Fantasy Football Week 12 Quarterback and Tight End FAAB: Kirk Cousins, Bryce Young, and More

We are finally getting a good look at who teams really are in 2025. Before the season, it seemed destined that Kansas City, Buffalo, and Baltimore would be the top three contenders in the AFC, with everyone else falling short. None of the three are currently atop their division, and it's possible (though unlikely) that two will miss the playoffs.

It's easy to think that teams will figure it out early in the season, but with just seven weeks left, they are running out of time to make their move. The Chiefs, in particular, seem out of the division race and will be fighting for a wild card unless something crazy happens, making for a different outlook in the postseason.

Flipping to fantasy football, let's look at some of the hottest QB and TE names on the waiver wire heading into Week 12 and what reasonable FAAB bid ranges look like for each. Your numbers might vary a little based on your remaining budget and team needs, but this is a good baseline to start from. All bids are based on a $100 budget.

Use FantasySP's waiver wire tool to find the players being added to fantasy teams most often each week!

Quarterback

Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals

Brissett just set the record for most completions in a game, connecting on 47 of his 57 attempts for 452 yards (7.9 per attempt). Add in two touchdowns (and two interceptions), and it's enough to make Brissett QB3 before Monday night's game.

That's a very good performance, of course, but it came in a game where the Cardinals were losing after just 16 seconds of game time and spent most of the contest down multiple scores; Brissett isn't going to throw 57 times every week. He has averaged 42.4 attempts per game in his five starts this year, though, and 314 yards.

From Weeks 6 through 11 (the time when Brissett has been starting), he ranks as QB8 despite having his bye during that time. Brissett has played like a fantasy starter since Kyler Murray went down. With Murray on IR and his future in question, Brissett could be the guy for most of the remaining games (if not the whole season).

His matchups mostly range from middling to bad, with the Bengals in Week 17 as his only truly good matchup. That makes me skeptical of trusting him as a fantasy player, though we can't ignore what he has done so far. Brissett is a guy you can consider the rest of the way, but the outlook doesn't look great.

Conservative Bid: $1-2

Need Bid: $3-4

Desperation Bid: $5-6

Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons

Michael Penix went down on Sunday, and it is feared that he has a partially torn ACL, which would cause him to miss the rest of the season. They are awaiting confirmation on that front, but the expectation is that Penix won't play again in 2025.

Cousins has been a successful quarterback in the past, but he hasn't gotten on the field much this year, and when he has, it hasn't been pretty. Cousins has 250 passing yards on a paltry 4.8 yards per attempt, and that poor performance has stretched to all three games in which he has seen action.

It will be different with Cousins preparing to be the starter each week, but he also started against Miami in Week 8 and struggled mightily against a bad pass defense. The next few weeks are against the Saints and Jets, leaving the matchup in his favor, but I'm going to have trouble trusting Cousins based on what we have seen. Don't spend much here.

Conservative Bid: $0

Need Bid: $1

Desperation Bid: $2

Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh Steelers

We'll keep going with guys stepping in for injured starters, as Rudolph took over for Aaron Rodgers in Week 11 and could see more time, as Rodgers is feared to have a broken wrist.

The difference here is that Rodgers says he wants to play, as the fracture is small, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him miss at least one week. He's probably set to retire after the season, so there's no need to be overly cautious, but the team surely won't know his true chances of playing until late in the week.

That leaves Rudolph's status uncertain on top of the quarterback being a subpar player, so there's plenty of risk involved in trusting Pittsburgh's backup to make a fantasy impact. Their game this week against the Bears is a great matchup; Rudolph will have streaming value if he plays. That value is capped, though, and it's not worth paying too much unless you're still flush with cash and desperate at QB.

Conservative Bid: $0

Need Bid: $1

Desperation Bid: $2

Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns

Lol. LMAO!!!

Conservative Bid: $0

Need Bid: $0

Desperation Bid: $0

Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

We've done this a few times this season after decent games from Young, and each time I said that he wasn't worthy of an FAAB bid. He had his best game of the season on Sunday, throwing for 448 yards on 10.0 per attempt with three touchdowns and no interceptions. So, is anything different this time?

Probably not. Young still has only looked functional on a periodic basis, more often putting up below-average numbers in every facet. This big game was against Atlanta, who started as one of the best pass defenses in the league but has since fallen hard the other way, so while his performance was impressive, it's not the same as it would have looked a month ago.

Carolina has a middling matchup against the 49ers in Week 12, the team that just let Brissett go crazy. Young is unlikely to find such big numbers again, but he could be in position to throw a lot to keep up, so there's a little upside. I still won't be recommending the Panthers' QB.

Conservative Bid: $0

Need Bid: $1

Desperation Bid: $2

Tight End

AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks

Barner had a big week against a tough Rams defense, catching 10 passes for 70 yards. He was the only guy to make a real impact other than Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who is a given at this point. It was one of the best games of Barner's career, as he had reached seven receptions and 71 receiving yards in separate game previously but never put together this type of volume.

While Seattle's passing game has been on fire pretty much all year, Barner has put up inconsistent production. He has been fine in some games but has a low floor, twice recording zero yards this season and another time being held under 10 yards.

There's just not enough here for me to be excited about Barner. Consider him with the matchups, but don't count on him to step in and fill your tight end spot regularly.

Conservative Bid: $0

Need Bid: $1

Desperation Bid: $2

Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles Rams

Parkinson was listed here last week as well after gaining 41 yards and a touchdown, but I said that his impact was too low to be a real fantasy option, and he was better left on the free agent market. Well, he found the end zone again in Week 11, though his 14 receiving yards were modest.

Should we change our view after seeing Parkinson score for the second straight game? No. The Rams use three tight ends (not always at the same time), seeing Davis Allen and Tyler Higbee also play heavy snaps, so there is competition at Parkinson's position. Throw in receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, and there are way too many mouths to feed to expect consistent production.

Even when the Rams have a good matchup, I don't want to count on any of their three TEs in fantasy.

Conservative Bid: $0

Need Bid: $1

Desperation Bid: $2

Darnell Washington, Pittsburgh Steelers

I was touting Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth both as feasible tight end streamers last week because of the fantastic tight end matchup against Cincinnati. While those guys combined for just one catch and 19 yards (from Freiermuth), Washington was the TE to have the good day, turning four receptions into 67 yards, including a bruising highlight run.

The problem is that Washington is a distant third behind the other two guys in pass catching most weeks, and he only even sniffs fantasy relevance on a rare basis. Washington just doesn't have much fantasy upside while holding a low floor.

None of the three tight ends in Pittsburgh are really worth a fantasy spot. They are fine to think of as streamers when the matchup is right, but you can find much better uses for your roster spots than keeping any Steelers TE.

Conservative Bid: $0

Need Bid: $0

Desperation Bid: $1