Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Last-Minute Fantasy Football Week 12 Waiver Wire Adds

Originally posted on The Lead | By Mitchell Skurzewski | Last updated Nov 21, 2025 3:58 PM ET

The waiver wire is slim pickings at this point of the year, particularly under our ownership standards. We have had some stellar standouts in our previous waiver wire adds, from Rico Dowdle to Sam Darnold, to Harold Fannin Jr., and more recently with Joe Flacco, Alec Pierce and Juwan Johnson.

For the following waiver wire adds, the player has to be owned by 60% of teams or less, and this week we go with one player at quarterback and one at each flex spot to add if you’re in a pinch ahead of your Week 12 matchup and potentially going forward.

Quarterback

J.J. McCarthy, Vikings: When a quarterback has one of the top weapons in the NFL, there’s some big potential. Justin Jefferson is one of the top wide receivers on the planet and can make big plays for McCarthy.

In one quarterback leagues, McCarthy is a definite non-starter. However, in QB flex or two-quarterback leagues, McCarthy could be an option. McCarthy struggled last week against Chicago but has been pretty good for the most part this season.

In the previous two weeks, McCarthy shined after returning from injury. In Week 9, he accounted for three touchdowns, and the following week had nearly 300 yards of offense, including 48 rushing yards against the Ravens.

Respect to #Vikings WR Justin Jefferson who says he knows all the criticism JJ McCarthy has taken and wants to be someone the QB can lean on:

“He can cut on SportsCenter and they’re talking negatively about him. Trying to be that person for him that he can lean on and talk to.” pic.twitter.com/tyuip14Epa

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) November 21, 2025

Running Back

Devin Singletary, Giants: Singletary came a bit out of nowhere last week against the Packers with a monster game. Many pundits expected the backfield workload to mostly be on Tyrone Tracy Jr., but Singletary had a breakout performance with 16 carries for 44 yards and two touchdowns. It was just his second double-digit fantasy football week of the season.

There isn’t a lot of quality options on the waiver wire at this point in the year, so if you’re a Josh Jacobs owner and Emanuel Wilson is already snatched up, Singletary is a nice fallback option.

Wide Receiver

Marquise Brown, Chiefs: Ever since Rashee Rice returned, the deep receiving corps for the Chiefs has become even deeper.

Brown is only rostered in 39% of CBS Sports leagues, which seems a bit low. On the season, Brown has 38 catches (57 targets) for 429 yards and four touchdowns. Fantasy owners won’t find much more productive players thus far than Brown available.

Brown has a pretty nice Week 12 matchup against the Colts in what should be a high-scoring game.

Tight End

Noah Fant, Bengals: How many fantasy owners would even know Noah Fant was a Bengal? Not sure, but he should be due a nice uptick of targets with Ja’Marr Chase suspended for Week 12.

Fant has had a decent season with 30 catches and three touchdowns and has caught 30 of 34 targets. The veteran tight end has developed a rapport with Joe Flacco, catching two touchdowns in Flacco’s five starts.

Fant is coming off a season-high six targets against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11, finishing with five catches for 36 yards.

Noah Fant is averaging 10.76 fantasy points per game (PPR) in his last three games, and put up 14.4 points the last time the #Bengals faced the Steelers.

A sneaky streaming option for you this weekend pic.twitter.com/975Imd1lO4

— SleeperBengals (@SleeperBengals) November 15, 2025