NFL fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 12

With the fantasy football playoffs quickly approaching, now is the time to be proactive on the waivers. These players should be your top priority if they’re available on your waiver wire.

In Week 11, we saw some new faces emerge just in time for the stretch run of the fantasy football season due to injuries. Unfortunately, injuries are part of the violent game we’ve all come to know and love. With that in mind, it is a next-man-up mentality in the NFL and injuries create opportunities for new players to rise to the occasion.

Be sure to add these players, who are available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo Fantasy football leagues, ahead of Week 12.

QB Waiver Wire Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 12

Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (46 percent rostered)

Jordan Love is coming off what may arguably be his best game as a pro against the Chargers in Week 11. Love completed 27 of his 40 pass attempts for 322 yards and two touchdowns while committing zero turnovers.

While it has been an up-and-down season from a real-life perspective, Love has been a steady fantasy option. He’s had 15-plus fantasy points in eight of the 10 games he’s played this season, averaging 17.8 fantasy points per game in that span (QB13 overall).

Love’s rushing ability and propensity to score touchdowns have helped keep his fantasy value afloat. He’s rushed for at least 20 yards in five of 10 games this season and scored multiple touchdowns in seven of those 10 games.

Managers who just lost Joe Burrow for the season due to his wrist injury or those who may be without Geno Smith after he suffered an elbow injury in Week 11 will be hard-pressed to find a better streaming option than Love.

Up next for Love is a Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Lions. The Lions defense has a strong pass-rushing unit but their secondary doesn’t strike fear into the eyes of their opponents. If the Packers offensive line can buy Love time in the pocket, he should be in for another productive outing in Week 12.

Love and the Packers also still have the Giants, Bucs, and Panthers on their schedule in the coming weeks which is as fantasy-friendly of a schedule as you can get.

Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (15 percent rostered)

The struggles continued for this year’s No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young in the Panthers’ Week 11 loss to the Cowboys. Young took seven sacks and completed 16 of his 29 pass attempts for 123 yards and a touchdown, adding an interception. Putting Young in your fantasy lineup may make you feel queasy given what he’s shown through his first 10 games as a rookie, but trust the process.

Young’s end-of-season schedule is too favorable to ignore. In Week 12, he faces a Titans defense that just got carved up by Trevor Lawrence, who produced nearly 300 yards of total offense and scored four touchdowns. Then, he faces a Bucs defense that allows 300 passing yards and multiple touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks before they even get off the bus.

If those two matchups weren’t enough to sway you, he has a Week 17 matchup against the Jaguars, who are a bottom-five defense in terms of opponent passing yards allowed per game (254.4).

In other words, better days are ahead for Young and the Panthers offense, who stood no chance against a relentless Cowboys defense.