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It was a disappointing week for pretty much every one on my waivers list last week, but I guess that is why they are still on waivers this late in the season.
Most of my waiver picks from the last few weeks are gone in over 50% of Yahoo leagues, but there are still a couple of high-upside players out there, specifically WR Donte Moncrief and RB Latavius Murray. Moncrief’s snaps have been increasing every week and with the injury to WR Reggie Wayne, Moncrief should move into the Colts starting lineup. As for Murray, it is rare to have a starting running back owned in less than 50% of leagues this late in the season. He had 23 carries last week and is clearly the Raiders primary ball carrier. If either guy is still available in your league, go get him!
With little talent available on the wavier wire, it may be a better strategy to replace some of your depth with RB handcuffs. Not only could one of your starting RBs get hurt, but the bigger risk is them getting benched in week 16 / 17 to keep them fresh for the playoffs or to evaluate a young backup if their team is out of the hunt. Guys like RB Knile Davis, RB Carlos Hyde, RB James Starks, and RB Juwan Thompson could see an increase in snaps over the next few weeks.
Week 14 Injury Recap:
Cardinals RB Andre Ellington has been placed on the injured reserve which officially ends his season. There are a bunch of mediocre options in the Cards backfield, but with games coming up @STL, SEA, & @SF I don’t see any of them having much value. Bears WR Brandon Marshall is also out for the rest of the season with a rib injury, though he does have a replacement of interest in 2nd year WR Marquess Wilson who I’ll discuss in detail below.
A couple of WR2 types, Torrey Smith (foot) & Andre Johnson (head), are questionable this week but neither guy’s back-up is worth consideration for fantasy purposes. WR3’s Reggie Wayne (triceps) & Percy Harvin (ankle) also suffered injuries in week 14 and are most likely done for the season, but if you were counting on either player your fantasy season probably ended when the playoffs started.
WR Julio Jones, who has been unstoppable lately, suffered a hip injury in Monday night’s loss to the Packers, but little is known about the severity of the injury or whether it will effect his availability in week 15. Last season, WR Harry Douglass was a valuable fantasy commodity when Jones was injured and may be worth a bench stash in case Jones can’t go this Sunday.
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Every week on Tuesday, I will be posting my top waiver pick ups for the week. Only players owned in under 50% of Yahoo leagues will qualify. There are all sorts of leagues out there with different levels of competition and varying player pool depths, so I will have a few picks with under 50% ownership, a few under 30%, 15%, and at least one super sleeper under 5%. Most weeks I also be listing a few players that may be popular waiver adds that I think you should pass on (the Kevin Ogletrees) and I’ll give you my reasons why of course. If there are any players you have a specific question about feel free to hit me up in the comments or on Twitter.
Week 15 Waiver Wire:
WR Donte Moncrief, Colts (28%) – With so many receiving options on the Colts it’s hard to trust anyone outside of T.Y. Hilton, but Moncrief has so much talent that he only needs a few catches to put up a solid yardage total and a TD. With Reggie Wayne possibly out for the rest of the regular season, Moncrief could move into the starting lineup. If that happens, he’s not only worth owning, but worth a spot in your starting lineup.
RB Jonathon Stewart, Panthers (43%) – Rushed for 155 yards last week on an average of 7.8 yards per carry in what was the best game of Stewart’s 7-year career. Whether he can do it again or not next week is a big question mark, but he’s worth a roster add in case he does.
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RB Latavius Murray, Raiders (49%) – Finally was given the lead RB role last week with 23 carries, but could only manage 76 yards against the Niners stout run D. This week’s match-up against a Chiefs D, that just gave up 100 rushing yards to some guy named Kerwynn Williams, should be a little easier. I don’t see any reason for Murray not to get 20+ touches per game the next two weeks and is a high-upside flex play moving forward.
RB Chris Johnson, Jets (48%) – I’m not a CJ fan, but the Titans run defense is a sieve right now. Curtis Enis could probably rush for 75 yards against their D right now. The Jets have run the ball an average of 45.5 times per game over the last two weeks, so there is a good chance that Johnson gets enough carries to do some damage against a Titans D that gave up 131 yards to rookie Andre Williams last week.
RB Matt Asiata, Vikings (38%) – Rookie Jerick McKinnon was put on injured reserve last week which means that for now Asiata is the lead back for the Vikings. He got 22 touches this week and Teddy Bridgewater has looked good enough the last two weeks to avoid 8-man fronts the rest of the way. Plus Asiata still gets to face the Bears in week 17. Recently signed RB Ben Tate is a threat to take some carries from Asiata, so keep an eye on the carry split this week.
WR Marquess Wilson, Bears (2%) – Bears starting WR Brandon Marshall is out for the season, which means Wilson is moving into the starting lineup. If the last few weeks are any indication, the Bears will be throwing the ball a lot and Wilson is bound to get 5+ targets per week. Wilson has ideal size (6’4) and enough speed (4.51) to be dangerous if he gets enough targets. Stash him on your bench this week and keep an eye on his snap count this week
WR Harry Douglass, Falcons (7%) – With Julio Jones questionable due to a hip injury, Douglass could be moving into the Falcons starting lineup. Their offense has looked better the last few weeks, they have a WR-friendly matchup with the Steelers, and Douglass proved he could put up decent fantasy stats as the main target last year when both Jones and White were injured.
WR Marqise Lee, Jags (4%) – Has been Blake Bortles go-to WR over the last two weeks with 16 targets. The former 2nd round pick should continue to be a solid flex play in PPR leagues at least.
TE Jared Cook, Rams (28%) – I hate myself for having Cook on this list, but he had two TDs last week and new QB Shaun Hill might not realize what a waste Cook is yet. Basically every time I have started Cook over the last few years he has let me down, but he has a great match-up this week against the Cardinals who have struggled to cover TEs the last 2-3 seasons.
TE Mychal Rivera, Raiders (24%) – Has been inconsistent, but has at least 6 catches in four of the last seven games and 4 TDs over that same stretch. He’s not an explosive receiving option, but has good size (6’7) and QB Derek Carr seems to trust him.