Drake Maye Leads Week 12 Fantasy Football Quarterback Projections, Updated Rankings with Joe Burrow Now Out

Josh Allen dominated the quarterback position in Week 11, leading to a season-high (47.85 fantasy points) in four-point passing touchdown leagues. Surprisingly, the second-best quarterback for the week was Bryce Young (448/3 – 36.40 fantasy points), coming on the heels of seven consecutive games with fewer than 200 passing yards. Only five other quarterbacks scored more than 20.00 fantasy points.

Jacoby Brissett (28.60)
Dak Prescott (28.40)
Brock Purdy (22.00)
Justin Fields (21.50)
Baker Mayfield (20.55)

Best Fantasy Football Quarterbacks in 2025

Here's the top 12 quarterbacks by scoring average after 11 weeks:

Josh Allen (28.09)
Patrick Mahomes (25.21)
Drake Maye (23.50)
Matthew Stafford (23.25)
Daniel Jones (22.94)
Lamar Jackson (22.67)
Dak Prescott (22.66)
Jalen Hurts (22.43)
Justin Herbert (22.10)
Caleb Williams (22.03)
Bo Nix (21.06)
Baker Mayfield (20.90)

Week 11 Fantasy Football Quarterback Bust

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers' beating at the hands of Jacksonville is a head-shaker. Herbert had a favorable passing matchup, with plenty of receiving weapons to succeed on the road. Somehow, Los Angeles got drilled on both sides of the ball while facing an offense with below league-average receiving options. In the end, Herbert passed for only 81 yards with no touchdowns and 21 rushing yards. His dismal 5.15 fantasy points crushed fantasy teams while seeing his passing touchdown streak end at 16 games.

Runner Up: Lamar Jackson (8.65 fantasy points) struggled to make plays against the Browns’ defense in Week 11 (213 combined yards). He failed to deliver a touchdown for the first time since Week 9 in 2023. The Ravens return home this week after playing three straight road games. Over this span, Jackson averaged 191 passing and 20 rushing yards.

Baltimore should get revved up on offense over the next month (NYJ, CIN, PIT, and @CIN) before taking on the New England Patriots on the road in late December.

Each week, I’ll release my depth charts and projections on Wednesday, with a neutral eye informed by hints from previous results or in-season injuries. These statistics represent baseline outlooks, with their potential already factored in. Touchdowns create impact scores and winning fantasy days, especially in non-PPR formats. Who scores them each week is the Holy Grail that the fantasy market searches for weekly.

My projections will be ranked, and they won’t resemble the weekly consensus in any way. My man, Matt Brandon, is in charge of finding a balance between my player outlooks and the public view of each week's rankings.

Week 12 Fantasy Football Quarterback Projections Preview

Week 12 Quarterback Fantasy Football Projections — Shawn Childs

Drake Maye, New England Patriots

The Patriots are lined up to extend their winning streak to 10 games in Week 12 in their roster game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Without Ja’Marr Chase, their offense will lack explosiveness while also allowing New England to shift their top CB Christian Gonzalez to cover Tee Higgins on many plays, almost creating a double win for the Patriots’ defensive coverage.

Maye has gained over 8.0 yards per pass attempt in eight consecutive starts, leading to 2,249 combined yards with 16 touchdowns, with similar success at home and on the road.

2025 Quarterback Fantasy Point Stats — Shawn Childs

Cincinnati ranks 29th in quarterback defense (254.75 fantasy points), while allowing 24 passing scores. They also have the worst defense against running backs and tight ends, suggesting a productive day for Maye. On the downside, without Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati should put up less of a fight on the scoreboard, potentially inviting more runs for New England.

Joe Flacco (290/1)
Trevor Lawrence (271/3)
Carson Wentz (173/2)
Bo Nix (326/3)
Jared Goff (258/3)
Jordan Love (285 combined yards with one touchdown)
Aaron Rodgers (249/4)
Justin Fields (275 combined yards with one touchdown)
Caleb Williams (333 combined yards with three touchdowns)
Pittsburgh QBs (250 combined yards with two touchdowns)

Week 12 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Quarterback

Week 12 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickup: Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawk — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws a pass during the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks

Last week, I had Darnold highly ranked because I expected him to have to throw the ball a lot more against the Rams. He finished with a season-high in completions (29) and pass attempts (44). Unfortunately, no touchdowns and four interceptions deemed him a losing quarterback investment.

This week, he is again a quarterback ranked outside the top 12 after 11 weeks, with a favorable road matchup. Darnold comes off two consecutive down games in fantasy points (9.90 and 11.05), with the first coming as a result of a big Seahawks lead, resulting in only 12 pass attempts (178/1).

The Titans sit 18th in quarterback defense (210.55 fantasy points), while allowing 15 passing touchdowns and 7.7 yards per pass attempt.

Bo Nix (176/1)
Matthew Stafford (298/2)
Daniel Jones (255 combined yards with one touchdown)
C.J. Stroud (233/2)
Kyler Murray (245 combined yards with one touchdown)
Geno Smith (174/1)
Drake Maye (284 combined yards with two touchdowns)
Daniel Jones (272/3)
Justin Herbert (307 combined yards with three touchdowns)
Davis Mills (274/1)

Tennessee has risk against the run, suggesting fewer passes for Darnold in this matchup. His receiving options are better than they were coming into the season, and he likes to take deep shots downfield. If Seattle’s offensive line gives him time to throw, Darnold has the receiving talent to deliver a top 5 quarterback day in Week 12.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR FULL WEEK 12 QUARTERBACK PROJECTIONS!

Here are the Week 12 projection update notes:

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals were expected to name Burrow their starting quarterback for Week 12, giving the fantasy market some hope that Cincinnati’s receiving options will have more value even with Ja’Marr Chase on a one-week suspension vacation. Unfortunately, a Thanksgiving Day game led Cincinnati to shift back to Joe Flacco for one more week.

Jaxson Dart, New York Giants

Dart failed to make it through concussion protocol, putting him on the shelf for another game. The Giants will give Winston another start this week. I updated New York’s projection for Week 12.

Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers

Rodgers hasn’t been cleared to play on Sunday, but it appears that he has better than a 50/50 chance of playing. I bump him to starting against the Bears.