Fantasy Football Week 17 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
Brock Purdy, 49ers (37% Rostered): It’s slim pickings out there, but chances are teams in the championship game don’t have a desperate need at QB. However, if you’ve been streaming after losing your QB late in the year, or are worried about Tua Tagovailoa missing Week 17, Purdy should be a stable option to keep your title hopes alive. None of us knew anything about Purdy entering the season, but he has thrown two touchdown passes in four straight games, only been picked off twice, and gets the NFL’s worst pass defense in the Raiders as his opponent. Yardage hasn’t been a strong suit, but the touchdowns are helpful, and he hasn’t been beating himself with turnovers.
Sam Darnold, Panthers (7% Rostered): If you have an opponent playing keep away, Darnold makes for an outside-the-box option with some upside. The downside is very obvious; Darnold hasn’t thrown more than one touchdown pass this season, nor surpassed 250 yards. But Darnold does have the ability to rack up points as a rusher, and he’s scored two rushing touchdowns in four games. The Buccaneers aren’t the most inviting matchup, and this play could go horribly wrong, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Running Backs
Tyler Allgeier, Falcons (49% Rostered): Allgeier has become the main option in the backfield for the Falcons, and they’ve been one of the NFL’s most run-heavy offenses all season long. Touchdowns haven’t been easy to come by, but Allgeier is a lock for good volume – double-digit carries – and the Cardinals have one of the NDFL’s poorest run defenses per Football Outsiders.
Gus Edwards, Ravens (41% Rostered): Like Allgeier, Edwards has had strong volume since returning from injury, logging double-digit totes in five of seven games. Edwards scored twice in his first game back, but only scored one touchdown since then. J.K.Dobbins is the top dog here, but Edwards is a proven hammer near the goal line, so if this volume continues he’s bound to find the end zone eventually. If desperate, he can plug right in as a high-floor FLEX.
Wide Receivers
Jahan Dotson, Commanders (23% Rostered): Dotson started very slowly upon returning from injury, but has lit it up for Washington in the last three games, scoring in each matchup and averaging almost 80 yards per game. Cleveland isn’t a soft matchup, but it’s also not a terrible one. Carson Wentz could start this game and wreck the vibe Dotson had going with Taylor Heinicke, but his explosiveness and nose for the end zone makes him very playable.
Isaiah Hodgins, Giants (2% Rostered): Hodgins has come out of nowhere and proven to be a central part of the Giants’ passing game. He’s scored three touchdowns in his last four games and drawn six or more targets in three of the last four. Last week, Hodgins had his best game, turning 11 targets into six receptions for 89 yards and a score.
Chris Moore, Texans (14% Rostered): Moore is the top target on the Texans these days, but that isn’t worth a whole lot. His targets have fallen in the last two games, but Houston has remained competitive in them, with a strong matchup vs. the Jaguars this week. Moore is very risky because his floor is probably close to zero with Houston’s incompetent quarterbacking, but he could also thrive off the strength of a high-target game.
Tight Ends
Tyler Conklin, Jets (27% Rostered): Conklin’s production is highly variable, but Mike White being under center is a big deal for this offense. Conklin still isn’t guaranteed anything, but he should serve as a key safety valve vs. a Seahawks team allowing the fourth-most points in the league to TEs.