WEEK 13: WAIVER WIRE ADDS
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 50%, 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.
Chuba Hubbard- RB, CAR; Alexander Mattison- RB, MIN; Jamaal Williams- RB, DET ESPN Roster Percentage: Hubbard- 33.4%; Mattison- 33.5%; Williams- 46.1%
Alright, so this week’s article is going to be structured a little differently than usual in order to most effectively convey my advice. Typically, I would write individual paragraphs for each player, discuss what they bring to the table and how they would fit into the team’s offense. This week in the NFL included huge injuries to fantasy relevant running backs as we saw Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook and D’Andre Swift all leave with injuries. CMC was placed on the injured reserve Monday morning and will miss the remainder of the season. Dalvin Cook dislocated his shoulder and is expected to miss multiple games. D’Andre Swift left the game Thursday being diagnosed with a shoulder sprain and is considered to be day-to-day. With all of these injuries, it is again just a reminder to all teams that are in playoff contention to start rostering relevant backups for your fantasy team. Now, regarding the players listed above, Chuba Hubbard is my number one priority addition for this week. Hubbard has the clearest workload and will be the guy for the remainder of the season while Mattison and Williams don’t have a defined workload for the remainder of the season. Mattison would be the second priority and has a role in the offense even when Dalvin Cook is back and healthy. Mattison is expected to serve as the starter for a longer time than Williams and the Vikings are in playoff contention meaning they may hold Cook out for longer to better their chance at a playoff run. Jamaal Williams is the third priority and is in the situation least likely to produce fantasy relevance just based on the team’s overall performance. Hubbard and Mattison are worth all of your remaining FAB and Williams is worth nearly all of your FAB, but you may consider spending some of it on backups for your team. I know A.J. Dillion and Tony Pollard are likely rostered in your leagues, but check especially if you have Aaron Jones and Ezekiel Elliot. Good luck to everyone still in the playoff hunt and to those who aren’t, please continue to set your lineup. It may not do anything for your playoff hopes or chances, but you can at least take solace in an opportunity to prevent another league member from making the playoffs.
