Week 12 waiver wire: Michael Pittman Jr. is a star in the making

Entering Week 12, the waiver wire is slim on high-end options. As the fantasy football regular season nears its end, the players in your starting lineup are likely the ones you’ll be stuck with for the remainder of the season. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t continue to look for ways to improve your bench.

With that in mind, here are the top-10 waiver wire adds for this week.

QB Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints (43% rostered on Yahoo)

Last week, I wrote about Jameis Winston and how he was a great player to target on the waiver wire due to Drew Brees’ injury. Little did I know, Saints head coach Sean Payton was going to sneak one by me by electing to start Hill. The move worked out for both the Saints and fantasy managers, however.

Hill finished Week 11 as QB4 in fantasy football thanks to his ability to accumulate fantasy points on the ground. He rushed 10 times for 51 yards and two touchdowns, while also going 18-for-23 and racking up 233 yards through the air. The rushing upside alone is enough to make Hill a viable low-end QB1 in fantasy football. He matches up on the road with the Denver Broncos in Week 12, who are tied for allowing the 16th-most fantasy points per game to QB, but are surrendering the 10th-most rushing yards to the position.

WR Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts (44% rostered on Yahoo)

I first recommended Pittman Jr. prior to the start of Week 10 when he was just 7% rostered, and since then, he has been one of the best fantasy wide receivers. He’s tied for the 11th-most fantasy points at the position since and his 167 receiving yards are the 12th-most of any WR during that stretch. The Colts are an offense that likes to have many people involved as just this past week, 11 players had a reception, but it’s becoming clear that Pittman Jr. may be the most talented of the bunch. He should be viewed as a high-end WR3 in a juicy matchup against the Titans, who are conceding the sixth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers.

WR Curtis Samuel, Carolina Panthers (50% rostered on Yahoo)

A lot of people were quick to cut Samuel after his poor performance against the Buccaneers in Week 10, but those same fantasy managers will be rushing to scoop him back up this week.

With P.J. Walker under centre, Samuel hauled in eight of his 10 targets for 70 receiving yards and a touchdown. Since Week 7, he has the fifth-most fantasy points among wide receivers and leads all WRs with four red-zone carries. The Panthers, under head coach Matt Rhule and offensive coordinator Joe Brady clearly want to get Samuel the football, and I don’t see that changing. Samuel is a WR2 moving forward in fantasy football.

RB Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens (28% rostered on Yahoo)

By default, Edwards should have a solid fantasy football performance this American Thanksgiving against the Pittsburgh Steelers. On Monday, it was announced that Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins both tested positive for COVID-19, which leaves Edwards and Justice Hill as the only two running backs eligible for the contest.

Edwards has been a fine RB this season, ranking third amongst RBs in rushing percentage over expected. The workload he’ll likely see is enough to make him a RB2 in fantasy football this week despite a tough matchup against the Steelers, who are conceding the second-fewest fantasy points per game to the position.

WR Jalen Reagor, Philadelphia Eagles (28% rostered on Yahoo)

Since returning to the lineup, Reagor has established himself as Philadelphia’s No. 1 wide receiver, and that was made very obvious this past weekend. Reagor hauled in four of his five receptions for 52 yards. Although the statline isn’t eye-popping, this is: Reagor was the only wide receiver on the Eagles that recorded more than 10 receiving yards. Since returning in Week 8, he’s tied for first in targets (18), receptions (11) and touchdowns (1) on the team while solely leading in receiving yards (115), red-zone targets (8), and end-zone targets (3).

In Week 12, he draws the Seattle Seahawks, who continue to allow the most fantasy points per-game to opposing wide receivers in 2020. He works as a WR3 option in most fantasy formats.

TE Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys (21% rostered on Yahoo)

Schultz is rostered in under 25% of Yahoo fantasy football leagues and I’m not sure why. On the season, he has scored the 12th-most fantasy points among TEs, and now he has Andy Dalton, which adds some much-needed stability at QB. Over his past three games, he has accumulated 21 targets, which puts him in the top-10 amongst TEs during that stretch. With the position being as bleak as it is, Schultz should be on more rosters, he’s a low-end TE1.

RB Frank Gore, New York Jets (10% rostered on Yahoo)

Chances are you can do much better than Gore on the waiver wire. In the rare instance you can’t, let me humour you.

Jets rookie RB La’Mical Perine suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 11, likely sidelining him for the foreseeable future. You don’t have to give head coach Adam Gase a reason to use Gore, so this injury most definitely means Gore will be force-fed the football. His ceiling is likely what you saw in Week 11, as the veteran back rushed for 61 yards on 14 carries while adding two receptions for 10 yards. He’s an RB3 with minimal upside.

TE Jordan Reed, San Francisco 49ers (15% rostered on Yahoo)

There are a couple of decent tight ends available on the waiver wire this week, and Reed happens to be one of them. The threshold for what constitutes a decent tight end is extremely low, but Reed clears the bar. With George Kittle out of the lineup, Reed saw six targets in Week 10, which was tied for the third-most amongst tight ends that week. The 62 receiving yards he accumulated in that game were also the third-most at the position for the week. Against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 12, he’ll be a TE1.

WR Sterling Shepard, New York Giants (45% rostered on Yahoo)

Between Week 7-12, Shepard’s 31 targets were tied for the 12th-most amongst WRs in the NFL. His 219 receiving yards were the most on the Giants during that stretch, and his five red-zone targets led the team as well. Shepard functions as the possession receiver on the Giants, while WR Darius Slayton profiles as the deep-threat specialist. The target volume he’s seen since returning is more than enough to pace him as a WR3 for the rest of the season. In Week 12, he gets a plus matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, who are allowing the ninth-most fantasy points per-game to wide receivers in 2020.

WR Denzel Mims, New York Jets (5% rostered on Yahoo)

A favourite player of mine, Mims has been the Jets’ No. 1 wide receiver. Since making his NFL debut in Week 7, Mims leads the team in targets (24), receiving yards (217), red-zone targets (6) and end-zone targets (3). He has topped 40 receiving yards in each game he has played and posted an impressive 71 receiving yards in Week 11. He’s a budding young WR whose blend of physicality and speed make him a difficult cover for most corners. He’s a WR4 with upside as the season continues to roll on.

DST Stream of the Week: Green Bay Packers (33% rostered on Yahoo)

The Packers don’t have a great defense, not by any stretch, but their upcoming matchups will give them lots of fantasy appeal. In Week 12 specifically, the Packers host the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. It’s unclear whether it will be Nick Foles or Mitch Trubisky starting at QB, but really, that doesn’t matter. In Chicago’s last four games, the team has only eclipsed 20-points once and are averaging 19.1 points per game on the season as a whole, which is the second-lowest total in the league. In Chicago’s last six matchups against the Packers dating back to 2017, the team has averaged just 15.5 points per game. As December nears, weather will also be a factor at Lambeau, so the Packers’ defensive unit stands to benefit from the conditions.

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