Week Six Waiver Wire: A Closer Look at Two Potential Adds
A couple weeks ago, Mr. Brian Malone asked for volunteers for a pinch hitter for his weekly Waiver Wire column. As somebody who always looks forward to its release on Wednesday mornings before waivers process, I jumped at the chance, added it to my calendar, and went about my day, but apparently I don’t know how to use calendars properly as I put it down for next Tuesday, a full seven days after deadline. So here I am, begging your and Brian’s forgiveness for my inadequacies. Maybe I can make it up to you by turning back the clock and talking about a few old friends who may somehow, someway be finding their way into fantasy value once again? It’s time to party like it’s 2013.
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Shallow Leagues – Cordarrelle Patterson, WR MIN
A few years back, Patterson was looked at as a top-18 wide receiver. He had exploded in a handful of 2013 games, showing transcendent open-field ability that had dynasty owners salivating. Due to what I thought was an insane price considering his lack of polish, I wasn’t one of those owners, but even I’ve been surprised by how little he’s done since.
At the time, I pegged the soon-to-be sophomore as a top-35 to 40 receiver with upside. I thought he could eventually end up being what Tavon Austin is now, except bigger and perhaps better. Some three years later, while others have moved on, I find myself thinking he can still be the guy I always predicted.
Over the last two weeks, Patterson has seen 12 targets and two carries for a total of 11 touches. He hasn’t done a ton with them, but he has at least put himself in the position to get some run, even if it is largely because Stefon Diggs is out. Once Diggs is back, the targets may recede, but due to a lack of legitimate competition, it isn’t necessarily a given. Charles Johnson has been awful, and up until his seven catch, 127 yard week five, Adam Thielen had been, at best, non-descript. Even if Patterson does head back to the bench, I’m not advising adding him for 2016’s sake anyway.
One of the biggest complaints in 2014 was Norv Turner’s refusal to use Patterson in a way we felt was befitting his skills. In just a few short months, Norv will be in the rearview, as CP becomes an unrestricted free agent. He isn’t likely to sign anywhere as an immediate starter, but a fresh start with a creative offensive coordinator could do wonders. If such a scenario comes to pass, the potential for explosion is there just as much now as it ever was. Basically, if Terrelle Pryor can do it, why can’t Cordarrelle?
At 15% owned, there are still tons of leagues out there where Patterson is sitting on the waiver wire. If your rosters are even 24-25 deep, he is a must-own end of the bench stash. Just know that he is a hold at least through the 2017 NFL draft.
Deeper Leagues – Justin Hunter, WR BUF
We all know the story on Hunter. He is tall (6’4”), fast (4.44 40), athletic (97th percentile burst score), and has draft pedigree (34th overall). We also all know that his concentration is on par with an attention deficit addled seven-year-old who just drank a case of Red Bull while playing Call of Duty at the circus. He also runs sloppy routes, doesn’t always practice hard, and has the build of super model. All of this has conspired to take him from dynasty darling to less than 6% owned on MFL.
Cliff notes: he drops a lot of passes and looks like a character from Paper Mario.
Despite all of that, I kinda think he may be the second best healthy receiver on Buffalo’s roster right now. Elite speedster Marquise Goodwin was supposed to be the guy across from Robert Woods, but he has been dreadful to the tune of six receptions on 21 targets for 143 yards and two touchdowns. If Ted Ginn saw those numbers, he’d laugh out loud then accidentally drop his phone in the toilet. Outside of Goodwin, there is Salas and Powell, which sounds like an accounting firm. I guess when you consider Greg and Walter have combined for 11 catches, they play like accountants, so it all makes sense.
Whether Hunter gets a chance or not is anybody’s guess, but I think we can all agree he can’t be worse than what Buffalo has. If sounds like a backhanded endorsement, it is. But at the end of the day, you won’t find another player this cheap with this much theoretical upside. As I said above, if Terrelle Pryor can do it…
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