Welcome to the Fantasy Football Week 17 Waiver Wire pickups, where we give you the players to start immediately, stash at the end of your bench, and stream for a week or two.
Normally we’d provide you with an array of options. Now, we’re in the final week of the 2023 fantasy football season, meaning this will be your final crack at the waiver wire. No stashing will be necessary.
It’s time to win a championship.
Let’s dive deep into Week 16 and dissect the top fantasy football Week 17 Waiver Wire targets that’ll help you hoist your league’s fantasy football championship trophy.
Note: Roster % based on Yahoo leagues and should have roughly 50% ownership
FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 17 WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
FIRST CHECK: Tyler Boyd (55%), Joshua Palmer (45%)
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB Kansas City Chiefs (36%)
- Khalil Herbert, RB Chicago Bears (45%)
- Zamir White, RB Las Vegas Raiders (30%)
- KJ Osborn, WR Minnesota Vikings (17%)
- Rashid Shaheed, WR New Orleans Saints (44%)
- Demarcus Robinson, WR Los Angeles Rams (10%)
- Tucker Kraft, TE Green Bay Packers (19%)
- Gerald Everett, TE Los Angeles Chargers (42%)
- Derek Carr, QB New Orleans Saints (35%)
- DJ Chark Jr, WR Carolina Panthers (7%)
- Juwan Johnson, TE New Orleans Saints (12%)
- Joe Flacco, QB Cleveland Browns (33%)
A long, long time ago, we crowned Clyde Edwards-Helaire as a bonafide first round stud who would be the next great thing in fantasy. Although he busted hard and is now the RB3 on the Chiefs’ pecking order, he has a chance to win fantasy titles this weekend. Jerick McKinnon is on injured reserve, and Isiah Pacheco suffered a head injury on Sunday, which would give CEH the keys to the backfield. He would get workhorse duties against the Bengals in Week 17.
The Bears backfield has been a fantasy rollercoaster this season. One week, it’s D’Onta Foreman; the next week, it’s Roschon Johnson; and then the following week, it’s Khalil Herbert. Well, with Foreman excused from Week 16 for personal reasons, Herbert took the backfield back from Johnson and lit up the Bucs for 112 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Even if Foreman returns this week, Herbert should be the RB1 against the Falcons.
Drawing another start in the absence of Josh Jacobs, it was the Zamir White show for the Raiders. He racked up 145 yards on 22 carries against the Chiefs — totaling 14.5 fantasy points without a touchdown or any receiving work. Signs are pointing toward Jacobs returning, so White is a top wait-and-see stash for Week 17.
An injury to Jordan Addison thrust KJ Osborn into WR2 territory for the Vikings, and he capitalized with 5-95-1 on seven targets. Addison’s ankle sprain could hold him out again this week, and if that’s the case, it could be a monster game for Osborn and the Vikings’ offense against the horrific Packers’ defense on Monday night. The Vikings also lost TJ Hockenson to a season-ending knee injury, opening up even more targets for Osborn. He should be the top WR targeted off the waiver wire.
With the injuries to Saints receivers, Rashid Shaheed stepped up on Thursday Night Football. He used to be a touchdown-reliant boom-or-bust guy, but Shaheed saw great volume against the Rams and converted with 18 fantasy points. In a pivotal game with the Bucs up next, Shaheed should play another significant role for the Saints.
This Rams offense is hilarious because it’s super condensed between just a few players. Kyren Williams handles all RB duties, while Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, and Demarcus Robinson are the only true pass-catchers. That’s literally it. Robinson has taken that WR3 role in LA and turned into a touchdown machine, scoring four straight. He just has a knack for the end zone and is playing a full time role out there for 85+% of snaps the last three games.
All Tucker Kraft does is catch footballs. The Packers were without Jayden Reed and Christian Watson, so the rookie saw six targets, catching four for 60 yards. He has yet to find the end zone, but it’s coming, and it could happen this week against the Vikings. Dontayvion Wicks also left Sunday with an injury, meaning a ton of targets could be up for grabs on Sunday night for the rookie tight end.
Consistency has been the name of the game for tight end Gerald Everett over the last few weeks. He’s seen eight targets in three straight games with Keenan Allen out of the lineup. He hasn’t scored since Week 12, meaning he’s a bit due and gets the Broncos this week in a plus matchup that should produce a quality game script for the veteran pass-catcher.
Speaking of the Saints, Derek Carr is quietly balling out for New Orleans over the last few games (from a fantasy point of view). The Saints have basically given up, which has allowed them to flip the game script towards the passing game. As a result, he’s thrown three touchdowns in back-to-back games and that should continue against the Bucs’ abysmal secondary.
DJ Chark exploded this week, going 6-98-2 on eight targets. Bryce Young had his coming out party and the offense looked competent for the first time this season. They get a descending Jags team in Week 17, which was dismantled by Baker Mayfield last week.
Juwan Johnson has scored in two straight games while maintaining solid usage numbers and target share. The tight end spot is always tricky and Johnson could get the nod if the other two are not available.
Old man, Joe Flacco is balling out in Cleveland. He’s topped 300 yards passing in three straight games and has 10 touchdown passes in his four starts — truly incredible. However, he gets a very tough matchup in Week 17 against the Jets. If you’re truly desperate, trot Flacco out there for all the marbles.
