Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups and Free Agent Adds – All Positions

November 22, 2022

Rob's fantasy football waiver wire pickups, adds, and sleepers ahead of Week 12 of the 2022 NFL season. Free agent RB, WR, TE, QB, and D/ST to target.

While there's nothing we can do about the injuries, the bye weeks will finally get a pause this upcoming week. There is not a single team on bye in Week 12, so fantasy managers will have more options at their disposal than they've had in recent weeks.

Now that bye weeks are almost done, fantasy managers should be prioritizing upside with their waiver wire claims, as opposed to bye week and injury replacements. However, if you're still looking for weekly fill-ins, then you've come to right place.

Let's look at who are the top Week 12 waiver wire pickups and free agent adds for all positions. Be sure to also check out all of our fantasy football waiver wire advice, and our free new Who Should I Pickup? Waiver Wire player comparison tool to get an edge on the competition! Let's get to who the best waiver wire additions are this week. As always, the players will appear in the order in which they should be prioritized.

Running Backs – Waiver Wire Options

Latavius Murray, Denver Broncos – 22% Rostered

If you're hurting at the running back position and need a starter for Week 12, Latavius Murray should be an ideal target. The ceiling for Murray is limited, but he's getting ample volume on a weekly basis and has a good chance to find the end zone on any given week. Since signing with Denver, Murray is averaging 14.8 touches per game. This past week against the Raiders, Murray had 21 touches.

He's also found the end zone in three of five appearances with the Broncos. He comes with a fairly safe and modest range of outcomes. He has not scored fewer than six half-PPR points in any week and has maxed out at 15.2 points. This week, Murray played more snaps than Melvin Gordon and on another positive note, was very close to the same number of routes run. In previous weeks, Gordon had been the primary receiving back, but this week Murray ran 11 routes to Gordon's 14.

At this stage, Murray looks like the 1A and while this offense as a whole has been disappointing, Murray has been good for at least 12 touches every game and has scored in over 50% of his games with the Broncos.

James Cook, Buffalo Bills – 17% Rostered

When Buffalo traded for Nyheim Hines, many fantasy managers left James Cook for dead. However, the team has hardly used Hines and Cook is now coming off the best game of his career. Maybe it's nothing, but the Bills made a concentrated effort to get the ball in Cook's hands. Since their bye in Week 7, Cook's playing time has consistently been between 20–25% of the team's snaps. The difference in Week 11 was how frequently he touched the ball on his few snaps.

He played 16 snaps and received 11 carries. He ran three routes and earned two targets. While fantasy managers cannot bank on a touch rate of 81.25% on his snaps, his efficiency on his targets could very well lead to more touches. He finished with 86 rushing yards on his 11 carries, a yard-per-carry average of 7.8 yards.

Ideally, the team would start utilizing Cook more in the passing game. That would give him a more stable weekly floor. Unfortunately, we didn't see that in Week 11 with Devin Singletary running 24 routes to Cook's three. The Bills have been pretty committed to upgrading their running back position through almost signing J.D. McKissic, drafting Cook, trying to trade for Christian McCaffrey, and then trading for Nyheim Hines. That's not exactly a vote of confidence, even though the team has continued to stay true to Singletary.

If Cook is able to carve out an 8–12 touch role on a weekly basis, he could have stand-alone value on an explosive offense in Buffalo. Right now, he also looks like the prime handcuff to target in the event Singletary were to get hurt. Based on their recent investments to the running back position, it wouldn't be surprising either for Cook to close the gap on Singeltary.

Samaje Perine, Cincinnati Bengals - 8% Rostered

Joe Mixon left their Week 11 contest early due to a concussion and Samaje Perine took over the reins as the Bengals’ new workhorse running back. He finished with 15 touches, 82 total yards, and three touchdowns.

It’s unlikely that Mixon misses a bunch of time, but it’s not out of the question that he misses a game or two. Typically players will miss at least one game following a concussion, which would put Perine in the RB2 category until he returns.

If you’re in need of a running back starter, I’d prioritize Perine over James Cook above. It is a gamble because it’s possible Mixon doesn’t miss anytime.

Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams – 27% Rostered

We're forced to talk about Cam Akers again. This past week, Darrell Henderson Jr. played just four snaps. With the Rams all but out of playoff contention, it looks like head coach Sean McVay is going to give his younger guys more playing time. Henderson was completely phased out of the offense, which left Akers and rookie Kyren Williams handling all of the work.

