Week 16 waiver wire reactions

Our MathBox™-centric assessment of this week’s trendiest waiver adds based on our Value Over Replacement metric.

This is it. You may be in the championship, you may be in the Sacko Bowl. Either way, no one wants to end the season on a down note. You’re likely set by now, but we’ve got a few guys to take a look at (Marquise Goodwin) and a few to avoid (Rod Smith) in your final week on the waiver wire. Good luck and godspeed, friends. Thank you for tuning in this season.

Note: Listed rankings and insights are based on MathBox’s preliminary Week 16 rankings from the information available going into Week 15. Every week, MathBox makes projections through Week 17. Although we’ll have updated Week 16 projections coming out this Thursday, we wanted to post waiver wire suggestions before those new projections were available so you would have time to make moves in your league.

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Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles

Nick Foles, the young backup turned phenom turned young journeyman, is now back with his original team in Philly and is in the fold with Carson Wentz’ season-ending injury. No problem. Foles only turned in the best fantasy QB performance of the week with 237 yards passing and four scores in his first start since last season. The Eagles wrap up this fantasy season against a generous Oakland defense according to MathBox, so Foles is definitely a consideration if you’re spot starting in your finale.

Brock Osweiler, Denver Broncos

Osweiler filled in admirably for Trevor Siemian, who dislocated his shoulder during the Broncos’ Thursday night game. Osweiler threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns and added another on the ground. Not only could this be fool’s gold, but Osweiler was in there to begin with because Paxton Lynch is dealing with an ankle issue, but it looks like Denver will try to start him the remainder of the season if he can go. Sorry, Brock.

Wayne Gallman, New York Giants

You don’t see emergences this late in the season in backfields without notable injuries, but Gallman has made is presence known in PPR formats. His rushes have gone up in the past couple weeks and had him competing with Orleans Darkwa for the top spot, but adding 13 catches for 80 yards in those matchups has been a huge boost. It’s nothing sure, and nothing more than a flex, but you’re almost never going to find anything promising on the waiver wire heading into Week 16 for running backs.

Rod Smith, Dallas Cowboys

With a rushing touchdown in four straight weeks and recent upside in PPR, we would have said take a gander at Rod Smith, who is only owned in 40 percent of leagues. Unfortunately for Smith, Ezekiel Elliott returns from suspension in Week 16, severely reducing, if not completely wiping out, his opportunities.

Marquise Goodwin, San Francisco 49ers

Quite simply Marquise Goodwin is benefiting from Jimmy Garoppolo as the starting QB for the 49ers. In three games together they’ve combined for 319 yards on 24 receptions. No scores in that period, but extremely encouraging. The only gotcha is that they are playing Jacksonville this week, but it’s probably worth rolling with Goodwin if you need help, especially in PPR. He’s owned in about 61 percent of leagues.

Keelan Cole, Jacksonville Jaguars

It’s two weeks in a row for Cole to have a really, really long touchdown reception, but this past week he added some pretty insane yardage (186) on seven receptions. It’s still difficult to say if this is a fluke since the seven reception was by far a season high. San Francisco poses a good matchup, but there are probably better streaming options for wide receivers.

Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers

Cobb was a major beneficiary to Aaron Rodgers’ return from injury, notching 84 yards and a score on seven catches. Although Cobb isn’t who he used to be, he does have two touchdowns in his past three outings and more receptions in the past couple weeks than most of the season. Although Minnesota has been stout, you’d like to think Rodgers knocked some of the rust off and Cobb could still be a decent flex option.

Benjamin Watson, Baltimore Ravens

Watson had his best fantasy performance of the year with 74 yards and a score on four catches. The Ravens are coming along in their playoff push and if the offense keeps doing a decent job, Watson should be a key contributor. Playing Indianapolis in Week 16 is good enough reason to think of picking up Watson if you need help. He’s widely available and likely your best bet on the waiver wire this week.

Garrett Celek, San Francisco 49ers

That’s two weeks in a row with a score for Celek, but he has limited volume in the passing game, only seeing nine receptions in his past four games. Against the Jags this week, there are better options on the market.

That’s it for this week. We’d love to hear what you think about our approach to the waiver wire — and how you think it can be improved.

Chris Seal contributed to these models.

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