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Welcome to the fantasy championship, fellas. You made it, or maybe you almost made it because there is one more game tonight.
Today, I'm going to be breaking down some of the biggest waiver wire adds for week 17. Of course, it's the last week of waivers, so it'll only be players that are relevant plays in week 17 fantasy football championships. We did have some injuries in week 16, so it's possible some of you guys are going to be going to the waiver wire for some pieces.
Let's get it started here with some uh players that are available in more shallow leagues. So, if you guys are in 12 leagues, they're probably not available. But double check your waiver wire for Michael Carter of the Arizona Cardinals. He saw 48% of the carries, 54% of the snaps, 52% of the routes. He is a flexible week 17 option against the Cincinnati Bengals. One of the easiest matchups for fantasy running back, so keep that in mind. He's a decent uh play this week if you needed one.
Chris Rodriguez, week 17 versus Dallas. Another very easy matchup for him. He saw 60% of the carries, 55% of the snaps, and most of the short down and distance goal line stuff as well. So if you need a touchdown or bust flex play, I do think Chris Rodriguez is not a bad one.
And then Blake Corum, again, more so in the event that Kyren Williams gets hurt throughout the week in practice or maybe pops up on the injury report, but he is a usable deep league flex option or an injury fill-in. For example, if you lost Quinshon Judkins or something, he does play on Monday Night Football in week 17 against the Atlanta Falcons. Probably not going to use him, but definitely needs to be rostered in case anything happens this week.
So, I'm going to go through a couple more running back plays, then wide receivers, then quarterbacks, then tight ends, defenses, and kickers.
Number one running back pickup here is Dylan Samson or Raheem Sanders, depending on the health of Dylan Samson, both for the Cleveland Browns. Of course, Quinshon Judkins goes down with what they're calling a fractured leg and also maybe a dislocated ankle. So, that's going to be a long road to recovery for him. The Pittsburgh Steelers is the week 17 opponent of the Cleveland Browns. They are 12th against fantasy running backs with uh Trevon Williams getting the receiving work and Raheem Sanders getting the rushing work when Judkins left the game. Those two guys would be in uh battle for the starting job if Judkins is out or when Judkins is out this week. But Dylan Samson could come back this week even though he hasn't practiced in a couple of weeks with a hand injury. If he plays, he's a legit top 24 to top 30 play at the running back position because of what he can do as a receiver. We saw all the way back in week one when Quinshon Judkins didn't play in that game. He had like eight targets or something like that. Did not practice all week last week because of that hand injury though. So, he is the preferred option if you can pick him up and stash him um in case he plays this week, but Sanders is probably the better option for the immediate likelihood that he plays because it is possible that Samson won't be back out there.
Um, moving into my number two running back pickup, that is Emanuel Wilson versus the Baltimore Ravens. They are 22nd against fantasy running backs. Um, of course the quarterback situation is up in the air with Green Bay because Malik Willis has a shoulder injury. Jordan Love suffered a concussion on Saturday. He should have enough time to clear the protocol and I should I I think it'll be uh likely that he does play, but concussions are not one of those things you can play through. You either clear the protocol or you don't. And Josh Jacobs, of course, didn't practice all week, was questionable coming into the game. Really came down to the wire of inactives whether he was going to play or not. He probably won't practice again all week this week. So, you got to hold Emanuel Wilson just in case. Jacobs misses, but of course, as I always talk about, Josh Jacobs is nails. He's one of the toughest running backs in the league. He'll probably continue to play. But speculative add on Emanuel Wilson in case he doesn't.
Jah Jordan of the Houston Texans going up against the Los Angeles Chargers this week. They're 15th against running backs. They're on the road. Two straight top 24 weeks in relief of Dameon Pierce, who was ruled out late on Sunday morning. He's probably going to be back this week if I had to guess because he was so close to playing this week in this game is really crucial. But if he isn't, Jah Jordan 65% of the carries for 15 of them and he had five targets. So 20 total opportunities with Pierce out. Definitely an option to stash just in case, especially if you are the one who rosters Pierce. I think I would be okay holding another bench spot for Jah Jordan.