Williams ended up playing 35 snaps to Akers' 25, but it was Akers who led the team in touches. Akers received 14 carries to Williams' seven and for the most part, he ran well. He finished with 61 rushing yards, but didn't receive a single target. Expectations for Akers need to be kept in check because of his limited opportunities in the passing game. He ran just eight routes to Williams' 24. The other concern is the limited scoring opportunities in a dreadful Los Angeles offense that is now lacking their No. 1 talent in Cooper Kupp.

Still, if you're hurting at the running back position, Akers looks like he's in line for 12–15 touches per week moving forward if Week 11 is any indication of how the rest of the season will play out. With no real role in the passing game, that leaves him as a touchdown-dependent RB3.

Joshua Kelley, Los Angeles Chargers – 2% Rostered

For the first four weeks of the 2022 NFL season, Joshua Kelley and Sony Michel worked as 2A and 2B behind Austin Ekeler. There did not appear to be a handcuff for fantasy managers to target. If Ekeler went down, based on their utilization over the first four weeks, it would be a committee approach.

However, that all changed in Week 5. Kelley played 25% of the snaps to Michel's 3%. Kelly also received 10 carries, which he took for 49 yards and a touchdown. Michel had just one carry. Based on Week 5, it seemed as though Kelley had leap-frogged Michel to become the primary No. 2 running back for the Chargers.

Kelley would unfortunately sprain his knee in Week 6, which forced him to go onto IR. He'll be eligible to come off of IR in Week 11. With the team's bye week in the middle of his IR stint, Kelley will have had five weeks to heal up. Despite missing the team's last four games, he still has more receiving yards than Michel. Fantasy managers should expect Kelley to reclaim his role as Ekeler's primary backup.

Michel had been replaced by Kelley and now Spiller. Spiller could also factor into the Chargers' backfield in the event of an Ekeler injury, but Kelley is likely to handle the majority of the passing work because of his experience. In the Chargers' backfield, that receiving work is crucial and if he has it, he's likely to be the backup Chargers' running back fantasy managers should prioritize.

Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings – 38% Rostered

Handcuff running backs tend to get less and less valuable as the season goes along because there is less time for the starter to get hurt. I understand that sounds grim, but it's the truth. For Alexander Mattison, there are only 4–5 weeks left where the starter Dalvin Cook could get hurt, which might put Mattison into the driver's seat. That's certainly not ideal for Mattison's waiver wire value, but as we're approaching the end of the fantasy football regular season, most teams have handled the majority of their byes, and because of this, there's less need for startable players on your bench.

Instead, you can start chasing upside on your bench. Mattison has a butt-load of upside. If Cook were to go down, you'd have yourself a top-15 running back. While there are other players on this list that have more week-to-week value, Mattison carries just as much upside as anyone.

Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams – 28% Rostered

We already talked about Kyren Williams a bit with Cam Akers, but we'll cover him a bit here as well because he's an interesting add as well. Based on the Week 11 utilization for the Rams, Williams largely operated as the passing-down running back, while Akers generally operated as their early-down plodder. Typically, fantasy managers would want to target Williams and his role in the passing role, but despite running 24 routes to Akers' eight, he finished with just one target. The Rams' offense simply does not have and has not targeted the running back position under McVay.

That seems unlikely to change down the stretch. Williams still managed to receive seven targets and it's more likely that Williams takes over this backfield than Akers, considering the circumstances surrounding Akers' 2022 season, but this is still a very bad offense with a very bad offensive line. As mentioned with Akers, expectations need to be held in check, but there can be value in targeting ambiguous backfields. While Week 11 had Williams operating as the pass-catching back and Akers the early-down plodder, there's no guarantee it stays that way the rest of the season.

However, even if Williams becomes more of a workhorse running back, the ceiling is still capped due to the putrid state of the Rams' offense. Still, it looks like they are done with the Darrell Henderson experiment, which presents some opportunity for Williams if he's able to leapfrog Akers at any point.

