Taking a look at the best low-owned fantasy football RB pickups to play in Week 12, including the Green Bay Packers’ Emanuel Wilson.
Compared to several weeks over the course of this season, the fantasy football waiver wire discussion is quite compelling heading into Week 12. Unfortunately, the need for injury clarity on a number of star RBs around the league has muddied the waters a bit as far as diagnosing the best plug-and-play streaming options. As such, managers will need to stay dialed in on news and injury reports throughout the week. It’s also important to weigh the position of your team in the standings when deciding on the fantasy football RB pickups to make. A manager who is comfortably locked into the playoffs at this juncture may wish to prioritize more long-term upside compared to players who may only have significant fantasy relevance this coming week.
With this in mind, we will aim to discuss a few of our favorite low-owned fantasy football RB pickups and streamers for Week 12 that are useful for various situations and team outlooks. Just three weeks remain until the start of the Fantasy Football Playoffs, so every move counts more than ever! Be sure to check out our Week 12 fantasy football rankings for additional help when setting your lineups!
Fantasy Football RB Pickups for Week 12
Emanuel Wilson, Green Bay Packers (57.3%)
At the time of writing this column, the status of Josh Jacobs remains very much up in the air for the Packers’ Week 12 game. What many feared was a more severe injury has been revealed to be a knee contusion for Green Bay’s star running back. As such, he has been suggested to be day-to-day, but the team could very well take a cautious approach regarding his availability for this week. Even if Jacobs suits up on Sunday, it’s fair to question whether his workload may be slightly diminished. Of course, if he does not play, this will put Emanuel Wilson in line to be the team’s lead RB.
Despite being one of the top low-owned fantasy football RB pickups during this week’s waiver wire cycle, Wilson remains available in over 40% of ESPN leagues as of Wednesday morning. Sunday’s divisional showdown against the Minnesota Vikings sets up as a decent matchup for managers to stream Wilson in lineups as an RB2 or FLEX play. The Vikings have been inconsistent defensively this season and rank average or worse in multiple noteworthy categories including 22nd in rushing yards allowed per game and 19th in defensive EPA/rush.
While Jacob’s status will be the ultimate determining factor in how much upside Wilson has in Week 12, managers fighting for a playoff spot should not hesitate to roster him in anticipation of a large workload.
Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans (36.2%)
With four teams on bye and numerous injuries that are clouding the state of the RB position heading into Week 12, we are proud to once again feature Tyjae Spears in this week’s fantasy football RB pickups and streamers discussion. The NFL may be an unpredictable league, and it has been tough to trust many players to be consistent for fantasy purposes week-to-week this season. Two things have been steady, though: 1) The Titans stink, and 2) Spears has been about as reliable an RB3/FLEX play as one could hope for since making his season debut in Week 5.
Spears continues to evenly split the snaps and workload out of the Tennessee backfield with Tony Pollard. He regularly lands between nine and 12 total touches while playing 45-55% of the team’s offensive snaps. Thanks to his continued usage as a pass-catcher, he has scored at least seven PPR fantasy points in each of the last five games. With the Titans’ lack of a consistent downfield passing attack, there is no end in sight for Spears getting four targets or more as a check-down option.
The fact that Spears can contribute as a receiver looms large for this week’s matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Running the ball figures to be a slog against a nasty defensive front that is responsible for Seattle ranking second in defensive EPA/rush. However, the Seahawks have allowed the fourth-most receptions and over 400 receiving yards to opposing RBs.
More Fantasy Football Streamers Week 12
Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars (23.7%)
With injuries to fantasy stalwarts dictating so much of the uncertainty at the RB position this week, it’s only fitting that we take a swing on a player with a questionable tag of his own. Prior to leaving last week’s game with what has been deemed an ankle injury, Bhayshul Tuten was having the best game of his young NFL career to date. The Jaguars were not shy about splitting snaps and carries between Tuten and starter Travis Etienne early and often. The resulting stat line for the rookie includes a 32% snap share and 15 carries despite missing the latter portion of the game.
Of course, because of the injury, Tuten’s status for Week 12 is up in the air. However, depending on your needs as a fantasy manager, he is a player who must be rostered in leagues going forward, certainly at a clip above his current ESPN ownership. Clearly, there’s a desire on the part of the Jags to feature their rookie RB more, and last week’s usage was not due to what became a blowout on the scoreboard. If he is cleared to play in Week 12, Tuten will get a nice matchup opportunity against an Arizona Cardinals defense that ranks bottom-10 in PPR points allowed to opposing RBs.
While we are stuck hoping for the best health-wise as far as streaming Tuten in Week 12 goes, his appeal as a fantasy football RB pickups option certainly carries some long-term significance for future weeks.
Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok for more great FlurrySports content.
