Well it’s been another bizarre week in the 2020 season. The Ravens/Steelers game has been delayed three times, the Broncos couldn’t use a quarterback this week, Will Fuller is suspended for the rest of the year, etc. It’s an endless list and we’re throwing everything into the fire of injuries and COVID list additions. This article will be published Tuesday morning per usual, but most waivers may not process until Thursday or maybe even Friday with the Ravens and Steelers happening Wednesday afternoon. So I will pop into the NFL Seasonal Chat tonight, but the last time we were in this position there weren’t that many people in the chat. And with a Wednesday game, I don’t even believe there will be many in the chat on Wednesday night. So I’ll pop in and answer some questions if there are any, but if it’s slower or a more quiet night I’m going to sign off. If I miss you in the chat, as always you should take advantage of the new email (dantasyfootballfa@gmail.com) for waiver questions and start/sit advice later in the week as well!

Quarterback

Ryan Fitzpatrick (MIA) Fitzpatrick is another obvious waiver pickup this week against the Bengals. He didn’t light it up by any means against the Jets but he got 19 points in four-point per passing touchdown leagues. That’s serviceable. I’m operating under the assumption that he’ll get the start this week against the Bengals, which is another great matchup for the Dolphins. Give him a full week of practice with the first-team offense to prep for a bad defense and he’ll be fine once again this week. The ceiling may not be there if the Dolphins opt to run a little more, but many fantasy managers will be looking to stream Fitz especially if you have Tom Brady or Teddy Bridgewater on bye or if you need to replace Daniel Jones. FAAB Bid: 7-8%

Jared Goff (LAR) Goff is probably only available in shallower leagues this week, but it’s a great matchup against Arizona’s defense. Coming into Week 12, the Cardinals had allowed four straight opposing quarterbacks to throw for multiple touchdowns and the Cardinals are a team that Goff played well against a year ago. In 2019 he threw for 743 yards and five touchdowns across two games. I’m expecting this to be a competitive game as the Cardinals really need this win to keep their playoff hopes intact. Goff’s also coming off a bad game against San Francisco and Kyler Murray ’s coming off a poor performance against the Patriots. Look for both teams to put up points on Sunday. FAAB Bid: 7-8%

Kirk Cousins (MIN) He’s on a heater right now. He has at least 290 passing yards in three straight games with 11 touchdowns and just one interception in his last four outings. The matchup this week against Jacksonville has Dalvin Cook ’s name written all over it. But so what? So did last week’s game and Cook got a little beat up and Cousins was part of the massive comeback win for Minnesota. The Jags are probably more of a pushover than the Panthers, but Mike Francesa believes the Jaguars are the best 1-10 team of all time. The Jags have allowed five straight opposing quarterbacks to throw for multiple touchdowns against them. I fully expect Cousins to continue that trend on Sunday. FAAB Bid: 6-7%

Running Back

Cam Akers (LAR) It pains me to say this as I’ve been a Darrell Henderson truther all year, but it’s starting to feel like the tide is shifting in Akers’ favor. He found the end zone for the second straight game (after yours truly predicted he wouldn’t find the end zone at all in 2020) and had nine carries for 84 yards. It’s worth mentioning that 61 of those yards came on one carry so on the other eight carries he averaged less than three yards per carry. But it was still far better than what Henderson got you. Sean McVay has said he expects more from Akers as the season comes to an end so he’s definitely worth stashing and possibly worth starting at the flex in deeper leagues. FAAB Bid: 14-15%

Benny Snell (PIT) He’s available in about 75% of leagues, and he’s the presumed lead back for the Steelers against the Ravens on Wednesday afternoon (which I know doesn’t pertain to Week 12’s scoring). I don’t know how we got to this point but this went from a scenario where the Ravens wouldn’t have Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins, to now having those two guys active for this game. And on the other end of the spectrum, had this game been played last Thursday, James Conner would’ve been active but now he’s inactive because of the same COVID protocol that’s allowing Ingram and Dobbins to play. The NFL hates the Steelers it seems, but I digress. While it’s believed that Snell is the lead back for this game, I’m not completely sold. I do think there’s a chance we see more Anthony McFarland, but Snell is probably the safer option based on opportunity. You can’t use either in Week 12 if they’re on waivers, but if Conner is forced to miss Week 13’s game against Washington (now scheduled for Monday) then Snell could be a nice addition off waivers. FAAB Bid: 8-10% but see how this duo shakes out on Wednesday

Latavius Murray (NO) Murray has seen at least 14 touches in each of the last two weeks and he found the end zone twice on Sunday. It’s so hard to trust him, but for now he’s looked really good when given the ball. We can’t truly expect Kamara to ride the backseat much longer. He’s the best running back on the team and he could easily bounce back for a big game next week although Taysom Hill just hasn’t thrown it his way. Kamara’s not necessarily a squeaky wheel but he’s due to find the end zone. Regardless, they’ve been mixing in Murray more so he deserves to at least be rostered in more leagues. FAAB Bid: 8-9%