Others to Consider: Jerick McKinnon, Kansas City Chiefs – 26% Rostered, Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers – 28% Rostered, Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia Eagles – 14% Rostered, Dontrell Hilliard, Tennessee Titans – 12% Rostered, Keaontay Ingram, Arizona Cardinals – 2% Rostered, Trestan Ebner, Chicago Bears – 4% Rostered

Wide Receivers – Waiver Wire Options

Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans – 20% Rostered

If you're looking for a potential league winner, Treylon Burks is a name to pay attention to. While his overall production in his rookie season has been underwhelming, his efficiency has been excellent. He's averaged 2.08 yards per route run, which is better than fellow rookies Drake London and Garrett Wilson. When Burks has been on the field, he has demanded the ball at an elite level and if his playing time were to increase down the stretch, he could be deployed as a high-end WR3.

Treylon Burks has played six games so far as a rookie.

He has earned 35%-plus targets per route in three out of six. 👀👀👀

38%, 35%, 7%, 15%, 21%, 38%

— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) November 18, 2022

As you can see from the tweet above, Burks has not struggled to get targets. The problem has been he's simply not playing enough. In six games this season, he has yet to play 70% of the team's snaps in any one game. He's had a 50% snap share or less in half of his games played. Rookie receivers have typically seen their production and playing time ramp up in the second half of the season and fantasy managers started to see that in Week 11.

Treylon Burks with WR1 usage in his breakout performance vs the Packers:

▫️ 29.6% Target Share🔥
▫️ 41.8% Air Yards Share🔥
▫️ 13.1 Expected Fantasy Points🔥
▫️ +1.51 Fantasy Points Over Expected

Even more impressive, he did this on only 50% of the snaps👀#Titans pic.twitter.com/Tgplun40qU

— Marvin Elequin (@FF_MarvinE) November 18, 2022

Donovan Peoples-Jones, Cleveland Browns – 44% Rostered

From Weeks 4–10, Donovan Peoples-Jones has averaged 9.5 half-PPR PPG. He is the WR34 during that time. He's been a solid WR3 for the last six of his games and that's without finding the end zone. Even though he didn't find the end zone in Weeks 4–10, he's scored at least seven half-PPR points each week. That's some impressive consistency for a player who is rostered in just 41% of leagues without scoring a single touchdown.

Donovan Peoples-Jones last seven games:

5-71-0
4-50-0
4-74-0
6-71-0
4-81-0
5-99-0
5-61-1

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) November 20, 2022

That all changed this week when he finally found the end zone late in the fourth quarter and provided fantasy managers with his best output of the season, 14.6 half-PPR points. He has at least four receptions in seven straight games. He's got at least 50 yards in seven straight games and more than 70 yards in five out of seven games. If he's on your waiver wire, it's time to rectify that because in a few short weeks, Peoples-Jones will be catching passes from Deshaun Watson who has been one of the better deep-ball passers since coming into the league. While Jacoby Brissett has been more than what could have been expected, Watson undoubtedly raises this offense's ceiling.

Darius Slayton, New York Giants – 51% Rostered

From Weeks 5–10, Darius Slayton has averaged 10.5 half-PPR PPG. During that span, that's a better PPG average than Chris Olave, Tee Higgins, Mike Evans, D.K. Metcalf, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Think about that. That's half the 2022 NFL season where Slayton has been a better fantasy producer than those guys. Then in Week 11, he finished with five receptions, 86 receiving yards, and 11.1 half-PPR points.

Since Week 5, Darius Slayton is 6th among WRs that have 100+ routes in yards per route run (2.63).

9th in team air yard share (37.1%).

23rd in target rate per route (21.7%).

— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) November 14, 2022

Since Week 5, Slayton has just one game with fewer than 55 receiving yards. During that time, he's averaged six targets, 3.83 receptions, and 67 yards per game. He's found the end zone twice and has solidified his place as the Giants' No. 1 receiver. He's been surprisingly consistent since being put into the starting lineup and has earned weekly WR3 consideration.

Parris Campbell, Indianapolis Colts – 40% Rostered

Over the last four weeks where Matt Ryan has started at quarterback, Parris Campbell has seen a total of 38 targets. During that time span, he has at least five receptions in all four of those contests. He's been over 55 receiving yards in each of the last four- Matt Ryan started games and hasn't scored below 9.2 half-PPR points.

Parris Campbell PPR finishes last three games with Matt Ryan: WR10, WR5, WR11

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) November 16, 2022

He has become a staple of the Colts' passing game and continues to operate as their primary slot receiver. With Indianapolis lacking any true receiving threat at tight end, Campbell has become Ryan's preferred security blanket. While this role may limit his receiving yardage totals because his targets tend to be closer to the line of scrimmage, he is an excellent option in any PPR-scoring league. In such settings, Campbell should be treated as a WR3 moving forward for as long as Ryan stays under center.

