Fantasy Football ‘24: Waiver Wire, Week 16 (playoffs, round 2) edition

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 16. Congrats to all who either had Byes into Week 16 or advanced out of Week 15. Two more wins and it’s time to hoist a trophy. For those whose fate hangs in the balance with the two Monday night games (I’m there also), good luck! And for everyone else, well, there’s always next season, and now you can finish your holiday shopping in peace.

If you lost your matchup because Jonathan Taylor decided to do a Malachi Corley impression and crossed the plane without the football, yeah, that sucked, but it was worse for the Colts, who would’ve gone up 20-7 with that TD and who desperately needed a win to have realistic playoff hopes. OK, maybe it was still worse for you. Why does this keep happening?

If you read this column last week, you know that I’m going with a different approach through the fantasy playoffs. Stashing players is less of a concern or priority at this point. It’s about fielding the best starting lineup, so you can advance. My focus throughout the fantasy playoffs is mainly on players who can help you right away. With that said, if you’ve been streaming at PK and/or D/ST (or even QB or TE), I advise looking ahead to Week 17 and getting what you need or want right now.

Note that I’m writing this column BEFORE the TWO Week 15 Monday night games (CHI@MIN and ATL@LV).

Some players discussed won’t be available in your league. I try to list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10-team league with six bench spots will have a much larger Free Agent pool than a 14-team league with eight. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.” By way of example, I won’t list Bo Nix, Drake Maye, Zach Charbonnet, Sincere McCormick, Adam Thielen, Rashod Bateman, or Hunter Henry, among others who probably aren’t available in any of your leagues.

WEEK 16 BYES: NONE

Week 16 Waiver Wire

Quarterback: If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably set at quarterback, and there’s at least a 50% chance that you’ve got a stud or semi-stud QB who got you here. However, a lot of leagues allow or even require two starting QBs, and that could be a problem in Week 16. Three QBs were benched in Week 15 (and at least two or three others should have been). Week 15 was a turnover fest and a study in terrible QB play. On top of that, a couple of QBs left their games with injuries, including Patrick Mahomes, who is supposed to play twice in the next nine days, and Geno Smith. So, as we head into Week 16 waivers, a handful of NFL teams have an uncertain situation at QB for Week 16, and that could include at least two of the teams playing on Monday night.

So where does that leave us? Well, once again Drake Maye (@ BUF, which has allowed 86 points and seven TD passes the last two weeks) and Bo Nix (@LAC) are options if available, which they probably aren’t in 2-QB leagues, but they might be if you need a potential replacement for Mahomes. Here are a few other quarterbacks who you might be able to grab and who should be OK (or more than OK) in Week 16.:

Aaron Rodgers (vs. LAR), Russell Wilson (@BAL, but he needs George Pickens back), Cooper Rush (vs. TB), and Bryce Young (vs. ARI). Also, whoever starts for the Raiders at home against the Jaguars has streaming appeal, and hopefully after Monday night we’ll have more clarity on who that might be. And if Kirk Cousins plays OK on Monday night and keeps his job for another week, he’s a candidate for a good game at home against the Giants.

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Running Back:

Jerome Ford. The Nick Chubb comeback never got on track and now he’s out (again), with a broken foot that will end his 2024 campaign and possibly his time with the Browns. Enter Ford, who came into the game and promptly scored a long TD. Ford has filled in admirably for Chubb before, and this offense can score when Jameis throws to his own team. Use whatever FAAB you have left on Ford, as it’s rare for a quality and somewhat proven RB to get this kind of opportunity at this point in the season.

Kendre Miller. Alvin Kamara was forced out of action (groin) this week and for the second straight week, Miller ran hard and looked good once given the chance. Even with the quarterback struggles, Miller will have nice value down the stretch if Kamara misses games, which seems likely. If you can’t get Ford, Miller also rates as a priority add. The schedule is decent the next two weeks (@GB, vs. LV).

Tyjae Spears and Kenneth Gainwell. Tony Pollard and Saquon Barkley both left their Week 15 games for stretches. Both backups played well when called upon (Spears scored twice). I’d especially recommend them if you roster the starter.

Others: Here is my updated weekly list of running backs to grab if you need depth with upside (and I like them more or less in this order): Tyler Allgeier, Jaleel McLaughlin, Tank Bigsby, Ray Davis, Jr., Braelon Allen, Patrick Taylor, Kimani Vidal, and Blake Corum.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Wide Receiver:

There are no real headliners here. Jalen McMillan has scored thrice in the last two weeks and is running more routes from the slot. He isn’t Chris Godwin but this Liam Coen/Baker Mayfield offense is prolific and I don’t think his recent production is fluky. Thrice is a real word, by the way.

Romeo Doubs returned to action after missing two games with a concussion and scored twice. But we’ve seen it all year: You cannot trust any receiver on Green Bay in any given week. Still, if you’re stuck he’d be my second choice at wide receiver for this week.

Hollywood Brown is likely to return this week. You’d have to be pretty brave to pick him up and plug him in right away and especially with Mahomes iffy at best for Saturday’s game vs. the Texans. But if you have the space you could stash him and see what happens in advance of Week 17. The players listed below are safer if you’re stuck and need a plug-in for this week.

Others to consider: Tim Patrick, Quentin Johnston, Demario Douglas, Elijah Moore and Cedric Tillman (assuming he is set to return), Devaughn Vele, Joshua Palmer, Keon Coleman, Jalen Coker, Alec Pierce, and Ray Ray McCloud.

Tight End:

I’ll give you three names this week: Stone Smartt, Brenton Strange, and Noah Gray. Beyond those, and if you’re in a jam, are Mike Gesicki, Ben Sinnott and Grant Calcaterra.

PK and D/ST Streamers, Week 16 (ranked outside the Top-12 for the season):

PK: Y. Koo (vs. NYG), D. Carlson (vs. JAC), T. Bass (vs. NE), C. York (vs. CLE), M. Gay (vs. TEN).

D/ST: ATL (vs. NYG), ARI (@CAR), GB (vs. NO).

That’s all I’ve got. Good luck with your waiver claims!

***This column appears each Monday right here at Big Blue View. Each Thursday, my weekly fantasy preview with my rides, fades and sleepers (start/sit) appears here, and on Fridays you can find my weekly Giants Props of the week, also right here. ***