Don’t look now but we’re heading into the twelfth week of football with the fantasy playoffs in sight. There’s been ups and downs all season with injuries, the Le’Veon Bell ordeal, and surprising performances (both bad and good) from picks like Rob Gronkowski/LeSean McCoy and Phillip Lindsay/Patrick Mahomes. At this point of the year, most trade deadlines have passed and the waiver wire is going to be your only hope to pick up that last bit of help to get you over the edge. All season long, we’ve reached out to groups of experts to get their thoughts on who you should be adding to your roster.
This week, based on consensus ownership percentages, we’ve narrowed the list down to 35 potential players you may be thinking about picking up. Our featured experts below have ranked all of them in the order in which they would prioritize the free agents. See who their favorite pickups are as well as which defenses they’d stream this week.
Get free start/sit and waiver wire advice for your fantasy team 
Featured Experts:
Jacob Gibbs – SportsLine
Mike Tagliere – FantasyPros
Bobby Sylvester – FantasyPros
Dan Harris – FantasyPros
*Ownership % derived from a consensus of Yahoo & ESPN leagues
Q1. How much are you willing to spend (FAAB %) on your favorite waiver wire target (or two) and why do you like him?
Josh Adams (RB – PHI)
“It didn’t seem likely that Josh Adams would be someone who would play a three-down role in the Eagles offense, but after seeing him get six targets against the Saints, the Eagles are clearly willing to try. They’ll play at home this coming week against the Giants, who have allowed three straight 100-yard rushers, including Peyton Barber last week. We’re at the point where he’s worth whatever FAAB you have left.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
Josh Adams (RB – PHI) | Gus Edwards (RB – BAL)
“This is one of the best waiver-wire weeks in recent memory and, at this point, I’d be willing to waste the rest of my remaining FAAB to get Josh Adams or Gus Edwards at this point. Adams has been by far the most effective back in Philadelphia, and gets the Damon Harrison-less Giants next week. Edwards has one of the best remaining schedules and looks to be the back to own in Baltimore. If you’re in trouble at the running back position, there is no reason to save your money at this point.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
Gus Edwards (RB – BAL) | Lamar Jackson (QB – BAL)
“I’d be willing to spend up to 20-25% of my FAAB% on one of Gus Edwards or Lamar Jackson, depending on which position is of more need to your team. Baltimore has a beautiful upcoming schedule, with matchups against Oakland, Atlanta, Kansas City, and Tampa Bay in the following four weeks.”
– Jacob Gibbs (SportsLine)
D.J. Moore (WR – CAR)
“To me, D.J. Moore is the superior flex option for the remainder of the season over Gus Edwards and Josh Adams. If you need a running back, go ahead and pick those guys up without hesitation, but if it is a flex you need, Moore is my guy. He has games versus Tampa, Cleveland, New Orleans and Atlanta remaining, and seems to have carved out a sizeable role in this Panthers’ offense. I’ve got him as a WR2/WR3 fringe play the rest of the season.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)
Q2. For owners renting a D/ST in Week 12, what readily available option (under 40%) should they target and why?
“With Colt McCoy under center for Washington, a Dallas defense playing at home on Thanksgiving makes a fine option. It’s unlikely to be a huge performance without Sean Lee, but the Cowboys should be able to limit the points allowed and get a turnover or two. At this stage of the game, when streaming defenses, a high-floor option is important, and that’s exactly what Dallas should offer. For those with extra room, however, I’d add the Tennessee D/ST now to stash them for their Week 13 matchup against the Jets.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
“Washington was already extremely banged-up heading into this game, and they now will be without their starting quarterback. Colt McCoy is one of the more competent backup QBs in the league, but traveling to Dallas on a short week is a tough assignment. Washington currently has a week-worst implied team total (16.5 points), so stream Dallas’ defense with confidence.”
– Jacob Gibbs (SportsLine)
“It blows my mind that Dallas still isn’t owned in most leagues. They can be used most weeks thanks to the top point-prevention defense in the NFC and a pass rush that has already notched 28 sacks. With a matchup this week versus a banged up offensive line and a backup quarterback throwing to backup receivers, I love Dallas as a pickup.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)
“The Bills have dealt with some injuries the last few weeks, but the bye week should help them return to full-strength. Their defense has caused 14 turnovers in the last eight games, while the Jaguars gave up the fourth-most with 19 turnovers on offense coming into Week 11. Blake Bortles is down to his third-string left tackle and just lost his starting center Brandon Linder to a knee injury. The Jaguars are likely to hand the ball off to Leonard Fournette a ton, but when Bortles does drop back to pass, good things are bound to happen with your streaming defense who’s held four of their last six opponents to less than 20 points.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
Thank you to the experts for naming their top waiver targets. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter if you’re not already doing so and check out our latest podcast below for more great advice.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | TuneIn | RSS