Zay Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars – 19% Rostered

Zay Jones has been the clear No. 2 receiver for the Jaguars all season long. His overall production numbers, however, don't line up with the workload he's received. In Week 10, he earned 10 targets and finished with eight receptions and 68 yards. That kind of weekly volume is why he continues to be a strong waiver wire add.

In five of nine games this season, he has racked up eight or more targets. He has five games with at least five receptions and four games of at least 50 yards. He has found the end zone just one time, but fantasy managers should be expecting some positive touchdown regression in the future. He has 65 targets on the season and has just one score certainly puts him on the short list of players who have significantly underachieved in the touchdown category relative to his volume.

The Jaguars had their bye in Week 11 but return to action in Week 12 against the Ravens and Week 13 against the Lions. Both matchups have been very generous to receivers this season. With his volume and the positive matchups, Jones will be a solid streamer in Weeks 12 and 13.

Jarvis Landry, New Orleans Saints – 22% Rostered

With Michael Thomas on IR, Jarvis Landry is likely to operate as Andy Dalton's second or third target option most weeks. Landry has always operated as a slot receiver and he's assumed that same role in New Orleans. As Landry has gotten older, he's lost a step or two and while his savvy route-running is still present, Father Time has sapped some of his after-the-catch skillset. This will keep his receiving yard totals in check most weeks because he operates so close to the line of scrimmage. This role makes him a more ideal target in PPR-scoring leagues.

He's still someone to keep an eye on though. He returned in Week 10 after a five-week injury absence and was second on the team in routes run and targets. That resulted in just a modest three-reception and 37-yard performance, but the utilization makes him someone to keep an eye on in deeper, PPR-leagues. In Week 11, he played the most snaps among skilled players for the Saints and finished tied for third in targets.

Once again, the production was modest, with just three receptions, and 33 yards, but he did find the end zone. Landry is best viewed as a bye week or injury replacement player. His role and the team he's on significantly limits his upside. If your fantasy roster has good depth, Landry can safely be ignored and it's better to take a gamble on someone like Odell Beckham Jr. who has more upside. However, if you still have multiple bye weeks or injuries you're dealing with, Landry's role as a starter could be something that is attractive.

Others to Consider: Odell Beckham Jr., Free Agent – 43% Rostered, Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys – 47% Rostered, Mack Hollins, Las Vegas Raiders – 17% Rostered, Terrace Marshall Jr., Carolina Panthers – 11% Rostered, Demarcus Robinson, Baltimore Ravens – 4% Rostered, Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders – 18% Rostered, D.J. Chark Jr, Detroit Lions – 12% Rostered, Van Jefferson, Los Angeles Rams – 29% Rostered, Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers – 4% Rostered

Tight Ends – Waiver Wire Options

Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos – 61% Rostered

Greg Dulcich's roster percentage is likely being negatively impacted by the poor state of Denver's offense, but his utilization has been elite since coming off IR. The following tweet is from their Week 10 game, but it's what fantasy managers can expect from Dulcich week-to-week.

Incredible usage was there again for Greg Dulcich yesterday.

* 71-of-80 snaps
* 40 inline, 25 slot, 6 wide
* 40 routes on 49 Russ Wilson dropbacks
* Just 4 targets for a 9.5% share
* 1-11-0 result

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) November 14, 2022

This past weekend, it was more of the same. He ran a route on 86% of the team's routes and played 83% of the team's snaps. He also finished tied for second with five targets. He finished with four receptions and 30 receiving yards. His utilization is that of a top-10 tight end.

Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars – 36% Rostered

Looking at Evan Engram's box score, it'll look like he's had two bad games in a row. However, he left their Week 9 game against the Raiders early and played just half the team's snaps. He struggled in Week 10 against Kansas City, securing just three of his four targets. Prior to his early exit in Week 9, Engram had at least six targets in four straight games from Weeks 5–8. During that time, he had 19 receptions, 231 yards, and one touchdown.

Engram is having a nice bounce-back season in Jacksonville, averaging 5.2 targets, 3.67 receptions, and 37.6 yards per game. Engram is a better option in full-PPR leagues because he has just one touchdown on the season. However, it should be noted he has had two touchdowns overturned. But, he has four receptions or more in six of his 10 games.

