The NFL heads into Week 12 and we need some better luck this week than what we had in Week 11. Aaron Rodgers, Josh Jacobs, Jaylen Warren and Tyler Higbee all left their games last week because of injuries and it really sank the lineups. Add in the fact that “my Chiefs” took another lost and it was a bad week of football for me. I expect a much better week with some better luck in Week 12.
The International Schedule is now complete, but we still have four teams on their bye (Denver, Miami, Washington and the Los Angeles Chargers). The prime time games are decent with Tampa Bay vs. the L.A. Rams on Sunday Night Football and Carolina vs. San Francisco on Monday Night Football.
Here are my picks for the NFL Week 12….
DRAFTKINGS NFL CASH CONTEST
QUARTERBACK: There are two QBs who I really like for the Cash Contest in Week 12. I used Jacoby Brissett last week and he is one of the best value picks on the slate in Week 12. I plan to use some other pieces of the Cardinals Offense in this lineup, so I will pay up for DRAKE MAYE Sunday. He has been one of the most consistent QBs in 2025 and his matchup vs. the Bengals 31st ranked pass defense is too good to pass up. I will have Brissett in some other Cash Contest lineups, but I will use Maye in this one.
RUNNINGBACKS: The best pick at the RB Position Sunday is JAHMYR GIBBS. He may not be Barry Sanders, but he is damn close. The Giants have given up the second-most DK Points to the RB Position this year. They are not going to stop Gibbs. He should score over 25 DK Points vs. the G-Men in Detroit… The matchup for CHASE BROWN vs. the Patriots No. 1 ranked run defense does not look good on paper. But it does if you look at how the Bengals run their offense and how the Patriots stop RBs. Brown is the most targeted RB in the NFL this year. The Patriots have given up the second-most receptions to the RB Position this year. I expect Brown to catch a lot of passes out of the backfield and those PPR Points will add up quickly. You could change Drake Maye to Jacoby Brissett and then pivot from Brown to TreyVeon Henderson, but I do not trust Mike Vrbal. I would not be surprised if the Patriots are stupid and give Rhamondre Stevenson most of the carries Sunday.
WIDE RECEIVERS: The best matchup at the WR Position this week according to Pro Football Focus is ROMA ODUNZE vs. the Steelers dead last pass defense. The Steelers play a single-high Safety Defense more than any team in the league. Odunze faced the same defense Baltimore and Detroit. He averaged 28.1 DK Points in those games. I expect another good game for Odunze Sunday… I took a chance with MICHAEL WILSON last week and he scored 36.5 DK Points and nearly won me my Cash Contest by himself. Wilson is still under-priced and the matchup vs. the Jaguars 21st ranked pass defense is pretty good. I expect another busy day for Wilson in the Cardinals Offense… My “punt plays” at the WR Position this year has worked out well. I stuck gold last week with Michael Wilson and I will try to do it again with ANDREI IOSIVAS. The Bengals will be without Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will be shadowed by CB Christian Gonzalez. That means Iosivas should be the best target for the Bengals Sunday. I would not be surprised if he returned 4X’s value on his $4,100 price tag.
TIGHT END: I typically do not play two players from one team in my Cash Contest lineup, but Michael Wilson and TREY MCBRIDE combined for 67 DK Points last week. The Cardinals do not have a running game so they will be passing it a lot Sunday. That means another big game for Wilson and McBride.
FLEX POSITION: The rule in Fantasy Football this year has been to play your TE vs. the Bengals Defense. They Queen City Kitties have given up 219.4 DK Points to the TE Position in 10 games this year. That is 21.9 DK Points per Game. I will stack Drake Maye with HUNTER HENRY this week. The matchup for Henry doesn’t get any easier this year.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS: The SAINTS DEFENSE/ST looks to be one of the best value picks at the Defense/ST in Week 12. The Saints Defense/ST scored 12 DK Points last week vs. the Panthers Offense. The matchup is much easier this week vs. the Kirk Cousins and the Falcons (without Drake Maye). I expect the Saints to sack Cousins enough and make enough plays to return value on their $2,500 price tag Sunday.
DRAFTKINGS NFL TOURNAMENT CONTEST
TOURNAMENT STACK: The Patriots vs. Bengals game has the highest Over/Under (50.5 Points) on the slate, but do not sleep on the Jaguars vs. Cardinals stack. This game has an Over/Under of 47.5 Points and I would not be surprised if it was the highest scoring game on the slate. I will stack JACOBY BRISSETT + MICHAEL WILSON + TREY MCBRIDE for the Cardinals. This stack scored 93.9 DK Points last week. It is not hard to win some cash win three players score nearly 94 points. I will run the stack back with BYASHUL TUTEN. The rookie RB started to get more work last week and it should continue in Week 12 vs. the Cardinals. Tuten could be the best value pick this week at the RB Position.
RUNNINGBACKS: I need some pieces of the Patriots vs. Bengals game in my lineup so I will do it with TREYVEON HENDERSON and CHASE BROWN. I do not trust Henderson in Cash Contests but his upside makes Henderson a good pick for Tournament Contests. Brown should be a target hog and he should score well this week even if the Bengals are playing from behind.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Dan Campbell took over the play-calling for the Lions three weeks ago and his focus was to get JAMESON WILLIAMS more involved in the offense. Williams has averaged 21 DK Points in those three games. He should score well again vs. the Giants 22nd ranked pass defense…. To be honest… I do not trust the Eagles Offense, but the matchup for DEVONTA SMITH is too good to pass up. The Cowboys have given up the second-most DK Points to the WR Position this year. The ceiling for Smith is very high, so I will take a chance with the “Slim Reaper” in my Tournament Contest lineup.
DEFENSE/ST: I typically like to stack a RB + Defense/ST at the bottom of my Tournament Contest lineup, but this week I will play the SEAHAWK DEFENSE/ST alone. They are the best pick at the Defense/ST Position this week vs. the Titans 30th ranked offense. The Seahawks rotate their RBs too much to play a stack with their defense, so I will take the points from the Seahawks Defense/ST and use some players from other matchups in my lineup.
DRAFTKINGS SNF SHOWDOWN PICKS
DRAFTKINGS MNF SHOWDOWN
Good luck this week!
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