Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 17: Top Free Agent Adds Include D.J. Chark, Richie James, Jahan Dotson, Rashid Shaheed

December 27, 2022

Justin Carter's fantasy football wide receiver waiver wire pickups for Week 17 of the 2022 NFL season. His free agent WRs to add, stream and stash off waivers.

Here we go. In most leagues, Week 17 is it: the fantasy football championships. This is your last chance to win a title unless you're in one of those weird leagues that play Week 18. As such, this week's wide receiver waiver wire column is focused only on players you could reasonably end up playing in some format this week.

Below, you'll find some wide receivers that you should be targeting on the fantasy football waiver wire ahead of Week 17. Not all of these waiver wire options are the same. Some players may be better in PPR or deeper leagues, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all comparison. Use your best judgment when deciding which of these players is the right fit for your roster.

Be sure to also check out our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 17 for help at all the skill positions. All players on this list here are around 50% rostered or below.

Wide Receivers Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

D.J. Chark, Detroit Lions - 51% rostered

You probably should have picked Chark up already, but if he's still lingering out there on the waiver wire, he's someone who you can plug in and play this weekend if needed. Chark caught four passes for 108 yards, giving him 90 or more receiving yards in three of the last four games.

The worry here is that in the other game during that span, he was held to just one reception, and the Lions suddenly have a lot of mouths to feed with Jameson Williams. But Williams was targeted just once on Saturday, with Chark looking like the clear No. 2 receiver to Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders - 23% rostered

Remember when Dotson kept catching touchdowns at the beginning of the season, and then he got hurt and all that momentum went away?

Well, Dotson's now caught touchdowns in three consecutive contests after Sunday's six catches for 76 yards and a score. If you find yourself as an underdog in the championship contest and want someone with touchdown upside, I don't think there's a better option out there on the wire than Dotson. His floor is probably a little below Chark, but he just keeps scoring touchdowns.

Richie James, New York Giants - 17% rostered

12 targets for James in Week 16, which marked his first game this season with double-digit targets. James has seen his role grow over the course of the season, and this week was a kind of culmination of that, with eight catches for 90 yards, both season-highs. His growing role makes him an interesting WR3/4 play next week against the Colts.

Brandin Cooks, Houston Texans - 54% rostered

I, for one, assumed we wouldn't be seeing Brandin Cooks again after he missed three games with a calf injury. Cooks and the Texans have had some issues with each other this season, including Cooks sitting out a game after the team didn't trade him, and with this season essentially lost, it would have made sense to just move on from him.

Instead, he returned on Saturday and led the team in targets with nine, catching four of them for 34 yards and a touchdown. If Cooks plays next week, he'll be the top option for Davis Mills, especially with Nico Collins done for the year.

Russell Gage, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 15% rostered

In Week 15, Gage caught eight passes for 59 yards and two touchdowns, which piqued my interest. This week, he caught five passes for 65 yards, his second-highest yardage total of 2022. I was (regrettably) high on Gage in the preseason, and it looks like he's finally starting to put a little bit together. There are worse desperation options in Week 17 when Gage gets to face the Carolina Panthers.

Hunter Renfrow, Las Vegas Raiders - 22% rostered

Disappointing year for Renfrow, who missed five games in a row with an oblique injury. But he found the end zone for the first time in 2022 on Saturday, catching four of his seven targets for 42 yards and a score. A healthy Renfrow has some fantasy appeal for anyone in full PPR with a need for a desperation WR4 play.

Wide Receiver Deeper League Waiver Wire Pickups

Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints - 8% rostered

The Saints threw just seven passes to the wide receiver position this week, with five of those going to Rashid Shaheed. He caught for of those for 41 yards, despite having to deal with some poor weather conditions. His volume's fairly low, but Shaheed has four games in a row with over 40 receiving yards and looks like the team's No. 1 receiver heading into Week 17. That...might not be enough in a 12-team league to make him fantasy-relevant, but in a 14-teamer, getting a No. 1 wideout off the wire this late is worth doing if only to keep your opponent from getting him.

Isaiah Hodgins, New York Giants - 2% rostered

Hodgins was targeted 11 times this week, catching eight passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. That's now three touchdowns in four weeks for him. Fantasy managers who find themselves needing a touchdown-or-bust kind of player in a 16-team league should give Hodgins a look.

Greg Dortch, Arizona Cardinals - 2% rostered

This sure was a weird game. With DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise Brown both playing, it was Dortch who led the team in targets, with Trace McSorley looking his way 11 times, plus he had three rushing attempts. Dortch finished with 10 catches for 98 yards, plus 25 rushing yards. Meanwhile, Hopkins caught just one of his 10 targets for four yards, and Brown caught three of his six for 57 yards.

Quarterback changes can lead to some weird things. McSorley seems to like targeting Dortch, so Dortch would be a desperation option in a deep league if McSorley starts again. But we've also seen this kind of production from Dortch before and had it amount to nothing: he caught nine passes for 103 yards in Week 11, and then wasn't targeted again until Sunday.

Trenton Irwin, Cincinnati Bengals - 0% rostered

Irwin caught a pair of touchdowns on Saturday, and he tied his season high in targets and receptions. There's probably nothing here, but considering he came close to getting a third touchdown, there's some deep league appeal here if Tyler Boyd's finger injury lingers into next week.

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