And also just stash any handcuffs if you have any extra bench spots open in case some midweek uh injuries happen to like Saquon Barkley or whatever. Make sure Tank Bigsby is rostered. In case Christian McCaffrey or Jonathan Taylor get banged up tonight, uh, make sure to roster Brian Robinson, Amir Abdullah, and so on.
Uh, moving into the wide receiver position, if you need a wide receiver play, it's not very great this week. I would say if it's like a flex decision, you're probably better off with a tight end or a running back.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba versus the San Francisco 49ers. They're 18th against fantasy wide receivers. He could be out yet again with the ankle issue, but if he is back, two top 26 scoring weeks at wide receiver in week 14 and in week 15, 27% target share in week 15 before leaving early.
Number two, Parker Washington versus the Indianapolis Colts. They are 30th against wide receiver. So, a very good matchup for him, but the snaps and the routes have been a bit hard to trust here because even though he's been really good, especially this week, he was a top three wide receiver on the week. Quietly a top 36 wide receiver five of his last eight games. The three he wasn't were low route and low snap shares which has been kind of unpredictable with the addition of Jacobe Myers in the last five or six games or whatever it's been.
A.D. Mitchell my last wide receiver pickup here. They're facing the New England Patriots this week at home. They're 24th against fantasy wide receivers. He's hard to trust because of what Bryce Young is, but a 25% target share since landing with the New York Jets is very solid and the Pats are exploitable against wide receivers. Keep an eye out tonight and you can actually probably free this guy right now in your league on Josh Downs because he played a season-high 89% of the routes in week 15 with Philip Rivers and he's gotten like five or more targets in a couple of games in a row. You could probably free Adam him, stash him because against Jacksonville next week, that's a game environment where they're probably going to have to throw and depending on how Rivers looks tonight, maybe you could actually trust Josh Downs as a flex option next week.
Moving into the quarterback position, we have Jacoby Brissett at the Cincinnati Bengals. They are 31st against fantasy quarterbacks. Brissett finally had a down game, but it wasn't even really his fault. When he had the opportunities to throw the ball, he played well. It's just that they never had the ball against the Falcons. They ran the ball so well that the possessions in the second half, I think the Cardinals only had the ball like three times in the second half of this game. This week, he has the Bengals. And the Bengals, as we know, are terrible against tight ends, which is the best weapon of the Cardinals offense. And they have Marvin Harrison and Michael Wilson back healthy as well. Well, so Jacoby Brissett clearly one of the best adds at the quarterback position. If you need a starter, he's going to be like a top 8 to 10 quarterback probably in my rankings this week.
Trevor Lawrence versus the Indianapolis Colts. Since their bye week in week eight, the Jaguars' QB2 in points per game. Only one non-top 12 scoring game in that stretch. Both of these guys, Brissett and Trevor Lawrence are the premier streamers and he both of them will be top 12 to 15 quarterbacks in week 17 for me. He gets the Colts who are league average against quarterbacks.
If you need to dig deeper, Tyler Shough versus the Tennessee Titans is not a bad one. They're 27th against quarterbacks and he's been a top 15 scorer in five of his last six games and actually looks pretty good. So Tyler Shough, if you need an add for a deeper add cuz maybe you lost Mahomes or whatever the case is, you can definitely go and pick up him.
And also, if you guys are in Dynasty Superflex leagues, probably, but just Dynasty Superflex leagues in general, Josh Johnson could start for the Commanders this week instead of Marcus Mariota. So, make sure to go pick up him, especially in baseball formats, cuz they play the Cowboys, which is the easiest quarterback matchup in the league, and it wouldn't be shocking to see Josh Johnson hit your lineup with like a 20-point performance. So, if you're in a baseball league, especially, go and pick up Josh Johnson.
Uh, streaming tight ends, Cole Kmet is my number one versus the 22nd ranked San Francisco 49ers in this game with Cole Kmet coming in banged up. No, no, uh, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, 82% of the routes, a 17% target share. It's going to depend on Smith-Njigba and Odunze's health. how much we trust Cole Kmet in week 17, but if either of them are out, I would say he's a pretty good top 12 to top 15 start.
