Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Priority Pickups to Target (Week 17)

Our analysts combine to provide rankings for weekly fantasy football waiver wire targets. We’ll help you prioritize your bids for the week ahead. Check out our full expert consensus fantasy football waiver wire rankings and all of our fantasy football waiver wire advice for the week. Here are our latest fantasy football waiver wire rankings and top fantasy football waiver wire pickups to target for the week.

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Rankings & Top Targets: Week 17

Note: Players chosen based upon having early-week consensus roster percent below 50%.

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups to Target

Michael Carter (RB – ARI): 42% Rostered

• Next Opponents: @CIN, LAR
• True Value: $10
• Desperate Need: $18
• Budget-Minded: $6

Analysis: It appears Michael Carter is going to be Arizona’s lead back the rest of the way. After Bam Knight was carted off with an ankle injury that he sustained on the Cardinals’ first offensive play of Week 15, Carter played 80% of the Cardinals’ offensive snaps and had 14-56-0 rushing and 4-38-0 receiving in Arizona’s 40-20 loss to Houston. In Week 16, Carter played 52.6% of Arizona’s offensive snaps and had 11-65-0 with zero targets in a 26-19 loss to the Falcons. Carter gets a favorable Week 17 matchup against a bad Bengals defense that has allowed a league-high 1,924 rushing yards to running backs. Just know that the Cardinals’ offensive line has been pretty banged up, which could limit the effectiveness of the running game.

Raheim Sanders (RB – CLE): 0% Rostered

• Next Opponents: PIT, @CIN
• True Value: $8
• Desperate Need: $14
• Budget-Minded: $5

Analysis: With Quinshon Judkins sustaining a dislocated ankle and fractured fibula on Sunday, and with Dylan Sampson and Jerome Ford sidelined by injuries of their own, the Browns turned to rookie Raheim Sanders, aka “Rocket.” After Judkins was injured, Sanders had 11 carries for 42 yards against the Bills, along with a four-yard catch. Ford is on injured reserve (IR). Sampson has been out with a hand injury, and it’s unclear whether he’ll return this week. If he can’t, Sanders could be in line for a voluminous Week 17 workload against the Steelers. An undrafted free agent, Sanders had a 1,443-yard rushing season as a sophomore for Arkansas in 2022. He played only six games in 2023, then had a decent but unspectacular final college season after transferring to South Carolina. It’s worth monitoring Sampson’s status this week because if he’s able to come back, he would most likely serve as the lead back. And even if Sampson remains out and Sanders is a workhorse against Pittsburgh this week, the myriad of injuries plaguing Cleveland’s offensive line could limit Sanders’ production.

Blake Corum (RB – LAR): 41% Rostered

• Next Opponents: @ATL, ARI
• True Value: $5
• Desperate Need: $8
• Budget-Minded: $2

Analysis: Blake Corum has been on a touchdown spree, with five scores in his last four games. He’s averaged 82 rushing yards per game and 7.5 yards per carry over that stretch. Corum has to score touchdowns and be efficient as a runner to make up for a lack of volume. Although he’s had double-digit carries in three consecutive games, Corum hasn’t had more than 14 rushing attempts in any game, and he’s caught only seven passes this season. Corum typically only plays about one-third of the Rams’ offensive snaps behind starter Kyren Williams. But the Rams’ offense is a machine, helping to give Corum far more value than your run-of-the-mill backup ball-carrier. Corum gets a neutral matchup this week against the Falcons.

Parker Washington (WR – JAX): 23% Rostered

• Next Opponents: @IND, TEN
• True Value: $1
• Desperate Need: $1
• Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: It’s probably not a good idea to overreact to Parker Washington’s huge Week 16 performance against a tough Denver defense. Washington had six catches for 145 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets against the Broncos. With Broncos shutdown cornerback Patrick Surtain II locking up with Brian Thomas Jr. for much of that game, Trevor Lawrence chose to go elsewhere with the ball, and Washington wound up being his top target. Washington has had some other nice performances this season, including an 8-90-0 game against the Raiders and a 5-71-1 game against the Cardinals. The Colts won’t be a particularly easy matchup for Washington in Week 17. But then again, neither were the Broncos, and Washington went bonkers against them. Washington has low-level Flex appeal in deeper leagues.

Kayshon Boutte (WR- NE): 27% Rostered

• Next Opponents: @NYJ, MIA
• True Value: $1
• Desperate Need: $2
• Budget-Minded: $0

Analysis: A big-play receiver whose production comes in fits and spurts, Kayshon Boutte is a risky option for this week, but a favorable matchup against the Jets could pay off. Boutte has 31 catches for 527 yards and six touchdowns on only 41 targets this season. He’s averaging an absurd 12.9 yards per target, and nearly 20% of his catches have gone for touchdowns. Boutte’s target volume is anemic, but he might not need a lot of targets to hang big numbers against the Jets. The reeling Jets gave up 330 passing yards and five touchdown passes to Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars in Week 15, then yielded 346 passing yards and two touchdown passes (one by Tyler Shough, one by Taysom Hill) to the Saints in Week 16.

Tyler Shough (QB – NO): 18% Rostered

• Next Opponents: @TEN, @ATL
• True Value: $2
• Desperate Need: $4
• Budget-Minded: $1

Analysis: Tyler Shough has quietly scored at least 17 fantasy points in four straight games. He’s completing 66.7% of his passes this season and averaging a respectable 6.9 yards per pass attempt. He’s completed at least 65% of his throws in five consecutive starts. Shough adds value as a runner, too, with 135 rushing yards and two touchdown runs over his last five starts. Shough gets an appealing Week 17 matchup against the Titans, who had given up the eighth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks entering Week 16.

Mike Gesicki (TE – CIN): 4% Rostered

• Next Opponents: ARI, CLE
• True Value: $2
• Desperate Need: $3
• Budget-Minded: $1

Analysis: Mike Gesicki had three catches for 35 yards and a touchdown on four targets on Sunday against the Dolphins. It was his second touchdown in the last three weeks. (Gesicki had 6-86-1 against the Bills in Week 14.) Bengals tight end Noah Fant was sidelined by an ankle injury in Week 16, and his status for Week 17 is uncertain. Fant wasn’t playing a big role anyway, but his absence could mean a few extra snaps for Gesicki, and possibly an extra target or two. Gesicki has an attractive Week 17 matchup against the Cardinals, who had allowed the seventh-most fantasy points and eighth-most receiving yards to tight ends through Week 15, then gave up 7-51-1 to Kyle Pitts in Week 16.