Mike Hubbard Jr here, welcome back to my weekly Waiver HUB. Follow me on Twitter (@FantasyHubbard) and Instagram (@fantasyhubbard) for all things fantasy football throughout the season. Feel free to tweet me or message me on either social media with any comments or questions you might have regarding fantasy football.
The first week of the fantasy playoffs is almost over following tonight’s 2 NFL games. Week 16 starts on Thursday with a matchup between the 9-5 Tennessee Titans and the 8-6 San Francisco 49ers. SF has won 5 of their last 6 games and travels to Nashville to take on the Titans who have lost 3 of their last 4. The line favors the visiting 49ers by 3.5 points and an over/under of 44.5. Both teams are currently in the playoffs if the season ended today but both could be on the outside looking in depending on other teams’ situations and results. The Colts are fighting with the Titans atop the AFC South while the 49ers are fighting with both the Rams and Cardinals in the NFC West. I am expecting a lot of rushing attempts by both teams but QB play might be the difference in a win or loss for both teams. Garoppolo has looked very good recently and Ryan Tannehill simply has not. I also believe the pieces around Jimmy G including Deebo, Aiyuk, and Kittle are superior to the Titans pieces that includes AJ Brown coming off the IR and Julio Jones who hasn’t scored or stayed healthy. My bold prediction is a 49er win by a score of 31-17. Jimmy G throws for 250+ yards with 2 passing TDs and maybe a rushing TD of his own. Kittle and Deebo have great games and Eli Mitchell/Jeff Wilson should be able to move the ball.
Fantasy football playoffs are underway so now is a pivotal time to make your most strategic moves and prepare for fantasy greatness. If injuries and performance weren’t hard enough to predict and plan for, we can add COVID to the list so now is another chance to hit the waiver wire and get impactful players. Another week gone, another opportunity to make your team stronger and advance your way to that league trophy and an offseason of bragging rights.
Below are my waiver wire priorities this week. Go get available players to help your chances at winning the championship. Good luck this week and remember to check back every week to stay informed on who you could target off of waivers.
TOP PRIORITY OF THE WEEK
Ronald Jones – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Leonard Fournette left week 15 with a hamstring injury. He had 67 total yards before his exit including 7 receptions on 7 targets. Jones took over as the Bucs primary RB and looked like the 2020 RB that almost broke 1,000 rushing yards last season. Jones got 8 rushing attempts and cashed them in for 63 rushing yards. He also caught both of his targets but for just 8 receiving yards. Fournette is expected to miss at least 1 game making Jones great value in week 16 when he faces the Panthers. The Bucs are embarrassed after a shutout loss in week 16 and need to have a statement win before the actual NFL playoffs begin. Brady does throw a ton, but he also feeds off of his RBs energy and makes sure they have great opportunities to move the ball downfield. Pick up Jones and monitor Fournette’s health prior to week 17s fantasy championship.
Quarterbacks
Tua Tagovailoa – Miami Dolphins
Tua is owned by 54% of ESPN owners while Yahoo has him 47% owned. That means he might be available to you and has a decent week 16 matchup with the Saints and a fantasy playoff championship week 17 game against the Titans. The Dolphins throw the ball at a high rate per game that is top 10 in the NFL. Tua should have Waddle, Gesicki, and Parker all playing with him and they won’t want to snap their current win streak. If for some reason your QB is struggling or not guaranteed the start, Tua is my favorite option on the waiver wire as an emergency replacement.
Running Backs
Justin Jackson – Las Angeles Chargers
Justin Jackson rushed for 86 yards in week 15. Austin Ekeler is rumored to be affected by the COVID list this week which is still uncertain if he is going to play or not. Pick up Jackson in the event that Ekeler can’t go against a lousy Houston defense. Monitor Ekeler throughout the week and have Jackson on your roster ready to start just in case. Jackson has bursts of speed and can complement LA’s offense.
Samaje Perine – Cincinnati Bengals
Samaje Perine finished his week 15 with 30 rushing yards on 4 carries and 13 receiving yards on 2 receptions. Joe Mixon was struggling with injury late in week 15 and it’s unclear if the worries are serious or not. If Mixon was to miss a fantasy playoff game, Perine would be in line for a start against Baltimore. Mixon put up 59 rushing yards and a TD against the Ravens earlier this season. Follow the Mixon injury updates closely and scoop up Samaje especially if you are a Joe Mixon owner.
Duke Johnson – Miami Dolphins
Duke Johnson came out of nowhere in week 15 to lead all NFL RBs in fantasy points. Tua and Gaskin combined for 17 carries for 73 rushing yards. Duke saw 22 carries for 107 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs, and even caught his single target for 20 receiving yards. I don’t know if Myles Gaskin was feeling confident as RB1 for Miami, but Duke Johnson surely has the coaches, players, and fans attention after dominating the Jets. It is the Jets though, and their next game is in New Orleans. Could be a sneaky play for the 2nd round of fantasy playoffs but proceed with caution. Not ideal to have multiple RBs who can be fantasy relevant on the same team and also not ideal to try to run on the Saints. If you can stash Johnson and make it to the championship, he could be in line for another great performance against the Titans.
