Fantasy Football Week 12 Waiver Wire Debate: Sean Tucker vs Kenneth Gainwell

Sean Tucker is the temporary RB1 in Tampa Bay while Kenneth Gainwell maintains to produce high output in the Steelers offense.

Nov 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell (14) reacts after a play against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second half at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The waiver wire can be a godsend for your Fantasy Football team. You are never truly out of it. If you can secure one player like Sean Tucker became in Week 11, you can reinvigorate your squad and mount a run towards the playoffs. Never say never.... Any given sunday. This week, we find two players with great upside as running backs. Those guys will be Sean Tucker and Kenneth Gainwell.

The Case for Sean Tucker

Tucker had put up an elite effort in Week 11. He had 19 Attempts for 106 Yards, plus 34 additional Yards in the air.

Sean Tucker should be someone’s starting RB next season.

Restricted free agent this off season.

pic.twitter.com/wXNhrH6bX9

— Brian Drake (@DrakeFantasy) November 16, 2025

We could dive into the statistics behind Tucker's season, but it will be misconceiving as his role has been relevant in the past two weeks only, and will only linger on another week or two.

Check out our Depth Chart Debate for a further analysis on Tucker, but I will give you the short and sweet version here.

Tucker is going to be the leadback in Tampa Bay until Bucky Irving makes his return. That return could be as soon as this week, but we expect it more likely to be Week 13-14. If Irving does not go, we can see Tucker owning 60% or more of team carries. If Irving is back, this number could be volatile, ranging from 15% up to 50%, depending on the health of Irving.

I would air caution to picking up Tucker, especially if you are tight on FAB budget. If you are not, go for it. Tucker could more good output in Week 12, despite facing a tougher Rams defense.

The Case for Kenneth Gainwell

Kenneth Gainwell vs Bengals:

— 16 touches
— 105 total yards
— 2 receiving touchdowns

Leading pass-catcher in the win. pic.twitter.com/OHqNQ5OLQR

— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 16, 2025

Gainwell has been the RB2 in Pittsburgh, but he has been very viable. In fact, I would argue that Gainwell is just as viable as Jaylen Warren. Gainwell is the RB25 while Warren is the RB20 in PPR formats.

Over 10 Games, Gainwell has 61 Attempts (27% Share), 244 Yards, and 3 Touchdowns. He is a massive pass-catching asset, raking in 41 Targets (15% Target Share), 166 Yards, and 2 Touchdowns.

Gainwell does put out about 40 Total Yards per Game. For that reason, he lacks much value when he does not score a touchdown. Good news is that he score one touchdown for every two games played. For that reason, he will be more viable given a good matchup.

The Steelers are headed to face the Bears this week in a good old fashioned, hard-nose football game. The Bears are 24th in Rushing Yards Allowed and 19th in Fantasy Points Allowed to Running Backs. As for Gainwell, he is a multifaceted player, so this does not mean a ton to us. I would ultimately consider Gainwell to have a 30-40% of a touchdown this week.

Waiver Wire Debate: Sean Tucker vs Kenneth Gainwell

Gainwell is a great asset to have given his key role in this offense. He just tends to be a volatile player, relying on touchdowns. Without that, you are unlikely to hit double-digit points, especially in standard scoring.

Tucker will have more carries and touches, most likely, than Gainwell will have this week. However, he has a tougher matchup versus the Rams. They are 18th in Rushing Yards Allowed, but 2nd in Fantasy Points Allowed to Running Backs.

Pickup Kenneth Gainwell for better long-term value.