Dynasty Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Week 16
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In case you are reading this, there is one bit of information to know before you start reading names. Just like last year’s series, we will be utilizing player rostership percentages, courtesy of real dynasty rosters from 1,700 MFL leagues. While this may not be entirely accurate for every individual league, it is very reflective of how managers view who is worthy or not of a roster spot. Now that that’s covered, let’s dive into the waiver wire after week 15!
Players to double-check availability and immediately add:
- Cooper Rush, QB DAL
- Khalil Herbert, RB CIN
- Jalen McMillan, WR TB
- Calvin Austin, WR PIT
- Ben Sinnott, TE WAS
- Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE CAR
- Noah Gray, TE KC
Carson Wentz, QB KC
We had some big-time injuries this week, and perhaps none greater than the ankle injury to Patrick Mahomes, one that is already labeling him as “week-to-week” despite Andy Reid claiming Mahomes could’ve kept playing if they needed him to, but they were already winning by too much with too little time left, so they held him out. Personally, I find it hard to believe Mahomes will play again during the regular season, as all they care about is making the Super Bowl, so if Mahomes is done for the fantasy season, then we get Carson Wentz back into our lives, for better or for worse.
And look, I get it, it’s Carson Wentz, but I’d bet that he’s going to be willing to sling it and he might try to play for another shot at a starting job somewhere else too. Especially in this offense, with these weapons around him, and he gets a Texans defense that prior to this week against Tua Tagovailoa, had allowed five-straight 20-plus-point fantasy performances to quarterbacks, and six in their last eight games, plus the Steelers, who have now also allowed three-straight 20-plus-point games to quarterbacks and now might not have TJ Watt that week depending on the severity of his foot injury. All I’m saying is he may not be the hero your fantasy team deserves, but he’s the one you may need right now.
Mason Rudolph, QB TEN
So, Will Levis is bad. This is not new information, but it’s now gotten to the point that Tennessee has turned to Rudolph to be their quarterback, or at least he got the call this week in a near-blowout loss to Cincinnati. If Tennessee sticks with Rudolph moving forward, he honestly is not a *terrible* option if you really need a starter in superflex or 2QB leagues.
In his three starts for Levis, Rudolph put up 9, 19, and 17 fantasy points, throwing for over 240 yards in two of those games and accounting for two touchdowns in two games as well. And in essentially 1.5 quarters of play this weekend, Rudolph put up 209 yards and 2 touchdowns against a soft Bengals defense and Rudolph did well against the other two mediocre defenses he faced earlier this year. If he were to remain the starter for the rest of the season, he would get Indy in week 16 and Jacksonville in week 17, so again, he’s not a terrible Hail Mary option if you needed the start at QB.
DeeJay Dallas, RB ARI
Moving to running back, any and all running back pickups from here until championship week are just going to be potential handcuff options in case of injuries to starters above them. The big pickup this week would be DeeJay Dallas, who is now with the Arizona Cardinals after Emari Demarcado was placed on IR before this week’s game, and then Trey Benson left the game with an ankle injury. So assuming Benson is now out for the rest of the year, Dallas would be the handcuff to James Conner, and on the chance that Conner were to miss any games at all this year, Dallas could have a huge role in the offense as the primary ball-carrier AND receiver out of the backfield. If anything, he’s a speculative add today and then a drop by week 18.
D’Onta Foreman, RB CLE and Jamaal Williams, RB NO
Speaking of two more speculative adds for handcuffs, Foreman and Williams could be sneaky adds as potential RB2s in their offenses based on injuries above them. The big injury was Nick Chubb leaving the game with a broken foot and 100% will be done for the year. For Cleveland, that means Jerome Ford is once again the starter and now Foreman could be his backup and handcuff for the final couple of weeks.
Then in New Orleans, Alvin Kamara left early with a groin injury, moving the relatively newly activated Kendre Miller as the presumed RB1 and Jamaal Williams as his backup. Of course, it’s possible that Kamara is completely fine and finishes the season, but if not, Williams is potentially one Miller injury away from a workhorse role.
Malik Washington, WR MIA
And as the injuries continue this week, Jaylen Waddle left the game early with a knee injury, potentially opening up an opportunity for Washington to showcase his talents and play a bigger role, which he did have when Waddle left. Washington led all Dolphins receivers this week in receiving yards, hauling in five catches for 52 yards on six targets. He was fourth on the team in total targets, but he made the most of it, and if that usage continues or even grows with Waddle sidelined, Washington could be a sneaky start during the playoffs, especially in leagues that start 10-12 players or more. He’s already very highly rostered, but if he isn’t in your league, he’s a must-add this week for everyone, as he also makes for an intriguing off-season stash.
Brenton Strange, TE JAC
Finally, at the tight end position is a player I actually feel confident picking up on waivers and starting in my lineup during the fantasy playoffs (if needed). Strange has been excellent in place of Evan Engram, doing well at the beginning of the year averaging 9.0 PPR points per game from weeks 2-5, and then this past weekend putting up 73 yards on 11 receptions, finishing as second on the team in targets behind Brian Thomas Jr. And that’s basically the equation for Jacksonville to close out the year: BTJ and Brenton Strange with Mac Jones chucking it to try to save everybody’s jobs for 2025. And it doesn’t hurt that the Jaguars get the Raiders and Titans over the next two weeks, so if Strange is still on waivers, he needs to be added to potentially play now, but also makes for a fantastic 2025 stash.
- Dynasty Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Week 16 - December 16, 2024
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- Dynasty Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Week 14 - December 2, 2024
