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- Week 17 Waiver Targets
By: Tony Kneepkens (@tonytk44)
It’s Championship week! All of our draft planning, trading, and waiver activity over the season comes down to this. Depending on your league’s format, you might be playing for one of the top few spots or prizes, trying to win a consolation bracket, or playing to avoid a last-place penalty/punishment.
With nothing to play for in the majority of leagues past this week, you won't find any FAAB recommendations below as there is nothing to save or budget for into future weeks. I will continue to list waiver options by position and priority. As usual, make adjustments based on your own league’s specific settings.
These are the top players to consider adding from waivers this week. Unless otherwise noted, all players below are available in greater than 50% of Yahoo leagues (as of Sunday evening).
QB Pickups
Bo Nix (62% rostered, at CIN) and Anthony Richardson (59% rostered, at NYG) are the top streaming options for me, if available.
Michael Penix Jr., ATL, Week 17 at WAS
Penix made his first career start against an overmatched Giants team last week and appeared comfortable while moving the Falcons’ offense down the field and passing for 202 scoreless yards. The game got out of hand quickly and Kyle Pitts dropped a would-be TD directly into a defender’s hands for an INT, or Penix’s stats would have looked better.
Low-priority add. Penix is widely available and on the streaming radar this week playing at the Commanders on Sunday Night Football in a game with a respectable 47.5-point implied total.
RB Pickups
Trey Benson and/or Michael Carter, AZ, Week 17 at LAR
Starting RB James Conner injured his knee in the middle of a huge fantasy performance last week and did not return. Benson, this year’s third-round draft pick, sat out last week with an ankle injury, leading to Carter handling five carries and five catches for 48 scoreless yards in Conner’s absence.
Medium-to-high priority adds. Lots of moving parts here, including the Cards playing early this week on Saturday night, but if Conner is expected out and Benson is expected back, Benson becomes a top priority and potential starting option in all formats. If Conner or Benson’s status remains murky, Carter would be a lower priority for me than Benson, but he’s still an option to add and stash ahead of Saturday to see how this all shakes out.
Alexander Mattison, LVR, Week 17 at NOS
Mattison handled 16 touches for 56 yards and TD in last week’s win over the Jaguars, and he was also second on the team with seven targets. Teammate Ameer Abdullah handled 13 touches for 85 scrimmage yards and a TD of his own. New Orleans allows 4.9 yards per carry to its opponents, the second-most generous mark in the league.
Medium-priority add. Mattison is a journeyman back who appears to have the trust of his current coaching staff and his recent work in the passing game has been encouraging. Abdullah could, and likely will, steal some touches and series, but Mattison is the preferred add for me and is in the mix of potential Flex options to consider this week.
Gus Edwards, LAC, Week 17 at NEP
J.K. Dobbins (60% rostered), an early-season fantasy star, has had his 21-day window opened to return from IR and some reports indicate he could return as soon as this week. Edwards has operated as the team’s primary and short-yardage runner since Dobbins’ injury, with rookie Kimani Vidal seeing a few snaps or drives of his own.
Low-priority add. My first instinct after seeing Dobbins was cleared for practice was to stay away from this backfield all together, but the news people will be focused on is Dobbins-related and the Gus Bus can likely be picked up for cheap or for free. J.K. might not even be cleared to play this week or activated on game day, and if he’s not, you might have a sneaky volume-based Flex option for standard (non-PPR) formats in Edwards this week.
Some additional lower-priority RB adds to consider:
Patrick Taylor (SF) - Taylor is fantasy-relevant after playing all of the SF RB snaps last week, but he had just 25 scrimmage yards on nine touches. The team seemed focused on scheming plays to feed Deebo Samuel and/or Kyle Juszczyk out of the backfield and in the short passing game (vs. scheming RB touches) more last week than in previous games.
Kenny McIntosh (SEA) - Handled four RB touches last week, second on the team and more than teammate Zach Charbonnet. Starter Kenneth Walker left last week’s game with an ankle injury. Similar to the Michael Carter section of the Cardinals write-up above. Monitor injury/practice reports for updates.
WR Pickups
Hollywood Brown, KC, Week 17 at PIT (Wednesday)
Hollywood made his Chiefs debut last week and caught five of his eight targets for 45 scoreless yards, a successful return from his shoulder injury suffered in the preseason. His eight targets were second on the team.
Medium-priority add. Even in a down year for the Chiefs’ offense, eight targets from Patrick Mahomes is nothing to scoff at. He’s on the Flex radar in a standalone game on Christmas against the Steelers.
Jalen McMillan, TB, Week 17 vs CAR
The rookie WR has now scored in three straight games and had a solid 5/57/1 line in Sunday night’s loss to the Cowboys. He also nearly caught a second TD that was eventually wrestled away by the DB for a costly interception.
Medium-priority add. McMillan is a fine third WR or Flex option in a matchup with the division-rival Panthers. who are allowing over 385 yards of total offense to opponents, the second most in the league.
Some additional lower-priority WR adds to consider:
Romeo Doubs (GB) - Continues to lead GB WRs in snaps and routes when all options are available to them.
Kayshon Boutte (NEP) - Led the Pats with a nice 5/95/1 line last week and has six-plus targets in six of his past eight games.
Olamide Zaccheaus (WAS) - Had a massive 5/70/2 fantasy day in the Commanders’ wacky comeback win over the Eagles. He was afforded more opportunities after WR teammate Dyami Brown left with a hamstring injury.
TE Pickups
Chig Okonkwo, TEN, Week 17 at JAX
Chig has caught 17 of 21 targets (mostly) from Mason Rudolph over the past two weeks for 140 scoreless yards. Last week’s game was the most targets, catches, and yards he’s had in a game this season.
Medium-to-high priority add. As far as TEs go, Chig is a top priority, but I do prefer some of the RBs and the top two WR options to him this week, in a vacuum. Rudolph appears comfortable in the Tennessee offense and the Jaguars’ defense shouldn’t be an issue. Back-end TE starter/streamer for championship week.
Hunter Henry, NEP, Week 17 vs LAC
A regular in the TE space of this column all season, Henry had a solid 4/39/1 line in last week’s loss to the Bills. He continues to lead the Patriots in catches and receiving yards this year.
Medium-priority add. Chig’s recent volume and a better on-paper matchup gives him the nod for me this week, but Henry remains a great streaming option for those looking for some floor at the TE position.
DEFENSE (Top pickups for Week 17)
Dolphins (at Browns)
Colts (at Giants)
Chargers (at Patriots)
Saints (vs Raiders)