Perfect Week 12 MNF FanDuel Lineup: Find Juicy Value in Xavier Legette Among Others
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Week 12 will wrap itself up tonight, live from San Francisco where the 49ers will host the Panthers. Both teams are very much in the playoff race and so this game has massive implications. As for our case, both teams also have a ton of Fantasy Football viability. Christian McCaffrey is a shoe-in weekly scorer while George Kittle and Tetairoa McMillan also trend highly. Today, we will look at the FanDuel DFS Showdown Slate. These are your best picks to play.
Best MVP/Captain Picks
McCaffrey usually would not be viable given his ownership, but McCaffrey a rare player of 3x salary upside, despite his already high salary. He is that good. I would only elevate McCaffrey in a head-to-head/50-50 contest.
Dowdle is a player of good touchdown upside. He will be owned 30-40% in most contest, but perhaps even less in the MVP/Captain slot. He will have 40%, or so, chance to score tonight.
Your four-likelist Touchdown scorers in the air will be: Kittle (30%), McMillan (25%), Jennings (20%), and Legette (18%). They are your high-upside Tournament picks.
Best MVP/Captain Picks
- Christian McCaffrey $13,600
- Tetairoa McMillan $10,600
- George Kittle $9,800
- Jauan Jennings $8,800
- Xavier Legette $7,400
Quarterback: Brock Purdy vs Bryce Young
The 49ers have been quite pass-heavy this season with a pass-rate of 56.5%. This is Top-10 in the NFL and it will benefit Brock Purdy. The 49ers are averaging well over 250 Yards per Game in the air, resulting in (20) Passing Touchdowns.
The Panthers are 8th versus Quarterbacks, but the depth of this 49ers receiving-core should allow Purdy to dish the ball out just fine.
Complete list of QBs this season with 400+ Pass Yards, 3+ Pass TD and 0 INT in a game
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 18, 2025
- Bryce Young
List complete pic.twitter.com/Hyz7FZl6lO
Bryce Young trends upwards after a career-best game versus the Falcons last week. I always say that nobody is as good, or bad as the week prior. This is true in here. On the season, Young averaged 1.25x of his Week 12 salary. This is playable, but it does not render us speechless either. The 49ers are 26th versus Quarterbacks.
Both Purdy ($12,400) and Young ($11,400) are viable to play. Young will be owned a much lower rate than Purdy.
Running Back: Christian McCaffrey vs Rico Dowdle
There is no non-quarterback in the NFL that is more likely to score week-over-week than McCaffrey. He is averaging over 140 All-Purpose Yards per Game with (11) Total Touchdowns on the season. The Panthers are mediocre versus Running Backs, so do not be scared to use McCaffrey. However, he will be owned at >70%, and possibly around 90%.
Rico Dowdle has become the clear RB1 in Carolina. Over the last three games since they assured his status, Dowdle has played at least 72% of snaps. The Panthers are rushing for 127 Yards per Game, and Dowdle should have at least 60% of those weekly yards. The 49ers are midpack run stop.
McCaffrey is a must-start given his astronomical upside. Dowdle is also a great value pick to be owned under 50% in many contests.
Best Wide Receiver Picks
San Francisco 49ers
Jauan Jennings has played the WR1 for weeks now, but Ricky Pearsall could reclaim it in his second game back tonight. Jennings does have (10) Red Zone Targets, or around 25%. I would expect him to see closer to 15-20% going forward.
Ricky Pearsall may get himself back towards 25% of Team Targets, although Jennings may still have him in the Red Zone. Pearsall is a fourth option in the Red Zone. He is more volume in yardage rather than touchdowns.
Ricky Pearsall is gonna go off next week against the Panthers isn’t he pic.twitter.com/tZLNg60vWv
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) November 18, 2025
Kendrick Bourne and Demarcus Robinson will be thin in regards to volume. They are now the 5th and 6th receivers in this offense.
The Panthers are 6th versus Wide Receivers and 1st in Zone Rate, aiming for many coverage sacks. Luckily for San Francisco, they are 8th best in QB Sacks Allowed.
Carolina Panthers
Tetairoa McMillan is on a tear, aiming for the record in Rookie Receiving Yards. He expects about 33% of all Receiving Yards on the team, and the same Red Zone Target Share.
Xavier Legette has come into his own in the middle part of the season. Legette has (11) Red Zone Targets and will expect around 25-30 Yards per Game on 3-4 Receptions.
Jalen Coker is a very solid WR3 and likely is the third pass-catcher, in contention with Ja'Tavion Sanders. I expect Coker to compete with Legette in volume of yards, but he will lack much in the Red Zone. Legette has a much better chance to score.
The 49ers are 25th versus Wide Receivers.
Best Wide Receiver Picks
- Tetairoa McMillan $10,600
- Jauan Jennings $8,800
- Ricky Pearsall $8,200
- Xavier Legette $7,400
Best Sleeper Picks
Brian Robinson Jr. ($5,400)
If you want to go top-heavy, Robinson will have 25-30% of team rushes. It is not quite as McCaffrey dominant as it appears on the stat-lines. I would use Robinson if you are confident that the 49ers get up 2-3 scores. Robinson would cleanup in the 4th quarter. Personally, I will not use him, but he is not a must-bench.
Kyle Jusczyk ($1,800)
He only averages about (2) touches per game, but that would pay for this cheap salary. Jusczyk does usually play near 50% of total snaps. He mainly blocks, but there is moderate upside here.
Ja'Tavion Sanders ($5,000)
Sanders has (9) Targets over his last two games, catching 100% of those balls. Many times, efficiency is better than total targets. See CeeDee Lamb.
Tight End: George Kittle vs Ja'Tavion Sanders/Tommy Tremble
49ers shifting back to their old ways since George Kittle’s return in Week 7 pic.twitter.com/zPCWnaXdAi
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) November 19, 2025
Kittle is arguably the best Tight End in the NFL. He caught 6-of-6 Targets in Week 11 for 2 Touchdowns. You can expect Kittle to see over 30% of Team Red Zone Targets and over (50) Receiving Yards. The Panthers are midpack versus Tight Ends.
The Panthers have battled between Sanders and Tremble for the TE1 role. It appears that Sanders owns the slight edge with about 60% more Red Zone Targets. They will both expect 2-to-3 Receptions. I would rather use Sanders to at least chase better Touchdown upside, although still unlikely to happen.
George Kittle is a must-start Tight End. Use Sanders over Tremble, if at all.
Defense/Special Teams
Both of these teams are in the bottom-three in the NFL regarding Sacks per Game. They lack much in regards to pressuring the Quarterbacks and stacking sacks. They both sit outside of the Top-20 in Takeaways. There is very little reason to play a defense tonight.
DO NOT play a Defense.
Kicker: Matt Gay vs Ryan Fitzgerald
The 49ers picked up Matt Gay to play in place of Eddie Pineiro tonight. Gay was released from the Commanders as he has 13-for-19 on the season. You cannot trust Gay as the 2nd worst kicker in the NFL this season.
Fitzgerald is 17-for-20 this season, which is average. He is averaging (6.91) FanDuel Points per Game, or 1.0x. I would be nervous that the Panthers are chasing from behind and begin to go for it often on 4th down. He has moderate risk that I would fade.
DO NOT play a kicker. If you must, use Fitzgerald.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.