One of the most interesting aspects of fantasy is each manager’s “Circle of Trust,” or the group of players you feel comfortable starting on a regular basis. With the recent injuries, suspensions, and lulls in production at the wide receiver position, you may find yourself accepting applications for membership from players with inconsistent track records.
Fantasy football rankings, Week 12: Wide receivers for standard leagues
The SB Nation fantasy team reveals the top 50 wide receivers for standard leagues heading into Week 12.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Let’s look over the resume of one DeVante Parker. The promising second-year wideout had a nice finish to the 2015 season, as you may remember. From Weeks 12-17, he had only one game in which he did not finish with at least 80 yards or a touchdown. Many of us hoped that production would carry over to 2016.
His season started well enough with two quality games, but he then quickly vanished as the Dolphins began to lean more on the run. However, over the past two weeks, the Dolphins haven’t been able to rely on Jay Ajayi and the running game, and Parker has put together his best two-game streak of the season (18 targets and 13 receptions for 182 yards, and one TD). The question is: Can he keep this up as we head into the fantasy playoffs?
After this week’s game against San Francisco, the Dolphins play four games against teams who rank in the top 20 in run defense, including contests against the Ravens, Cardinals, and Jets. That spells trouble for Ajayi, and could mean more passing attempts and targets for Parker. The Cardinals’ pass defense is legit, but the three other games are nice matchups for Parker. He’s spoken for in about 70 percent of leagues, but perhaps you can pull him away from a jaded owner with more immediate needs at other positions.
The good news in Week 12 is that no teams are on bye. The bad news: We just lost A.J. Green and Alshon Jeffery for at least the next couple of weeks. The Green news is an especially hard gut punch for teams on the playoff bubble, since there is no replacing his production without making a big trade. Hopefully these Week 12 rankings will help you make the best decisions with what is left of your team.
Wide receivers (standard), Week 12
(ZS: Zach Senvisky, JM: Jason Marcum, SK: Scott Kaliska, JG: Jeff Goldberg, KB: Kyle Bennett, DG: Derek Gordon)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | ZS | JM | SK | JG | KB | DG |
| 1 | Odell Beckham Jr. | NYG | @ CLE | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Antonio Brown | PIT | @ IND | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Julio Jones | ATL | vs. ARI | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Amari Cooper | OAK | vs. CAR | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Mike Evans | TB | vs. SEA | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| 6 | Jordy Nelson | GB | @ PHI | 9 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| 7 | Dez Bryant | DAL | vs. WAS | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | Larry Fitzgerald | ARI | @ ATL | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | Doug Baldwin | SEA | @ TB | 8 | 11 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 11 |
| 10 | Allen Robinson | JAC | @ BUF | 13 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
| 11 | Michael Crabtree | OAK | vs. CAR | 11 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 14 |
| 12 | Julian Edelman | NE | @ NYJ | 10 | 10 | 23 | 10 | 12 | 10 |
