Waiver Wire Watch: Week 12

Nov 23, 2015

Editor’s Note: We’re happy that 4for4 Contributor Pat Fitzmaurice (formerly of Pro Football Weekly) is back on the Waiver Wire Watch this year. He will continue to work in conjunction with Senior Editor John Paulsen to compile this list of the top pickups each week.

Here is a look at the top waiver wire pickups for Week 12. To be eligible for discussion, the player must be owned in 50% or fewer Yahoo leagues, though we’ll stretch the rules a bit for the RB position, which is usually very thin. We’ll also include suggested bid prices (with a $100 budget) for those leagues that use Free Agent Acquisition Budgets. Of course, player value depends on league characteristics and team needs. Players are listed by position in order of importance. For extremely shallow or extremely deep leagues, be sure to review our Rest-of-Season Rankings (updated every Tuesday) to get an idea of how to value players not on this list.

Bills QB Tyrod Taylor ($11)

Owned in 43% of Yahoo leagues entering Monday night’s game against the Patriots, Taylor has averaged 18.6 fantasy points over his first seven starts and has a manageable schedule over the coming weeks. The drawback here is passing volume. Taylor has averaged fewer than 20 pass attempts over his last three games, and the Bills prefer to take a run-heavy approach when they can. But of course, high-volume pocket passers don’t offer the sort of rushing value that Taylor provides.

Next up: @ Chiefs, Texans, @ Eagles

Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston ($11)

Held without a TD pass in his previous two games, the rookie ended the drought in a big way, lighting up the Eagles for five TD passes on Sunday. Winston completed 19-of-29 passes against Philly for 246 yards and did not commit any turnovers. With Vincent Jackson returning to action after missing three games with a knee injury, Winston once again has a worthy target to complement Mike Evans. Winston’s matchup against the Colts this week isn’t a bad one. He’ll face the hapless New Orleans pass defense in Week 14, so it might be worth grabbing Winston now and stashing him.

Next up: @ Colts, Falcons, Saints

Browns QB Johnny Manziel ($9)

Johnny F. Football might be the QB streaming play of Week 11 thanks to a primo matchup against the Ravens, and he might be playable some other weeks, too, including Week 14 against San Francisco. In his last start, Manziel had the best passing performance of his career, completing 33-of-45 passes for 372 yards, with one TD and one INT. He’s attempted a whopping 78 passes over his last two games, and he could provide a great deal of additional value as a runner. For all of the drama Manziel has been through since coming into the league, he might finally be ready to offer some value to fantasy owners.

Next up: Ravens, Bengals, 49ers