Frank Gore (NYJ) Oddly enough, in terms of opportunity the rest of the season it feels like Gore might be our safest option. The ceiling is minimal. However if he’s getting double-digit carries and a few catches per game then he can return 10-to-13 points in PPR formats and if he miraculously finds the end zone then we shouldn’t have no quandaries with that. Adam Gase is enamored with Gore so in deeper leagues, I’m not ruling out the ageless wonder. FAAB Bid: 7-8%

Brian Hill (ATL) It’s not a great matchup by any means. Just two weeks ago the Saints held the Falcons to just 52 rushing yards and Hill’s coming off a pretty weak performance this past Sunday. He only collected 55 rushing yards on 13 carries, but 13 carries are still flex-worthy. We’ve seen Hill in “smash” spots before and knew this was a risk. He’ll carry even more risk this week against New Orleans but the opportunity will still be there. Atlanta’s 4-2 since firing Dan Quinn so hopefully we see a different offense on Sunday and keep your fingers crossed that Julio Jones is active for Atlanta. FAAB Bid: 6-7%

Devontae Booker (LV) Admittedly, I’ve been off the Booker Bandwagon, but I have seen his name pop up in previous waiver questions I’ve fielded. It wasn’t so much the talent I didn’t like as much as it was the opportunity. Josh Jacobs has seemingly proven that he can’t handle a lion’s share of the carries as he’s now nursing an ankle injury. Now the injury isn’t serious as of right now and Jacobs still has a great shot at playing next week against the Jets. However, if you’re a Jacobs owner it certainly doesn’t hurt to give his handcuff a look on waivers. FAAB Bid: 6-7%

Jordan Wilkins (IND) Nyheim Hines had a much better day and more carries on Sunday than Wilkins did, but I’m not writing off Wilkins just yet. And this all depends on if Jonathan Taylor has to miss this week’s game against Houston as well. It’s a great matchup for both Hines and Wilkins as the Texans allow 154.7 rushing yards per game (second-worst in the league). Hines might still be out there and if he is then he’s the preferred target. But Wilkins still touched the ball nine times last week and if the game gets out of hand, and if Taylor’s inactive, then this is a good spot for Wilkins to get extra work. FAAB Bid: 5-6%

DeAndre Washington (MIA) I really like Washington as a longshot waiver add just for this week. Maybe you have Ronald Jones or the Panthers running backs on bye and you’re fighting for a playoff spot in the last week of the regular season. This is also contingent on whether Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed are active this week. But against the Jets, Patrick Laird and Matt Breida both put the ball on the ground and after that Washington handled most of the carries. Sure, they mostly came with the game in hand, but ball security is job security. It’s a gamble, but the Dolphins have a great matchup this week against one of the worst defenses in the NFL in Cincinnati. Matt Breida is also worth a look as well, but you may have to pay a little more for him. FAAB Bid: 3-5%

Wide Receiver

Deebo Samuel (SF) I’m seeing that Deebo is still available in about 35-40% of leagues and if that’s the case then he’s likely my favorite add this week. San Francisco needs playmakers and without George Kittle , Brandon Aiyuk, and a backfield that’s seen a revolving door of injuries this season, then Samuel makes the most sense. I noted in this week’s Hot Takes article that the 49ers get pretty creative with how they utilize their pass catchers and a fair amount of Deebo’s catches will come at the line of scrimmage. However, he’s incredibly talented and has the versatility to turn any short yardage catch into a big gain. FAAB Bid: 15%

Michael Pittman (IND) If we’re going to celebrate Pittman when he catches all three of his targets and a touchdown in Week 11 then we need to at least be optimistic when he gets nine targets, which was the case in Week 12. He only caught two of them for 28 yards, but this was the third time in his last four games with at least seven targets. He just didn’t yield the fantasy production we would’ve liked. Their next three games are against the Texans (twice) with the Raiders sandwiched in there. He’s the best wide receiver they have, but Philip Rivers tends to spread the ball around as noted last week. FAAB Bid: 12-14%

Nelson Agholor (LV) Agholor didn’t return the big performance many were anticipating. To be honest, nobody on the Raiders had a good game. It was hard to stomach because they were incredible DFS values and the Falcons defense came out of nowhere for a huge game. That being said, he still caught five-of-six targets for 54 yards. He’s still scored in six different games this season and he has a great chance to find the end zone against in Week 13 against the Jets. I also really like Henry Ruggs in this game as well. He came very close to scoring last week and he’s itching for a game to put his talents on display. Hopefully that’s coming against the Jets. FAAB Bid: 8-10%

