WEEK 12: WAIVER WIRE
Every Tuesday, I will be bringing to light the best potential waiver wire additions across fantasy football. Let’s begin with some basic principles for each article and some of the qualifiers that will be used each week. First off, the minimum rostered percentage threshold that I will be using is 33.3%, so any player that is rostered in ESPN leagues above that percentage will not be written about (until near the end of the season when it gets harder to wade through the constantly thinning waiver wire.) Second, not all waiver wire additions are created equal and all are dependent on the roster you have. Each week I will be writing about players and the potential they bring to your fantasy roster, but I obviously don’t know who is on your team or what you may need in terms of roster construction. If I say a quarterback is the top waiver wire addition for the week, and you have Patrick Mahomes, that doesn’t mean you need to add that player to your team while dropping a potentially valuable player in order to do so. Third, I will frequently be using the abbreviation FAB, which refers to Free Agent Budget. This refers to the potential amount you might spend to acquire someone off the waiver wire if your league has that as a part of their system.
Andy Dalton- Quarterback, CHI
ESPN Roster Percentage- 0.3%
This is not a particularly great week for waiver wire adds, but of all the potential injury replacement players, Andy Dalton looked the best on Sunday. In a little less than half of a game, Dalton managed to put up over 200 yards passing and 16 fantasy points. There is no definitive update on whether rookie quarterback Justin Fields will be playing after suffering a rib injury, but with the Bears playing against the Lions on Thursday, I’d imagine Fields is a long shot to play. With the Cardinals and Chiefs on bye this week, Dalton would slide into streamer territory and is a potential Patrick Mahomes replacement for the week. The Lions are just straight up bad, and Dalton would have an advantageous matchup, even on a short week. I would not spend anything more than a low waiver wire priority on Dalton and wouldn’t spend any FAB to acquire him.
Chicago Bears Defense
ESPN Roster Percentage- 12.9%
This is an unintentional double stack for the Bears this week, but the matchup against the Lions is just too enticing. I know only weird games are played on Thursday, and I tend to only start my studs on short weeks.However, the Bears defense has played well in their last two games, scoring double digit fantasy points in each. The Bears have already played the Lions this season, a game which lead to a 14 point fantasy outing, and the Lions have only gotten worse since then, with backup quarterback Tim Boyle likely to be starting in place of the injured Jared Goff. With some of the more reliable defenses being weakened by injuries or in poor matchups, I would feel confident with the Bears as a top-5 defense in Week 12.
