Top daily fantasy football wide receiver plays for Week 12

Welcome to Week 12 of the Daily Fantasy season. Pricing has stabilized as trends have emerged but there are still bargains to be found and even some higher-priced options that will go under-owned and can make a difference in your lineups. This article looks at some of the projected lesser-owned plays at wide receiver who could provide huge boosts to your tournament lineups, as well as some trap plays to avoid.

Don’t look now, but Edelman and Tom Brady are back on the same page in a big way. With Rob Gronkowski out last week, Brady looked Edelman’s way 17 times, which the receiver converted into eight catches, 77 yards, and a touchdown. Gronk is likely out again this week, and the Jets have been torched by opposing pass offenses all season. It all lines up for another big day for Edelman, whose price is nowhere near his current production level. He is the value play of the week.

The old man of the NFL is still getting it done, and the Bengals defense is not. Smith scored a touchdown for the second week in a row last week and has seen his targets, catches, and yards increase week-by-week over the past four weeks. He’s another receiver whose salary is behind his play on the field and makes another solid value play this Sunday.

The only danger with this pick is the strong possibility that the Titans take such a big early lead that they’ll roll up the sidewalk early and put the passing game to bed. The two caveats in Matthews’ favor: if the Titans do go ahead big, Matthews is likely to have played a major role in it, or the Bears keep it close and the passing game is in play for 60 minutes. Either way, at another head-scratching value of $6,200, Matthews has earned the right to be a part of your lineup.

Rex Ryan “feels good” about Watkins playing on Sunday, and at $5,700, so do we. Watkins has been one of the biggest busts of the season because of foot ailments, but he can put all that behind him with a few weeks of big plays as the Bills fight to stay alive in the playoff race. With Robert Woods unlikely to play, Watkins should not just play this week, but be the focal point of the passing game. At his price, he could send those bold enough to play him to the top of the leaderboard.

Someone has to soak up the targets with A.J. Green out for the year. Some of them will go to Tyler Eifert, but most will almost certainly be ticketed for the impressive rookie Boyd, who matched a season high with eight targets last week and caught his first career touchdown. Fellow receiver Brandon LaFell is even cheaper at $5,100 and will also see an uptick in usage, but Boyd has the higher upside.

If you’re going to put Cameron Meredith or Eddie Royal in your lineups with Matt Barkley at quarterback, you’re better off donating your contest fee to your favorite holiday charity instead. At least you’ll feel good about yourself.