Number two, Tucker Kraft versus the Indianapolis Colts. They're 26th against fantasy tight ends. He's hit or miss target-wise. Sometimes you get four, sometimes you get eight from him. Um, but the Jags and Lawrence are playing super well, and the Colts are an easy matchup.
Number three tight end pickup is Darren Waller versus the 24th ranked Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Five targets versus Cincinnati usually results in a lot more than what it resulted in for Waller, but he has Tommy DeVito starting at quarterback. It's tough. The Bucs are exploitable versus tight ends. In theory, he's usable in a pinch, but if you don't trust a Tommy DeVito target in the fantasy championship, I don't blame you.
If you need to get deep and disgusting here, Taysom Hill led the team with 12 carries. That was more than Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams had combined. He also had six targets in this game and a passing touchdown. So, I mean, for whatever reason, and it looks like Chris Olave's out for the season, it looks like Rashid Shaheed could be out for this game yet again cuz he's still not practicing. Taysom Hill could be a usable tight end option for you in week 17 with this type of usage if he gets couple of targets, couple of carries, and throws a pass or two. We're talking about a floor at tight end that doesn't really exist because most people don't get that much work at this position. So, if you need a streaming tight end, I don't think Taysom Hill is really bad option to be honest with you against the Tennessee Titans as well. That's a very easy matchup for him.
And then moving into the defense and kicker rankings here. These are just preliminary. I'll update these in matchups that matter in a couple of days.
New England at New York Jets is my number one defense for the week. They are starting Bailey Zappe yet again. Denver at Kansas City with uh Chad Henne. I can't remember his name to be honest. South Dakota State undrafted free agent quarterback is all I remember about him. Houston Texans at Los Angeles Chargers. Um, tough matchup, but it is the Houston defense. They've been relatively good for fantasy. Of course, they had a pick six last week for Stingley there. Pittsburgh at Cleveland, Detroit at Minnesota. That will be against Max Borger most likely depending on J.J. McCarthy's health because they do play on Thursday if I'm not mistaken. New Orleans at Tennessee. Will Levis obviously you can pick on him. New York Giants at Las Vegas, you can pick on the Raiders offense. Green Bay versus Baltimore potentially without Lamar Jackson. Tampa Bay at Miami with Baker Mayfield starting most likely. Dallas at Washington probably with Josh Johnson starting.
Those are the top 10 defenses, top 10 kickers. Brandon Aubrey, Jake Moody, uh Cameron Little, Ka'imi Fairbairn, and Jason Myers closing out my top five. Eddie Pineiro, Cameron Dicker, Chase McLaughlin, Evan McPherson, and Jake Bates closing out my top 10.
So, those are the QB pickups, the tight end pickups, defense, kickers, running backs, wide receivers, everything you guys need to know to set your lineups, bolster your lineups in week number 17 for the fantasy championship. Good luck to everybody tonight who has a Monday Night Football sweat. Me personally, I am hoping that Tyler Higbee doesn't have a good game so I can get out of the toilet bowl and the Flock league. I already made the championship in my home league. I put up a league record 200 points this week. Listen to redraft league. It looks like I'm going back to the championship after having won it last year. I beat Danny. He needs like 60 points from JT and Jauan Jennings, which probably won't happen. Made two other championships in Dynasty. Could make another couple more, I think, up to like five or six if things break right for me tonight. And also, it looks like I'm going to be in the Great Dane final in week 17 uh for potentially 25K up top, assuming Alec Pierce doesn't have 23.38 half PPR points tonight, which is a big game from Alec Pierce, especially in half PPR. So, we're sweating. Alec Pierce, Tyler Higbee, I think a couple of my Dynasty Leagues. I can't have Josh Downs or Jonathan Taylor go off. So, that's what I need tonight. Let me know what you guys need down below in the comments. Good luck. Hopefully, you make the week 17 final. And good luck to all of you and welcome to all of you who already have. It's going to be an absolute cinematic movie. Peace out. I'll talk to you soon.