Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups Week 12: Anthony Richardson, Taysom Hill, Jerry Jeudy among top breakouts

Week 11 was rather strange in the world of fantasy football. Several star players underperformed, including Drake London, Jayden Daniels, and Derrick Henry. All three of these players failed to meet expectations by a wide margin. If you left Week 11 feeling disappointed, don't dwell on it for too long. It's time to regroup and move on to the first item on the Week 12 to-do list: filing waiver claims.

If you lost a player to an injury last week or are just sick of a particular player underperforming, chances are you'll have to head to the waiver wire to find a replacement. It's less than ideal, but starter-level production can be found on waivers if you identify strong matchups and players with elevated opportunity within their offense.

Last week, we provided names like Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Bo Nix as strong waiver pickups. Both of these players went on to exceed expectations in Week 11. We'll be looking to provide another strong batch of candidates as you prepare to file waiver claims for Week 12.

Top fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 12: Anthony Richardson, Taysom Hill, Jerry Jeudy among best adds

Roster percentages representative of Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts (47% Rostered)

Anthony Richardson reclaimed his job as the Colts' starting quarterback last week and immediately put on a show against the Jets. Richardson finished with 272 yards and a score through the air while tacking on 32 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Most importantly, Richardson completed 67 percent of his passes in this one. This is exactly the kind of performance that had fantasy managers salivating during draft season. It remains to be seen if he can keep this up, but he needs to be rostered in leagues with at least 10 teams.

Taysom Hill, TE, New Orleans Saints (54% Rostered)

Taysom Hill was doing his usual thing last week, completing passes, handling carries, and drawing targets through the air. The only difference is that Hill was ridiculously productive with his opportunities this week. He finished with 206 combined passing, rushing, and receiving yards and added on 42 return yards just for fun. Oh, he also hit paydirt three times for a grand total of 41.52 points in leagues that don't count return yardage. Without Chris Olave or Rashid Shaheed in the lineup, Hill is a key piece of the New Orleans offense, and he needs to be rostered due to his diverse usage.

Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns (51% Rostered)

Cedric Tillman has been all the rage in Cleveland, but Jerry Jeudy had been contending with him from a target-earning perspective each and every week. Week 11 was actually the second straight week where Jeudy led the team in targets, and he finally had the big plays that led to a spike week (26.2 PPR points) for fantasy managers. Jeudy will continue to draw targets in this offense and has a reasonable ceiling with Jameis Winston under center.

Who are the top quarterback waiver wire targets? 

Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns (12% Rostered)

Jameis Winston was doing what he does best in Week 11: playing like he doesn't have a care in the world. Winston's aggressive mentality led to another stuffed stat sheet in his third start for the Browns. He's now thrown for 330+ yards and multiple touchdowns in two of three games under center. He's firmly in the QB streaming conversation, and he can be started in quarterback-friendly matchups. 

Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (48% Rostered)

Whether it's through the air or on the ground, Bo Nix continues to find ways to get it done for fantasy managers. Nix has now been a QB1 in five of his last seven games, including his second top-5 finish of the year in Week 11. Last week was Nix's best performance through the air, throwing for 300+ yards for the first time in his career. He also lit up the Falcons' defense for four touchdowns; the first time he's reached this threshold as well. Nix is a top-10 quarterback on the year, and he needs to be rostered in the vast majority of single-quarterback leagues.

Who are the other top running back waiver wire targets? 

Cam Akers, Minnesota Vikings (17% Rostered)

Cam Akers once again proved that he is the backup to roster in the Minnesota backfield. At this point, he could even be taking on a 1B role behind Aaron Jones. In Week 11, Akers handled 10 carries to Jones' 15. He was also getting snaps at the goal line which led to him being the recipient of one of Sam Darnold's two touchdown passes. At a minimum, Akers needs to be rostered as the clear RB2 in one of the league's stronger offenses.

Ameer Abdullah, Las Vegas Raiders (0% Rostered)

By the end of the Raiders' matchup with the Dolphins, Ameer Abdullah was the last man standing in the Las Vegas backfield. Zamir White (quad) and Alexander Mattison (ankle) both left with injuries and did not return. If Mattison in particular misses time, Abdullah would see an expanded role as a receiver. He is worth a stash in the deepest PPR leagues while monitoring the Raiders' injury reports this week.

Who are the other top wide receiver waiver wire targets?

Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers (44% Rostered)

Fantasy managers have started to become accustomed to the heavy rotation of wide receivers in the Green Bay offense. While there is still a rotation to some degree, Dontayvion Wicks has started to take a back seat. Wicks' route participation has fallen below 33 percent in two of the last three games, leading to more routes for Christian Watson. He made the most of his expanded role in Week 11, racking up 150 yards while leading all receivers in targets. If Watson can continue to keep Wicks on the sideline, Watson can be a boom-or-bust Flex option thanks to his big-play ability and usage in the red zone.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, New Orleans Saints (25% Rostered)

Marquez Valdes-Scantling did it again, scoring another long touchdown for the Saints. Valdes-Scantling now has three receptions of 40-plus yards in the last two games on just five total receptions in these games. He continues to create chunk plays, but nothing has really changed with his week-to-week outlook. Valdes-Scantling is a low-volume receiver who is the epitome of a high-ceiling, low-floor fantasy option.

Who are the other top tight end waiver wire targets?

Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins (53% Rostered)

One thing that we did not see very often in the Miami offense last season was tight end usage. Jonnu Smith has completely changed that, and he's drawn 6+ targets in five of his last six games. Smith has required a touchdown to make a push for the weekly top-10 tight ends, but his steady volume has allowed him to regularly eclipse seven PPR points. With a handful of fantasy-relevant tight ends on bye this week, 7-10 points can be enough to just get by without your starter.

Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders (33% Rostered)

Outside of the elite tight ends, Zach Ertz has been among the most steady fantasy producers at the position. Ertz is coming off his best performance of the year, scoring 18.7 PPR points against the Eagles. This marks his fifth time cracking double digits on the year, while scoring fewer than five points just twice. If you need consistency from your tight end, look no further than Ertz.

Who are the top defense waiver wire targets and streamers?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11% Rostered)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have not been known for their defensive prowess this season. In fact, they've been a bottom-5 team in both scoring and total defense throughout the year. However, a matchup with the Giants makes Tampa Bay a viable fantasy option. They'll see one of Drew Lock or Daniel Jones on Sunday; either way, this isn't an offense that strikes fear into their opponents. As long as Tampa Bay dedicates resources to Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracy, they can have a strong fantasy performance.

Washington Commanders (20% Rostered)

With Cooper Rush at the helm, the Cowboys are a team to target with defensive streamers. The Commanders are on the schedule for Dallas in Week 12, making them a quality option for managers without a consistent D/ST starter. Without much firepower outside of CeeDee Lamb, it doesn't require a complex game plan to keep this offense in check.