I'm going to be honest, waivers this week stink out loud. There were no major RB injuries, and even if there were, we've seen time and time again that backups just aren't getting the job done (looking at you Deandre, Devontae, and Alexander) other than Mike Davis. As far as receivers go, sure, you can say Chad Hansen is a stud because he had seven catches and 50 yards, but if you're in the semi finals, what are the chances he's someone you're even considering? That's what I thought. Because of this, the list is fairly short this week, consisting of players I'd only suggest if you're in a bind, but again, if you made it this far and since there were no major injuries this past week, then that shouldn't be an issue. So, with that being said let's take a look at what will be the eventual downfall of your squad in this week's waiver finds.
QUARTERBACK
Jalen Hurts - Philadelphia Eagles
Ownership: 17%
FAAB: $5-10
Waiver Priority: No
It looks like Carson Wentz's time as the starting QB in the City of Brotherly Love has come to an end, at least for 2020. This is great news for us fantasy players in need of some QB help down the stretch because we are now greeted by Lamar Jackson 2.0 in Mr. Hurts. I'm not saying he's on Lamar's level yet, but for fantasy, he's pretty damn close. In his first ever start against a defense that has been playing like one of the league's top units lately, JH went on to rush for 106 yards and add 167 and a tug through the air. He obviously isn't afraid to call his own number, establishing an extremely safe floor, but he also showed he will drop back and sling it, attempting 30 passes in a game where Philly was in control most of the day. With Arizona and Dallas up next, he should have an even easier time moving the ball downfield, as the combination of comfortability and inferior defenses will play largely to his benefit. It's not easy to have unwavering confidence in a rookie making his 2nd ever career start, but honestly, looking at the situation from an outside perspective, why wouldn't you? He can run and throw, and put that on display in a game where the Iggles were supposed to get dominated. The battle of the birds this week should feature two former Sooners running for about 200 combined yards and throwing for an even higher total, so I have the utmost confidence in Hurts this week and beyond.
Mitchell Trubisky - Chicago Bears
Ownership: 10%
FAAB: $3-5
Waiver Priority: No
If you don’t want to trust your team in the hands of Mitch during the fantasy semi finals, I don’t blame you. It’s never pretty, but as of late, he’s been fairly solid. He has now played five full games, and surprisingly, has totaled two or more scores in four of them. He has also benefited from playing the likes of Houston, Detroit (2x), and Green Bay, but all that should do is inspire confidence this week, playing another garbage secondary. The Vikings are no threat to shutting down the pass, even when an extremely mediocre QB is under center. I will say, he isn’t as appealing as he once was, adding value with his legs. That part of his game has seemed to vanish lately, logging 39 yards on the ground over his last three games, but if we’re being real, there’s only a handful of guys you can count on consistently picking up 40+ with their legs, so I won’t knock him for it. What I will say, though, is that I WISH he could still run because there’s always the chance he rides the pine midway through, which isn’t quite the case for the other streaming options. Because of that, he has the floor of prime Peterman, but pairs that with the upside of a top-5 play, which is basically what he was this week.
Philip Rivers - Indianapolis Colts
Ownership: 41%
FAAB: $3
Waiver Priority: No
For whatever reason, Phil Rivers has been going crazy. He’s not known for shooting blanks, so he presents a pretty safe floor once again for those in need of some QB help. He has yet to throw for less than two tuddies in any of his last four games, and has logged either multiple tugs or 300 yards in seven of his last eight. Within that span was a 285 and 2 outing against the Texans two weeks ago, and seeing as that’s who’s up next for the Colts, there should be no worries that he disappoints. You can argue that this will be a blowout where Indy leans on the run and keeps it out of Phil’s cold, dead hands, but that was the case this week, and the week before, and he still produced. I’m not saying he’s a top-10 play, but you could do a whole lot worse, and he should provide the ceiling of a QB1 performance and the floor of a high-end QB2.
