Welcome to the Fantasy Football Week 12 Waiver Wire pickups where we give you the players to start right away, stash at the end of your bench, or stream for a week or two.
Let’s look back at Week 11 and dissect the future prospects for the disgusting fantasy football Week 12 waiver wire.
Week 12 Bye Weeks: None!
Note: Roster % based on Yahoo leagues and should hover around 55% or less
WEEK 12 WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
START
- Latavius Murray, RB Denver Broncos (24% rostered)
- Treylon Burks, WR Tennessee Titans (20% rostered)
- Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR Cleveland Browns (45% rostered)
- Darius Slayton, WR New York Giants (51% rostered)
- Parris Campbell, WR Indianapolis Colts (40%)
- Juwan Johnson, TE New Orleans Saints (31% rostered)
- Demarcus Robinson, WR Baltimore Ravens (5% rostered)
Due to the scarcity of the position, Latavius Murray finds himself atop the Week 12 Waiver Wire pickups. The Broncos waived Melvin Gordon on Monday after a disappointing season and Chase Edmonds is out for the foreseeable future with a high ankle sprain. Murray had 17 carries on the day for 49 yards and a score and now he gets an increased workload. While the Denver offense hasn’t been great, Murray is the clear workhorse and goal-line back moving forward.
Still working his way back from injury, rookie Treylon Burks is showing why he was a first-round pick for the Titans. Despite only playing 50% of snaps, he made the most of them with seven catches for 111 yards on eight targets. The Titans offense isn’t very pass-heavy, but perhaps Burks’ return, along with a healthy Tannehill, can provide the spark this offense needs.
Another week, another productive game on the road for Browns receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones who scored his first touchdown of the year. DPJ has really stepped it up this year to give the Browns a reliable second-receiving option alongside Amari Cooper. While he’s already playing at a high level, DPJ’s ceiling will be raised even more once Deshaun Watson returns in two weeks.
Having one of the quieter productive seasons this year, Darius Slayton had double-digit targets this week resulting in five catches for 86 yards. The volume is solid, but he’ll be the most significant beneficiary of Wan’Dale Robinson’s unfortunate season-ending ACL injury. Those two led the Giants in receiving and the team has next to no options left at its disposal. Kenny Golladay (lol, jk) and Slayton are all they have left at receiver.
The return of Matt Ryan has been very good for Parris Campbell, with 15 targets over the last two weeks. Aside from Jonathan Taylor’s rejuvenation, Michael Pittman and Campbell are fantasy-relevant again under Matty Ice and Jeff Saturday. Campbell is a very viable WR3 or Flex moving forward.
Don’t look now, but Juwan Johnson is putting up weekly TE1 numbers in a position that offers very little consistency. Johnson has five touchdowns over his last five weeks as the Saints’ clear red zone threat. The target share isn’t massive, but he looks like this season’s Dawson Knox — a touchdown-dependent tight end who’s currently riding a hot streak. Outside of Chris Olave, Saints pass-catchers haven’t been productive since Andy Dalton took over for Jameis Winston.
With Rashod Bateman going on IR recently, a heavy slice of targets opened up in the Ravens’ offense. This resulted in Demarcus Robinson snagging nine balls for 128 yards in Week 11 against the Panthers. Mark Andrews has also been in and out of the lineup and Robinson has been able to take advantage of his new opportunity.
STASH
- Deshaun Watson, QB Cleveland Browns (48% rostered)
- Skyy Moore, WR Kansas City Chiefs (6%)
- Cam Akers, RB Los Angeles Rams (27%)
- Nico Collins, WR Houston Texans (27%)
- Jameson Williams, WR Detroit Lions (23%)
- Randall Cobb, WR Green Bay Packers (4%)
The extremely controversial Deshaun Watson is set to return in Week 13. There’s no denying Watson’s talent, as the Browns gave up a handful of picks along with crazy guaranteed money to land him. You don’t do that unless he’s special. Cleveland has the pieces on offense in place to be dangerous and he’s a great stash for those who are currently streaming quarterbacks.
The rookie out of Western Michigan saw his highest usage rate of the season thus far with the Chiefs’ receiver room in shambles. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman, and now Kadarius Toney are currently sidelined, which has opened the opportunity for Skyy Moore, the team’s talented second round pick. In his first real action of the season, Moore snagged five of six targets for 63 yards. We all know what his upside will be with Patrick Mahomes, especially with Smith-Schuster out with a head injury, Hardman on IR, and Toney out with yet another hamstring injury.
The Rams backfield is absolutely gross, but old friend Cam Akers had 16 carries last week. Is he reliable? No. Is he dust? Likely. Still, he has the potential to be a lead back and he isn’t the worst Hail Mary at this point of the season.
Texans receiver Nico Collins is showing some signs of life in a struggling Texans offense. The second-year man has 17 targets over his last two games and it looks like Brandin Cooks is now an afterthought after the team did not trade him at the deadline. Collins will be in positive game scripts with the Texans trailing in most games for the remainder of the season.
The Lions activated rookie speedster Jameson Williams off the PUP list, making him available to practice for the first time in his NFL career. The former Alabama stud caught 79 passes for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns last season before being drafted in the first round, despite tearing his ACL in the College Football Playoff national title game. The Lions appear to be playing it safe with him, but his elite lid-lifting upside could swing fantasy games if he gets on the field.
We know the chemistry that Randall Cobb has with Aaron Rodgers and it was proven again on Thursday Night Football in Cobb’s first game back off the IR. While Christian Watson found the end zone two more times, Cobb led all Packers’ wideouts with six receptions for 73 yards.
STREAM
- Samaje Perine, RB Cincinnati Bengals (9% rostered)
- Miami Dolphins D/ST vs Texans (25%)
- Kansas City Chiefs D/ST vs Rams (47%)
- New York Jets D/ST vs Bears (46%)
- Minnesota Vikings D/ST vs Patriots (33%)
- Carolina Panthers D/ST vs Broncos (3%)
Joe Mixon left this week’s game with a concussion, leading to a career day for Samaje Perine, who finished with three touchdown catches for the Bengals. Mixon will go through concussion protocol, but if he cannot suit up against the Titans then Perine will be the workhorse against the Titans.
