Bjorn Yang-Vaernet examines which players on the waiver wire are worth prioritizing for Week 16 and highlights others to stash preemptively.
Welcome to the fantasy playoffs! I am wishing everyone the best of luck in their matchups, whether it’s to move on to the next round or avoid the last-place punishment. In terms of the waiver wire, I am going to be more selective and only highlight players that I believe can be started right off the wire or have very-high contingent upside. Because there is no “next week” in this period of the season, stashing talented players that don’t have a clear path for a league-winning workload is not as useful — e.g. Kadarius Toney. Instead, I am much more focused on volume and matchups. The pickups below should reflect this change in my mindset.
The waiver wire is one of the most important pieces of season-long draft leagues. It is the easiest way to acquire new players and every year there are gems to be found. The goal of this article will not only be to highlight which weekly breakout players to prioritize but find others to preemptively pick up before the breakout happens.
This article will be published once on Mondays with a quick run through my favorite pickups and again on Tuesdays with more charts and data points added in.
This article will only reference players that are less than 50% owned in ESPN leagues. The players are categorized by position group and within each group is the order of how I would prioritize them. In lieu of free agent acquisition budget percentages, which are highly dependent on the makeup of each league, I have highlighted which players I would prioritize on the week.
Quarterback
Jared Goff (Available in 52% of Leagues)
As expected, Jared Goff struggled in Week 15 against the top-ranked Jets’ defense. Goff who had a pair of 300-plus pass yards and two plus TD games entering the week, threw for 250 yards and one TD vs the Jets. However, Goff is a strong pickup for the next two weeks — Week 16 (at Carolina) and Week 17 (vs. Chicago). The Jets are able to disrupt most offenses because of their strong defensive line combined with their two stud cornerbacks. In contrast, the Panthers and Bears both don’t have elite groups at either of those positions. I would expect the Lions to have much more success against those defenses. I feel comfortable using Goff as a starter in any league during these next two important weeks.
Brock Purdy (Available in 77% of Leagues)
Brock Purdy is not a very high-upside pick, but he does carry a fairly solid floor in the San Francisco offense full of playmakers. In Purdy’s two starts and in one full game in relief of Jimmy Garappolo, he produced games of 14.3, 21.7, and 16.5 fantasy points (standard ESPN league scoring). A rushing TD fueled the game with more than 20 fantasy points.
Purdy has a low risk of failure and in the next two games, the 49ers play a Washington team that filters opponents to the pass and a porous Las Vegas defense. In all likelihood, there are better QBs on the waiver wire in most leagues, but in leagues where managers hoard QBs, Purdy is a decent starting option for those streaming at the position.
Running Back
Jerick McKinnon (Available in 60% of Leagues)
Jerick McKinnon is becoming the preferred RB for Andy Reid and the Kansas City offense during the last two weeks. In the last two weeks, McKinnon has played on 57% and 62% of snaps. Although McKinnon splits snaps with Isiah Pacheco, he has a far more valuable workload — earning more targets (17 total targets in Weeks 14 and 15) and playing in the red zone. McKinnon is an RB I feel comfortable playing straight off the waiver wire and has the potential to be a league-winner if Pacheco’s touches get limited because of injury or performance (he was briefly benched after fumbling in Week 15). Kansas City plays Seattle and Denver in the next two weeks, defenses that are either bad (Seattle) or most susceptible to production on the ground (Denver). The Strength of Schedule Streaming App ranks this schedule as the second best for RBs during these two weeks.
