We’ve made it. If you’re reading this, presumably you are in your fantasy football championship. Ideally, you already roster the players you intend to start. But things always change in the NFL. Let’s take a look at the top Week 17 waiver wire targets and pickups that fantasy managers should consider adding to their rosters.
As always, all players are rostered in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues.
There will be no Aggressiveness Rating this week. It’s Week 17. If you need a player, go get him.
Tyler Shough, QB, New Orleans Saints
Rostered: 13%
Do the New Orleans Saints have their answer at quarterback? Maybe. Tyler Shough has played quite well over the past month, and not just in real life. His fantasy numbers have been there, too.
There are a lot of injuries across the NFL. We will see plenty of teams in the fantasy finals that need a quarterback. Why not Shough?
Over his past four games, Shough has hit 17 points in all of them. He just threw for 308 yards in a game the Saints never trailed. In Week 17, he gets a Tennessee Titans pass-funnel defense. Shough is absolutely worth a stream.
Jawhar Jordan, RB, Houston Texans
Rostered: 8%
Although Woody Marks wound up not playing this week, he did appear close to doing so. That makes it more likely than not that he only misses one game. But if he doesn’t go again, we now have our answer about who the primary backup is. It’s Jawhar Jordan.
Evidently, DeMeco Ryans is able to see what the rest of the football universe can: Nick Chubb is done. He did have one impressive run against the Raiders, but there’s just no juice left.
Jordan outcarried Chubb 15-6 and outgained him 53-33. He also caught five passes for 17 yards, something Chubb never does.
The matchup next week against the Los Angeles Chargers isn’t great, but if Jordan starts, he will be a volume-based RB2/Flex play.
Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans
Rostered: 25%
After six consecutive games with single-digit fantasy points, Tyjae Spears had his best game of the season on Sunday. The Titans’ RB2 carried the ball 13 times for 52 yards and a touchdown while adding five receptions for 53 yards.
While he benefited from a Chiefs team that has completely given up, the Saints aren’t exactly the most imposing foe.
The Titans are still playing hard, as it’s important to get Cam Ward reps. Yet, they remain very run-heavy. There’s enough here for both Tony Pollard and Spears.
Chris Rodriguez, RB, Washington Commanders
Rostered: 29%
Jacory Croskey-Merritt played well in Week 15, filling in for an injured Chris Rodriguez. However, that does not appear to have cost C-Rod the starting role.
On Saturday against a good Eagles defense, Rodriguez carried the ball 15 times for 63 yards and a touchdown. He even caught his second pass of the season.
Rodriguez is going to be touchdown or bust. But the matchup is favorable against a Dallas Cowboys team that looks to have quit. He’s a worthy Flex option.
Blake Corum, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Rostered: 41%
Kyren Williams remains the lead back, but this is very much a timeshare. The two essentially alternate drives, which keep Blake Corum very much relevant.
Corum has scored at least 13 fantasy points in four straight games. Of course, he’s scored in all of them. But that’s the case with most running backs. They are reliant on touchdowns.
The Rams close out the fantasy season against the Falcons, not exactly an imposing foe. Plus, we can fully expect an inspired performance after their epic collapse against the Seahawks on Thursday night. They need the game to stay alive for the No. 1 seed. Corum is an RB3.
Raheim Sanders, RB, Cleveland Browns
Rostered: 0%
If we’re being candid, you probably don’t want to start anyone on the Cleveland Browns. But starting running backs in the NFL are hard to come by, especially at this point.
It remains to be seen if Dylan Sampson will return next week. He would be the presumptive favorite for lead-back duties. But if not, the Browns are down to Raheim Sanders.
After Quinshon Judkins left the game with a season-ending leg injury, Sanders handled 11 carries and saw one target. The matchup isn’t terrible against the Steelers. Sanders is worth a speculative add. As a reminder, you can drop anyone you don’t plan to start whom your opponent wouldn’t need to start either.
Parker Washington, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Rostered: 23%
Trevor Lawrence has officially ascended. It took him a while, but the prince who was promised is here. But the beneficiary has not been Brian Thomas Jr. Instead, it’s been Jakobi Meyers and, apparently, Parker Washington.
Starting him next week is very much point-chasing. I would not do it unless you absolutely have to. But he saw 10 targets, catching six passes for 145 yards and a touchdown against a very good Denver Broncos defense.
The Jaguars get a Colts pass-funnel defense next week. Washington has desperation Flex appeal.
Chimere Dike, WR, Tennessee Titans
Rostered: 15%
Take everything the Titans did against the Chiefs with a grain of salt. Yes, Gardner Minshew started, and then Chris Oladokun took over, limiting what the offense could do. But we got our answer to what happens when the Chiefs don’t have anything to play for. This was not a team that cared at all.
Nevertheless, Cam Ward played reasonably well and targeted Chimere Dike five times. The rookie caught three for 40 yards and a touchdown.
The matchup next week against the Saints is not as good as it might have looked earlier in the season. But you can do worse than Dike.
Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears
Rostered: 43%
I get that he had a bad game on Saturday night, but Colston Loveland still being eligible for this column is mind-boggling. Prior to this most recent dud, Loveland had hit double-digit fantasy points in three of his last four.
The Chicago Bears are unlikely to get either Rome Odunze or Luther Burden III back. And the matchup against the 49ers is a bit more favorable than the Packers.
Loveland is a very talented young player with game-breaking potential. He could end up with the same disappointing numbers, but he’s very much worth starting if you need a tight end.
Taysom Hill, TE, New Orleans Saints
Rostered: 1%
Obviously, Taysom Hill is not actually a tight end. But who cares? The fantasy platforms let you play him there.
Evidently, the answer to Audric Estimé or Evan Hull was Hill. The gadget man did it all against the Jets. He led the Saints with 12 carries for 42 yards. He caught four passes for 36 yards. And he even threw a 38-yard touchdown strike to Chris Olave.
I see no reason why the Saints wouldn’t operate the same way next week in a soft matchup against the Titans.
