Waiver Wire Watch: Week 4

Sep 27, 2021

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Community. That’s a word often bandied about on Twitter to describe this odd little world we share online (and sometimes in person) to talk about our favorite “game about a game” — fantasy football. Like any community, ours has its ups and downs, as it’s capable of amazing things (see, Fantasy Cares), and it is also prone to infighting and petty rivalries. Overall, the fantasy football community is a weird but wonderful place. But it is also a place that will never be the same.

As some of you may have seen, over the weekend Mike Tagliere, aka “Tags,” passed away after a long battle with Covid-19. Tags was the lead writer and analyst at FantasyPros, with stops at Pro Football Focus (PFF), Rotoworld, and RotoGridners before that. He was an incredibly sharp analyst, a helluva fantasy football player/manager, a good writer, and a great talent on the mic in podcasts. Off the fake football field, he was a husband, father, friend, and overall amazing person.

The reason I’m filibustering the intro of this article with an ode to Tags is because his passing profoundly impacted this community. Search Twitter and see. But that’s not just because Tags passed away far too young from a pandemic we could be fighting better collectively as a society. It is because of the person he was, and how he acted and treated others within this community and outside of it.

Tags was such a hard worker and it showed, but he also knew that oftentimes hard work alone is not enough to elevate you in a competitive, crowded world like fantasy football. Sometimes you need a helping hand. Tags was always willing to extend that hand. To fellow analysts. To an up-and-coming writer. To someone in need. To anyone.

Tags was open, honest, caring, and inclusive, and those are some of the things I’ll remember most about him. His passing is tragic, but we shouldn’t dwell on the sadness his loss brings us. We should look at Tags' life and be thankful for all he gave in the time he had. All that he gave to his family, to his work, and to complete strangers who were a part of this community. As one Twitter user was wise to point out to me this weekend, the world is a better place for Tags having lived in it. Let us never forget that, or him.

We love you,Tags. You will be forever missed.

For more on how you can help the Tagliere family, click here.

Recommendations are based on a PPR-scoring, four-point passing touchdown, 12-team league, with roster percentages coming from Yahoo. Free agent budget recommendations are based on a standard $100 budget for the season. I try to mention when a player is a better streaming play (short-term/one-week starter) versus a long-term addition. Lastly, the great John Paulsen will edit this article every week and adjust rankings (and prices, starting next week), if necessary. Essentially, you’re getting two minds collaborating on this piece instead of one, so lucky you.