Fantasy Football 2022 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 roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com.

Quarterbacks

Taylor Heinicke, Commanders (14% Rostered): It’s hard out here in these QB streets. A lot of fantasy managers have shacked up with a nice backup option to whoever their starter is, leaving streamers to pick from the bottom of the barrel. Heinicke has an air of competence, but it hasn’t really been backed up by any advanced metrics. He’s thrown two passing touchdowns in two of his five games, but has gone back-to-back weeks without one. With that said, he has a very favorable matchup this week with Atlanta, a big play receiver in Terry McLaurin who can assist in stat compiling, and rookie Jahan Dotson back in the fold. Don’t expect a ton here, but he should be passable as a one-week stopgap.

Matt Ryan, Colts (16% Rostered): Ryan also offers the appearance of competence, masking some really subpar production. Matty Ice threw for three touchdowns in Week 6 against the Jaguars, but hasn’t thrown for more than one since, nor has he hit 250 passing yards. Under the new coaching staff, the Colts have wisely pivoted to a ground-and-pound philosophy and ridden Jonathan Taylor. Still, if the Colts do fall behind, we have seen Ryan be unafraid to wing it a LOT, which has the potential for strong results thanks to a lowkey solid receiving corps.

Running Backs

Latavius Murray, Broncos (23% Rostered): The writing’s been on the wall for a bit here regarding Murray’s ascension, and after posting his highest snap rate of the season, 50%, the Broncos cut Melvin Gordon. With Gordon out, and Chase Edmonds dealing with a high ankle sprain, this admittedly low-value backfield belongs to Murray. Volume reigns supreme in our game, so despite Murray averaging a putrid 3.3 yards per carry, he is “the guy” here. Russell Wilson can’t hit the broad side of a barn these days, so Murray is a solid bet for touchdowns every single week, and he now has a much higher floor because he’s locked into double-digit carries. He’s no league-winner, but as injuries and bye weeks keep wreaking havoc, Murray has value.

Cam Akers, Rams (27% Rostered): Akers actually showed a pulse this week, rushing for 61 yards on 14 carries. This offense is abysmal, but Akers appears to still be in the lead for work. It’s like a poor man’s version of Latavius Murray here, but finding any RB who gets even occasionally meaningful work isn’t easy so Akers should be considered.

Alexander Mattison, Vikings (37% Rostered): Mattison should be snapped up by Dalvin Cook managers. He’s valueless at the moment, but when Cook inevitably gets banged up, Mattison will cost buku FAAB bucks. Why not grab the insurance now while it’s free?

Samaje Perine, Bengals (8% Rostered): Don’t chase the three touchdowns Perine scored in relief of Joe Mixon on Sunday, but if Mixon can’t make it through concussion protocol for Week 12, Perine is a fine play. This offense scores a bunch, and even if Joe Burrow is responsible for most of those scores, he’s not afraid to throw it to Perine. Tennessee isn’t a soft matchup by any means, but the starting Cincinnati RB can always be played.

Wide Receivers

Donovan Peoples-Jones, Browns (44% Rostered): Peoples-Jones is downright consistent these days, getting to 50 or more yards in six straight games, and scoring his first touchdown of the year on Sunday. The upcoming slate isn’t amazing, but after this week he will be catching balls from Deshaun Watson; even though he has developed clear chemistry with Jacoby Brissett, it’s always better to have Watson under center. He’s the top WR add this week, but he remains a floor play rather than a blowup option.

Parris Campbell, Colts (40% Rostered): Campbell has remained healthy this season, and scored a touchdown in three of his last six games. His targets have been a little shaky from week-to-week, so he certainly carries risk, but he’s proven to be a player that the Colts want involved. Plays are designed for him, and with Ryan back, there’s a reasonable expectation that the ball will be delivered on target and not to the defense. He can be a fairly high-upside FLEX play.

DeMarcus Robinson, Ravens (4% Rostered): Robinson appears to have become the de facto WR1 for the Ravens. Robinson has seen eight or more targets in two of his last three games, and put up 64 and 128 yards in each of those games. Baltimore’s passing game has been very weak of late, so he won’t be a reliable bet for touchdowns, as most of those come on the ground. But Lamar Jackson is a quality QB, and while there aren’t many relevant Ravens pass-catchers, the ones Lamar focuses on become critical. Robinson has solid full-PPR value the rest of the way, and FLEX value in half-PPR leagues.

DeAndre Carter, Chargers (27% Rostered): Carter is more of an apt fill-in for Keenan Allen than Mike Williams, but with Williams out, Carter will still see increased playing time. His production in the absence of Williams and Allen has been underwhelming, but he’s reliably given managers something, and should continue to do so until Williams’ ankle is healed enough for him to really play.

Alec Pierce, Colts (17% Rostered): Pierce had a little momentum before the Colts inexplicably benched Matt Ryan for Sam Ehlinger, and effectively put all Colts receivers on fantasy benches. Pierce did nothing last week – three catches, 28 yards – but he did draw eight targets. Pierce is a high-risk, high-reward play who can be thrown into lineups desperate for big games. He’s averaging 15.1 yards per catch in 2022, so pray for efficiency on bombs.

Tight Ends

Juwan Johnson, Saints (30% Rostered): Johnson’s scored in three straight games, and while TD-dependent TEs like this carry major doughnut risk, he’s scored five times in the last five games. Johnson is a total mismatch when the Saints are in close, and he’s very viable for fantasy rosters.

Taysom Hill. Saints (47% Rostered): Hill, like Johnson, is very skilled around the goal line, just in different ways. The Saints seemed to just forget what a weapon Hill has proven to be for them this year, but he saw nine carries on Sunday and turned them into 52 yards. There’s a lot of risk involved in playing Hill, but few players with this much doughnut potential can also deliver 20+ points.

Mike Gesicki, Dolphins (34% Rostered): After a brief uptick in targets, Gesicki started to Gesicki again. He hasn’t seen more than four targets since Week 8, and has been touchdown dependent even when the targets do come. His matchups are also not spectacular coming up. But…he is a talented guy in a very high-octane passing game, so even though the risk is really outweighing the reward, he can blow up.