Waiver Wire Wonders: Week 12
The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams provided a whacky and wild end to Week 11. Their 105 total points was a Monday Night Football record. Heck, the over/under hit in the third quarter. Anyways, we’re just two weeks away from the start of the fantasy playoffs. With just the Chiefs and Rams byes remaining, it’s time to prepare your roster for the playoffs. It’s time to get those valuable bench stashes, high upside plays, handcuffs and backup QBs and D/STs in place. Join me on the Fantasy Life App at 9 p.m. EST, as I answer all of your Waiver Wire questions!
Like last week, I’d like to point out a few players that won’t be in this article that need to be owned at this point in the season, but are owned in less than (or close to) 50 percent of ESPN leagues. Those players include: QB Baker Mayfield, WR Chris Godwin, TE Vance McDonald and WR Courtland Sutton.
Additionally, I still believe that stashing one of these D/STs to get ready for the fantasy playoffs would be quite beneficial as they have pretty nice schedules. They include:
- Denver Broncos D/ST vs. SF, CLE and OAK
- Washington Redskins D/ST vs. NYG, JAX and TEN
- Tennessee Titans D/ST vs. JAX, NYG and WAS
Finally, the bye weeks are just about over which means your bench spots will be much more important for handcuffs of your star players. These handcuffs need to be owned as they either have a decent amount of overall talent or they’ll be thrown into a great opportunity immediately due to resting players or potential injury to the starter ahead of them. At this point, hand cuffs that NEED to be picked up and owned over the next few weeks include: Malcolm Brown, Spencer Ware, Gio Bernard, Austin Ekeler and Latavius Murray. You’re crazy if you don’t own Todd Gurley or Kareem Hunt’s handcuff.
Anyways, as always, I will be listing my favorite waiver acquisitions of the week. If you haven’t been here before, there will be multiple sections to my article with the main parts including: Standard League Adds (my favorite adds of the week and players owned in 50 percent or less) and Deep League Adds (players owned in less than 25 percent of leagues). Furthermore, there will be mini-sections that include players that you shouldn’t drop just yet (Don’t Stop Believin’) and guys you can cut ties with (The Droppables). So, without further ado, let’s get to it.
Standard League Adds
RB Josh Adams — PHI (28.1 percent owned)
Philly Philly! My top add of the week is Eagles’ running back Adams. Ever since Jay Ajayi went down with a season-ending knee injury, the Eagles backfield has been a mess. Neither Corey Clement or Wendell Smallwood did much to show any promise in the backfield, so the past three weeks, Philadelphia has leaned more on Adams. Over the past three weeks, Adams has totaled 61, 47 and 53 yards on the ground on single digit carries. This past week, despite the Eagles’ dismal showing against New Orleans, Adams had by far the best performance for Philly. Adams rushed just seven times, but turned it into 53 yards and a touchdown, while adding on three catches for 19 yards. We continue to see Adams’ snap count and efficiency increase by week. I was hesitant at first, but after Doug Pederson called him the feature back, I’m all aboard the Adams hype train.
RB Theo Riddick — DET (33.1 percent owned)
There’s almost no doubt in my mind that Kerryon Johnson won’t play on Thanksgiving against the Chicago Bears. So, what does that mean for the Lions backfield? Well, I think we’ll see a fair share of both Theo Riddick and LeGarrette Blount. However, Riddick is easily the better pickup for me. The Lions are typically behind in most games so they’ll be forced to throw more which makes Riddick much more valuable, especially in PPR. He had five receptions on seven targets for 30 yards this past week. Previously, Riddick caught 13 passes for 96 yards the last two weeks combined. I wouldn’t expect many carries, but with how bad Blount has been this season, I’d be shocked if he’s out there more than Riddick.
QB Lamar Jackson — BAL (22.4 percent owned)
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s LAMAR JACKSON SEASON! O.K., maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. After all, he didn’t exactly light the world on fire this past Sunday. Nonetheless, Jackson came up with 15.7 fantasy points. Not that impressive right? Well, what if I told you that he didn’t even score a touchdown? That many points without a touchdown is nuts. What’s even more nuts is that the Ravens let Jackson run the ball 27 times. 27! Nevertheless, Jackson rushed for an asinine 117 yards while adding on 150 passing yards and an interception. It wasn’t a great debut for the former Louisville Cardinal, but they got the win. Joe Flacco May sit at least another week or two and Jackson is the ultimate upside play. Oh, and who does he face next? The Oakland Raiders. Sign me up.
WR Christian Kirk — ARI (26.3 percent owned)
Cardinals’ receiver Kirk has found himself within this list multiple times already this season. He’s on here again after his three reception, 77 yard, one touchdown day. The Cardinals offense has been a mess this season, but with Byron Leftwich at offensive coordinator now, Arizona’s offense is improving. Kirk is an explosive player that can hit the big plays, evidenced by him busting a screen pass for 59 yards against Oakland. Kirk has shown flashes of fantasy relevance. He’s been pretty good over his previous five games. Outside of a two reception, eight yard day, Kirk has recorded 57 yards or a touchdown in five of his last six games. If you’re looking for an upside play with the Chiefs and Rams on byes, Kirk is a nice add.
