Finally, a week where we can feel good about numerous waiver wire options. The past few weeks just had this sense that we were all treading water with little to be excited about save for Ty Johnson’s prospects (egg on my face) when Kerryon Johnson went down. A lot of doors opened up on Sunday and we’ve got some big teams on Bye this week (the Chiefs, Vikings, Cardinals, and Chargers) so you might be in need for some streamers for a game. We’ve got you covered with the best waiver wire targets heading into Week 12!
Quarterbacks
Jimmy Garoppolo (SF); FAAB Bid: 12% - In two of his last three games, Jimmy Garoppolo has thrown for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. He has still been a little turnover prone with three interceptions in his last two games, but the production is there. Jimmy G is nearing 60% owned so he’s still available in some shallow leagues with a good matchup against the Green Bay Packers coming up this week. After that there are a few difficult matchups against the Ravens and Saints, but these are still games he can be started if the increase in pass attempts sticks. It should be noted that his two massive performances of late have been against Arizona and he’s done playing the Cardinals in 2019, but if the running game continues to be horrid then Garoppolo should be throwing more.
Sam Darnold (NYJ); FAAB Bid: 10-12% - A part of me almost prefers Darnold over Garoppolo. Darnold’s passing volume isn’t as impressive as Garoppolo’s, but the matchups are better for the next few weeks. Prior to Sunday’s game against the Bengals, the Raiders had given up multiple passing touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks in six straight games and they allow over 260 passing yards per game. Even if Darnold throws for 250 yards and a pair of touchdowns, that’s 18 points in four-point per passing touchdown leagues. Sure, he’s still prone to interceptions, but I like this matchup more with Karl Joseph out of the picture and the Raiders have to travel East for this matchup, so it’ll feel like a 10:00am game to them.
Baker Mayfield (CLE); FAAB Bid: 7-8% - It was a toss up between Mayfield and Jacoby Brissett for this last spot. I still like Brissett mostly just for this week. He’s cooled off significantly since his ten touchdowns in the first four games of the year. But his last big game came against the Texans a few weeks back where he threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. But for now, I’ll stick with the easier schedule of Baker Mayfield . The Browns have won two straight and still have a shot at the playoffs. Mayfield had arguably his best game of the season last Thursday and gets a much easier matchup this week against the Dolphins who just allowed Josh Allen to throw for 256 yards and three touchdowns in addition to some production on the ground. Mayfield could be in line for his first 300-yard performance on Sunday.
Running Backs
Derrius Guice (WSH); FAAB Bid: 12-15% - Guice has been marred by injuries during his young career, but at least (for now) he’s healthy and showing off the talent that made him a second-round pick in the 2018 draft. Guice only touched the ball eight times on Sunday, but he turned his lone reception on the day into a 45-yard touchdown while adding 24 yards on the ground. Next week the Redskins play the Lions and Detroit is susceptible to the run, but teams just haven’t taken advantage of that opportunity. With Dwayne Haskins struggling at quarterback, and a bad offensive line in front of him, it could be a day where they lean a little more on the run. As bad as the Redskins are in pass protection, they at least rank 12th as a team in run blocking according to Pro Football Focus.
LeSean McCoy /Darrel Williams (KC); FAAB Bid: 12-15% - You may want to go up to 20-25% for McCoy, but the downside is that you’d be spending up for a running back you can’t use for two weeks. Damien Williams was Questionable last week with some personal matters that kept him out of practice, but he did travel with the team to Mexico City for Monday night’s game but unfortunately left with what appeared to be a chest or a rib injury. So that’s bad news for Damien owners. McCoy looked okay in the work that he did get when Williams got hurt. In total he finished with 29 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven carries while catching four-of-five targets for another 28 yards. Ball security has been a massive concern for McCoy and it’s kept him on the sideline the past few games behind Williams, and to the surprise of no one McCoy fumbled it last night inside the ten-yard line and miraculously recovered it on his own. Ball security is job security so I’m not entirely convinced he’s “the guy” in Andy Reid’s eyes. Darrel Williams gets some love as well. We saw earlier in the year how effective the other Williams could be when both McCoy and Damien were hurt and he did pretty well. He finished with 35 rushing yards and a score to go with two receptions. The downside to claiming either of these guys is that they’ll ride the pine next week with the team off and in two weeks Damien Williams could be back. Keep an eye on Damien’s injury on Tuesday, but these might be two players you stay away from if you need immediate help for next week.
