December 19, 2017

Nick Mariano's week 16 fantasy football waiver wire pickups, adds and sleepers for the 2017 NFL season. Running backs (RBs), wide receivers (WRs), quarterbacks (QBs) and tight ends (TEs).

Week 15 kicked off with Kareem Hunt’s “Allow me to reintroduce myself” show and, among many other storylines, crescendoed with Antonio Brown suffering a partially torn calf muscle, likely ending his fantasy/regular season. Davante Adams (head) and Rex Burkhead (knee) are also both hoping to avoid missing time.

If possible, you’re absolutely adding Martavis Bryant and Randall Cobb (both owned in roughly 50-55 percent of leagues,) but they’re A) likely already owned and B) known commodities who don’t require additional commentary. Ezekiel Elliott is also returning from suspension, aka Cabo, to lead those of you still in it to the promised land.

Below are my Week 16 waiver wire pickups, or free agents to consider adding to your fantasy football teams. Only you know how aggressive you'll need to be with FAAB given your leaguemates, so use the recommendations as a proportional springboard. I provide information on players that are owned in roughly 35% of Yahoo leagues or less so that you can make an educated decision about who to add to your squad. At this point, feel free to go to for broke with bids, the percentages are simply for comparative reference now.

Running Backs - Week 16 Waiver Wire

Wayne Gallman (RB, NYG) - 5% owned (15% FAAB in PPR)

Once again, it was Gallman leading the Giants backfield compared to Orleans Darkwa, who rushed for a measly seven yards on nine carries (though he scored a TD.) After totaling 99 yards on 18 touches (11 carries, seven catches) last week against the Cowboys, Wayne G would tote the rock eight times for a respectable 39 yards while catching six of his seven looks for another 40 yards. Big Blue was not expected to put up such a fight and be able to run so many plays, but Gallman speculators will surely take it. He’s now seen 16 targets over the last two games and needs to be taken seriously, given the NYG is actually showing some life.

Javorius Allen (RB, BAL) - 29% owned (15% FAAB)

Allen’s 70 rushing yards were his most since Week 5, and he did it on only 13 carries! The Ravens had their victory against Cleveland in the bag by the late game, which explains his heavy touch total compared to Alex Collins. Many will point to this as a reason to not read into Allen’s performance here moving forward, but I say that this -- combined with his three TDs in his previous three weeks -- make him a viable play in Week 16 against an Indianapolis team that could fold with even more pizzazz than Cleveland did.

Elijhaa Penny (RB, ARI) - 0% owned (12% FAAB)

The bulky Penny saw his carry tally jump from two apiece in Weeks 13 and 14 to a useful 10 in Week 15 against Washington after Kerwynn Williams suffered a quad injury. The Cards couldn’t generate a goal-line opportunity for Penny to come in like a wrecking ball -- they would only muster five field goals on the day -- but he still notched a 4.5 YPC on his carries and could punch in a cheapie against the Giants in Week 16 depending on which NYG squad shows up. I haven’t seen anything about Williams’ outlook for Week 16, but Penny would become a viable add in 12-teamers even should Kerwynn be ruled out. That roster spot on the end of your bench is made for this kind of speculation!

Kapri Bibbs (RB, WAS) - 0% owned (10% FAAB in PPR)

Bibbs took over Byron Marshall’s role, which was Chris Thompson’s role first, by catching four balls for 47 yards and a touchdown alongside six rushing yards on two carries. The bulk of his yardage came on a 36-yard scamper that he took the house following a fake end-around, which is just the kind of trickeration that Washington will need to employ against Denver at home next week if they want to work around that defense. Samaje Perine has been ineffective lately thanks to an ailing offensive line, as north-south running is simply not going to work. Bibbs can make it work on the edges, and could also benefit from garbage time if Brock Osweiler crashes back down.

Elijah McGuire (RB, NYJ) - 3% owned (6% FAAB in PPR)

McGuire hadn’t done much since Week 4 but ended up getting the Jets’ hurry-up offense to himself in Week 15 against the Saints. He ended that two-minute drive with a touchdown catch, and may just get more touches to close out the season as NYJ looks ahead with its youth beyond Matt Forte and Bilal Powell. Only a handful of you will be desperate enough to add him going into championship week against the Chargers, but it’s worth noting that LAC was just gashed by Kareem Hunt. Particularly, in the passing game with a 7-51-1 line after having recently allowed six catches each to LeSean McCoy and T.J. Yeldon and a combined 12-147-0 receiving line to Rex Burkhead and James White in Week 8. Just saying, deep PPR dart throws could be worse.

Wide Receivers - Week 16 Waiver Wire

Keelan Cole (WR, JAX) - 4% owned (20% FAAB)

With Marqise Lee suffering an ankle injury in the first quarter, it was Cole who rose to the occasion in a great matchup by catching seven-of-nine targets for a whopping 186 yards and a score. Dede Westbrook (2-21-0) let many owners down as Cole sat atop several Jacksonville backups doing well, with Jaydon Mickens (4-61-2) also cropping up as a decent deep-league add if Lee and Allen Hurns are out for Week 16. We can’t ignore that Leonard Fournette’s return should shift some passes back to rushes, but a good matchup against San Francisco’s secondary in Week 16 should see Cole flexed into many championship rosters.

