Dynasty Waiver Wire: Week 12
I got a bit of a head start on decorating for Christmas this year. My normal routine is to get all the boxes off the shelves and dust off the decorations right after Thanksgiving, but this year my wife and I decided that we mine as well start early. So… I am going to attribute my boneheaded/rookie mistake that I made while setting everything up (which I will explain here shortly) to the change in my normal routine of decorations and lights. Let me explain.
Every man knows to pull the outdoor lights out of the box and test each strand individually. We as a nation have created self-driving cars and commercial space travel, yet have been unable to master outdoor Christmas lights that fully function two years in a row. Here’s where my rookie mistake comes in… I just started putting up the lights before checking. I plugged them in after they were all up on the house during the daylight and didn’t notice that they weren’t working correctly until later that night when half of the strands were broken.
So why am I telling you about my Christmas decorating problems? Because maybe you can relate to me about Christmas decorating, or maybe your fantasy football team is like my strand of lights… they look alright from a distance, but once you get up close and personal, you see a lot of flaws. The best part about your fantasy team unlike my lights, is that your team can be fixed (maybe, kinda).
Week 13 is a vital week for teams that are trying to make that last playoff push, or trying to snag a valuable player to help your fantasy team build for next year. Snagging a player off the waiver wire this late into the season may prove to be even more important than in weeks past. So keep your chin up and keep on fighting… until you’re mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
Shallow (18-22 man rosters)
Benny Snell, RB PIT
I have quite a few shares of Jaylen Samuels, and much to my chagrin, Snell dominated the touches in Pittsburgh’s backfield on Sunday. The timetable for James Conner’s return is still up in the air, and Snell looks like a solid option moving forward. He received 22 touches and produced over 100 yards. Consider Snell a top choice for the waiver wire.
Russell Gage, WR ATL
Gage has come out of relatively nowhere to impress the Falcons and fantasy owners. He has been solid ever since Mohamed Sanu was shipped to New England, but on Sunday, he made an even bigger impact. He received a whopping ten targets and caught eight of them for 76 yards. Gage is a WR3/4 moving forward.
Bo Scarbrough, RB DET
Scarbrough bounced around the league for a couple of years, not being able to make an impact or find a home anywhere. But it looks like he found a place where he can be very successful. He dominated the carries out of the backfield for the Lions, and ran the ball 18 times for 98 yards. He looks like a solid RB3 each week, with no real competition behind him.
John Ross, WR CIN
With Auden Tate out for at least another week, Ross looks like he will be coming back to the active roster. Right now, Alex Erickson is opposite starter Tyler Boyd. I don’t think it is a stretch to think that Ross could overtake the WR2 duties with Tate out for additional time. The Bengals are an absolute mess, but even dumpster fires can provide fantasy relevance. Ross is a speculative add moving forward.
Other “Shallow” roster players to keep an eye on:
- Jay Ajayi, RB PHI
- Chris Conley, WR JAX
- Andy Isabella, WR ARI
Average (23-27 man rosters)
Kelvin Harmon, WR WAS
Harmon was a prospect I liked coming out of college, but due to certain factors, he dropped quite a bit in the NFL draft. He landed in a good situation for playing opportunity, but wasn’t able to seize much playing time at the beginning of the season. In back-to-back weeks, Harmon has received six targets, and turned those 12 total targets into eight catches for 96 yards. Terry McLaurin has separated himself as the alpha dog in the wide receiver room, but the WR2 is still up for grabs. Paul Richardson can’t stay healthy, and Trey Quinn is an average talent. The job is there for the taking.
Jakobi Meyers, WR NE
With Phillip Dorsett and Mohamed Sanu’s health up in the air, Meyers received extra playing time and turned in his best game of the year. He received nine targets and turned them into four catches for a career-high 74 yards. Meyers’ snap count will take a hit if and when Dorsett and Sanu come back, but Meyers has shown that he can be reliable when called upon.
Allen Hurns, WR MIA
Albert Wilson was knocked out of the Dolphin’s game on Sunday, and that left DeVante Parker and Hurns as the only two viable, healthy wide receivers on the roster. Hurns has put together back-to-back four-catch games, and had his most productive fantasy game of the year with 42 yards and a score. If Wilson has to miss time, Hurns falls into the WR3/4 range next week due to the Dolphin’s wide receiver necessity alone.
Jalen Richard, RB OAK
In one of the more surprising games of the weekend, the Jets hammered the Raiders 34-3. The downside to owning Richard is that he doesn’t always receive a guaranteed amount of touches due to game script and game flow. Josh Jacobs will command a majority of the carries on most weeks, but in games where the Raiders start trailing by multiple scores, Richard is the back that sees the most time. Richard lead the Raiders in catches and receiving yards on the day with six catches for 47 yards.
Other “Average” roster players to keep an eye on:
- Alex Erickson, WR CIN
- Bilal Powell, RB NYJ
- Jeff Wilson, RB SF
Deep (28+ man rosters)
Kerrith Whyte Jr., RB PIT
Out of all the surprises over the weekend, seeing Kerrith Whyte Jr. scamper for 20+ yards on his first career carry tops them all. I watch a good amount of football, and do a lot of research. So not often does a player do something notable on offense and I am left saying… “Who is that?” That happened with KWJ (ya… I’m starting that abbreviation). You will not want to start KWJ next week even if Conner misses the game, due to the crowded backfield of Benny Snell, Jaylen Samuels, Trey Edmunds, and now KWJ. He is worth a pickup in deep leagues.
Patrick Laird, RB MIA
If the Dolphins want to keep losing (which they should…), then by all means, keep trotting Kalen Ballage out on the field. He is averaging 1.9 yards per carry this entire season… wait, that can’t be right. Oh yeah… it is. He wouldn’t be able to see a running lane if it jumped up and smacked him in the face. I have no idea if Laird is any better… but I would guess he is. Most RBs can average more than two yards per carry. The Dolphins should give Laird a larger workload just so they can see what they have in him.
Greg Ward, WR PHI
Greg Ward is another player who casual football fans have probably never heard of before and even devoted football fans may not have heard of either. With Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor out on Sunday, that left Mack Hollins, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Jordan Matthews, and Ward as the healthy options at receiver. Ward received seven targets and caught six of them for 40 yards. He showed that he can be a capable wide receiver if given the opportunity, and is worth keeping an eye on.
Devlin Hodges, QB PIT
Devlin “Duck” Hodges replaced Mason Rudolph on Sunday because Rudolph… how do I say this nicely? Isn’t a great NFL QB. Duck came into the game and instantly added more to the offense than Rudolph had all season. I would expect that Hodges remains the starter until the end of the season. The Steelers know what they have in Rudolph, and would like to see what they have in the undrafted rookie Hodges as well. The Steelers may be looking for a QB in the 2020 draft or free agency depending on what Big Ben Roethlisberger decides to do.
Other “Deep” roster players to keep an eye on:
- Jaeden Graham, TE ATL
- Malik Turner, WR SEA
- Kaden Smith, TE NYG
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