Doing your weekly waivers in fantasy football can be more stressful than performing life-saving surgery on a loved one without any professional tools or medical knowledge. While that might be a slight exaggeration, deciding which players to add off the waiver wire each week can be stressful.
Finding and adding the right guys in shallow leagues is simple, as there are plenty of appealing options, and the waiver wire is full of talent. Unfortunately, making your waiver wire claims in deeper leagues can be a massive pain in the neck.
However, I’m here to help by giving fantasy players nine waiver wire targets they should add in deeper leagues in Week 16.
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Deep League Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets
All the players in this article are rostered in under 25% of ESPN leagues.
Tyler Shough (QB – NO): 6.9% Rostered
Despite facing two teams contending for the NFC South division title over the past two weeks, the Saints have won back-to-back games. Shough has played well lately, completing 70% of his pass attempts for 218.3 yards, a touchdown, and 18.9 fantasy points per game over the past three weeks. Furthermore, the rookie has averaged 35 rushing yards and 7.5 fantasy points per game on the ground during that stretch. More importantly, he faces the New York Jets on Sunday. Last week, the Jets surrendered 44.3 fantasy points to Trevor Lawrence.
Kirk Cousins (QB – ATL): 3.6% Rostered
While many have had low expectations for Cousins, the veteran has played well since taking over as the starter. He has averaged 242 passing yards, 1.5 touchdowns, and 14.3 fantasy points per game over the past month. Furthermore, Cousins is coming off his best performance, completing 68.2% of his pass attempts for 373 yards, three touchdowns, and 26.9 fantasy points. Cousins has a fantasy-friendly matchup on Sunday against an Arizona Cardinals defense that surrendered 260 passing yards, three touchdowns, and 23.4 fantasy points to C.J. Stroud last week.
Michael Carter (RB – ARI): 9.1% Rostered
Unfortunately, the Cardinals will likely be down to their fourth starting running back next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. James Conner and Trey Benson are out for the year. Meanwhile, Zonovan Knight suffered an ankle injury on Sunday and didn’t return to the game against the Houston Texans. Carter stepped up as the lead running back, totaling 18 touches for 94 scrimmage yards and 13.4 PPR fantasy points. He would be a solid flex option for fantasy players in Week 16 because of the matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
Jawhar Jordan (RB – HOU): 0.1% Rostered
Most fantasy players have never heard of Jordan until Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals. Nick Chubb missed the game with a rib injury. Meanwhile, Woody Marks suffered an ankle injury and missed the second half of the game, leading to a massive workload for Jordan. Yet, the rookie played well, totaling 17 touches for 118 scrimmage yards and 13.8 PPR fantasy points. He should be the lead back next week against an awful Las Vegas Raiders run defense if Marks and Chubb can’t play because of injury.
Audric Estime (RB – NO): 0.1% Rostered
Devin Neal has played well lately, averaging 11.7 PPR fantasy points per game over the past month, totaling double-digits in all but one contest, including on Sunday. Unfortunately, the rookie suffered a hamstring injury in the win over the Carolina Panthers, forcing Estime to step up. The former Notre Dame star had eight fantasy points on only six touches in limited action, including three receptions for 39 receiving yards. Next week, Estime could have top-20 upside against the New York Jets if he is the Saints’ starting running back.
Darius Slayton (WR – NYG): 22.2% Rostered
While Slayton didn’t have a massive performance on Sunday despite the fantasy-friendly matchup against the Washington Commanders, the veteran had a team-high 10 targets. He caught four passes for 53 receiving yards, scoring 9.3 PPR fantasy points against the division rivals. More importantly, Slayton has averaged six targets and 11.9 fantasy points per game in his past four contests with Jaxson Dart under center. The veteran has two solid matchups to end the fantasy playoffs, facing the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday and the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17.
Luther Burden III (WR – CHI): 15.1% Rostered
Fantasy players have waited all year for Burden to have a breakout performance. The rookie had six receptions on seven targets for 84 receiving yards and 14.4 PPR fantasy points on Sunday before leaving the game with an ankle injury. Assuming the injury is minor, and he can play in Week 16, Burden has a solid matchup against a Green Bay Packers defense that gave up over 20 fantasy points to both Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin on Sunday and reportedly lost Micah Parsons to a season-ending torn ACL.
David Sills V (WR – ATL): 0.1% Rostered
Hopefully, Drake London plays in Week 16 after missing the past month with a knee injury. However, fantasy players shouldn’t be shocked if he doesn’t play again this year. Meanwhile, Sills has stepped up with London out of the lineup, averaging 2.5 receptions on 5.3 targets for 27.3 receiving yards and 8.2 PPR fantasy points per game over the past month, including 10 targets and 13.8 fantasy points last week. He is a solid flex option in deeper leagues in Week 16 against the Arizona Cardinals if London doesn’t play.
Colby Parkinson (TE – LAR): 10.5% Rostered
The Rams saw Puka Nacua and Davante Adams leave Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions with injuries. While Nacua returned, Adams suffered a hamstring injury and won’t likely play on Thursday against the Seattle Seahawks. Thankfully, Parkinson has been outstanding lately, averaging 3.7 receptions for 38.3 receiving yards, a touchdown, and 13.5 PPR fantasy points per game over the past six weeks. Furthermore, he had five receptions for 75 receiving yards, two touchdowns, and 24.5 fantasy points against the Lions. Parkinson has top-five upside against the Seahawks on Thursday night.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.