It’s the most wonderful time of the year. When the playoffs are nearing and fans are still cheering, there’s nothing to fear. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Ladies and gentleman, it’s the holiday season! You’re either pushing for a bye week or you’re scraping together a few last second wins to get the sixth seed in your fantasy football league.
Or, you’re 2-9 and doing the bare minimum so you don’t get kicked out of your league.
No matter what your personal fantasy football hiccup is right now, there’s nothing like a waiver wire pickup to thrust you into the light. Be sure to do your due diligence when making any transactions. As always, all roster percentages are via ESPN Fantasy Football. The threshold to qualify a player for my weekly waiver list is 65% or less.
Quarterbacks
Kirk Cousins MIN 62.9% Rostered – Kirk Cousins is quietly having one of his better seasons in football. Almost 2800 yards and a 10.5 TD/Int ratio. He is currently the fantasy football QB8 on the year. A big part of that is the lack of turnovers. He is on pace for: 4700 yards, 35 touchdowns, and only three interceptions. If he is available, he should be starting.
Tua Tagovailoa MIA 58.9% Rostered – Tua has been… average for fantasy football. What’s not average is his upcoming schedule. Besides the Panthers in this upcoming week, Tua faces a bottom-11 pass defense from Week 13 throughout the playoffs. Roster him now if you plan to stream the quarterback position during your playoff run.
Carson Wentz IND 46% Rostered – Jonathan Taylor has taken over the offense, but the Colts face the number one rush defense in football – the Bucs. Although Taylor should still play well, I expect more pass volume from Wentz. Look for a high scoring game resulting in multiple pass touchdowns from both sides of the ball.
Cam Newton CAR 40.9% Rostered – Give Cam the ball and he will find the end zone. He shined in his return to Carolina and I don’t expect him to slow down anytime soon.
Taylor Heinicke WFT 12.8% Rostered – Heinicke has a good, not great, upcoming schedule. If you’re in dire need of a QB, he is a great option in deeper leagues or for your superflex.
Running Backs
Jeff Wilson Jr SF 54.4% Rostered – The score and statline doesn’t show how Jimmy G overthrew Wilson in the endzone when he was wide open. That would have made him a high-end RB2 in PPR leagues for the week. If Mitchell were too miss any more time, Wilson is a bonafide start,
Rhamondre Stevenson NE 50% Rostered – Stevenson clearly lost some work with Harris returning, but it’s also clear that he will continue to share the load. Stevenson ran for 5.8 yards/carry on 12 rushes. If Harris were to miss any time during playoffs, Rhamondre Stevenson could be a league winner.
Devonta Freeman BAL 33.9% Rostered – Freeman may not be efficient and explosive anymore, but he catches passes and finds the end zone. Give me the number one running back in the Baltimore offense as my flex.
Matt Breida BUF 1.1% Rostered – Buffalo doesn’t trust their running backs at all. Breida has seen six touches in each of the last two games and has some juice left from his days in San Francisco. He is a deep league dart throw, but he could find the endzone.
Dontrell Hilliard TEN 0.1% Rostered – Another week of playing the “Who will lead the Titans in points” game. It’s going to be a tough call regardless of who got the work the previous week. I recommend staying away from all Titans’ running backs, but Hilliard proved useful in the pass game.
Wide Receivers
Darnell Mooney CHI 53.4% Rostered – I don’t know how many times I can beat this drum, but Mooney needs to be rostered in all fantasy football leagues. He is a stud and is the clear WR1 on this team.
Rashod Bateman BAL 50% Rostered – With Lamar Jackson out, I’ll give Bateman a pass. He didn’t breakout like we expected him to and who knows if he will at all this year. What we do know is he is a reliable asset for your fantasy team that, when Jackson plays, will get you 10-15 fantasy points on 6-8 targets.
Elijah moore NYJ 41% Rostered – Eli Moore is the best player on this Jets team. He is electric and is almost always open. He has scored five touchdowns in his last five games, even with a multitude of quarterbacks. Get him on your roster.
Marquise Goodwin CHI 0.2% Rostered – I’m trying to not be chalk, so I’m going with someone who will probably be overlooked regardless of his performance. With Allen Robinson missing time, Goodwin made the most of his opportunity and brought home a week winning game. If Robinson continues to miss time, Goodwin can be fired up as a deep flex.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine 0.2% Rostered – Similar to the aforementioned Marquise Goodwin, Ikhine has made the most of his opportunities when those ahead of him on the depth chart go down with injury. He is another deep play if Julio Jones and AJ Brown miss more time.
Tight Ends
Zach Ertz ARI 59.8% Rostered – With injuries on offense, Zach Ertz has turned his new home into a blessing. Scoring twice this past week has propelled him into an almost must-start. Ertz is currently the TE6 on the year and has all the potential to find his way back into the top five from years past.
Pat Freiermuth PIT 58.5% Rostered – Cluttered with targets once again, Freiermuth proves he is one of Big Ben’s favorite targets. He should continue to be a reliable tight end in fantasy football for the rest of the season.
Logan Thomas WFT 46.9% Rostered – Logan Thomas is returning from injury at what couldn’t be a better time. Heinicke needs his second best pass catcher back. I expect Thomas to instantly return to form.
Defense/ST
As said in last week’s piece, here are the defenses with the best fantasy football playoff schedules AND that have a chance to give you double digit points.
49ers – ATL,TEN, HOU
Bills – CAR, NE, ATL
Bucs – NO, CAR, NYJ
Chargers – KC, HOU, DEN
Eagles – WFT, NYG, WFT
Kicker of the Week
Graham Gano plays for the team that has the lowest TD% in the red zone, which means they end up kicking too many field goals.
