Pigskin Papers- 2022 Waiver Wire Week 12
Burks Plucks One Out of the Snowflakes
(Published November 21, 2022)
**Follow The Pigskin Papers on Social Media on Instagram (@thepigskinpapers) and Twitter (@PigskinPapers)***
Happy Thanksgiving, and welcome to the Waiver Wire, Week 12. For the first time since Week 5, there are no teams with byes this week. But injuries continue t take their toll, and with the fantasy playoffs around the corner, many of you might be looking at the Waiver Wire for help. This isn’t a banner week, but there are a few players who might be able to help you.
*****SEE The Week 11 NFL Takeaways and Fun Facts Column Here: https://www.thepigskinpapers.com/posts-1/pigskin-papers-take-2-2022-week-11 .*****
WEEK 12 BYES: None
LOOKING AHEAD, WEEK 13 BYES: ARI, CAR
The Process: Each week, I try to identify the top Waiver Wire targets and evaluate the short and long term prospects of those players. I also do my best to identify which players who are coming off a big week are fool’s gold. And finally, as we’ve moved through the bye weeks I’ve spent a little time on streamers at each position who might help you in a pinch. Note that this advice is primarily intended for Season-Long leagues, and NOT Dynasty leagues.
Some of the players I’ll talk about won’t be available in your league. As a general rule, I list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10 team league with 6 bench spots will have a much larger free agent pool than a 14 team league with 8 bench spots. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.”
Week 12 Waiver Wire:
The following players should all at this point be rostered. If for some reason any of them are available in your league, they’re all priority adds, and for me they’re in this order at each position:
RBs: Rachaad White, Isiah Pacheco, Damien Harris, Latavius Murray (Melvin Gordon has been released);
WRs: Christian Watson, Paris Campbell, Rondale Moore (note - he left the Monday night game early with a groin injury), Kadarius Toney (now injured, again, so I’d be careful with him).
TEs: Cole Kmet, Juwan Johnson.
*****
QB: There isn’t much to recommend here, and most of you probably aren’t looking for a streamer this week.
Deshaun Watson is set to return in 2 weeks. I’ve mentioned him as a stash several times in recent weeks, and he’s likely rostered in your league. It’s hard to know what to expect since he hasn’t played in a game since the 2020-21 season. Still, given the talent and past production, he’s worth a stash.
if you need a streamer, Taylor Heinicke hosting the Falcons is a nice choice. If he’s not available, Matt Ryan is an OK play vs. the Steelers, and Davis Mills has a decent Week 12 matchup at Miami, in a game where the Texans should be chasing points. All 3 of these defenses are in the bottom 10 in fantasy points allowed to QBs.
If Rachaad White is Still Available, Grab him
RB: See the 4 priority RBs listed above. Assuming they aren’t available, some names you can consider are:
James Cook. The knee-jerk reaction to the Nyheim Hines trade was that it would kill the rookie’s value. But that hasn’t happened, and to the contrary, Cook is getting a bit more run of late. His 11 carries in week 11 tied his season high. He’s not someone you should be starting, but he’s in a great offense and is a nice stash.
Samaje Perine had a monster game on Sunday, in relief of Joe Mixon who left with a concussion. Perine has some stand-alone value as a pass-catching back even when Mixon is healthy, and if Mixon misses time he should get the majority of the work as he did on Sunday after Mixon went out. If you’re a Mixon manager he’s a priority add. For everyone else, he’s a speculative add who could have outsized value for one week.
I mentioned Elijah Mitchell last week. He’s back, and he’s backing up the oft-injured CMC, in a good offense for RBs. He’s worth a roster spot.
Isaiah Spiller is in a similar situation to fellow rookie Cook. He’s not getting a ton of run, but he’s getting a handful of touches per game in relief of Ekeler, in a good offense. He hasn’t done much with his touches. Like Cook, he’d probably need an injury in front of him to have real value.
I have a hard time recommending Cam Akers. He’s just been so bad since returning from his achilles injury last January. Yes, he had his best game of the season on Sunday. But look at what the numbers were (nothing special), and look at how bad this offense is without Cooper Kupp and with Stafford in and out of the lineup. Akers will get you some volume, which is part of the battle, but it’s hard to envision that opportunity turning into many points.
I also have a hard time recommending Marlon Mack, who could see some reps behind Lat Murray, at least in the short term. I’d rather add Mike Boone, who should come off IR in 1 or 2 weeks.
A few other names you can consider for depth, if you’re in need: Jerrick McKinnon (and especially with CEH getting hurt on Sunday night), Matt Breida, and Kenneth Gainwell.
DPJ: Secret Weapon
WR: See the 4 priority names listed above. After those, here is who I like most this week:
Treylon Burks. He came back from injury with a bang. We mentioned him as a stash a couple of times in recent weeks. He’s still available in well over 50% of leagues, and he’s my top add at WR this week. The Titans don’t want Derrick Henry getting 30 carries per game. They want to run Henry, and use Tannehill’s deadly play-action game off of that. Enter Burks. His 7 catches for 111 yards on 8 targets might not be repeated that often, but he’s got the best receiving skillset on the Titans, and we’ve got plenty of examples of rookie receivers heating up down the stretch.
I keep mentioning DPJ in this column, and he keeps producing. He’s got at least 70 yards or a TD in 5 straight games. He isn’t flashy, but he’s definitely a serviceable WR3 or flex.
Demarcus Robinson. In the 3 games played since Rashod Bateman was lost for the season, Robinson has stepped up, with 8, 4 and 9 targets in those games. It all came together on Sunday with a 9-128 performance. Mark Andrews will always be the #1 target, but there is definitely opportunity for Robinson, and Devin Duvernay as well. The Ravens offense has been underperforming, however.
I continue to think that OBJ is unlikely to be much of a factor before the end of the fantasy playoffs, but we’ll see. I can’t blame you for stashing him - and that’s already happened in most leagues.
A few more names: Skyy Moore stepped up with 6 catches on Sunday night, and with so many injuries to the Chiefs’ WR corps, he could have some value going forward. Darius Slayton is the last man standing in a Giants’ pass-catcher corps that once again is suffering injury after injury. Jameson Williams has been cleared to practice - he’s a long-term stash, at best.
TE: Cole Kmet and Juwan Johnson (listed above) are the top options. Assuming they aren’t available, you can consider:
Logan Thomas. He led the Commanders in receiving on Sunday, with 5 catches for 65 yards, on 6 targets. He can be a big contributor when healthy.
Foster Moreau. He only managed one catch for 33 yards last week, but he’s got a good path to be fairly productive with Darren Waller out, and there’s some history of that happening in the past.
Brock Wright. He only got 2 targets on Sunday, but the Lions really didn’t need to throw much. Most games, they will need to throw it more. With T.J. Hockenson traded away, he has an opportunity.
PK Streamers: J. Slye (vs. ATL), R. Gould (vs. NO), C. Dicker (@ARI), C. McLoughlin (vs. PIT)
D/ST Streamers: KC (vs. LAR), MIA (vs. HOU), SEA (vs. LV), CAR (Vs. DEN), WAS (vs. ATL)
Good luck with your waiver claims.
***This column (Waiver Wire) and the Weekly Fantasy Recap appear each Monday and Tuesday, and the Weekly Fantasy Preview each Thursday. Please bookmark the site and come back often. You can also follow on Social Media - on Instagram (thepigskinpapers) and Twitter (@PigskinPapers). I appreciate your patronage and welcome your feedback. You can post in the comment boxes or email pigskinpapers@gmail.com.***
DH
