Week 12 Waiver Wire: Fantasy Football's Top Pickups and Breakout Candidates

From a fantasy football perspective, managers can find value in losses. A handful of players suited up for teams that came up short on the scoreboard but finished with some encouraging numbers.

This week's breakout candidates feature several players who shouldn't be on the waiver wire at this point in the season, but managers will likely have one last shot at them before they're rostered in a vast majority of Yahoo leagues.

With three Thanksgiving Day games coming up, don't hesitate to put in a claim or spend your free-agent acquisition dollars on a few names with some buzz.

Let's take a look at eight of the top adds for Week 12 and high-upside players rostered in 60 percent or fewer of Yahoo leagues.

Carson Wentz, QB, Indianapolis Colts vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (55 percent rostered)

Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers at Miami Dolphins (51 percent rostered)

Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots vs. Tennessee Titans (58 percent rostered)

Rex Burkhead, RB, Houston Texans vs. New York Jets (0 percent rostered)

Elijah Moore, WR, New York Jets at Houston Texans (57 percent rostered)

Darnell Mooney, WR, Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions (56 percent rostered)

Russell Gage, WR, Atlanta Falcons at Jacksonville Jaguars (17 percent rostered)

Adam Trautman, TE, New Orleans Saints vs. Buffalo Bills (7 percent rostered)

Elijah Moore had his breakout game against the Miami Dolphins Sunday, catching eight passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. He recorded career highs in receptions and yards, leading the New York Jets in both stat categories.

Moore has scored in three consecutive games with touchdown receptions from three different quarterbacks in that stretch. He's clearly emerged as a primary target in Gang Green's passing attack.

The Jets have an unstable quarterback situation with Joe Flacco starting in place of injured rookie signal-caller Zach Wilson (knee), but Moore will likely maintain a steady number of targets regardless of who takes snaps under center. Managers should pick up the first-year wideout while he's on a hot streak and hold him through the remainder of the season.

In Week 12, Moore will face the Houston Texans, who allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to wide receivers going into Sunday's contests. He's in a plus matchup that gives him a good chance to extend his scoring streak.

In case you needed further confirmation, Cam Newton proved why he belongs on most fantasy rosters for the remainder of the 2021 season.

Newton contributed to all three of the Carolina Panthers' touchdowns in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Washington Football Team. He threw for a pair of scores and reached paydirt on the ground while racking up 189 passing yards and 46 rushing yards.

For Week 11, Newton tied for third in fantasy scoring among quarterbacks before the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers. Because of his rushing ability, he could be a top-10 player at the position for the rest of the campaign, so managers with a low-tier QB1 should consider moving him into their starting lineups.

In his next matchup, Newton will face the Miami Dolphins, who surrendered the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks going into Sunday games. He's a solid starter for Week 12.

With little known information about wide receiver Allen Robinson II's hamstring injury, managers should add Darnell Mooney.

Coming out of the Chicago Bears' Week 10 bye, Robinson didn't practice and missed Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens. As expected, Mooney had plenty of action, commanding a whopping 16 targets and converting those looks into five receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown.

Robinson won't have much time to recover between games. The Bears will go on the road to face the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, which potentially means another busy day for Mooney in the passing game.

Bears quarterback Justin Fields exited Sunday's matchup with a rib injury, but Andy Dalton connected with Mooney on a 60-yard touchdown play. Start the second-year wideout whether Chicago starts the rookie or veteran signal-caller in the next outing. Going into Week 11, the Lions surrendered the most yards per pass attempt (7.7).

Adam Trautman has become a primary target in the New Orleans Saints' aerial attack. He's caught 14 passes for 137 yards over the past three weeks.

Trautman tied with wideout Tre'Quan Smith and running back Mark Ingram II for a team-leading eight targets in a 40-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday. He ranked third among tight ends in fantasy scoring leading up to the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Chargers.

Keep in mind, running back Alvin Kamara has missed the previous two games because of a knee injury. The Saints have a short turnaround with a game on Thanksgiving against the Buffalo Bills, which means quarterback Trevor Siemian may have more targets to spread around for a third consecutive outing.

Trautman has a tough matchup against the Bills, who rank 27th in fantasy points allowed to tight ends, but his target volume keeps him on the radar among breakout candidates for Week 11.

Fantasy scoring and points allowed provided by FantasyPros.

Maurice Moton is an NFL and Fantasy Football columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.