Just like the Christmas holiday, Week 16 has come and gone, and with it came some pretty big injuries to our fantasy football rosters. Minnesota Vikings T.J. Hockenson could miss extended time and Jordan Addison is dealing with an ankle injury, Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton suffered a concussion, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle suffered a high ankle sprain, Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco, and even San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy left with injury late in Sunday night’s game. We’re going to have to make some aggressive moves on the waiver wire to ensure you didn’t come all this way for nothing.

As I said last week and the week before that, even if you don’t need someone, now is the time to trim the fat from your roster. If you’re not ever going to put them in your lineup and they haven’t been producing, get aggressive on the waiver wire to make sure your opponents don’t snipe someone and use them against you. Now is not the time to relax. With that, let’s get into some of our options for Week 17…Championship Week! 

 

Waiver Wire Quarterbacks

Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns (Available in 81% of ESPN leagues, 67% of Yahoo leagues, and 64% of Sleeper leagues)

FAAB Bid: 10-15%

We talked about Joe Flacco last week, but he just keeps performing. Admittedly, yes, there are some interception issues, but ini the four games he’s played this season, he’s already put up 1,300 passing yards and ten touchdowns. The Browns are clicking with Flacco, and whether or not it is to Amari Cooper, David Njoku, or one of his other weapons, he’s getting it done. They do face the Jets next week, which is not the best matchup, but he’s not afraid to sling the rock, and it would be a revenge game scenario for him as he returns to New York. 

Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints (Available in 78% of ESPN leagues, 61% of Yahoo leagues, and 62% of Sleeper leagues)

FAAB Bid: 10-15%

Carr hasn’t been the most productive quarterback this season, but what he has been is playing from behind. Over the past two weeks, he’s had over 20 fantasy points in each game, and he’s thrown six touchdowns in that span. The Saints have a great matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week who are allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to the quarterback position, and they will be battling it out for first place in the NFC South in the final weeks of the season. Don’t expect Carr to slow down now.

Waiver Wire Running Backs

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs (Available in 72% of ESPN leagues, 64% of Yahoo leagues, and 57% of Sleeper leagues)

FAAB Bid: 15-20%

CEH made an appearance in the article last week, but now with injuries to Jerick McKinnon, who is on injured reserve and out for the season, and Isiah Pacheco, he’s a priority add. Admittedly, he didn’t look great with his four attempts against the Las Vegas Raiders, only gaining six yards, but the game script at that point in time was so out of hand that he didn’t have a chance. If he gets the bulk of the carries next week against the Cincinnati Bengals, the volume alone makes him worth a start. 

Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons (Available in 63% of ESPN leagues, 53% of Yahoo leagues, and 57% of Sleeper leagues)

FAAB Bid: 15-20%

No matter what Arthur Smith says, we know that Tyler Allgeier is going to have a role in this Falcons offense. Yes, this week was a Bijan Robinson week, but Allgeier still carried the ball nine times for 69 yards and a touchdown. It’s truly a committee backfield in Atlanta, and Allgeier gets a decent matchup next week against the Chicago Bears. While they have gotten better, the Falcons identity is the run game, so there should be plenty of opportunities for fantasy production.

Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals (Available in 90% of ESPN leagues, 80% of Yahoo leagues, and 68% of Sleeper leagues)

FAAB Bid: 15-18%

While this backfield does belong to Joe Mixon, we continue to see Chase Brown eat into his workload a little bit, especially in the passing game. While he didn’t produce much this last week, he’s a big play waiting to happen with his explosiveness. The Bengals get a matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs next week who just got rocked by the Las Vegas Raiders, so there could be some production to be had with Brown.

Chris Rodriguez, Washington Commanders (Available in 98% of ESPN leagues, 97% of Yahoo leagues, and 95% of Sleeper leagues)

FAAB Bid: 12-15%

In the absence of Brian Robinson, it was another junior’s time to shine this week. Chris Rodriguez only racked up 58 rushing yards, but he did score two touchdowns and almost allowed the Commanders to mount a comeback against the Jets. Washington has even made a move on the depth chart to move Rodriguez ahead of Antonio Gibson, which is definitely good news for continued production if Robinson isn’t able to go next week.

Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings (Available in 77% of ESPN leagues, 84% of Yahoo leagues, and 76% of Sleeper leagues)

FAAB Bid: 15-20%

After injuries to both Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson, K.J. Osborn becomes a huge priority add (along with Brandon Powell in deeper leagues). Osborn had five receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown against the Detroit Lions, and even if Addison is able to return next week, it’s looking like the Vikings will be without Hockenson for the long-term, creating more targets to go around for Osborn. Minnesota has a matchup against the Green Bay Packers next week, and although they’re out of the playoff picture, don’t expect them to lie down against a divisional opponent.

Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints (Available in 76% of ESPN leagues, 56% of Yahoo leagues, and 61% of Sleeper leagues)

FAAB Bid: 12-15%

Chris Olave may have been the star of the show on Thursday Night Football, but don’t let that overshadow what Shaheed was able to accomplish. He finished the night with five receptions, 70 yards, and a touchdown, which is plenty of fantasy production for a replacement receiver. He also gets a matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week, and they have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. He can be a boom or bust option, but I really like him in this matchup.

Demarcus Robinson, Los Angeles Rams (Available in 98% of ESPN leagues, 90% of Yahoo leagues, and 87% of Sleeper leagues)

FAAB Bid: 12-15%

Speaking of Thursday night’s game, we’re going to stick with a player on the other side of the ball in Demarcus Robinson. It’s been Puka Nacua getting all the talk, but Robinson has had a very productive three weeks, ranking as the WR11 in PPR formats through that span. This passing offense (and really offense in general), is so prolific that there are enough targets to go around for everyone. Case in point? Robinson has seen 19 targets through the past three weeks, and he’s scored a touchdown in the last four. The Rams have a date with the New York Giants next week, so there’s a good chance this could continue.

D.J. Chark, Carolina Panthers (Available in 75% of ESPN leagues, 93% of Yahoo leagues, and 88% of Sleeper leagues)

FAAB Bid: 10-12%

It can be hard to trust anyone on the Panthers, but if waivers are bare, you can do worse than D.J. Chark. He was the leading receiver on Sunday, even over Adam Thielen, but what really boosted his fantasy value was the two touchdowns he scored. Is he going to do that every week? Likely not, but you still can’t argue with six receptions and 98 yards regardless. The Panthers should continue to play from behind in the final two games, and that should continue to give Chark fantasy value.

Brandon Johnson, Denver Broncos (Available in 100% of leagues)

FAAB Bid: 5-8%

You know I like to throw in an option from very deep leagues, and I have to keep that tradition going this week with Brandon Johnson of the Denver Broncos. Courtland Sutton went out on what felt like the first play of the game with a concussion, and in his absence, Johnson did well, finishing with five targets, 47 yards, and a touchdown and 15.7 PPR fantasy points. Now, we don’t know the status of Sutton going into next week yet, but it’s been difficult this season for players to clear protocol the week after, so there’s a good chance he won’t suit up. If he doesn’t, Russell Wilson should keep spreading the ball around, but Johnson will have a big role.

Waiver Wire Tight Ends

Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers (Available in 92% of ESPN leagues, 81% of Yahoo leagues, and 74% of Sleeper leagues)

FAAB Bid: 8-10%

We love Tucker Kraft in these parts, but we love him even more with so many of the Packers wide receivers on the injury report. Christian Watson and Jayden Reed missed last week all together, then rookie Dontayvion Wicks left with an injury during the game. In their absence, Kraft saw six targets and finished with four receptions for 60 yards. It’s not world beating numbers by any means, but it is consistent, and that’s all we can ask for when it comes to the tight end position.

Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers (Available in 74% of ESPN leagues, 58% of Yahoo leagues, and 54% of Sleeper leagues)

FAAB Bid: 5-8%

I hate that I have to recommend any Charger in this article, but you can’t argue with the volume that Everett has been seeing lately, especially since we don’t yet know the status of Keenan Allen going into Week 17. He’s seen eight targets in three consecutive games, and although he hasn’t been able to do much with those targets, the volume is better than you can find from anyone else, especially at the tight end position.