Jonathan Williams (IND); FAAB Bid: 7-10% - This is tricky because the opportunities will clearly be there for Williams. Marlon Mack underwent a procedure on his injured hand and will obviously miss the team’s Thursday night game in Houston. In relief of Mack on Sunday against Jacksonville, Williams ran for 116 yards on 13 carries and had a 31-yard reception. Nyheim Hines can get some love for a similar bid in PPR formats, but Colts head coach Frank Reich has already gone on record saying that Hines role won’t change so that’s at least good news for Williams heading into Thursday. Aside from the hand injury, Mack has had his share of nagging injuries before so it’s not a terrible idea to cuff Williams once Mack returns as it’s no guarantee he’ll be back for Week 13, though the team is optimistic for that time table.
Bo Scarbrough (DET); FAAB Bid: 6-7% - As the running back carousel continues to turn in Detroit, Scarbrough is the next man up for opportunities. The Lions are decimated with injuries and it’s been a struggle for them to get the ball moving on the ground. However, Scarbrough did show some semblance of effectiveness against a tough Dallas run defense last week. On 14 carries he only totaled 55 yards while finding the end zone. He takes a hit in PPR formats as the pass-catching role is still J.D. McKissic ’s. But with a matchup against the Redskins this week Scarbrough is a low-end flex streamer. Washington is allowing over 130 rushing yards per game to opposing teams so Scarbrough’s in an okay spot next week.
Wide Receivers
Deebo Samuel (SF); FAAB Bid: 12-18% - Don’t feel obligated to go all the way up to 18% because once George Kittle and Emmanuel Sanders are 100% then Samuel’s value takes a slight hit. However, it could be difficult for the 49ers to shy away from Samuel given his performance of late. He has 28 targets in his last three games and in those last two contests he has eight receptions for 100+ yards in each game. So when the 49ers do get Sanders and Kittle back, why would they take the ball out of Deebo’s hands? Sure, the other two will get work but it’s still feasible to think that the rookie could get six-to-eight targets per game especially with how inept the running game has looked at times despite Kyle Shanahan’s best efforts to get that going. The 49ers and Samuel get a very good matchup this coming week against Green Bay that should feature plenty of targets to go around in San Francisco.
DeVante Parker (MIA); FAAB Bid: 12-15% - Parker’s no stranger to the Waiver column, and while his ownership has gone up in Yahoo leagues, he’s still under 50% owned on ESPN, which is surprising when he’s been a Top 25 wide receiver all season. He has at least six targets in five straight games and in three of those games he has ten targets. He has four touchdowns in his last seven games and even in a difficult matchup this past Sunday against the Bills he still finished with seven receptions for 135 yards. The rest of the schedule is very tempting for Miami if Ryan Fitzpatrick remains their quarterback, which he should. The Dolphins don’t go up against a truly difficult secondary until Week 17 against the Patriots where most fantasy football leagues are done.
Randall Cobb (DAL); FAAB Bid: 5-10% - Despite the numerous mouths to feed in Dallas with Ezekiel Elliott , Amari Cooper , Michael Gallup , etc. Randall Cobb has seen three straight games with at least seven targets and he has a touchdown in back-to-back games. The downside is that the schedule gets pretty difficult for Dallas going forward. Next week they’ll play the Patriots on the road and while he won’t be shadowed by Stephon Gilmore , he will likely still have a pretty difficult day out of the slot. The Patriots are allowing just over 150 passing yards per game. Dallas could easily top 200 yards on volume alone, but Cobb’s value is going to take a hit with a fairly difficult schedule coming up.
Tim Patrick (DEN); FAAB Bid: 6-7% - Tim Patrick has largely been an afterthought this season, but that’s because he’s been hurt. He wasted no time making some noise on Sunday to the tune of four catches for 77 yards on eight targets. Brandon Allen ’s completion percentage isn’t great, but he did throw the ball 39 times against the Vikings and he made it clear he had three targets in mind: Courtland Sutton , Noah Fant, and Tim Patrick . Those three accounted for 28 of his targets. Patrick’s basically available everywhere and could be worth a grab. The Broncos have a difficult road matchup against the Bills in Week 12, but the schedule gets easier for Denver and the Broncos could find themselves throwing it as much as they did this past Sunday.
Mike Williams (LAC); FAAB Bid: 2-3% - Similar to the Chiefs running backs listed above, Mike Williams is on bye this week so this isn’t a “must add” by any means. And if we were grading mostly on consistency then Williams can consistently get you about 9-to-11 PPR points each week. That’s not a great floor, but he’s shown flashes of greatness at times including a diving 50-yard catch on Monday night. The return of Hunter Henry has hurt his targets, but he’s made some big plays when he has gotten the ball. There’s also concern about Phillip Rivers and his seven interceptions in his last two games, but Williams has made the most of his opportunities. Again, a low bid is okay in deeper leagues, but the Chargers are off next week and have two road games once they come back against Denver and Jacksonville.
