2012 Fantasy Football Waiver Pickups: Week 16

Posted by Ryan Hallam on 12/18/2012 | 0 Comments

Tags: Dominik Hixon, Leonard Hankerson, LaMichael James, Danny Woodhead, Dennis Pitta, Zach Miller, Curtis Brinkley, Hugh Douglas, Mike Tolbert

This is the final waiver article of the season, and likely the Super Bo…..er, Big Game of your fantasy football season.  It has been a long season and you likely have made many moves to try to maneuver your team from the train wreck you drafted in August, to the championship contender you have now.  Cecil Shorts, Knowshon Moreno, and maybe Colin Kaepernick have helped you each week.   Well, maybe it’s one more move that you need to help you win. With that in mind, here are a handful of guys who can maybe make that happen, with a few that you shouldn’t trick yourself into thinking can help you. 

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Questions about your team or a waiver move?  Lineup decisions?  You can email me at ryan@fantasyalarm.com for answers to those questions.  You can also hit me up by following me on Twitter @ryanhallamFA or if you just want to read some of my incoherent babbling in 140 characters. 

Curtis Brinkley, RB, San Diego Chargers.  Ryan Mathews’ season is mercifully over with a broken clavicle, and although they have Ronnie Brown and Jackie Battle, I expect it to be Brinkley to carry the load over the last two completely meaningless game for the awful Chargers.  They were completely blown out by the Panthers, but Brinkley led the team with a whopping six carries and also had three receptions.  He didn’t do much of anything on Sunday, but they got crushed so if the Chargers decide to play in either of the last two weeks Brinkley could be a decent grab to finish the season. 

Danny Woodhead, RB, New England Patriots.  His role on the team changes from week to week, but here and there Woodhead is a viable fantasy player. He runs the ball, he catches the ball, he is an x factor.   He isn’t anything close to a consistent fantasy player, but if the Patriots rely on him like they did on Monday, he could help you in one of the last two weeks of the season especially If Stevan Ridley puts another one on the turf.  Woodhead is a high risk/high reward type of player, and is tough to start, but at this point of the season if you are desperate he is a calculated risk.

Mike Tolbert, RB, Carolina Panthers.  Here’s one where I am going to tell you to slow down with the excitement. I know Tolbert had two touchdowns, but they were both for one yard so it wasn’t like he was a big part of the offense just because he scored.  He did have nine carries, but wasn’t the primary back and I don’t anticipate anything like this happening again for Tolbert.  If you are looking for a running back to finish the season I think you can do better than a guy who might vulture a touchdown or two. 

Dennis Pitta, TE, Baltimore Ravens.  How is Dennis Pitta owned in only 31% of Yahoo leagues??  After five catches for 46 yards and a score last week, he blew up on Sunday with seven catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns against the Broncos!  The Ravens’ passing game hasn’t been great the past couple of weeks, but Flacco has definitely refound Pitta again like he did in the first three weeks and he should be a solid play to finish out the season. 

Leonard Hankerson, WR, Washington Redskins.  Even though Griffin didn’t play on Sunday, Hankerson was still a part of the passing game and caught two touchdowns.  They were his only two catches, but hey fantasy football is all about touchdowns.  There is no clear cut number one receiver in Washington and they spread the ball around a lot, so taking a chance on Hankerson is risky, but the past two weeks have been solid for him.

Dominik Hixon, WR, New York Giants.  Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz are certainly the top two receivers in New York, but the third receiver for the Giants has been a fantasy factor throughout the season.  The problem has been that the third receiver has changed over and over and over.  Martellus Bennett, Rueben Randle, Ramses Barden, and now Hixon.  So, can you possibly hope that Hixon will follow up on the five catch, 80 yard performance that he had against the Falcons?  According to the Magic 8 Ball, signs point to no. 

Zach Miller, TE, Seattle Seahawks.  It has been another disappointing season for Miller in Seattle, but he has now scored for the second consecutive week, and has at least shown up on Russell Wilson’s radar.  It is a bit of a risky play, but if you need a tight end in the last two weeks of the season I think Miller could surprise.  He isn’t going to catch more than three or four balls, but Wilson doesn’t seem to have a go-to receiver, and has trusted Miller in the red zone in December. 

Hugh Douglas, WR, Atlanta Falcons.  Roddy White was active for the game, but the Falcons didn’t need to call on him much as they absolutely routed the Giants from the very beginning.  With that being said, Matt Ryan looked Douglas’ way three times for 83 yards on Sunday.  Atlanta is one game away from at least clinching a first round bye, so I have to think that they might not be relying on their top two receivers as much as we approach Christmas and New Years.  Douglas has proven to be a solid number three option who could have a nice final two weeks.

LaMichael James, RB, San Francisco 49ers. With the Niners win over the Patriots on Monday, they all but clinched the division and are looking strong for the first round bye.  Frank Gore is still their lead runner, but James looked pretty good in his limited action against the Patriots, and was even seen on kick returns for leagues that reward you for those yards. Gore will need some rest as the Niners head into the playoffs, I can see James getting some run as he has fresh legs from being inactive most of the year.  It’s a risky play, but if you are feeling lucky punk, James might be a surprise in the last two weeks.

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