Kendall Wright (WR, CHI) - 4% owned (15% FAAB in PPR)

Against an increasingly-leaky Detroit defense, Wright actually one-upped his 11 targets from last week by racking up a baker’s dozen of them with a 7-81-0 line to show for it. This is the best time to build momentum, and now he gets Cleveland’s pass defense in Week 16. Those in PPR formats should roster the Wright stuff en route to a title now that Mitch Trubisky seems to understand he has a reliable pair of hands to hit up. To be fair, Cleveland's slot man Briean Boddy-Calhoun has played well, but targeting momentum works for me here in PPR. I'd be very wary in standard.

Geronimo Allison (WR, GB) - 0% owned (15% FAAB)

Davante Adams suffered yet another terrible blow to his head thanks to a dirty, blindside block from Carolina’s Thomas Davis where the target was clearly Adams’ head. This harkens back to Week 4 when Adams was struck in the head by Danny Trevathan, yet he didn’t miss a game. Allison is the one who steps in when one of Adams, Jordy Nelson, and Randall Cobb gets hurt, and saw eight targets in Week 15. Yell out “Geronimo!” and prepare for splashdown in a heated divisional battle with the Vikings next week, as hopefully, Allison benefits from Jordy drawing Xavier Rhodes’ coverage. Don’t forget, Allison put up a 6-122-0 line in Week 3 when Randall Cobb was out.

Damiere Byrd (WR, CAR) - 0% owned (10% FAAB)

Byrd built on last week’s five-catch performance with by turning in the first two touchdowns of his career against a horrid Green Bay secondary, as he continues to establish himself as Carolina’s No. 2 receiver. Devin Funchess is still the No. 1 and Greg Olsen is back in full force, but Byrd and his blazing speed could once again present an advantageous matchup at home against Tampa Bay in Week 16.

Eli Rogers (WR, PIT) - 1% owned (10% FAAB in PPR)

With Brown out, Rogers would seem the most likely candidate to step into any fantasy relevance against the likes of Darrius Heyward-Bey and Justin Hunter. The latter two profile more like Martavis Bryant, bigger guys who you can take a shot with, but Rogers offers a shiftier set of hands over the middle. This was evident on his TD catch in Week 15. This offense is a good one to target if you’re looking for a dart throw, but you’ll want to check in on Jesse James’ availability first if you’re strictly hunting a cheap flex play.

Chris Moore (WR, BAL) - 0% owned (2% FAAB)

Moore didn’t register a catch on any of his three targets in Week 15. Are you sold yet? What if we consider how his three looks from Flacco were the second most by a WR on the day (behind Mike Wallace) and that Jeremy Maclin may miss extended time pending Monday’s MRI? Throw in the fact that Baltimore faces Indy next week, and you’ve got a stew going. It’s not a good stew, and you should only think about eating it if you’re on the brink of starvation...but it’s there.

Tight Ends - Week 16 Waiver Wire

Benjamin Watson (TE, BAL) - 14% owned (10% FAAB)

As is tradition, the Browns allowed an opposing TE to find paydirt in Week 15 as Watson caught all four of his targets for 74 yards and a score. He fell off the map with a catchless Week 14 after scoring in Week 13, but will once again be in the land of great matchups when he faces the Colts at home in Week 16. Indy just gave up that 54-yard TD to Jeff Heuerman on Thursday night and allowed Delanie Walker to post a 4-63-1 line in Week 12, so this is a solid get.

Daniel Brown (TE, CHI) - 0% owned (5% FAAB)

I would like to have put Adam Shaheen here, but he missed Week 15 due to a chest injury and cannot be counted on for Week 16’s dream date with the aforementioned Cleveland Browns. Many figured that Dion Sims would simply step back into the TE role of relevance for Chicago, but it was Brown who saw four targets compared to Sims’ one against the Lions. He would catch three of them for 32 yards -- hardly big news -- but he’ll face off against his namesake on Sunday and if Shaheen sits, could be worth a stream for those in 14-16 team leagues.

Richard Rodgers (TE, GB) - 0% owned (4% FAAB)

The Rodgers-Rodgers connection was reestablished after way too many weeks off, as Richard Rodgers flourished with a 4-77-1 line after totaling just eight receptions prior to Sunday. Green Bay could buckle after taking that tough loss as the playoff dream dissipates, but pride and trying to take down their rival in the Vikings next week should still see them get after things. The Vikings play the TE very well, but also haven’t faced many big names at the position. Those in dire straits could try to catch a bit of the Aaron Rodgers magic by rostering Richard.

Quarterbacks - Week 16 Streamers

Preferred streamer order (<55% owned guys): Nick Foles vs. OAK (26% owned), Blake Bortles @SF (54% owned), Joe Flacco @IND (18% owned), Jameis Winston @CAR (54% owned), Andy Dalton vs. DET (51% owned), Tyrod Taylor @NE (38% owned), Eli Manning @ARI (33% owned), Mitch Trubisky vs. CLE (6% owned), Jimmy Garoppolo vs. JAC (30% owned), Blaine Gabbert vs. NYG (4% owned), DeShone Kizer @CHI (4% owned), Jay Cutler @KC (15% owned), Jacoby Brissett vs. BAL (14% owned).

Early Defensive Streaming Candidates

• WAS (vs. DEN) - 35% owned
• CHI (vs. CLE) - 24% owned
• ARI (vs. NYG) - 44% owned

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Analysis