Dominating the waiver wire could catapult you into championship territory regardless of how much you struggled during the draft or while making trades. Read on for eight season-long waiver wire targets, as well as a few players who you can comfortably cut loose.
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Let’s check out eight players that warrant consideration ahead of the upcoming waiver wire cycle. All players listed here are rostered in less than 35 percent of ESPN leagues and could have legitimate impacts down the stretch.
Carson Wentz
Rostered in 25.1 percent of leagues
Wentz has strung together an impressive sequence of games, racking up 1,234 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and just two interceptions over his last five games. In fact, Sunday’s pair of picks were his first interceptions since Week 2 against the Rams. Outside of the Bills in Week 11 and a Week 14 bye, Wentz has a very inviting schedule for the rest of the season. He’ll remain on the fringe of QB1 territory for a while, making him an intriguing addition if you’re hurting at quarterback.
Ty Johnson
Rostered in 5.3 percent of leagues
Johnson is a very intriguing waiver wire option right now considering the pass-catching role he has played as of late. While it’s tough to trust any Jets player in fantasy football, Johnson is averaging 14.7 fantasy points over his last three games. Despite seeing just 13 rushes during this span, he has also caught 13 passes, giving him significant value in PPR leagues. As long as New York relies on the check-down approach that they have followed over the last two games, both Johnson and Michael Carter will have legitimate fantasy upside.
Adrian Peterson
Rostered in 0.1 percent of leagues
With Derrick Henry (foot) sidelined for most or all of the remainder of the regular season, the Titans brought in Peterson to lead the backfield. The veteran has been reliable in the past, including during his stint with the Lions last season. While he’s no Henry, the future Hall of Famer can still be relied on to touch the ball 10 to 15 times per game. The fact that Jeremy McNichols will likely remain in a pass-catching role only helps Peterson’s value. As long as he stays healthy, he’ll have somme fantasy value for the rest of the year.
Jeremy McNichols
Rostered in 1.9 percent of leagues
You shouldn’t overreact to the Henry news and add every Tennessee running back possible in hopes of striking gold. However, McNichols is a safe addition in some of the deeper leagues due to his pass-catching upside. He has just seven rushes this season, but he has also caught 21 passes. Henry’s absence will force Ryan Tannehill to pass more, giving McNichols even more involvement. Don’t be surprised if he’s targeted at least five times per game going forward.
Russell Gage
Rostered in 14.6 percent of leagues
Gage garners fantasy consideration following Calvin Ridley‘s announcement that he is stepping away from football. On the depth chart, Gage is listed as the next man up, though he’s still behind Kyle Pitts and Cordarrelle Patterson in the pecking order. With that said, Gage remains in a position where he could (and theoretically should) succeed. He wasn’t active during Ridley’s absence in Week 5 and went untargeted this last week, but he did catch four passes for 67 yards and a score back in Week 7. Don’t go crazy trying to add Gage, but the thought process behind adding him makes sense.
Tajae Sharpe
Rostered in 0.1 percent of leagues
Logic would tell you to add Gage, but the data points to Sharpe. During the two games that Ridley missed, Sharpe hauled in 11 passes for 111 yards and 20.1 fantasy points. There’s a chance that he fizzles out, but it’s also possible that he becomes the most fantasy-relevant true wide receiver in this offense. At the very least, he’s worth the speculative add in deeper leagues.
Jamal Agnew
Rostered in 1.7 percent of leagues
Agnew was featured in a previous version of this article and represents another option that’s probably only noteworthy in deeper leagues. Still, he has been the Jaguars’ best receiver since D.J. Chark went down, catching 17 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown while totaling 39.5 fantasy points over those three games. If you’re in need of a receiver, Agnew, who was targeted 12 times on Sunday, can be a serviceable FLEX play down the stretch.
Pat Freiermuth
Rostered in 8.0 percent of leagues
Freiermuth, a rookie, became a semi-popular name this week with Eric Ebron injured. Instead of being merely a one-week fill-in, Freiermuth has a chance to be the starting tight end in Pittsburgh for the remainder of the year. There’s even a chance that his emergence allows the Steelers to trade Ebron, but that’s beside the point. The bottom line is that the Penn State product has now caught 11 of 14 targets for 102 yards and one touchdown over his last two games. He can’t sustain this 13.6-fantasy point average, but the rookie is still an intriguing TE2 option as the season progresses.
Drops
Let’s check out three players that you can comfortably cut loose from your roster. All players listed here are rostered in more than 50 percent of ESPN leagues and aren’t expected to have legitimate impacts down the stretch.
Jamaal Williams
Rostered in 60 percent of leagues
It was fun while it lasted. (Was it?) Williams averaged 15.5 fantasy points through the first three weeks of the season, but that number has dropped to just 5.7 points over his last four games. His passing game involvement has taken a significant step back, and to make matters worse, he was inactive due to a thigh injury this week. There’s no concern that this is a long-term issue, but he’s still not worth rostering in redraft leagues with 12 teams or fewer.
Robby Anderson
Rostered in 67.2 percent of leagues
Just like last week, Anderson once again finds himself in the drop section. At least he caught three passes in Week 7. This time around, he was unable to haul in his lone target against Atlanta. He has now posted single-digit points in all but two games, and he has caught three or fewer passes all but once. There are many other players who are better options.
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