| 13 | Kelvin Benjamin | CAR | @ OAK | 17 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| 14 | Michael Thomas | NO | vs. LA | 20 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 16 |
| 15 | DeAndre Hopkins | HOU | vs. SD | 26 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 12 |
| 16 | Emmanuel Sanders | DEN | vs. KC | 23 | 13 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 15 |
| 17 | Brandin Cooks | NO | vs. LA | 12 | 17 | 9 | 24 | 23 | 23 |
| 18 | T.Y. Hilton | IND | vs. PIT | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 17 |
| 19 | Stefon Diggs | MIN | @ DET | 14 | 29 | 12 | 17 | 18 | 29 |
| 20 | Demaryius Thomas | DEN | vs. KC | 16 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 19 |
| 21 | Brandon Marshall | NYJ | vs. NE | 24 | 18 | 24 | 19 | 19 | 18 |
| 22 | Jordan Matthews | PHI | vs. GB | 21 | 26 | 18 | 25 | 24 | 22 |
| 23 | Steve Smith | BAL | vs. CIN | 28 | 21 | 29 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 24 | Jarvis Landry | MIA | vs. SF | 25 | 23 | 26 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
| 25 | Terrelle Pryor | CLE | vs. NYG | 22 | 27 | 22 | 21 | 26 | 28 |
| 26 | Rishard Matthews | TEN | @ CHI | 18 | 30 | 17 | 26 | 25 | 31 |
| 27 | Davante Adams | GB | @ PHI | 30 | 24 | 32 | 29 | 27 | 24 |
| 28 | Tyrell Williams | SD | @ HOU | 33 | 32 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 32 |
| 29 | Golden Tate | DET | vs. MIN | 37 | 25 | 30 | 30 | 32 | 25 |
| 30 | Jamison Crowder | WAS | @ DAL | 27 | 31 | 34 | 35 | 30 | 30 |
| 31 | Willie Snead | NO | vs. LA | -- | 22 | 33 | 28 | 28 | 26 |
| 32 | Randall Cobb | GB | @ PHI | 38 | 28 | 35 | 32 | 33 | 27 |
| 33 | Donte Moncrief | IND | vs. PIT | 40 | 33 | 38 | 33 | 34 | 33 |
| 34 | Mike Wallace | BAL | vs. CIN | 29 | 46 | 28 | 41 | 37 | 36 |
| 35 | Cameron Meredith | CHI | vs. TEN | 31 | 37 | 42 | 31 | 31 | -- |
| 36 | Sterling Shepard | NYG | @ CLE | 48 | 35 | 31 | 36 | 36 | 40 |
| 37 | Jeremy Maclin | KC | @ DEN | -- | 34 | -- | 34 | 35 | 34 |
| 38 | Kenny Britt | LA | @ NO | 39 | 45 | 36 | 37 | 40 | 44 |
| 39 | Devante Parker | MIA | vs. SF | 42 | 50 | 27 | 44 | 41 | 45 |
| 40 | Marvin Jones | DET | vs. MIN | -- | 38 | 47 | 39 | 38 | 38 |
| 41 | Brandon LaFell | CIN | @ BAL | 43 | 42 | 43 | 42 | 43 | 39 |
| 42 | Will Fuller | HOU | vs. SD | -- | 39 | 48 | 38 | 39 | 41 |
| 43 | Cole Beasley | DAL | vs. WAS | -- | 41 | 37 | 43 | 44 | 42 |
| 44 | Corey Coleman | CLE | vs. NYG | 50 | 44 | 39 | 40 | 48 | 48 |
| 45 | Mohamed Sanu | ATL | vs. ARI | 35 | -- | 41 | 47 | 46 | -- |
| 46 | DeSean Jackson | WAS | @ DAL | 46 | -- | 40 | 50 | 42 | 43 |
| 47 | Pierre Garcon | WAS | @ DAL | -- | 43 | 44 | 45 | 45 | 46 |
| 48 | Tyler Boyd | CIN | @ BAL | 32 | 48 | 49 | 49 | 49 | 50 |
| 49 | John Brown | ARI | @ ATL | 34 | 47 | -- | 48 | 47 | -- |
| 50 | Tavon Austin | LA | @ NO | -- | 40 | -- | -- | -- | 35 |
| -- | Travis Benjamin | SD | @ HOU | 45 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 37 |
| -- | Eli Rogers | PIT | @ IND | 44 | -- | 46 | 46 | 50 | -- |
| -- | Robert Woods | BUF | vs. JAC | 36 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Allen Hurns | JAC | @ BUF | 41 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Tyler Lockett | SEA | @ TB | 47 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 47 |
| -- | Marqise Lee | JAC | @ BUF | -- | -- | 45 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Quincy Enunwa | NYJ | vs. NE | -- | 49 | -- | -- | -- | 49 |
| -- | Devin Funchess | CAR | @ OAK | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Eddie Royal | CHI | vs. TEN | 49 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Michael Floyd | ARI | @ ATL | -- | -- | 50 | -- | -- | -- |
