.

Drake Maye is just good enough to force Tua to have to keep throwing the ball and he has a ton of upside in this game. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better option on the waiver wire this week. 

Tommy Devito, New York Giants

This is for owners in Superflex leagues who are desperate for a QB2 on a week with a ton of byes. He faces the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week and no team has given up more fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.

We have seen him in a similar situation before in 2023 getting a shot to start against a terrible Washington Commanders' defense and threw for 246 yards and three TDs, so we know that is in his range of outcomes.

He also doesn't throw many picks with a career TD-to-INT ratio of eight-to-three and he does have a solid rushing floor similar to Daniel Jones. Devito isn't as bad of an option as you may think at first glance. 

Running Backs

Ameer Abdullah, Las Vegas Raiders

This is purely an opportunity-based sleeper option. Both Alexander Mattison and Zamir White suffered injuries in Week 11 and are in danger of not being able to play in Week 12. That will leave Abdullah as the last man standing against a Denver Broncos defense that is stronger against the run than the pass.

With their secondary locking up wideouts, it also causes opposing teams to dump the ball off more. If he is the lead back on Sunday, his PPR value alone should give him a solid floor. Whatever you get on the ground from him should be viewed as a bonus.  

Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins

Wright is in the process of fully taking over the RB2 job in Miami. While it hasn't amounted to much yet for fantasy owners, he's a dynamic enough athlete that it will if given enough opportunity.

Raheem Mostert also suffered a hip injury last Sunday, which gives the coaching staff just another excuse to limit touches for the aging back who rushed for negative yards last week and lost them two games on crucial fumbles this season. 

Roschon Johnson, Chicago Bears

D'Andre Swift is dealing with a groin injury and is far from a lock to play this week. That is also an injury that is easy to re-aggravate.

With Swift's injury history, we wouldn't be shocked if he doesn't play or if we see a lot of Johnson even if Swift is active. He's already been utilized as the goal-line option, and this week he could lead the backfield, which gives him plenty of value - even in a tough matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. 

Wide Receivers

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Tennessee Titans

Westbrook-Ikhine is coming off a 117-yard game and has caught a TD in five of his last six games. That is no longer a fluke, it is a trend.

During that span, he's seen more than four targets per game, including six targets in two of his last three games. Granted, the floor is low for him if he doesn't find the end zone, but he's proven to be a more than capable red-zone option. 

Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens

Bateman has quietly emerged as the big-play option for Lamar Jackson in Baltimore. He's caught 33 of 52 targets and is averaging over 16 yards per reception.

The targets are there too. There's only been one game all season in which he wasn't targeted at least four times and he's seen eight targets on multiple occasions.

With 531 yards and four TDs through 11 games, he's not a terrible streamer on a Monday Night Football game that we expect to be a shootout against the Los Angeles Chargers.  

Tight Ends

Josh Oliver, Minnesota Vikings

We wanted to mention Oliver because he's been a decent option for desperate fantasy owners who need to stream a tight end. Over the past four games, he's caught 14 of 16 targets for 174 yards, and two TDs which gives him three TDs on the year.

The return of T.J. Hockenson hasn't had any negative impact on him, and if anything, he's played better with Hockenson back. This is a deep sleeper but a player we wanted to mention.