Tight Ends
Kyle Rudolph (MIN); FAAB Bid: 10-12% - I don’t want to take all the credit for Rudolph’s success, but I’ll take some of it. Sadly I haven’t gotten the taste of crow out of my mouth when it comes to Ty Johnson, but I digress. Heading into the team’s much needed bye week, Rudolph has five touchdowns in his last five games. Previously a lot of his work was coming in the red zone. And that makes sense. He’s a big guy and that translates to a nice target in the red zone. But Rudolph’s lone score on Sunday came on a nice 32-yard connection with Kirk Cousins as a part of the Vikings’ big second half comeback against Denver. Rudolph and the Vikings are off next week, but how can you not stash a guy who is on a bit of a touchdown streak right now? The Vikings will face the Seahawks, Lions, Chargers, and Packers through Weeks 13-16 and those matchups present plenty of opportunity for more touchdowns for Rudolph.
Noah Fant (DEN); FAAB Bid: 8-10% - With Travis Kelce , Hunter Henry , and Kyle Rudolph on Bye this week, there’s a need for tight end streamers in Week 12. Noah Fant is coming off a game where he led all Broncos pass catchers in targets with 11, despite only catching four. But the target share is enough to perk your ears up. He has 24 total targets in his last three games, and similar to Tim Patrick mentioned above, the matchup is tough against the Bills this week. Especially due to the fact the game is in Buffalo. Ryan Fitzpatrick managed to throw for over 300 yards on the Bills, but he really needed volume to get there. But Denver hasn’t held Brandon Allen back from a large volume of pass attempts so there’s some optimism for Fant and his fellow pass catchers. It’s possible that Fant is breaking out toward the end of his rookie season and the schedule gets much easier after this week.
Jacob Hollister (SEA); FAAB Bid: 7-8% - Hollister is coming off his bye week so if you own Travis Kelce , this might be a good guy to target on the wire. In his last two games prior to the team’s bye week, Hollister saw 16 targets and found the end zone three times. The Eagles have only allowed three touchdowns all season to opposing tight ends, but even last week Ben Watson had three catches for 52 yards and the Patriots offense is in much worse shape than Seattle’s and with Hollister’s recent success, the Seahawks should look to keep him involved against a weak Philadelphia secondary.
Ryan Griffin (NYJ); FAAB Bid: 6-7% - With Chris Herndon (sadly) out of the picture for this year, Ryan Griffin is the featured tight end in the Jets offense… whatever that means. But he can still be productive for fantasy purposes. Everyone knew the Jets schedule was going to get easier and we’ve seen it with Sam Darnold ’s performances lately. Griffin has at least four receptions for 50 yards in three of his last four games and he gets a pretty good matchup against the Raiders who have allowed seven touchdowns to opposing tight ends on the season. Not to mention, the Raiders will be travelling to the Meadowlands for this contest. Griffin’s a viable streamer if you’re a Travis Kelce owner in deeper leagues.
UPDATE: Cameron Brate (TB); FAAB Bid: 5-6% - I can't believe I forgot to mention a guy who is coming off 14 targets where the Bucs seem to now hate O.J. Howard with a burning passion. Brate and Winston have a well-documented history and while Brate's a little inconsistent (and has had issues staying healthy), you have to acknowledge ten catches on 14 targets. Brate still finds his way to the bottom of the list because it's not a great matchup against a rejuvenated Falcons defense this week. But he's still worth looking at in deeper leagues even if he moves forward with five-to-seven targets per game.
Defense/Special Teams
Atlanta Falcons – So the Falcons all of a sudden have a pass rush. Who knew? After totaling just seven sacks through their first eight games, the Falcons have 11 sacks in their last two games while allowing just a dozen total points to New Orleans and Carolina. This week the Falcons get the Buccaneers at home and the Bucs allow Jameis Winston to get sacked 8.3% of the time and of course it’s Winston so he’s prone to multiple turnovers in a game and the Falcons picked off Kyle Allen four times last week. I hate to say it, but since coming off their Bye week the Falcons defense has been very impressive.
Cleveland Browns – Despite the better play of the Dolphins, they’re still an offense we want to target in fantasy. Fantasy D/ST’s have posted at least nine fantasy points in nine of ten games against the Dolphins this season and in the one outlier, the Jets still had a six-point return which is perfectly fine. The concern is with the Browns’ pass rush as Myles Garrett won’t be playing after his actions in last Thursday’s game and Larry Ogunjobi will likely miss the game since I don’t think his suspension will be dropped. The Dolphins offensive line still has a 9.8% adjusted sack rate, which is third-worst in the league.
Seattle Seahawks – I’m not a fan of this matchup since the Seahawks have to travel East to play the Eagles in a 1:00pm ET game. However, Seattle is coming off their Bye and the Eagles are a little banged up. They were without Alshon Jeffery and Jordan Howard last week and they lost Lane Johnson and Jason Peters in the game. Those two losses could prove to be costly if they’re inactive in Week 12 then it could be a fun day for the Seattle pass rush.