Derek Carr - Las Vegas Raiders
Ownership: 47%
FAAB: $3
Waiver Priority: No
Monsieur Carr has thrown for 697 yards and five tugs over his past two weeks (and added a rushing tuddy this past week), and by the looks of who’s up next, that stretch of brilliance should continue. The Chargers are a joke, a joke I tell ya, and coming off a win, that’ll just work against them, letting their guard down once more. These two teams faced off a few weeks back, a game where Carr totaled two scores, yet disappointed with just a buck 65 through the air. Well, with the Raiders defense looking like cheese from Switzerland and Josh Jacobs not at 100%, DC is gonna have to go full marvel and turn into a monster. I don’t know the game total yet, but it’s gotta be at least 54, so have full confidence in streaming the gunslinger in what should be a back and forth affair.
RUNNING BACK
Lynn Bowden Jr. - Miami Dolphins
Ownership: 1%
FAAB: $5
Waiver Priority: No
There are literally no real running back adds this week, so what we are left with is a dual-designated player who has the designation we don’t want. Typically, you want a true RB to have WR designation because you’ll get RB touches in your WR or FLEX spot, which is extremely valuable, or you want a QB with TE designation to get QB production in the TE spot, but no. We get a low-volume WR that is RB eligible, making Lynn Bowden Jr. basically J.D. McKissic’s estranged brother. He did lead the team with nine targets this past week, turning that into a 7-82 line, which is nothing to scoff at, but at best, that makes him a desperate FLEX play. If Parker, Gesicki, or Grant miss time, which is possible seeing as they exited this past Sunday’s game, then there should be enough volume to feel not completely shitty about starting Bowden over a guy like Todd Gurley, but then again, Bill Belichick has a way with ruining rookie QBs, so there might not even be a pie for the pieces to be shelled out.
WIDE RECEIVER
Keke Coutee - Houston Texans
Ownership: 45%
FAAB: $5-10
Waiver Priority: No
Coutee followed up his 100 yard performance with a 20 yard outing, salvaging his day with a TD score. It’s ugly. So, so, so ugly right now in Houston, but he and Scott Hansen’s nephew are all that are left for Watson, and they get to play a defense that has looked terrible as of late in the Indianapolis Colts. Coutee actually had his breakout game a couple weeks back against Indy, so you can spin the narrative as they will have figured him out by now, or you can spin it as they have no answers for Keke. Whatever the case may be, all you can see KC as is a WR4/low-end FLEX option where you pray the game plays out the same way it did the last time these divisional opponents squared off. I’m not getting my hopes up for a low-volume, low-efficiency wideout in the semi-finals, but I know it can get a whole lot worse out there, so I won’t say he’s someone to overlook.
Nelson Agholor - Las Vegas Raiders
Ownership: 35%
FAAB: $10-15
Waiver Priority: No
Agholor has now commanded 35 targets over his past four games, totaling a 20-280-1 receiving line over that span. It’s nothing special, sure, but I’ll bet on the volume working itself out in this one playing a sorry ass Chargers defense. As I said with Derek Carr, this game should be an absolute barn burner, and with NA cementing himself as the clear #2 in LV, he should continue to flirt with double digit targets in week 15. As wild as it may sound, I’d consider him a mid-WR3 play this week in a quick Thursday turnaround.
Tim Patrick - Denver Broncos
Ownership: 28%
FAAB: $10-15
Waiver Priority: No
Aside from the Kendall Hinton game, Tim Patrick has logged either 61 yards or a tug in 8 of his last 9 games. It’s not an extremely high bar to clear, but at this point, he’s producing like a poor man’s Chase Claypool, or in layman’s terms, a WR3. I’m sure Tre White will get his fair share of Timothy Patrick this week, which may scare you off of him, but with Drew Lock not giving a single fuck who is playing defense, he’s still gonna target the 28 year old breakout star. The nine total targets over his last two outings may be a cause for concern, but you’re not starting TP for his floor. There’s always the downside of Lock having a Lock game, targeting Patrick six times with two being catchable, but on the waiver wire, there are very few options I’d rather turn to, let alone options with as high of ceilings as Tim.
