Fantasy Football 2020 Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickup Advice
Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the ownership percentage coming from Yahoo.com.
Quarterbacks
Philip Rivers, Colts (26% Owned): Rivers absolutely carries significant dud risk because he’s completely immobile and offers nothing on the ground. He’s also playing behind one of the best offensive lines of his career, one that keeps him upright and able to find his underrated pass-catchers. Now that Michael Pittman Jr. has emerged, the Colts’ passing game has improved significantly. Rivers has thrown for three touchdowns in three of his last five games, and his next three games are vs. Tennessee, at Houston and at Las Vegas. He’s a good bet for big yardage in these games so if you’ve been struggling with a glossy name like Lamar Jackson or Carson Wentz, or if you’ve just watched Joe Burrow crumple onto the IR, Rivers is my favorite add right now.
Derek Carr, Raiders (36% Owned): Carr is a nice consolation prize if you can’t grab Rivers. He just lit up the Chiefs for 275 yards and three touchdowns, bringing his total to six passing TDs vs. Kansas City’s underrated pass defense. Carr is often a risk for low yardage, and his real life play is admittedly better than his fantasy production much of the time. Still, upcoming road matchups against the Falcons and Jets are about as soft as it gets, especially with the game breakers he has at his disposal at WR and TE.
Kirk Cousins, Vikings (42% Owned): Cousins also rates as a fine pickup for the next few weeks, making QB the most bountiful position on waivers this week. Cousins torched Dallas for 314 yards and three touchdowns, and has two favorable home matchups with the Panthers and Jaguars up next. Cousins is risky at times because of how dominant RB Dalvin Cook can be. When Cook is rolling, there’s not much room for Cousins to put up numbers, but rarely is Cousins flat out bad. His upside is similar to Rivers, but at the moment I think he carries slightly more dud risk.
Daniel Jones, Giants (28% Owned): Jones is a distant fourth for me as a pickup, but he’s far and away the most explosive option as far as rushing production, which is extremely valuable for fantasy. The Giants’ offensive line has improved at an incredible pace this season, which is very helpful for the mistake-prone Jones. He’s only thrown for 250+ yards twice this year, but he has eclipsed 40 rushing yards five times, and in Week 10 put up 64 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The G-Men get the Bengals this week and the Seahawks in Week 13, so there will be chances for Jones to strike on some big plays through the air in addition to his rushing baseline. But, I’m being extremely positive toward Jones here; he also has big downside in terms of turnover potential, pass yardage and passing touchdowns.
Running Backs
James White, Patriots (40% Owned): White’s had a very disappointing season, but his usage is about to rise with Rex Burkhead hitting the shelf. New England’s RB situation has suddenly become very clear, with Damien Harris dominating on early downs, and White now the clear passing down option with Burkhead off the board. New England’s defense is far from where it was in 2019, so if they find themselves falling behind, White is going to be a high-volume play. He should be owned in all full-PPR leagues.
Tony Pollard, Cowboys (19% Owned): It’s a weak week for waiver RBs. Pollard is once again a worthwhile handcuff with Andy Dalton back at QB, and he is currently getting enough work that you can throw him in your lineup as a desperation dart throw. Pollard should be starting elsewhere, because he’s a very explosive back, but as is he belongs on the Ezekiel Elliott owner’s team.
Alexander Mattison, Vikings (33% Owned): The Vikings stating RB position is a valuable role, and Dalvin Cook owners need to continue to own Mattison. He has no standalone value at the moment, but anytime Cook goes down he immediately becomes the top add.
Wide Receivers
Michael Pittman Jr., Colts (44% Owned): A lot of people are sleeping on Pittman, as he still is under 50% ownership despite a 101-yard performance against the Titans. Pittman had a tougher matchup against Green Bay, and even though he caught just three passes, one he took to the house for a TD. I am very optimistic about Rivers moving forward, and that directly relates to Pittman as well, who has the same matchups. He is hands down the top add of the week at WR, and can immediately be plugged into lineups with enthusiasm.
Sterling Shepard, Giants (45% Owned): Shepard is getting no love right now, probably because Daniel Jones is as shaky as you can get as a passer, but his targets and receptions are among the most consistent in fantasy these days. He has caught six or more passes in four straight games, and seen six or more targets in all of those games. The production has been middling considering that level of work, but with two soft matchups on the schedule, Shepard should be able to blow up or find the end zone.
Jalen Reagor, Eagles (28% Owned): Talent is no question when it comes to Reagor, and since returning he seems to have become a reliably targeted option for Carson Wentz. The problem is Carson Wentz, though. Wentz is looking for Reagor at a rate than can support fantasy production, but he, and the Philadelphia offense, are stuck in the mud. Wentz is inaccurate lately, and entirely too turnover prone to make Reagor trustworthy. I wouldn’t be opposed to plugging in Reagor for the big play potential he offers, but I wouldn’t feel the least bit confident with him in my lineup. I’m looking at him as more of an emergency play than anything until Wentz gets on track.
Tim Patrick, Broncos (21% Owned): Patrick is in a rough offense with a bad QB, but he still manages to produce like a playable FLEX every week. The upcoming matchups aren’t awesome – vs. New Orleans, at Kansas City, at Carolina – but he’s averaging 10.1 yards per target and 15.6 yards per reception. He is essentially Mike Williams at this point, but without the fanfare. He likely will be cheap on waivers and provides a quality depth option heading toward the fantasy playoffs.
Josh Reynolds, Rams (12% Owned): Reynolds turned in a dud last night, catching just three passes for 32 yards, but he still saw six targets. The Rams offense is unpredictable, but when the need arises they are not afraid to throw the ball a ton, as evidenced by Jared Goff’s 51 attempts vs. Tampa Bay. He’s got a relatively high ceiling for an offense’s third option, but I’d still view him as an emergency play most weeks.
Tight Ends
Robert Tonyan, Packers (46% Owned): Tonyan is in a bucket of TEs that could blow up or put up a doughnut. He’s not particularly safe, but he does have one of the best QBs in football throwing the ball to him, which the next two guys on this list can’t say. I’d rather roll with Tonyan than those options, because of the Aaron Rodgers factor, and the subpar receiving options in Green Bay outside of Davante Adams. Tonyan’s next two matchups vs. the Bears and Eagles are decent as well.
Jimmy Graham, Bears (38% Owned): Graham is a great example of how brutal TE has been this season. After seven consecutive weeks – and eight of nine – with five or more targets, Graham went catchless vs. the Vikings in his most recent game. Obviously, it’s tough to start him after he goosed people, but the numbers all year point to that being an anomaly rather than the norm. He’s an unexciting play, but he’s likely to get enough work to be playable.
Dalton Schultz, Cowboys (21% Owned): Schultz can be played with Andy Dalton under center. He was actually somewhat productive even with the Cowboys’ benchwarmers at QB, but you will feel more comfortable about the quality of targets with Dalton present. He scored last week, but that isn’t the norm. Schultz is a guy that should get you four catches, and between 20 and 50 yards. I hesitate to say this after Graham’s inexplicable bomb, but Schultz is a fairly safe bet to avoid a goose egg, but he offers a very low ceiling.