Note: With the trading deadline passed in most leagues, I’ve ended the Buying / Selling for the year to focus more on potential Waiver Pickups that may give you the boost needed to lock up that last playoff spot and load up for a run at the championship.
WAIVER PICKUPS
Matt Flynn QB GB (Owned in 3% of Yahoo! leagues)
USA Today's Tom Pelissero quoted Green Bay HC Mike McCarthy as saying Aaron Rodgers’ chances of starting are "slim to none“ and after replacing Scott Tolzien this past Sunday, Flynn should be in-line for next week’s start. The Packers have continued to sling the ball, averaging 43.7 passing attempts per game without Rodgers, which leads to a plenty of opportunity for Flynn versus a Detroit team that has allowed the 6th most passing yards (290.64 per game) and 11th most fantasy points (20.27 per game) to opposing passers.
Ryan Fitzpatrick QB TEN (9%)
Locked in as the starter for the rest of the season, Fitzpatrick has proven to be a more-than-capable spot-starter. In his last three games, he has averaged 269.7 yards and 1.7 touchdowns in the air, along with 21.7 yards and 0.7 touchdowns on the ground. If you’re a playoff team with troubles at the position, then he may be worth picking up now for his juicy Week 16 matchup alone, which is at Jacksonville. The Jaguars have allowed the 6th most fantasy points to QBs (22.27) and Fitzpatrick recently notched 27 fantasy points himself versus them in Week 10, ranking #5 at the position for that week.
Bobby Rainey RB TB (66%)
Although Sunday will be marked down as a disappointing afternoon for Rainey (35 yards on 18 carries), there was a promising sign from the game; he now seems to have a clear hold on the lead back role, meriting 18 touches on 38 snaps compared to Brian Leonard’s 2 touches on 16 snaps. Tampa Bay will face a stingy Carolina defense this week, but they have two enticing matchups remaining in which Rainey can be locked in as a strong RB2: Week 14 versus Buffalo and Week 16 versus St. Louis.
Montee Ball RB DEN (50%) / C.J. Anderson RB DEN (1%)
Mike Klis of the Denver Post has reported that Knowshon Moreno "will be questionable at best to play Sunday at Kansas City“ after suffering a "significant bone bruise" in his lower right leg. In Week 11 versus the Chiefs, with a healthy Moreno, Ball carried the ball 8 times for 25 yards and 2 touchdowns, while adding 3 receptions for 16 yards. Even in a tough re-match, Ball would have been a viable RB2, but his outlook is now muddled after his third lost fumble of the season led to being benched in favor of Anderson. Promising news is that after losing fumbles in back-to-back weeks earlier in the season, Bell still notched 8 carries in the following game.
Nevertheless, fumble issues are a cause for concern, which is why the lead back role for Week 13 is up in the air and Anderson should also be rostered. It’s also possible that Moreno misses a couple weeks in order to get back to 100% for the playoffs. Hopefully there will be more clarity later in the week, but the runner that does get the starting nod would be an RB3/Flex at worst during Moreno’s absence.
Bilal Powell RB NYJ (39%)
Chris Ivory had a nice stretch of games, but can now add another injury to his resume after suffering a sprained ankle this past week. He managed to stay in the game, but the injury may limit or even sideline him for Week 13. That would slingshot Powell back into the featured back role, which would lead to enough touches for him to be utilized as an RB3/Flex option this week against Miami.
Dennis Johnson RB HOU (11%)
Houston moved toward a “hot-hand” approach versus Jacksonville which resulted in a productive afternoon for Johnson; he totaled 74 yards in 13 rushes and 13 more yards on 2 receptions. It’s conceivable that he could grab the lead role from a banged-up Ben Tate and then become an RB2 as early as Week 14 in a rematch with the Jaguars.
Benny Cunningham RB STL (5%)
After Zac Stacy departed with a concussion this past Sunday, Cunningham stepped into the lead role and ended with 109 yards and a touchdown on thirteen carries. The week before, Cunningham also notched 90 total yards on 8 touches. Stacy remains questionable to play in Week 13 and if he's unable to play, Cunningham would merit enough touches to start as an RB2/Flex in a tough matchup versus San Francisco.
Miles Austin WR DAL (42%)
Austin only managed to pull in one of his three targets for 17 yards versus the Giants this past week, but was on the field for 50 of 68 snaps. In comparison, Terrance Williams only played 43 snaps. Dallas has a friendly stretch of games to end the fantasy football season (@CHI, GB, @WAS and PHI) and Austin has the opportunity to salvage WR3 usability during the year’s most important stretch.
Michael Crabtree WR SF (31%)
Adam Schefter recently reported that San Francisco will “activate WR Michael Crabtree off PUP today and he is expected to play Sunday.” Over Crabtree’s last eight games (including the playoffs), his production was Calvin Johnson-esque; averaging 6.9 receptions, 102.9 yards and 0.9 touchdowns. Those averages would project to 110 receptions, 1,646 yards and 14 touchdowns over a 16-game season. While regression from those numbers was already likely and you can’t expect him to pick up where he left off after such a long absence, he remains a potential difference maker. It’s possible that he will face off with Richard Sherman and then Darrelle Revis in Weeks 14 and 15, but will then take on a putrid Atlanta defense in Week 16.
Nate Burleson WR DET (25%)
After being sidelined for seven games with a broken forearm, Burleson picked up right where he left off, posting a 7-77-1 line on a season-high 72 snaps. He’s now recorded at least 6 receptions in each of the four games he’s played and makes for a very usable WR3, with a boost in PPR leagues, through the end of the season. It also helps that three of Detroit’s next four games are versus bottom-half pass defenses (Week 13 versus GB, Week 14 at PHI and Week 16 versus NYG).
Cordarrelle Patterson WR MIN (19%)
In the past two weeks, Patterson has seen his two highest snap counts (45 and 43 respectfully), as well as his highest number of targets (8 and 11 respectfully). He managed to reel in 8 of those 11 targets last week for 54 yards - each of those numbers being career highs. Currently limiting his potential is a low 8.6 yards-per reception, which is a product of his usage; 30 of his 45 targets on the season have been under 10 yards. Those in return-yardage leagues are probably well aware of his playmaking skills as he currently leads the NFL with 1,088 kick return yards and two of the three kick return touchdowns so far this year. Patterson's increased role now places him on the WR4 radar, especially in PPR leagues.
Justin Hunter WR TEN (1%)
After averaging only 17.2 offensive snaps in his first nine games, Hunter saw 41 snaps this past Sunday and secured all six of his targets for a career-high 109 yards and a touchdown. After the game, Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean quoted HC Mike Munchak as saying, "Hunter has earned himself even more playing time." A very bright future is ahead for Hunter and while he has WR1 potential, he should be viewed as an upside WR4 for the time being until he can surpass Nate Washington on the depth chart.
*All snap counts and targets in this article are courtesy of ProFootballFocus.com
You can find me on Twitter, @KyleWachtel, where I’d be happy to answer any of your questions.