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Waiver Wire Rankings (Week 12)

Waiver Wire Rankings (Week 12)
Rookie Tyler Boyd will step for the Bengals in the wake of A.J. Green's injury

Rookie Tyler Boyd will step for the Bengals in the wake of A.J. Green’s injury

It had been a while since there were a handful of significant injuries, but in football, these types of things can happen every single week. That’s exactly what happened this past weekend when A.J. Green (hamstring strain), C.J. Prosise (shoulder), Ryan Mathews (sprained MCL), LeSean McCoy (dislocated thumb), Zach Miller (broken foot), and Giovani Bernard (torn ACL) headed up a large list of big name players to go down. Even my lowly 49ers took a hit with free safety Eric Reid suffering a torn biceps.

Week 12 will be a busy waiver week with the slew of injuries and for some of you, that means some emergency patch work to hold your team together for the final matchups of the regular season for fantasy leagues. Below you’ll find rankings and analysis from our featured pundits on the top readily-available players based on Yahoo and ESPN ownership percentages. They have also named their top streaming defenses (that should be available).

Remember, you can always get tailored waiver advice to your league with our premium waiver wire assistant.

Featured Experts:
Joe Bond (Fantasy Six Pack)
KJ (Fantasy Team Advice
James Hatfield (Hatty Waiver Wire Guru)
Bobby Sylvester – FantasyPros


*Ownership % derived from a consensus of Yahoo & ESPN leagues

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

“With the slew of major injuries this week, one of my favorite pickups is Tyler Boyd. A.J. Green, along with Gio Bernard, is on the shelf which opens the door for Boyd to get a major increase in targets. Brandon LaFell is a nice addition too, but even though he led the team in targets after Green went down, it was Boyd who performed better and who I trust be more consistent every week.”
Joe Bond (Fantasy Six Pack)

Tyler Boyd is the hot pickup of the week with A.J. Green out for an extended period of time. He will continue to draw a solid amount of targets every week and has TD upside; he is the perfect pickup for PPR and TD leagues.”
James Hatfield (Hatty Waiver Wire Guru)

Wendell Smallwood should be at the top of everyone’s list this week. With Ryan Mathews potentially out for multiple weeks (if not longer), and Darren Sproles also banged up (ribs), Smallwood will now have the opportunity to dominate the early down work for the Eagles. Be sure to also check for Tim Hightower (51% owned on Yahoo). With Mark Ingram working his way through the NFL’s concussion protocol, Hightower could be in for a large amount of work in Week 12.”
KJ (Fantasy Team Advice)

Tyler Boyd has had me believing in his talent since the preseason. It was only a matter of time before he got on the field consistently enough to showcase his ability, and now it is on full display. While Brandon LaFell is dependent on touchdowns, Boyd can take over the WR1 role in Cincy while A.J. Green is out and help fantasy owners down the playoff stretch.”
Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)

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

“When I look at defenses I look for opponents who like to turn the ball over a lot and allow sacks. This leads me to the Tennessee Titans, who face the Chicago Bears in Week 12. The Titans are tied for third in sacks as a team and the Bears have allowed four sacks, two weeks in a row now. The Bears have also turned the ball over plenty now that Jay Cutler has returned making this an even better matchup.”
Joe Bond (Fantasy Six Pack)

“Look to target the San Diego Chargers. Just 18% owned, they have recorded at least one sack in 9 out of 10 games this season, and at least one INT in 8 out of 10 games. Their upcoming schedule is decent as well with HOU on tap in week 12, followed by TB, CAR, OAK and CLE during fantasy football championship week.”
KJ (Fantasy Team Advice)

“Don’t look now, but the New Orleans Saints‘ defense hasn’t given up more than 23 points in five weeks. They’ve also managed to force seven turnovers during that time and have racked up eight sacks in the previous two weeks against Denver and Carolina. When you consider that they draw the Rams with their third-string QB and terrible offensive line, you’ve got to be thinking high floor, very high ceiling, for the sneaky add this week.”
Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)

New York Giants are the streaming defense of the week as they go up against the Browns, who are always a good team for defense to face when streaming”
James Hatfield (Hatty Waiver Wire Guru)

Thank you to the experts for ranking the top readily available waiver options. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter and subscribe to our podcast below.


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