Fantasy Football Week 12 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Khalil Shakir vs. Christian Watson

Evaluating who to play in fantasy football this week between Green Bay Packers WR Christian Watson and Buffalo Bills WR Khalil Shakir.

Nov 16, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) enters the field before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Highmark Stadium. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

As the fantasy football playoffs near, every decision fantasy managers make in their lineups could prove to make or break a season. Two players on the borderline of being stars or sits in week 12 at the WR position are Buffalo Bills WR Khalil Shakir and Green Bay Packers WR Christian Watson. Here is a breakdown of who to start and sit between the two this week.

Christian Watson 

Nov 16, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) reaches for the ball but can not make the catch against New York Giants cornerback Nic Jones (31) during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

There was a lot of uncertainty in what role Green Bay Packers WR Christian Watson would play upon returning from injury.  He has certainly had a big one since he has been back, and is coming off his largest fantasy point production in week 11 against the New York Giants. In the game, he had four receptions for 46 yards and two touchdowns. So far in the 2025 season, Watson has had 40 or more receiving yards in all four of the games he has played. He will look to continue this against the Minnesota Vikings in week 12.

The Vikings this season are allowing the seventh fewest passing yards per game. Against the WR position, they are allowing the fourth fewest fantasy points per game in PPR formats. In their last three games, the most receiving yards they have allowed are 41, 75, and 46 yards. All three of these totals were generated from the opposing teams' WR1s.. 

Khalil Shakir

Nov 2, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) catches a pass during the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Buffalo Bills WR1 for Khalil Shakir is coming off his worst performance of the 2025 season. In a game where the Bills scored 44 points, he was not a part of the team’s offensive explosion. In the game, he had one reception for negative three yards on three targets. This broke a streak of three consecutive games with six or more receptions for Shakir. He will look to get right and bounce back in week 12 against the Houston Texans, but this should prove to be no easy task.

In the year, the Texans are allowing the third fewest passing yards per game. The Bucs, the Bills' opponent last week, are allowing the sixth-most passing yards per game. Against the WR position this year in PPR fantasy football formats, the Texans are letting up the fewest fantasy points per game to the WR position. In their last three games, they have held WR1s to an average of 23.6 receiving yards per game. The best WR out of the three, in regards to talent, that the Texans faced over this streak was Denver Broncos WR, Cortland Sutton. He had one reception for 30 yards and a TD against Houston.

Final Verdict

When deciding who to start and who to sit in fantasy football in week 12 between Watson and Shakir, Watson should be a start and Shakir should be a sit. Neither WR has ideal matchups, but in that Watson is the better play. Based on Watson's consistency over the four games he has played in 2025, Shakir's struggles to produce against a bad secondary last week, and then him now facing the best pass defense against WRs this week, are the main factors that led to this conclusion.