Week 16 Waiver Wire
Note: Every suggestion will be pulled from either the Yahoo or ESPN rostership, and everyone in these articles will be less than 50% rostered on at least one of those sites. Only some leagues are cut and dry the same so this is just a template for a 12 team full PPR league. There may be players that would have made this article but are rostered in over 50% of the leagues on both sites so they were not included because you’re either in a smaller league or bigger league. If you have questions, please get in chat and ask. Going forward, I will list the bye week schedule below as it is going to become more important as we plan for that moving forward.
QB
Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears)
Caleb seems a little banged up but in Week 16 the Bears get to host the Lions defense that has 15 players out for the year. They are bleeding yards and points. The Bears shouldn’t have a problem moving the ball on the Lions and we should get a solid boost of 30+ rushing yards in this one for Caleb.
Cooper Rush (Dallas Cowboys)
Cooper Rush is coming off of a solid 19.1 point per performance on the back of three passing TDs. This week they will host the Bucs, a team with a terrible pass defense that is depleted of most of their talent and has a very good offense to boot. This game should get a bit wonky on SNF and presents a good opportunity for Cooper Rush to have one of those wild 300+ yard games with a few scores.
Sam Howell (Seattle Seahawks)
I know Howell was atrocious on SNF when he had to come in as a replacement for Geno Smith but I like him in Week 16 for two reasons. First, he will have a week to prepare for this matchup. Secondly, the Vikings are likely to control this game and put the Seahawks in pass mode for over a half, allowing Howell to rip it and collect a ton of garbage time in the air and some on the ground. The Vikings allow the 3rd most Pass YPG (265.43) and 16th most PPG (20.2) with QBs just soaking up garbage time against them.
RB
Tyjae Spears (Tennessee Titans)
Tony Pollard left the Titans Week 15 loss to the Bengals after reaggravating his knee injury midway through the game. Spears ended up going HAM with 27.2 PPR points on the back of six receptions on seven targets good for 87 receiving yards and a score while also adding a rushing score even though he only had five rushing yards on four carries. The Titans play the Colts in Week 16 and if Pollard misses, Spears is set up for a massive role against a poor defense.
Jerome Ford (Cleveland Browns)
Ford is going to be thrust into a 75%+ snap share workload now that Nick Chubb has broken his foot. The Browns visit the Bengals in Week 16 and the issue here is we are unlikely to get a resolution to the Browns QB situation before the game, even though I predict it will be Winston over DTR. Any back thrust into a high powered offense in a losing script that gets air work against a bad defense is worth a start.
Kendre Miller (New Orleans Saints)
Another back thrust into a big workload this week due to a veteran RB getting hurt ahead of him in Kendre Miller. Kamara hurt his groin during the Saints Week 15 loss to the Commanders. I have Miller a bit lower than others because they face the Packers in Week 16, which is an awful matchup for Miller. He is worth a stash though for Week 17 if you get to the championship as the Saints will host the Raiders.
Sincere McCormick / Alexander Mattison (LV Raiders)
McCormick would be at the top of this list if it weren’t for him getting banged up a little bit in Week 15. If you are in shambles at RB and NEED a back with the above RBs taken, do your best to get both McCormick and Mattison on your roster. Whoever is healthy and the starting RB gets the Jaguars in Week 16, a premium matchup against a defense allowing the 2nd most PPR PPG to opposing RBs (27).
WR
Jalen McMillan (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Over the last two weeks McMillan is coming into his own. He has seen 13 targets, catching nine of them for 134 yards and three scores. He has a 85% route participation with a 25% target share and the best part is they get the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16, a game that I expect to turn into a shootout.
Jalen Coker (Carolina Panthers)
In his first action since Week 10, Coker saw an 84% route participation with a very generous 23% target share. The crux of this add comes from Xavier Legette getting hurt and is likely shelved for the rest of the year. The Panthers face the Cardinals in Week 16 and Coker should be out there for 90% of the routes with roughly a 20% target share.
Wan’Dale Robinson (New York Giants)
This one is tough but if you’re in a spot and need 10-12 from a WR, Robinson is your guy. He is still seeing a 21% target share with 7.36 TPG. The Giants travel to Atlanta this week and the Falcons are allowing the highest catch rate in the NFL (72.4%) and the 4th most PPR PPG (37.9) to opposing WRs. They just don’t really care about the underneath stuff and thats where the Giants live.
Elijah Moore (Cleveland Browns)
Keep an eye here because Moore isn’t usable unless Jameis Winston is starting. Moore is seeing 7.86 TPG with Jameis under center and I fully expect the Bengals to put up points against the Browns, pushing the Browns to throw at an extremely high clip. Mix in the fact Nick Chubb is out for the year with a Broken foot and this game will get crazy so having the ceiling that Moore offers is an edge.
TE
Brenton Strange (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Over last weekend, TE Evan Engram was put on the IR with a season ending injury. The next man up is TE Brenton Strange who proceeded to haul in 11 of his 12 targets for 73 yards, good for 18.3 PPR points. Overall he saw a 28% target share with an 84% route participation. The Jags face the Raiders in Week 16, a defense allowing the 5th most PPR points per game to opposing TEs this year at 15.4 a clip.
Dalton Schultz (Houston Texans)
The Texans offense is a bit broken but Schultz has still been pretty consistent. Since Week 5 he has a 77% route participation with an 18% TPRR and a target share 13% or better in all but one game. The next two weeks for the Texans come on short days’ rest, as they are one of four texans to play three games in a 10 day span. The next two opponents for the Texans are the Chiefs this upcoming Saturday and the Ravens on Christmas afternoon. Both of these teams have bled production to the TE with the Chiefs allowing the 4th most PPR PPG (15.6) to opposing TEs and the Ravens the 12th most (12.1) with the Chiefs allowing the most yards (69.7) and the Ravens the 6th most yards (57.3).
Juwan Johnson (New Orleans Saints)
The Saints are desperate at this point with Alvin Kamara likely to miss their Week 16 matchup against the Packers. This game is in GB and the Packers have allowed the 8th most PPR PPG (13.4) to opposing TEs. The early week line has the Packers as 13.5 point favorites so we should get a heavy dose of Rattler to Johnson in this one.
DST
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are hosting the Cleveland Browns who can’t stop turning the ball over. Either Jameis Winston will be under center and he has eight interceptions over his last three games or Dorian Thompson-Robinson will be under center and he sucks.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons defense hasn’t been good this year but they should present some chaos for whoever is under center for the Giants in Week 16. Whether it is Tommy DeVito, Drew Lock, or Tim Boyle, all three suck and all three will be in a lot of high pressure situations presented with turnover scenario after turnover scenario.
Jacksonville Jaguars
This one is a bit of a stretch but they will play Desmond Ridder in Week 16. That’s it, that’s the only reason.
