Fantasy Football Week 12: Waivers
One more bye week and we’re back to full rosters. Four teams are off this week (Phi, Cin, Sea, Buf) so odds are you’re missing a starter or two this week. I’ve listed a few players owned in less than 60% of Yahoo leagues that could help this week or the rest of the season. All 3 of the players I told you not to pick up last week scored less than their projected fantasy points, so I’m going to keep the hot streak going and recommend a player at each position you should stay away from despite what some of the more popular prognosticators might tell you (6-6 last two weeks).
QB:
Jay Cutler CHI (37%): He’s out for at least this week’s Rams match-up, but the schedule is pretty favorable down the stretch as the Bears face bottom ten pass defenses in four of their last five games. Don’t worry about how well McCown is playing, the job will be Cutler’s when he’s healthy.
Max FAAB: $10
Joe Flacco BAL (54%): This one is a futures move as Flacco faces Minnesota (29th pass defense) in week 14 and Detroit (27th pass defense) in week 15. Those are playoff weeks in most leagues. If you have a QB with a tough match-up in those weeks (Kaepernick, Wilson) you might want to stash Flacco.
Max FAAB: $5
NO – Mike Glennon: Great week 11 line (20/23, 231, 2 TD), but 4 of his last 6 games are against top ten defenses.
RB:
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Bobby Rainey TB (29%): Well I got that one wrong. Like most, I thought stable (boring) Brian Leonard would get the bulk of Tampa’s carries, but Rainey was the man in week 11 with 30 carries for 163 and 3 TDs! Props if you picked the right back, if not spend whatever it takes to get Rainey.
MAX FAAB: $40
Shane Vereen NE (59%) – In two starts this year Vereen has 21 targets. He’s basically a WR at this point and has a ton of value in PPR leagues. I’m hoping Yahoo makes him eligible at the WR spot as they did with McCluster last year, but that is probably a pipe dream.
Max FAAB: $25, $35 w/ dual eligibility
Montee Ball DEN (37%): Looks like Ball is Denver’s goal-line back now. With that offense, that’s worthy of a roster spot even if Ball doesn’t get many other carries. He got some 3rd down back snaps and 4 targets in the passing game last week. It looks like Ball is gaining value just in time for the fantasy playoffs. Take a flyer on him if he’s still available in your league.
Max FAAB: $20
Donald Brown IND (27%): Fantasy owners might be dumb enough to keep starting T-Rich (52% of them at least), but the Colts coaches are finally figuring out that he blows. Donald Brown has been the better runner the last few weeks and almost doubled T-Rich’s carries last week (14-8). Expect this trend to continue and get Brown if you can.
Max FAAB: $20
NO – Rashard Mendenhall: The Colts coaches are starting to get it, but the Cards Bruce Arians is stubbornly sticking with Rashard Mendenhall as his primary running back despite averaging 1.1 YPC last week. 1.1 YPC! That lowered Mendenhall’s season YPC to 2.9. How long can a team stick with an RB averaging less than 3 yards per carry? Those are Curtis Enis numbers!