Corey Davis (TEN) Corey Davis has double-digit PPR points in all but one game this year. He hasn’t scored since Week 8 and if we’re being objective the targets have dropped a little bit. He only has 19 total over his last five games, but the Titans also love running the ball and you would too if you had Derrick Henry on your team. There are some good matchups for Davis over the next four weeks and when they’ve thrown the ball his way, he’s made the most of it. This past Sunday he caught all three of his targets for 70 yards. FAAB Bid: 8-9%

Breshad Perriman (NYJ) As a deep league replacement for Will Fuller , you could honestly do a lot worse than Perriman. Over his last five games where he was active, he had double-digit points in PPR formats in four of those contests. And it doesn’t matter too much who is under center whether it’s Joe Flacco or Sam Darnold . He’s shown plenty of upside and we’ve seen that he can get seven or eight targets in a given week. Also be sure to give Denzel Mims a look. The Jets have been actively trying to get him involved now that he’s healthy. He has three straight games with eight targets and he has at least seven targets in four of the five games he’s been active this season. FAAB Bid: 6-8%

Tight End

Jordan Reed (SF) He didn’t have a ton of production last week, but the targets just seem to always be there for Reed. In four of the last five games he’s been active he has at least six targets. Ross Dwelley may see more playing time in terms of snap percentage, but Reed is the one getting more targets. He didn’t have a great game on Sunday but given the nature of the tight end position, you’ll have to eat some poor performances here and there. Next week Reed will draw the Buffalo Bills, who got off to a terrible start against opposing tight ends but have done better of late although Hunter Henry caught seven passes for 67 yards last week. FAAB Bid: 6-7%

Trey Burton (IND) Burton has found the end zone in back-to-back weeks which now marks the fifth time he’s scored in eight games this season. The targets have become a little more steady as well and in general he seems good for five or six targets each game. As noted previously, Rivers loves to spread the ball around to a multitude of targets. He’s a good streaming option again this week against the Houston Texans. FAAB Bid: 6-7%

Mike Gesicki (MIA) I feel much better about Gesicki if Fitzpatrick is under center opposed to Tua Tagovailoa. I’m not writing off the rookie as a bust, but I haven’t been that impressed with what I’ve seen so far this year. Fitzpatrick should be the starting quarterback for this team. With Fitz under center in Week 12, Gesicki found the end zone for the first time since Week 3. The Dolphins draw the Bengals next week and they’re one of the worst defenses in football against opposing tight ends. Evan Engram torched them for over 100 receiving yards this past Sunday. I don’t think Gesicki comes close to that, but he could find the end zone in consecutive weeks if Fitzpatrick is the starting quarterback. FAAB Bid: 5-6%

Kyle Rudolph (MIN) Rudolph benefitted from the absences of Adam Thielen and Irv Smith on Sunday. Rudolph caught seven-of-eight targets for 68 yards with most of the production coming in the second half during Minnesota’s comeback. I am of the mindset that Thielen could potentially return in time for Sunday’s game because he was placed on the COVID list early last week and if he can yield a few negative tests then he’s in good shape for Sunday’s game against Jacksonville. But if Smith misses time with the groin injury then I’ll still feel pretty good about Rudolph as a streamer this week. The Jaguars have allowed an opposing tight end to score in seven of their 11 games this year, and in general they’ve allowed tight ends to score nine times. FAAB Bid: 5%

Defense/Special Teams

Seattle Seahawks – I wasn’t going to mention Seattle until I saw that their ownership is still down about 53% on ESPN leagues so it’s worth reminding everyone that this defense has looked much better since they acquired Carlos Dunlap and they put up a good performance Monday night against Philadelphia with six sacks, an interception, and 17 points allowed. They have back-to-back home games against the Giants and Jets coming up and the Giants likely won’t have Daniel Jones. This is an easy D/ST to stream over the next two weeks.

Kansas City Chiefs – It’s hard to believe the NFL would allow the Broncos to play back-to-back games without a quarterback. Their COVID protocols have been difficult to grasp, but we should have more clarity on this situation next week. But the Chiefs host Denver on Sunday and if there’s a delay in bringing any of Denver’s quarterbacks off the COVID list then the lack of preparation allows for the Chiefs to be streamed as a D/ST. This honestly isn’t a terrible defense, but the fantasy production hasn’t been there. That could change this week.

Los Angeles Chargers – I absolutely loved this defense coming into the year and sadly injuries have done them in once again. That being said, they’ve looked strong the last two weeks. They’ve forced four sacks and four turnovers in their last two games and now the New England Patriots are coming to town. The Patriots will try to slow this game to a grinding halt so I’m not expecting a ton of offense on either side of the ball. In ten games this year, Cam Newton has only thrown for over 200 yards just three times and there’s a good chance he’s held under that mark this week as well. If the Seahawks or Chiefs are available, they’re the preferred targets. It’s likely they aren’t available in deeper leagues so this may be your best option.