Waiver Wire Watch: Week 12

Nov 21, 2016

Editor's Note: We're happy to have Brandon Niles on the Waiver Wire Watch this year. He'll work in conjunction with Senior Editor John Paulsen to compile the weekly list of pickups and generate recommended prices for FAAB leagues.

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 (FAAB). 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.

Quarterbacks

Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers ($3)

Kaepernick had 209 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Patriots on Sunday, but he added 32 yards on four rushes, turning in a solid day overall. Kaepernick continues to put up reasonable fantasy numbers as a streaming option and should be a nice rental throughout the rest of the season, despite some difficult matchups on the horizon. Miami and Chicago are the next two teams on the schedule, who have both been surprisingly effective on defense the last few weeks, but Kaepernick should still be a quality QB2 or borderline QB1 due to his added running totals.

Next up: @ Dolphins, @ Bears, Jets

Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles ($2)

Wentz had 218 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of picks against a tough Seattle defense on Sunday. He threw the ball 45 times and struggled to finish off drives. Wentz still looks like he has long term potential and he should be owned in all dynasty and keeper leagues. Additionally, this week he’ll face a Packers defense for which I'm considering a position as a walk-on cornerback. The injuries they’ve suffered at the position have left them very thin and they just got torched by Kirk Cousins for 375 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday night. Wentz is my top streaming option this week and I’ll be using him in most leagues where I don’t have a consistent weekly starter.

Next up: Packers, @ Bengals, Redskins

Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins ($1)

I don’t like Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins have turned into a running team during their current five-game winning streak, but he’ll face the 49ers this week, which should make him streamable in most leagues. Only Cleveland has allowed more touchdown passes this season than San Francisco and Tannehill is developing more of a rapport with second-year WR DeVante Parker. He should be on your short list for cheap, one-week streaming options.

Next up: 49ers, @ Ravens, Cardinals

Sam Bradford, Minnesota Vikings ($1)

Bradford only had 169 yards and a touchdown on Sunday against the Cardinals, but he has a much easier matchup against Detroit this week, and should be considered a low-end streaming option as a result. Bradford only threw the ball 28 times on Sunday, but he had at least 40 attempts in three of the four previous games and the Lions have given up 22 touchdown passes this season, tied for fourth most in the league.

Next up: @ Lions, Cowboys, @ Jaguars

Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams ($1)

Goff had a rough first game against an emerging Dolphins defense on Sunday, throwing for only 134 yards in a loss. However, the Rams seem committed to letting him continue as the starter, and he has matchups against the Falcons and the 49ers in Weeks 14 and 16, giving him some sneaky sleeper potential as a streamer if he improves. If you’re desperate, this week is an interesting game to try him out, as the Saints allow more points to opposing teams than anyone other than the Browns and the 49ers this season.

Next up: @ Saints, @ Patriots, Falcons

Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens ($1)

Flacco is streamable this week against a Bengals defense that has allowed 19 touchdown passes this season. Flacco hasn’t been particularly effective this year, but he is averaging 37.9 passing attempts per game and is completing 62.5% of his passes. In a nice matchup, in a deep league, I’d considering grabbing the inconsistent Raven as a cheap desperation move.

Next up: Bengals, Dolphins, @ Patriots