Waiver Wire: Week 16

We are here with our Week 16 waiver wire adds. I hope you are still in in the playoffs. There were certainly some surprises this week, including New York Jets picking up a win that means they are going to lose out on the top pick.

Each week I am going to look at players to use that have lower ownership percentages (lower than 50%). I’m going to be using the rostered percentages from Yahoo leagues, as it’s easily publically available. These are players that I’m looking to pick up from the waiver wire for Week 16.

Each of my adds are ordered by their rostered percentages, rather than their priority.

Jalen Hurts (PHI, 38% rostered)

I might be a week late on the add, but hey, he is still available in a lot of leagues. Hurts might well have forced Wentz out of Philadelphia. Since coming in he has really helped the offense find it’s feet, and this week he faces the Dallas Cowboys. That isn’t the strongest unit in the league. With Hurts’ rushing upside, he is a fantastic add.

Tua Tagovailoa (MIA, 21% rostered)

Tagovailoa reversed the Patriots reign in their division and their streak of playoff appearances. Miami have truly found the leader of their offense. The way the offense has been hit with injury is incredible, but Tagovailoa can still be fantasy relevant- as we saw with his RZ rushing.

Mitchell Trubisky (CHI, 13% rostered)

Trubisky is likely to pass through waivers, because of the name. Bt I wanted to give him credit. If you starter suddenly gets hit with an injury in the week, you could do worse than him. The Bears offense is ticking nicely, and next they have the Jaguars.

Honorable Mentions

  • Andy Dalton (DAL, 13% rostered)
  • Drew Lock (DEN, 12% rostered)
  • Dwayne Haskins (WAS, 2% rostered)

Honestly, you aren’t reading this in need of a RB. If you were you are out of the playoffs surely? But you could be wanting to avoid a Toilet Bowl trophy, or simply to block your opponent.

Tony Pollard (DAL, 45% rostered)

Pollard is going to be the player mentioned in every column you read this week. Ezekiel Elliott was unable to play for the team on Sunday, thrusting Pollard into the starting role, and he ran with it. At this point I’m not sure Pollard will start against the Eagles, but if there is a chance of grabbing a starting RB at this stage of your season you should do it.

Salvon Ahmed (MIA, 34% rostered)

Ahmed returned to the lineup on Sunday, running for 122 yards and a TD- great work. This week the Dolphins face the Raiders, who have struggled against the position all season. Ahmed is going to be worth an add this week.

Frank Gore (NYJ, 24% rostered)

The year is 2040 and Frank Gore is still playing. He won’t be, but that’s what it feels like. Gore is worth flex consideration at least, due to the volume that he gets in the offense. I also think it would be typical 2020 to see him on Championship rosters. I mean he doesn’t look explosive, does he!?

Honorable Mentions

  • Carlos Hyde (SEA, 25% rostered)
  • Sony Michel (NE, 19% rostered)

Michel is maybe worth consideration as a featured player, but it’s the situation that I don’t know how the team will approach the Buffalo game. Or even if they’ll be forced to take Michel out if Buffalo get ontop.

Keke Coutee (HOU, 41% rostered)

Coutee caught a TD which was great, as it saved his fantasy day. But let’s not kid ourselves, the Colts are a great defense. Also no one really expected David Johnson to decide that he was the offense. I can’t see that repeating against the Bengals, so pick him up.

Lynn Bowden Jr (MIA, 27% rostered)

Bowden is one of the only fit players left on the Miami roster, and as a result, is being featured in the offense. Pick him up, as he has some fantasy relevance against the Raiders- especially in deeper leagues.

Russell Gage (ATL, 24% rostered)

Gage was again very relevant, with Julio Jones out of the lineup. That is going to be the same for the rest of the season, but this matchup isn’t ideal. Kansas City should be able to get on top of the offense, but Gage is worth adding in deep PPR leagues.

Honorable Mentions

  • A.J. Green (CIN, 36% rostered)
  • Allen Lazard (GB, 32% rostered)
  • Gabriel Davis (BUF, 9% rostered)
  • Alshon Jeffery (PHI, 6% rostered)

Jordan Reed (SF, 21% rostered)

I’ve only really got oen add this week, as there are loads of guys that I’m just meh about. However, Reed scored one TD and was close to scoring another. If he had managed it, he would be getting huge write-ups, despite the matchup this week against Arizona. Reed is a red zone weapon, and at a position that is so reliant on scoring, you could do worse than his threat.

Honorable Mentions

  • Austin Hooper (CLE, 48% rostered)
  • Dalton Schultz (DAL, 19% rostered)
  • Cole Kmet (CHI, 12% rostered)

Arizona Cardinals (34% rostered)

The Cardinals unit was unable to stop Hurts too much, but they were still there on offense. Clocking up six sacks, and forcing a safety. Against San Fransisco, a unit that has struggled with turnovers and QB protection, the Cardinals should be able to pressure them.

Los Angeles Chargers (29% rostered)

The Chargers defense has been a bit frustrating, as they are giving up big plays which is really hurting them. But, this week they have Drew Lock to worry about. The Broncos offense is just not a unit to worry about and is prone to turnovers. Pick them up for the final push.

Honorable Mentions

  • Washington Football Team (34% rostered)

Only one kicker this week at the moment, as I want to see some more news from the week first. But the guys in consideration are in the Honorable Mentions.

Tyler Bass (BUF, 46% rostered)

This Buffalo offense is rolling, and part of the is the ability of Bass to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Buffalo’s offense has looked great, and they fully deserve their division title. Bass could suffer from the only kicks he gets are PATs, but the Patriots should be able to force a few stops.

Honorable Mentions

  • Mason Crosby (GB, 43% rostered)
  • Greg Zuerlein (DAL, 40% rostered)
  • Robbie Gould (SF, 32% rostered)
  • Chris Boswell (PIT, 19% rostered)
  • Mike Nugent (ARI, 1% rostered)

So those are our waiver wire adds for Week 16. I’d certainly expect a number of them to end up in my start/ sit article later this week, and in my weekly rankings, which will be as soon as I take in the action tonight.

Image Credit:  Bill Streicher – USA TODAY Sports