The Jaguars had their bye in Week 11 and return to action to face off against Baltimore and Detroit these next two weeks. The Ravens have allowed the 14th-most points to tight ends and the Lions have allowed the third-most points to tight ends this season.

Others to Consider: Foster Moreau, Las Vegas Raiders – 41% Rostered, Logan Thomas, Washington Commanders – 6% Rostered, Juwan Johnson, New Orleans – 30% Rostered, Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals – 11% Rostered

Quarterbacks – Waiver Wire Options

Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars – 59% Rostered

Trevor Lawrence appears to have been dropped by a lot of teams through his bye week, which is understandable seeing he's not quite a set-it-and-forget-it quarterback, but he's someone fantasy managers could target in Week 12 if they're in need of a streamer. Prior to their bye week, Lawrence had rattled off games of 19 and 23.5 points, which was the best back-to-back game performances he's had all season.

It helps that in the past few of his starts, he's starting to run more. He had just 10 carries in the first four weeks of the season, but in the past six games, he's had 27 attempts. He's had at least 23 rushing yards in four of the last six games and three rushing touchdowns in his last six games. That extra rushing production has helped him score 19 or more points in four of his last five games.

In Week 12, he'll play Baltimore, who has allowed the eighth-most points to quarterbacks this season. Then in Week 13, he'll go up against the Lions, who have allowed the most points to quarterbacks this season. He'll be on the streaming radar both weeks.

Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns – 48% Rostered

DeShaun Watson will be eligible to return to game action in Week 13 and now is the time fantasy managers should be looking to target him. Quarterbacks who can score points with their arms and their legs are absolute cheat codes in fantasy football and Watson certainly qualifies as such. He's averaged between 28–38 rushing yards per game since entering the league. He's also averaged 0.19–0.47 rushing touchdowns per game. Over 17 games, those averages equate to 3–8 rushing touchdowns and 476–646 rushing yards per season. That should be very appealing.

He also has some very appealing weapons in Cleveland. Amari Cooper is an underrated No. 1 receiver and Peoples-Jones is your ideal deep ball threat having a career season. David Njoku is one of the most athletic tight ends in the league, who was also in the midst of a career season before getting hurt. He will have arguably the best pure running back in the league defenses will have to respect and a top-tier offensive line. Put it all together and it wouldn't be surprising to see Watson be a league-winner down the stretch once he shakes off the rust.

Others to Consider: Ryan Tannehill, Tennesse Titans – 16% Rostered, Marcus Mariota, Atlanta Falcons – 43% Rostered

Team Defenses – Waiver Wire Options

Kansas City Chiefs Defense – 46% Rostered

In Week 12, the Chiefs will face off against the Los Angeles Rams. They'll likely be without Matthew Stafford, who suffered another concussion, his second in three weeks. They'll also be without Cooper Kupp. The Chiefs' defense will be in a prime position to reward fantasy managers. They're a great addition now because they can almost be started every week for the rest of the season. A Week 13 date against the Bengals isn't ideal, but they wrap up the season with Denver, Houston, Seattle, and Denver a second time.

Minnesota Vikings Defense – 33% Rostered

The Vikings, one would think, are going to be all sorts of fired up in Week 12 after the thrashing they took in Week 11 at the hands of the Cowboys. They'll be in a good place for a nice bounce-back game, too. They have back-to-back home games against the Patriots and the Jets. The Patriots' offense is allowing the ninth-most points to opposing defenses while the Jets aren't much better at 13th. The Vikings' defense has been a solid unit all year and now they get to two easy matchups at home. If you're streaming defenses, adding the Vikings' defense takes care of the next two weeks.

Miami Dolphins Defense – 22% Rostered 

The Miami defense hasn't been great this season, but they're going to be in a great spot in Week 12. They'll be coming off their bye week, they'll be well-rested and will have had plenty of time to study their opponent. That opponent is the Houston Texans. They've allowed the fourth-most points to opposing defenses this season. The Texans' defense has been terrible this season, while the Dolphins' offense has been lights out. Why does that matter? Because Miami will likely be ahead all game. That's a positive game script for any defense. They can hone in on the passing game and go all out on their blitzes, not having to worry about the run game.

Others to Consider: Pittsburgh Steelers Defense – 18% Rostered

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