Things are ugly on the waiver wire this week (at least of now). Keep this in mind when it comes to spending FAAB versus sitting on your free agent budget for later in the season.

Remember to reach out with questions on Twitter (@toomuchtuma) anytime.

Note: Most players are less than 30% rostered in Yahoo leagues.

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Running Back

Sony Michel (RB – LAR): 27% rostered
The Rams are on a bye this week, but Michel should be treated as a top-five handcuff in fantasy football. This includes fantasy managers who don’t roster Darrell Henderson. In the one game that Henderson missed this year (Week 3), Michel saw a combined 23 touches.

Ty Johnson (RB – NYJ): 20% rostered
Michael Carter exited Sunday’s Week 11 game against the Dolphins with an ankle injury. His status will be worth monitoring throughout the week. If Carter misses any time moving forward, it would likely be Johnson who sees an additional role for the Jets. Tevin Coleman should be expected to see touches in this scenario as well, but Johnson’s pass catching role would make him the superior fantasy add. The 24-year-old has a plus Week 12 matchup against the Texans.

Wide Receiver

Rondale Moore (WR – ARI): 23% rostered
The rookie just hasn’t played enough this season to be a consistent fantasy factor, but his yards-after-catch abilities have been noticeable whenever he’s touched the ball. Without Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins for the third straight game, Moore finally got going in Week 11 ( at least from a PPR perspective). He hauled in 11-of-11 targets for 51 yards against Seattle on Sunday. We can’t bank on this usage moving forward, but now is the time of year when it’s worth betting on rookies. We know that first-year players improve as the season moves along. Moore’s talent makes him worthy of a speculative add during a thing week for waivers.

Kendrick Bourne (WR – NE): 20% rostered
This is strictly a floor recommendation for deeper PPR leagues, but the waiver wire is ugly this week. Bourne has seen at least four targets in five straight games for a developing Patriots passing attack. He has been efficient with all these looks as well, hauling in 19-of-23 of them during this time.

Tight End

Adam Trautman (TE – NO): 7% rostered
New Orleans’ sophomore tight end has quietly been picking it up as of late. He now has 27 targets over his past four games with five receptions in back-to-back contests. Trautman also scored his first touchdown of the year in Week 11 against the Eagles. The schedule is favorable moving forward with matchups against the Bills, Cowboys, and Jets. He’s worth an add in deeper leagues.

Quarterback

Cam Newton (QB – CAR): 51% rostered
Newton is technically rostered in too many leagues to qualify for this article, but there aren’t any quarterbacks in the 30% range who are worth adding off waivers this week. In his first start of the 2021 season in Week 11, Newton completed 21-of-27 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly for fantasy purposes, the former MVP ran 10 times for 46 yards and a score on the ground. The schedule moving forward is favorable for the Panthers. Newton draws the Dolphins in Week 12 and then the Falcons in Week 14.

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Brendan Tuma is a featured writer at FantasyPros. To read more from Brendan, check out his archive and follow him @toomuchtuma.