Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups
It wouldn’t be 2021 if you didn’t have to submit your waiver wire claims immediately following the end of the past week, which technically ended on Tuesday this week. With COVID causing two games to be played on Tuesday, the time you have to make major decisions that will impact next week is shorter than usual. Don’t forget to keep an eye on injury and COVID related news, as last week showed you might be forced to replace players nearly up to kickoff. Good luck to all of you in your playoff matchups!
QB Waiver Wire Pickups
Justin Fields
Chicago Bears (40% Sleeper Rostership / 25.5% ESPN Rostership)
After the Seahawks were forced to play on Tuesday night, Justin Fields gets to face a Seahawks defense that will be playing on even shorter rest than the Bears. Fields flashed his rushing ability, scrambling for 35 yards against the Vikings on seven attempts. Fields now has at least seven rushing attempts in four of his last five games and in six of ten starts this year. If you’re looking for upside, you need to look to Fields rushing ability. He’s has at least 30 rushing yards in seven games, adding at least 3.0 per fantasy points per week just from his legs, which has helped him crest 16.9 fantasy points in each of the past two weeks.
RB Waiver Wire Pickups
Ronald Jones
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (41% Sleeper Rostership / 23.4% ESPN Rostership)
Sunday night football turned into Sunday bloody Sunday for the Buccaneers. They lost wide receivers Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, and running back Leonard Fournette. Godwin is finished for the 2021 season, Evans has a shot to play next week, and Fournette might miss the remainder of the regular season. Last year Fournette parlayed a late-season injury in the Bucs backfield into a magnificent playoff run that helped him secure the starting role coming into this season. Now it’s Fournette’s injury that could allow Ronald Jones to finally fulfill the promise that many of us feel Rojo possesses. Or maybe not. What really matters is that he will be the starting running back in Week 16 and possibly Week 17. Stepping into the starter role means Jones inherits a role that has seen at least 21 opportunities in each of the three games preceding the Sunday night loss to the Saints. If Rojo can hold onto the football, an issue in the past, he could end up being a league winner for you.
Jeff Wilson Jr.
San Francisco 49ers (57% Sleeper Rostership / 37.4% ESPN Rostership)
Given a positive game script Jeff Wilson Jr. ran wild on the Atlanta Falcons Sunday. Wilson ran for 110 yards on 21 rushing attempts. He even added two receptions for another nine yards, and his two targets accounted for 50% of running back targets on the day. According to head coach Kyle Shanahan, Elijah Mitchell is unlikely to play next week against the Tennessee Titans, which would lead to another start for Wilson.
Kyle Shanahan said the reason Elijah Mitchell won’t play is due to his knee not his Dec. 5 concussion. He said the swelling in the knee has not subsided. (He also thought Mitchell could be cleared from the concussion protocol later today).
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) December 17, 2021
Wilson had a 72% rushing share this week, and the 49ers should be favored against the Titans, which should lead to another positive game script for Wilson, meaning you can likely expect another 15-20 rushing attempt day for Wilson. That kind of volume would place him in the conversation for an RB2 week, and if he scores a touchdown, as he did this week, he could give you a low-end RB1 week.
Justin Jackson
Los Angeles Chargers (8% Sleeper Rostership / 2.8% ESPN Rostership)
This suggestion felt a lot sexier when it was reported Monday that Austin Ekeler was going to be added to the COVID list, but that ultimately turned out to be false. Though he won’t have to contend with COVID, Ekeler is still dealing with a banged-up ankle which allowed Justin Jackson to put up his best game of the season last week. Jackson went for 86 yards on 13 rushing attempts and added another 13 yards on his lone target and reception. The Chargers are 9.5 point favorites against the Texans in Week 16, which should equal them running the ball a lot in the second half. If the Chargers get up big, we could see a good bit of Jackson against a Texans defense that gives up the sixth-most fantasy points per game to running backs.
