Week 12 Bye Week Replacement Options: Jacoby Brissett is a Prime QB Replacement
Danny Cross surveys the fantasy football bye week landscape to help you plug your roster holes in Week 12.
Last week wasn't the worst fantasy football bye week, but Week 12 presents plenty of problems with the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders sitting out.
Those looking ahead should note that there are no teams on bye in Week 13, but four more teams will take a break in Week 14. Let's take a look at the fantasy football bye week schedule for Week 12 and beyond with an eye on waiver wire fill-ins, trade deadline targets and other options for both redraft and Guillotine Leagues™.
All roster rates denoted are from Yahoo leagues.
Fantasy Football Bye Week Schedule | Weeks 12 & 14
Here are the top fantasy players scheduled for byes in Weeks 12 and 14, with their FantasyLife rest-of-season positional rank listed.
MORE: NFL Bye Week Schedule
Quarterback Bye Week Strategy and Replacements For Week 12
Options are slim off the waiver wire for anyone searching for a bye-week quarterback replacement in Week 12. Keep this in mind if you're rostering any of the four QBs set to hit a bye in Week 14.
Week 12 QB byes: Bo Nix, Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa, Marcus Mariota
Week 13: No byes
Week 14 QB byes: Drake Maye, Brock Purdy, Jaxson Dart, Bryce Young
Jacoby Brissett (48%) has been a model of consistency while filling in for the injured/ineffective Kyler Murray over the past five games. Fantasy's QB4 with 21.9 points per game since Week 6, the veteran has tossed exactly two touchdown passes in each of his five starts. Last week, he erupted for 452 passing yards, completing 47 (!) of 57 attempts. Brissett gets a shot in Week 12 at a Jacksonville defense allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to QBs.
Bryce Young (17%) hadn't thrown a touchdown pass in nearly a month before tallying three in a tough matchup against the Falcons last week. Young's 448 yards and three TDs earned a QB2 finish for the week (31.8 points). The second-year signal-caller targeted Tetairoa McMillan 12 times, connecting with last year's No. 8 overall pick for an 8-130-2 line.
Week 14 Look-Ahead: J.J. McCarthy (48%) has been pretty bad over the past three games, completing only 50% of his passes for four TDs and five interceptions. He gets a soft Commanders pass defense in Week 14, followed by two more bottom-four units in Dallas and the New York Giants. … Aaron Rodgers (37%) might miss Week 12 but should return in time to visit the Ravens in Week 14 before two relatively friendly matchups in the first two rounds of the fantasy playoffs: Miami and Detroit. … Those who are really desperate can keep an eye on Tyrod Taylor (2%) over the next week-plus — if he holds onto the Jets' starting gig, he gets Miami at home in Week 14.
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Running Back Bye Week Strategy and Replacements For Week 12
With the fantasy playoffs fast approaching, it is crucial to find roster spots for handcuff running backs. This week, a number of backups blew up in injury relief and friendly matchups.
Week 12 RB byes: De'Von Achane, RJ Harvey, Kimani Vidal, Jacory Croskey-Merritt
Week 13: No byes
Week 14 RB byes: Christian McCaffrey, Rico Dowdle, TreVeyon Henderson, Rhamondre Stevenson, Tyrone Tracy, Devin Singletary
Sean Tucker (46%) has been but a flashing blip on the fantasy radar for the past couple of years, but the emergence of Bucky Irving pushed the third-year man down the depth chart before he could prove himself. Last week, Tucker out-played current starter Rachaad White, breaking out for three touchdowns and 140 total yards for 34 PPR points, trailing only Christian McCaffrey on the week. Irving is practicing again, but Tucker is a must-add for White and Irving managers.
Early reports on Josh Jacobs' knee injury are positive, but Emanuel Wilson (50%) showed last week just how valuable certain handcuff roles can be. The third-year back put up 40 yards and a TD on 11 carries in relief of Jacobs, and only one other back handled a carry. Wilson would be a top-20 option in any week Jacobs sits down the stretch.
Trey Benson (63%) has been an intriguing fantasy concept since the Cardinals drafted him in the second round in 2024 and buried him behind James Conner. Benson was injured soon after getting his shot this year, but he's practicing again and should return in time for the fantasy playoffs. Benson's roster rate is nowhere near high enough, considering the Cardinals face the worst run defense in the league in fantasy championship week. Contenders need to find a spot for Benson now.
Tyler Allgeier (44%) continues to function as fantasy's highest-upside handcuff while somehow remaining fantasy-relevant no matter how few touches he's given. In Week 11, Bijan Robinson finally got a reasonable share of red zone work, resulting in 30.3 PPR points and an RB4 finish. Still, Allgeier managed to punch in a rushing TD on just three carries, adding two catches on three targets (9.6 PPR points, RB27). Allgeier has seven rushing TDs on the year compared to Robinson's four.
It looks like Jaylen Warren will be good to go after leaving the Steelers' Week 11 domination of the Bengals, but Kenneth Gainwell (48%) is clearly the next man up in Aaron Rodgers' check-down offense. Gainwell caught seven passes for 82 yards and two TDs, along with handling nine carries for another 24 yards (29.5 PPR points, RB5).