Ronald Jones – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Leonard Fournette left week 15 with a hamstring injury. He had 67 total yards before his exit including 7 receptions on 7 targets. Jones took over as the Bucs primary RB and looked like the 2020 RB that almost broke 1,000 rushing yards last season. Jones got 8 rushing attempts and cashed them in for 63 rushing yards. He also caught both of his targets but for just 8 receiving yards. Fournette is expected to miss at least 1 game making Jones great value in week 16 when he faces the Panthers. The Bucs are embarrassed after a shutout loss in week 16 and need to have a statement win before the actual NFL playoffs begin. Brady does throw a ton, but he also feeds off of his RBs energy and makes sure they have great opportunities to move the ball downfield. Pick up Jones and monitor Fournette’s health prior to week 17s fantasy championship.
Wide Receivers
Gabriel Davis – Buffalo Bills
Gabriel Davis has scored in 3 consecutive weeks giving him 6 receiving TDs this season, heating up at the perfect time of the season. Emmanuel Sanders wasn’t able to play in week 15 giving Davis additional snaps and volume. He shined catching 5 of his 8 targets for 85 receiving yards and found the endzone 2 times. Davis has caught 5 passes in back-to-back weeks after reaching 4 receptions in just 1 game this season. Davis has a tough matchup with the Patriots in week 16 but keep in mind that Davis had 30 receiving yards and a TD against them just 3 games ago. Even with a fully healthy offense, any Buffalo player is a threat to produce/score with Josh Allen behind center, as we have seen clearly with Davis.
Amon-Ra St. Brown – Detroit Lions
Amon-Ra St. Brown is continuing to put everyone on notice. He has been overlooked by most all season long being a 4th round rookie WR on a rather bad Detroit Lions team. He has succeeded this season quietly but has really turned it on since week 14 and has gotten a lot of attention. Could a Lions rookie WR really be a good play in fantasy playoffs? We have already seen a lot of random booms and busts this past week so why not? Amon-Ra has a great matchup with the Falcons next weekend following by a game with Seattle in week 17. The rookie has commanded 35 targets in his last 3 games ending up with 26 receptions for 249 receiving yards and 2 TDs. The Lions have now won 2 games this season and St. Brown scored in both of those games. With TJ Hockenson on IR, Amon-Ra only needs 18 receiving yards to lead the team in targets, receptions, and receiving yards this season.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling – Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers looks phenomenal almost every single week and can easily use any WRs or any pass catchers to get production and wins. MVS and Allen Lazard are 2 WRs for Green Bay that are clearly behind Davante Adams on the depth chart but ahead of everyone else since Randall Cobb was lost for the season. MVS is the guy who can answer the question: what have you done for me lately? Well, MVS has caught 16 of 31 targets for 291 receiving yards and 2 TDs in the last 4 weeks. Only Adams has been better which is expected from a top tier WR. MVS will continue to make an impact through the air against the Browns on Christmas day and then in week 17 against the Vikings.
Russell Gage – Atlanta Falcons
I’m back to talk more about Russell Gage after yet another great performance. Gage is having a really nice 5 game span of stats for the Falcons. Calvin Ridley has not returned to football, Kyle Pitts hasn’t been the star everyone was immediately expecting, and Cordarrelle Patterson has been more involved as a RB than a WR lately. All situations that have led to Gage production. Russell caught 8 of 11 targets in week 15 for 91 receiving yards and a TD. In his last 4 games, Gage leads the team in every receiving category including almost 350 receiving yards. Gage should look to shine for another week when they take on the Lions, but then have a tough matchup with the Bills in week 17. Gage and St. Brown could put on a show against each other in week 16.
Tight Ends
Ricky Seals-Jones – Washington Football Team
Ricky Seals-Jones is currently questionable and is hoping to play the Eagles tonight in a Tuesday night football game due to COVID rescheduling. If Ricky is healthy and plays, he is a great target for the 4th year undrafted QB Kyle Allen. If he was to miss the game, then John Bates would be an every down TE for Washington. Monitor Seals-Jones tonight and determine if he is worth adding to your team in these final 2 fantasy playoff weeks when he would face the Cowboys and then the Eagles. Heinicke is expected to play in those 2 games as well.
Gerald Everett – Seattle Seahawks
Gerald Everett is 1 of the few TEs still available in most leagues that could impact your fantasy team in week 16 and week 17. Tonight he plays the Rams in another Tuesday night football showdown due to COVID. He could struggle tonight with LA’s defense, but also could surprise since most attention should be on DK Metcalf and Lockett is not going to play. In week 16 he gets the Bears and in week 17 he gets the Lions. Everett hasn’t been a consistent TE at all this season, but he has 6+ targets in 3 of his last 5 and has scored a TD in 2 of his last 3 games.