Duke Johnson
Miami Dolphins (0% Sleeper Rostership / 0.7% ESPN Rostership)
After being a healthy inactive the past two Dolphin games, Miami was forced to activate Duke Johnson on Sunday. Both Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed were on the COVID list leading up to Sunday, and though both were eventually cleared, Johnson carried the load Sunday. Johnson ran for 107 yards on 22 attempts, including two rushing touchdowns, and added 20 receiving yards on his lone reception. The Jets have one of the worst run defenses in the league, while the Dolphins’ next opponent, the Saints, have one of the best run defenses in the league, so you shouldn’t expect another 23 fantasy point day from Johnson. But he’s worth adding to the bottom of your roster in case Miami decides to utilize him going forward, which seems likely considering they just signed him to the active roster on Monday. Considering he just provided the best running back performance of the season, the Dolphins should certainly keep him involved.
WR Waiver Wire Pickups
Amon-Ra St. Brown
Detroit Lions (35% Sleeper Rostership / 24% ESPN Rostership)
The rookie wide receiver from USC has been a target monster over the past three weeks. With 11 targets Sunday, Amon-Ra St. Brown has now been targeted 35 times over the past three games, and there is no reason to think anything is going to change next week. Last week, T.J. Hockenson was ruled out for the rest of the season, and D’Andre Swift is still recovering from a shoulder injury suffered a few weeks ago. St. Brown has at least eight receptions and 73 yards in each of the last three games and faces off against an Atlanta Falcons defense that gives up the fourth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers next week. St. Brown has averaged 22.3 fantasy points over the past three weeks, with his “worst” performance coming two weeks ago when he scored 15.3 against the stingy Broncos defense. Still unowned in a wide majority of leagues, you need to pick up St. Brown.
Gabriel Davis
Buffalo Bills (20% Sleeper Rostership / 12.2% ESPN Rostership)
Many players are given a chance to succeed, but not many players actually succeed when given the opportunity. Emmanuel Sanders was unable to play due to the shoulder injury suffered against Carolina last week, placing Gabriel Davis in a prime position to produce on Sunday. Davis did not disappoint, putting up a career-high 25.5 fantasy points while scoring two receiving touchdowns, his third week in a row with at least one receiving touchdown. While I can’t guarantee he’ll score a touchdown next week, I can promise you that he should see a healthy target share. Sunday marked his second week in a row with at least seven targets and five receptions. Cole Beasley will miss this week’s game after ending up on the COVID list Tuesday. If Sanders cannot play this coming week as well, Davis should put up another crooked stat line for your roster.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Green Bay Packers (38% Sleeper Rostership / 15.3% ESPN Rostership)
When you average 17.1 yards per reception, you typically don’t need a ton of volume to produce. But it sure doesn’t hurt. Marquez Valdes-Scantling has seen at least seven targets in three of his last four games and at least five targets in each of those contests. He’s the Packers second-most targeted player, behind Davante Adams, with an 18.2% target share over the past three weeks. Next week’s matchup with the Browns isn’t especially advantageous at first blush, based on the Browns giving up the ninth fewest points per game to wide receivers, but that fails to consider the Browns schedule. The Packers and Browns play on Saturday, even though they were forced to play on Monday this week after their COVID outbreak pushed their game back from its original Saturday kickoff. Playing on short rest, on the road, after a last-second loss to the Raiders, feels like a beatdown spot for the Browns. MVS is a bit of a boom or bust play, having scored
TE Waiver Wire Pickups
Foster Moreau
Las Vegas Raiders (5% Sleeper Rostership / 16.6% ESPN Rostership)
Over the past two weeks, Foster Moreau has played on 99% of the Raiders offensive snaps while being targeted on 15 pass attempts. Sunday Moreau turned in 13.5 fantasy points with 65 receiving yards on seven receptions. This is the usage you want to see from a tight end. Next week’s matchup with the Broncos isn’t ideal but trust the process. If a player is seeing volume, you start that player.
