For most, the fantasy season is over, but for some of you, there’s another week of suspense left before a champion is crowned. If you’re new here, each week, we identify the top readily-available free agents (i.e. <50% ownership across Yahoo! and ESPN leagues) that could be helpful to your squad.
Our featured experts below have ranked those players along with explaining who they like the most from the list and why. If you’re planning on streaming a defense this week, they’re naming their favorite units as well.
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Featured Experts:
Mike Tagliere – FantasyPros
Bobby Sylvester – FantasyPros
Jon Collins – Fantasy Sports LR
Mauricio Gutierrez – Estadio Fantasy)
*Ownership % derived from a consensus of Yahoo & ESPN leagues
On a mobile device? Click here for rankings table
Q1. Give us your thoughts on a waiver wire target (or two) you especially like as a pickup.
“Have you watched Jimmy Garoppolo play football over the last month? If so, you know why he’s someone you should grab. Even if you don’t need a quarterback, you should be picking him up to block your opponent. While the Rams are typically a pretty tough opponent versus opposing quarterbacks, they may not be in Week 17 due to the fact that they have absolutely nothing to play for. They’re locked into the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, so they can essentially give their starters a bye week against the 49ers. Because of that, he’s locked into QB1 territory.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
“I was happy to see Corey Davis involved in the Tennessee offense this week, but season-long gamers won’t have much use for him against the Jags this week. Instead, I’m turning my attention to Tion Green in Detroit. Ameer Abdullah hasn’t been able to stay healthy and certainly hasn’t developed into the feature back that the Lions hoped he could be. Meantime, Green looked sharp this week against Cincinnati and scored his second TD in four weeks since joining the active roster. Expect the Lions to take a longer look at him this week with nothing left to play for, against a Packers’ D that has given up 7 rushing TDs to RBs this season and the 12th most points on the year to the position.”
– Jon Collins (Fantasy Sports LR)
“Keelan Cole has three consecutive games with at least 10 fantasy points and finishing with in the top 24. This was the first week in the season that he had more than 8 targets. It seems that he has earned total trust from Blake Bortles. Next week the Jaguars will face the Titans, a team that has allowed an average of 24.5 fantasy points in the last two games. If’ you’re looking for a QB, Jimmy Garoppolo had his best game as a 49er facing one of the best defensive units this season. If he was able to throw for 242 yardas and 2 TDs against the Jags, maybe we should consider Jimmy G as matchup proof, at least for the last week. He is the best QB available and I actually was surprised to see how widely available he is (only 32.8% owned).”
– Mauricio Gutierrez (Estadio Fantasy)
“Many are going to be scrambling to pick up Keelan Cole after his fourth straight strong week, but with his ankle injury and the Jags having nothing to play for, I’m not convinced of his reliability for Week 17. My favorite addition is Kerwynn Williams, who while not spectacular, is consistently getting 15+ touches and should be able to produce an RB2 week for fantasy owners against the banged-up Seahawks.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)
Q2. For owners renting a D/ST in Week 17, what readily available option (under 40%) should they target?
“There aren’t many defenses to choose from as we head into Week 17, but the Redskins should be on your radar. They’ll be playing the Giants, who we know have been extremely inconsistent throughout the year, and have allowed 10 sacks and 9 turnovers in the last five games. That not even the best part, though. The Redskins have racked up 18 sacks over their last six games, as well as intercepting 5 passes and 3 fumble recoveries. In a divisional matchup, it’s bound to be a competitive game.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
“We’ve been watching the Giants lay eggs all season and after a promising week on offense against the Eagles, they did so again in Arizona this week. In Week 17 Eli Manning is set to start, but will likely cede to Geno Smith and/or Davis Webb at some point during the game. Count on Washington to hold the offense with limited playmaking ability in check either way.”
– Jon Collins (Fantasy Sports LR)
“Surprisingly, the Washington Redskins DST has been a top-10 D/ST in each of the last two weeks, facing the Chargers in Week 15 and the Cardinals in Week 16. The Redskins could be a defense that allows too many points but in those two last weeks they have had a good number of turnovers (3) and sacks (6). This week they are going to face a very weak opponent. In the last 5 weeks, the Giants has allowed an average of 13.6 fantasy points per game to opposing D/STs.”
– Mauricio Gutierrez (Estadio Fantasy)
“The Tennessee Titans are not only playing with their season on the line this week, but they draw a struggling Blake Bortles and a team who is both likely to rest Leonard Fournette, but also has 9 of it’s original 11 wide receivers injured. The Titans are a safe bet to keep the Jags under 20 while forcing a few turnovers and racking up multiple sacks.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)
Thank you to the experts for naming their top waiver targets. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter (click their names above) and check out our latest podcast below for more great advice.
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