Week 14 Look-Ahead: Chris Rodriguez (15%) has slowly been eating into Jacory Croskey-Merritt's workload over the past three games, out-carrying the presumed starter 33-32 with two scores. Since Week 7, Rodriguez has averaged 4.7 yards per carry with three TDs compared to 2.9 YPC and zero scores for JCM. Rodriguez appears to have a stranglehold on the goal-line work, having taken 85% of the short-down-and-distance carries and 43% inside the 5 since Week 9, compared to 10% and 14% for Croskey-Merritt. The Commanders are off this week, but Rodriguez is a sneaky add who gets a soft Giants run defense in the first round of the fantasy playoffs.
More RB handcuffs: Blake Corum (15%), Brian Robinson (26%), Isaiah Davis (5%), Keaton Mitchell (3%), Dylan Sampson (12%), Ray Davis (8%), Bhayshul Tuten (35%), Tank Bigsby (20%), Will Shipley (2%).
Wide Receiver Bye Week Strategy and Replacements For Week 12
It's all about opportunity at the wide receiver position. A couple of veterans broke loose last week for big weeks, and a pair of talented rookies continued to earn more work.
Week 12 WR byes: Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, Keenan Allen, Jaylen Waddle, Malik Washington, Deebo Samuel, Terry McLaurin
Week 13: No byes
Week 14 WR byes: Tetairoa McMillan, Stefon Diggs, Kayshon Boutte, Wan'Dale Robinson, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings
Christian Watson (42%) took full advantage of a friendly Week 11 matchup against the Giants, scoring twice on five targets en route to 20.6 PPR points and a WR5 finish. Watson's snap shares and usage have steadily risen since he returned in Week 8 from an ACL repair, and he might be Green Bay's most dangerous pass-catcher with Tucker Kraft out for the year. The Packers have an extremely fantasy-friendly schedule remaining for wide receivers, including the Bears in Week 16 and Ravens in Week 17.
Michael Wilson (60%) has been a fantasy non-factor for nearly three seasons, but went nuts in Week 11 with 15 catches on 18 targets for 185 yards. The former third-round pick's game log is quite sad, with only 1-3 catches in seven of 10 games. Still, Jacoby Brissett looked Wilson's way early and often in Week 11 while attempting a ridiculous 57 passes with Marvin Harrison out. Star tight end Trey McBride posted a 10-115-1 line on 11 targets — there's clearly more room in the Arizona passing offense with Brissett at the helm than Kyler Murray.
Alec Pierce (56%) and Josh Downs (51%) aren't available everywhere, but they are more than capable bye-week fill-ins. Downs disappointed in Week 10 before the team's bye but scored in three straight before the clunker. Pierce's 25% target share over the last four games is tied for the team lead with Michael Pittman. Since Week 7, Pierce is the WR18 with 14.9 PPG and Downs WR44 with 10.0.
Troy Franklin (58%) is being dropped ahead of his Week 12 bye, but the Broncos have great matchups against the Commanders and Raiders leading up to the fantasy playoffs. Franklin has overtaken Courtland Sutton as Bo Nix's top target with a 22% target share on the season — he has earned eight or more targets in five straight games, which includes an overall WR1 finish in Week 8.
Second-Round Rookie Watch: Jayden Higgins (18%) is steadily earning more work in Houston, posting the team's third-highest target share (14%) on just 58% of snaps over the past four weeks. He has out-targeted Xavier Hutchinson in three of the last four games and has done much more with the workload, scoring twice on 23 targets in that span. … Luther Burden (9%) might have finally overtaken Olamide Zaccheaus after out-targeting the journeyman 5-0 last week. The rookie's catchable target rate is a ridiculous 91% thanks to fantasy-friendly work near the line of scrimmage.
Tight End Bye Week Strategy and Replacements For Week 12
The clock is ticking on some of the talented rookies we've been monitoring, and it's hard to trust the likes of Colston Loveland and Harold Fannin due to their target competition (Bears) and QB ineptitude (Browns). Time to start looking ahead to soft matchups.
Week 12 TE byes: Oronde Gadsden, Evan Engram, Darren Waller (IR)
Week 13: No byes
Week 14 TE byes: George Kittle, Hunter Henry, Theo Johnson
Theo Johnson (60%) is being rostered at a much more reasonable rate these days, but the rookie is available for many Gadsden managers this week and has friendly Week 15-16 home matchups against Washington and Minnesota. Johnson has a 20% target share since Week 7, good for 10.7 PPR points per game (TE10).
Juwan Johnson (56%) had a bye last week but scored in both of Tyler Shough's starts before the break. With Rashid Shaheed out of the picture, the veteran moved into the No. 2 pass-catching role for the Saints. Johnson's 19% target share is tied for ninth at the position on the season.
AJ Barner (13%) continues to play a massive role in the Seattle offense, snagging 10 passes last week on 11 targets for 70 yards. The second-year tight end also handled his seventh and eighth carries, coming in for Seattle's version of the Tush Push — which he scored on in Week 9. Week 11 was only the second time Barner saw more than four targets, but he's worth monitoring — when his route rates spike, the targets follow.
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