Waiver Wire Watch, Week 16: Where it’s Tim Tebow time!
Welcome to an abbreviated version of the Waiver Wire Watch. It’s Week 16, and most fantasy teams have been eliminated or on cruise control, so instead of listing virtually every player available on the waiver wire, I’m just going to highlight a few players at each position that might be able to help fantasy teams in Week 16. As always, I’m going to limit my scope to those players available in at least 40% (or thereabout) of ESPN leagues. I’ll put the player’s percentage-owned next to their name.
Let’s start with the quarterback position, where I still find it amazing that Josh Freeman (69.8) is still available in 30% of leagues. Not only has he been very consistent this season, but he has a great matchup with the Seahawks in Week 16. I suspect he’ll be in my Top 12 when my rankings come out on Wednesday…Ryan Fitzpatrick (31.3) has the Patriots at home this week, and barring a snow storm, that’s shaping up to be a pretty good matchup. New England showed on Sunday night that its pass defense still leaves something to be desired…David Garrard (46.4) had a strong game against the Colts and has a terrific W16 matchup with the Redskins’ porous pass defense…Need a deep sleeper? Both Tim Tebow (4.0) and Rex Grossman (0.3) have nice matchups with the Texans and Jaguars, respectively. I wouldn’t trust either guy over a more established option, but if you’re desperate, you could do worse. These are some bad pass defenses we’re talking about.
At running back, things are pretty thin, as usual. Ryan Torain (66.6) will be flirting with a Top 10 ranking this week given his matchup with Jacksonville…Tashard Choice (17.8) bounced back from a disappointing W14 outing against the Eagles with 15 carries for 53 yards and a TD against the Redskins. He should get a similar workload against the Cards in W16…Donald Brown (64.2) had a breakout game against the Jaguars, and the Raiders have had trouble stopping the run this season…Rashad Jennings (15.7) gained 64 yards through the air in W15 and figures to be involved against a struggling Washington run defense…Maurice Morris (4.6) doesn’t have a great matchup, but he got starter’s touches in W15 and produced 109 rushing yards and even found the endzone…Toby Gerhart (6.5) will probably be back in a backup role in W16, but if the Vikings decide to rest Adrian Peterson again, he could make some hay against the Eagles.
At wide receiver, there are probably a few players out there who can help. Vincent Jackson (68.5) and Big Mike Williams (66.1) are obvious choices with favorable matchups…Davone Bess (25.2) came up big in PPR formats last week and has another pretty nice matchup with the Lions in W16…Anthony Armstrong (3.3) had his first 100-yard game of the season against the Cowboys and should be able to have a nice day against the Jags this week…I mentioned David Nelson (0.1) last week and he went out and caught three passes for 61 yards and a TD against the Dolphins. I’d expect a similar line against the Pats this week…Mike Thomas (21.2) has been relatively quiet lately, but with the Redskins up next, he might have a big game…Blair White (5.1) figures to get some of Austin Collie’s targets and is a fingers-crossed start against the Raiders this week…Josh Morgan (2.6) seems to be coming on. He has 10-188-1 over the last two weeks and has a good matchup with the Rams’ pass defense this week.
At tight end, both Aaron Hernandez (56.0) and Rob Gronkowski (37.3) have a chance to put up some numbers against the Bills, who have struggled against opposing TEs this season…Owen Daniels (47.4) looks pretty good since coming back from injury, and has nine catches for 136 yards over the last two weeks. His matchup with the Broncos is favorable…Jimmy Graham (1.8) has been a little hit or miss this year, but he had two TDs last wek and has gone for 72+ yards and/or a TD in four of his last six games.
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