Thomas Rawls’ explosive performance and high ceiling makes him the top waiver pickup ahead of Week 12

Week 11 was a bad week for running backs. Marshawn Lynch potentially could have a season-ending sports hernia, Justin Forsett broke his arm, Charcandrick West tweaked his hamstring and Devonta Freeman was knocked out of Sunday’s game with a concussion. Like I said, not a great day for RBs. Fortunately, ownership levels for the aforementioned players are relatively low, meaning there’s an opportunity for a potential RB1/RB2 to be had off the waiver wire.

We’re at that time of the season where every move can have a major impact. Whether you’re a dynasty player or in a redraft league, there are options on the waiver wire that could prove helpful for more than just the upcoming week. Making decisions with waiver claims can be difficult, so we’ve asked our featured experts to rank their top waiver pickups ahead of the deadline.

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Featured Pros

Justin Boone – theScore
Jon Collins – Fantasy Sports LR
Zach Greubel – Gridiron Experts
Adrian Pereira – eDraft
Eric Moody – FFLockerRoom

Waiver Wire Rankings (Standard Scoring)

Week 12 Waiver Wire Advice

Each expert was asked to share the reasoning behind their waiver rankings as well as what D/ST they like as a rental for Week 12. Here’s what the experts had to say.

Q1: Give us your thoughts on a waiver wire target (or two) you especially like as a pickup.

Justin Boone – theScore
“At this point in the season, your bench should be filled with backup running backs who have a chance to emerge as impact fantasy players if their starter goes down. Thomas Rawls and Buck Allen are the most recent examples of how this can pay off. Ahmad Bradshaw (great playoff schedule), Tevin Coleman (Devonta Freeman dealing with concussion), and Spencer Ware (Charcandrick West banged up) are all more valuable than low-ceiling receivers like Leonard Hankerson. However, if you have a need at WR or TE, Devin Funchess and Crockett Gillmore are the players to target.”

Jon Collins – Fantasy Sports LR
“With Marshawn Lynch seeing an ab specialist, Thomas Rawls is the obvious priority add and you simply need to watch the highlight film from yesterday (or one of his two other 100 yard games to date) to understand why. I’m going elsewhere, though. Devin Funchess feels like a guy we should probably have had a lot more patience with. I get it, roster spots are thin, but, the potential was always there and it seems that now he is rounding into form. With Cam Newton playing his best football, and with the options at receiver in Carolina being very thin, it looks like Funchess is set to make a late season surge. Everyone in Carolina produced yesterday, so, we can’t just go off the stat line here, but he’s been running better routes and made a few degree of difficulty catches this week. With 176 yards and two scores over his last three games, it may have taken him a while to develop, but Funchess is peaking at the right time.”

Zach Greubel – Gridiron Experts
“Marshawn Lynch may need surgery for a sports hernia and could be out for the season, so it’s hard not to really like Thomas Rawls heading into the home stretch of this fantasy season, especially after his Week 11 performance. Frank Gore’s injury doesn’t sound serious, but Ahmad Bradshaw may officially be back among the fantasy relevant, particularly in PPR scoring leagues. Rawls and Bradshaw are two running backs worth picking up this week.”

Adrian Pereira – eDraft
“My philosophy for selecting waiver wire picks at this stage of the season likely differs than others. Sure, you can select a guy that may have a slim chance of slipping into your FLEX spot and putting up OK numbers… but only one person wins a fantasy league and you need to make bold moves and have a bit of luck. I’d much rather grab someone like Robert Turbin than a guy like Dwayne Harris or Ted Ginn. Sure, you may have to have your McFadden voodoo doll with a pile of pins at your side over the next few weeks… but that’s what will win you the fantasy title.”

Eric Moody – FFLockerRoom
“Thomas Rawls has the potential to win your fantasy football league in the Seahawks run heavy scheme if Marshawn Lynch misses an extended period of time. Rawls has averaged over seven yards per carry in the two games this season where he has been given 20 or more carries. The Seahawks have the second most rushing attempts of any team in the NFL with 307. Crockett Gillmore will be a reliable TE1 for the rest of the season. The Ravens’ wide receivers have been rocked with injuries and offensive coordinator Marc Trestman has a history of leveraging tight ends in the passing game. Gillmore produced 3.37 receiving yards per route run in Week 11 according to Pro Football Focus.”

Q2: For owners renting a D/ST in Week 12, what readily available option should they target and why?

Justin Boone – theScore
“Despite a subpar showing against the Packers, the Minnesota Vikings defense is an excellent option against the Falcons this week. Atlanta has fallen back to earth, allowing double-digit fantasy points to opposing defenses in four of their last six games. If you’re forced to look a little deeper, the Titans defense hosts a Raiders offense that stalled out on the road in Detroit in Week 11.”

Jon Collins – Fantasy Sports LR
“Coming off their bye, the Cleveland Browns are just 6% owned and draw the fantasy gift of taking on a Ravens offense captained by Matt Schaub. Schaub, as you’ll well remember, was appointed the King of Pick-Sixville sometime in the summer of 2013 and he’s looking forward to resuming his reign. Seriously, Schaub has thrown a pick in his last five games, with seven total over that span. No Forsett. No Smith. No weapons. I’m on the Browns who come into the week as the 13th highest scoring D/ST.”

Eric Moody – FFLockerRoom
“Fantasy owners should consider targeting the Detroit Lions D/ST this week. Cornerback Darius Slay continues to emerge as a shutdown corner. The Lions face off against the Eagles on Thursday. This is a defense that shut down the red-hot Raiders in Week 11. What damage can this unit inflict on an Eagles offense that continues to descend into obscurity?”

Zach Greubel – Gridiron Experts
“Defenses usually perform well when facing Johnny Manziel, and that’s why I’d take a flyer on the Baltimore Ravens in Week 12. The Ravens have struggled for the most part defensively in 2015, but Week 12 could be one of their better weeks.”

Adrian Pereira – eDraft
“The Kansas City Chiefs have been one of the hottest teams over the past month and they’re only owned in 27% of NFL.com leagues. They have put up huge fantasy numbers over their last four games – 12, 14, 19 and 20. They also haven’t surrendered more than 20 points in a game over their last six, keeping their fantasy floor respectable. They face Buffalo next who have averaged the third most fantasy points against over the past 4 weeks.”

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Thanks to the experts for ranking their top waiver pickups for Week 12. For more advice from them, please follow them on Twitter.