WR DJ Moore — CAR (32.0 percent owned)
I’ve yet to figure out Moore. Just when I think he’s about to explode, he put up multiple dud weeks in a row. Frustrated with Moore, I dropped him in a few leagues this week and how does he get his revenge? Nothing better than a seven reception, 157 yard day with a touchdown. Moore is largely a boom or bust player every single week, but his eight targets this week were tied for the team high. It’s clear that Carolina wants to get him more and more involved. He’s shown flashes of potential like in Week 2 with a 51 yard touchdown and Week 8 with his five reception, 90 yard performance. Moore is certainly worth an add in most leagues.
Deep League Adds
RB Gus Edwards — BAL (0 percent owned)
Who?! The biggest surprise of the week easily goes to Edwards. Edwards, who had just 15 carries the entire season, toted the ball 17 times for a whopping 115 yards and a touchdown. This came out of nowhere after getting just five carries the past three weeks. Edwards was successful in college but wasn’t overly impressive in his four seasons at Miami and senior season at Rutgers. So, what’s the deal here? Well, I think it was a combination of things. First of all, the Ravens seemed to ride the hot hand a little bit. Collins was ineffective with his seven carries as he rushed for just 18 yards. Edwards was clearly the better back on Sunday. Additionally, maybe the Ravens feel better with Edwards in the backfield when Jackson is at QB because he fits their running scheme better. Edwards received 49 snaps, compared to Collins 17 and Buck Allen’s five. Whatever the reason, Edwards “took the bull by the horns” according to John Harbaugh. He’s worth a speculative add at this point.
WR Keke Coutee — HOU (14.3 percent owned)
Keke, I love you again. After nursing a hamstring injury for a few weeks, Coutee snagged five of his team high nine targets on Sunday for 77 yards. Shockingly, newly acquired Demaryius Thomas was held completely off the board. We’ve seen some promise from Coutee earlier in the season. In Weeks 4 through 6, Coutee posted totals of 11–109, 6–51–1, and 3–33. Watson clearly likes him as a safety net underneath and teams will likely continue focusing on DeAndre Hopkins and Thomas, leaving plenty of targets for Coutee. He’s worth an add if you’re hurting at receiver.
RB LeGarrette Blount — DET (9.8 percent owned)
I can’t believe I’m sitting here writing about Blount. Listen, the guy has been absolute trash. I can’t comprehend why he even gets carries outside of 3rd and short situations. Blount averages just 2.3 yards per carry. Yuck. However, this is strictly a volume plug and play. Back in Week 7. Blount rushed for 10 times and 50 yards with a touchdown, so there’s some hope. As I said before, I prefer Riddick while Kerryon is out, but Blount is worth a desperation play if you think he’ll fall into the end zone.
WR Tre’Quan Smith — NO (13.3 percent owned)
Like Moore, Tre’Quan Smith is another guy I just can’t seem to figure out. One thing is similar about the two and it’s that they’re completely boom or bust. Smith provided the boom this past Sunday against Philadelphia as he went off for ten receptions on 13 targets for 157 yards and a touchdown. Star receiver Michael Thomas had just four targets. Smith is an absolutely explosive receiver and is capable of hitting a homerun at any point in the game. He’s caught a touchdown in two straight games now, but with so many mouths to feed in New Orleans, Smith feels more like a high upside dart throw than anything.
TE Cameron Brate — TB (8.9 percent owned)
I originally was going to write about Jonnu Smith (he’s still a solid TE add in deep leagues), but more injury news broke right as I was writing. Bucs’ tight end OJ Howard was placed on injured reserve today due to ankle and foot injuries. Brutal. Personally, I expected Howard to only miss a week or two. However, his impressive sophomore campaign will come to a halting stop. The tight end position is so banged up, but Brate is certainly worth adding. Brate has only gone over 10 fantasy points twice this season, but that’s in large part due to Howard’s emergence. With Jameis Winston back under center, Brate should be a solid play most weeks as Winston loves targeting him in the red zone.
The Droppables
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick: What a rollercoaster. But, I bet it’s Winston’s job the rest of the seasons
RB Derrick Henry: At this point, you’re basically hoping Henry falls into the end zone. That’s just not worth owning at this point of the year.
WR Sterling Shepard: He’s been a total rollercoaster in terms of fantasy points. If you’re frustrated and there’s better options out there, I wouldn’t blame you for cutting bait.
WR Devin Funchess: Moore is emerging, Greg Olsen still takes a lot of targets along with McCaffrey. There’s higher upside options out there.
TE Benjamin Watson: I know the tight end position is brutal, but Watson hasn’t been very good. There’s probably a better option on your waiver wire.
Don’t Stop Believin’
QB Carson Wentz: Just in case you felt like being idiotic, this is me telling you not to. Don’t let one bad performance scare you off.
RB Dalvin Cook: He had a brutal game against Chicago, but better days should be ahead. Are you really going to cut bait on a guy you likely drafted in the second round?
RB Alex Collins: I’m worried that Edwards may take over the number one role, but I wouldn’t panic just yet. See how things unfold the next week or two.
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling: I know Thursday night was brutal, but with Jimmy Graham and Randall Cobb hurting, somebody has to step up. Stay patient with the young receiver.
WR Golden Tate: His first few games with Philadelphia have been uninspiring but I imagine the Eagles will almost certainly start getting him more and more involved.
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