Russell Gage - Atlanta Falcons
Ownership: 11%
FAAB: $10
Waiver Priority: No
With news of Julio possibly being shut down for the rest of the season, it looks like Russell Gage will be in line for a little more work in the coming weeks. Like Coutee, he’s a low-efficiency play, as he’s notorious for turning 11 targets into a 5-47-0 line, but at the same time, he has shown a solid rapport with Matty Ice and seems to challenge double digit looks every time he’s healthy and JJ isn’t. Over the past two weeks, the former LSU receiver has commanded 15 targets, and back in week 11, Gage was thrown at 12 times. His yardage outputs in these were a hilariously inefficient 58, 51, and 82 yards, but like I’ve said with all these waiver options, all you can hope for is either extreme upside or a safe floor. Gage is on the latter half of that dichotomy, as he probably has a range of outcomes spanning from 8.2 to 13.1 fantasy points, but if all you want is someone to count on at least not securing a donut in the semi finals, then go for it.
TIGHT END
Logan Thomas - Washington Football Team
Ownership: 57%
FAAB: $25-30
Waiver Priority: Yes
No matter who’s behind center, Logan Thomas seems to make his hay. For whatever reason, Thomas has operated as the top receiving option on the WFT over these last two weeks, totaling 15-141-1, putting Terry’s 4-38-0 to shame, and with McLaurin drawing all of the opposition’s top options defensively, Thomas continues to eat underneath. At the tight end position, all you want it target volume and/or TD upside, and LT brings both to the table. He’s an every week starter unless you have the likes of Kelce, Waller, or Hockenson, and should be mentioned in the conversation of guys like Tonyan and Hunter Henry. I’m sure the 57% ownership is due to dead leagues in Yahoo, but if for whatever reason he’s on the wire in your league, go out and grab him.
Cole Kmet - Chicago Bears
Ownership: 6%
FAAB: $5-10
Waiver Priority: No
See above. All you want is TD upside or volume, and in this case, it’s the latter. Over his last two games, Kmet has totaled 14 targets, topping out at 41 receiving yards, but his usage is trending in the right direction. He was underthrown on a walk in TD as well, which is both good and bad. It’s good because it shows that Mitch isn’t afraid of looking his way in the RZ, but it’s bad because, well Mitch is bad and that will be a likely occurrence weekly. Aside from the Trubisky slander, though, is the hope that the team continues to throw this week in a divisional game against the weak Vikings defense. He’s a high end TE2 play, which doesn’t sound enticing, but there are basically like 5 TE1s and about 20 TE2s, so in context, it isn’t as derogatory as it seems at face value.
D/ST
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (53%) vs Atlanta Falcons
Tampa Bay looked like a different beast this week against the Vikings, consistently pressuring Kirk Cousins and doing their best to shut down Dalvin Cook. Cook still managed to get his, but that shouldn’t be an issue this week, as ATL can’t run to save their lives. Matty Ice is gonna have to drop back and sling it, which should do nothing but provide opportunities for turnovers. He threw three picks last week against the Chargers, and objectively worse D than TB, so I expect a similarly dreadful game for #2 this week. If you’re chasing turnovers and sacks, which is what everyone should be doing, then there are very few picks better than Tampa this week.
Cleveland Browns (50%) vs New York Giants
Listen, I get it. The Browns could be frauds, and the G-Men could be decent, but I don’t care. Daniel Jones does not want to hold onto the ball, like, ever, and with Myles Garrett coming off the edge, those issues will be amplified. DJ got sacked 6 (!!!) times and fumbled thrice this past week against a mediocre Cardinals defense, so expect much of the same next week against a Cleveland D that’s tied for 12th in the NFL in terms of sacks per game (going into MNF).