NFL Waiver Wire: Week 16 Pickups

Week 15, 2018, likely will go down as one of the worst fantasy playoff weeks in history with stud player after stud player falling far short of expectations. It made for a chaotic week in fantasy football as guys like Damien Williams, Justin Jackson, Derrick Henry, Josh Allen and Chris Carson led their fantasy squads to victory over teams with Adam Thielen, Aaron Jones, Saquon Barkley, Phillip Lindsay, Josh Gordon and JuJu Smith-Schuster, to name a few. This week there are some obvious and not-so-obvious pickups, the latter for those playing Week 17. Good luck this week and this column will have it's final publication of the season next week.

If there are questions about the players mentioned or in general, feel free to hit up the comments section.



This column is geared toward "standard" 12-team leagues and based upon a $100 free-agent budget. Please, please adjust for your league based on both the number of teams (I'm in a 24-team league, for example) and budget. 

RUNNING BACK

Primary Targets

Jamaal Williams, GB - Aaron Jones crushed his owners Sunday, exiting with a right knee injury now labeled as an MCL sprain. Jones suffered a similar injury late last season. Williams did an excellent job in relief of Jones against a stout Bears defense, finishing with 97 yards from scrimmage including a 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Out of playoff contention, the Packers likely will go easy with Jones, who probably has played his last game this season. That would put Williams in for a big workload the final two weeks for Green Bay, which has a nice schedule playing the Jets and the Lions. There's no reason to save money now, and it's likely Williams' would be a nice contributor as a flex play to most playoff teams. Williams is the top waiver option this week. FAAB: $25-plus

Kalen Ballage, MIA - Most fantasy owners remember Ballage as a preseason, late-round lottery ticket as Frank Gore/Kenyan Drake insurance, while best-ball owners threw a dart at him in the final 2-3 rounds. It was a bit odd to see the Dolphins turn to Ballage rather than Drake once Gore went down Sunday, considering Ballage came into the game with eight carries all season. Ballage looked like the real deal on the first play after the half, outrunning the defense for a 75-yard touchdown. He finished with 12 carries for 123 yards. It would seem he'll be in line to handle the bulk of the workload with Gore out for the season and Drake will continue to have his change-of-pace/score a touchdown on the last play of the game role. Note that a full workload isn't guaranteed for Ballage after Drake complained about his role after the game, and Brandon Bolden is still lurking in the shadows. FAAB: $25-plus

Secondary Targets

John Kelly, Justin Davis, LAR - Todd Gurley is dealing with a knee injury that briefly took him out of Sunday night's game and is considered day-to-day. Justin Davis is nursing his own injury (shoulder) and his status is uncertain. That leaves John Kelly as the healthiest running back for the Rams. With the Rams possibly being locked into a playoff seed after the early games Week 17, it's possible they give Gurley an extra week of rest and look to their backups to shoulder the load against the 49ers. These guys could potentially have a lot of value in leagues that count Week 17, and there's the slim possibility Gurley misses this week. FAAB: Kelly $3-$6, Davis $2-$4

Hail Mary

Dave Williams, JAC - The Jaguars have little reason to push Leonard Fournette at this point especially if his bothersome foot is again giving him trouble. Williams got some work in Sunday, finishing with five carries for 32 yards after toting the rock only once all season entering the game. It's kind of telling that Carlos Hyde was a healthy scratch, and Jacksonville could decide to give Williams an audition for the backup role over these last two games. The seventh-round pick out of Arkansas is 6-foot-0, 224, and considered a big bruising back who is familiar with a pro-style offense after playing at Arkansas is last season in college. FAAB: $1-$2

Brian Hill, ATL - Hill should get an opportunity in the last two games now that Ito Smith's season is over after suffering a knee injury. Hill was a 2017 fifth-round pick and has spent time with both the Bengals and Falcons. The final two games have the Falcons matched up with Carolina (average run defense) and Tampa (bad run defense). Tevin Coleman should get most of the work out of the Atlanta backfield, but Hill could get 30-40 percent of the touches. FAAB: $1 or $2

WIDE RECEIVER

Primary Targets

Robert Foster, BUF - Foster appears to have taken over the No. 1 wide receiver role for the Bills, totaling 438 receiving yards and two touchdowns in his last five games (87.6 receiving yards per game). Those numbers do not include some long pass interference calls he's drawn as well. Foster has the pedigree, as he was ranked the No. 2 wide receiver coming out of high school. He chose to go to Alabama where he put up pedestrian numbers, largely due to battling a shoulder injury and playing in a run-first offense. At 6-2 he has 4.41 speed, and it's not a coincidence that he's been reunited with his one-time offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, in Buffalo. Stephon Gilmore and potentially Xavien Howard (knee) likely will shadow him over the final two games, which make for tough matchups but he has shown good chemistry with Josh Allen. FAAB: $15-$20

Robby Anderson, NYJ - Anderson found the end zone for the second straight week, and it's probably not a coincidence that he has 18 targets in those two games both with Sam Darnold under center. He has two good matchups for his final two games at home this week against the Packers and then heading to New England in Week 17 in what could be a game that doesn't mean much to the Patriots (as far as playoff seeding goes). Anderson is typically the fastest player on the field and has had no trouble getting behind defenses when his quarterback has had time to throw downfield. FAAB: $15-$20

Secondary Targets

John Ross, CIN - There's a good chance Tyler Boyd is done for the season after sustaining an injury against the Raiders on Sunday. This means there will be increased touches for Ross, Alex Erickson and Cody Core. Ross has the most upside of the trio given his pedigree. He's scored touchdowns in four of his last six games. Jeff Driskel isn't about to start throwing for 300-yard games, but someone from the Bengals' receiving corps will get targets, and Ross is the best player to target out of the group. FAAB: $4-$8

DEFENSE

Secondary Targets

Tennessee Titans D/ ST - Tennessee gets Washington at home this week and, by default, Josh Johnson. While Johnson didn't turn the ball over in his first start, he led the offense to only 260 yards from scrimmage and 16 points. The Titans appears to be hitting their stride defensively at the right time, blanking the Giants last week after holding Jacksonville to nine points the week before. They're the preferred defense off the waiver wire this week as a 10-point favorite in a game with an over/under of 37. Unfortunately, they're also a coin flip as far as their availability, owned in 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. FAAB: $3-$6

Miami Dolphins D/ST - Miami is in a great spot this week at home and against the Cody Kessler-led Jaguars. Jacksonville has all but given up on this season as it's down to its second-string quarterback who has thrown for 57, 240 and 150 yards in his three starts this season. He's thrown one touchdown pass over that span and now Leonard Fournette is dealing with a foot injury. This pick depends on league scoring, as it's tough to imagine the Jaguars putting up too many points. FAAB: $2-$4