It's Week 12 and the fantasy football season is headed into the stretch run. This is the final week of byes and there are only two teams left to account for -- the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers. That means Antonio Brown and Kelvin Benjamin won't be available this week, but you should be well-covered with everyone else. If you were patient enough to stash Josh Gordon this long, he's finally activated and could be an ace in your sleeve for the fantasy playoffs.
Fantasy football waiver wire: 5 wide receivers to target for Week 12
The final bye week is coming up and it’s time to start thinking about playoffs. We take a look at some waiver wire receivers who can help you in this critical time.
Not everyone will be so lucky, though, so here are five receivers owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues who might help you in Week 12.
Cecil Shorts, Jacksonville Jaguars (44 percent) -- Allen Robinson had been operating as the nominal No. 1 receiver and playing nearly every snap, but a fractured foot ended his rookie season early. It will be up to Shorts to pick up the slack for an inexperienced receiving corps. Shorts has had legitimate WR2 production in the past two seasons when healthy, and if his hamstrings cooperate he should be a valuable safety blanket for Blake Bortles. The Indianapolis Colts rank 27th in passing yards allowed per game and their soft coverage should be a boost to Shorts' PPR value.
Malcom Floyd, San Diego Chargers (37 percent) -- At age 33, Floyd doesn't seem to have lost a step even after suffering a career-threatening neck injury last season. He slotted back into the role as a deep threat in San Diego's offense and is averaging a healthy 17.9 yards per catch. Floyd found the end zone against the Oakland Raiders last week and finished with four catches for 44 yards. Keenan Allen is still the No. 1 receiver in San Diego, but Floyd has shown that he's not going away. He'll be more of a boom-or-bust WR3 against St. Louis this week.
John Brown, Arizona Cardinals (30 percent) -- Brown had another productive WR3 game in Week 11, recording five catches for 69 yards. His big-play threat keeps him on the fantasy radar, but if there's one downside it's that Drew Stanton isn't a checkdown machine like you'd expect from most backup quarterbacks. He's just as willing to sling it down the field as Carson Palmer was in Bruce Arians' offense, which is good news for people who own Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald. Still, the Cardinals show no intentions of slowing down, so Brown is still worth owning in 12- and 14-team leagues.
Jarvis Landry, Miami Dolphins (15 percent) -- The rookie has overtaken Brian Hartline as Miami's No. 2 receiver and has settled in as a PPR motor, grabbing five more catches for 46 yards and a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills in Week 11. Landry doesn't have great upside in the Dolphins' ground-control offense, but he'll be a deep-league asset as long as he keeps hauling in his targets.
Kenny Britt, St. Louis Rams (15 percent) -- Britt once again showed his game-breaking potential in Week 11, racking up 128 yards and a touchdown in the Rams' shocking upset over the Denver Broncos. Fantasy owners have been chasing Britt's upside for years and this could very well be fool's gold again, but he remains the team's No. 1 receiver and Shaun Hill breathed some life back into the passing offense after weeks of trying to make Austin Davis happen. He carries solid value against the Chargers defense in Week 12.
Honorable mentions: Justin Hunter (43 percent), Doug Baldwin (39 percent), Andrew Hawkins (35 percent), Allen Hurns (17 percent), Kenny Stills (14 percent)
