Fantasy football can be an extremely fun game to play. It can also be highly frustrating at times. Nothing is more annoying than needing to make a last-minute waiver wire move because someone in your starting lineup is out for the week.
Sadly, there isn’t much you can do about it. However, I’m going to try and help.
Every week I will have six players you can grab off the waiver wire at the last minute and throw into your lineup. Some will succeed, while others will fail. Unfortunately, that’s how the game of fantasy football is played.
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Last-Minute Waiver Wire Pickups & Injury Replacements
All the players in this article are rostered in under 35% of ESPN leagues.
Matthew Stafford (QB – LAR) vs. Seattle Seahawks (30.9% Rostered)
Unfortunately, the quarterback position has been devastated by injuries this season. One of those players is Stafford. The veteran quarterback missed the Week 9 matchup with a thumb injury he suffered the week before. Thankfully, he will play Sunday after the team’s Week 10 bye. Stafford has averaged 14 fantasy points per game this season. However, the veteran has struggled with getting the pass in the end zone. He has only one game this year with more than one passing touchdown. Yet, the matchup this week is appealing.
Seattle held Stafford to only 14.5 fantasy points in Week 1 because the veteran quarterback didn’t have a passing touchdown. However, he had 334 passing yards in the win. The Seahawks have given up 310 or more passing yards in nearly half of their games this season, including last week. Sam Howell had 312 passing yards, three touchdowns, and 24.2 fantasy points last week despite Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and Curtis Samuel totaling 39 receiving yards and zero touchdowns. If he is healthy, Stafford could have his best performance of the year.
Latavius Murray (RB – BUF) vs. New York Jets (21.3% Rostered)
While the Bills signed Leonard Fournette to the practice squad, it’s been two consecutive weeks that he hasn’t been part of the active roster. While head coach Sean McDermott said Friday that Fournette could get elevated this week, I’ll believe it when I see it. Meanwhile, Murray is coming off his best performance of the year, totaling nine rushing attempts for 68 yards and a touchdown, scoring 13.9 half-point PPR fantasy points, a season-high. While part of his success came from James Cook‘s brief benching, Murray has been productive when given an opportunity.
In the three contests with more than five rushing attempts, the veteran running back has averaged five yards per rushing attempt, 2.44 yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data), and 9.5 fantasy points per game. Meanwhile, the Jets have struggled to slow down opposing running backs, giving up 99.3 rushing yards per game to the position. Since the team’s Week 7 bye, New York has given up 120 rushing yards or two rushing touchdowns to running backs in every game. Murray should see enough touches to be a decent bye-week replacement.
Rico Dowdle (RB – DAL) vs. Carolina Panthers (8.8% Rostered)
Fantasy players have lost their minds with Tony Pollard. The former Memphis star had top-five expectations entering the season but is only the RB23 for the year. Meanwhile, Dowdle has been sneaky good when given opportunities. Last week, he had 12 rushing attempts for 79 yards, a touchdown, and 13.9 half-point fantasy points, all season-highs. Furthermore, Dowdle has a higher yards after contact per rushing attempt (3.26 vs. 2.51) than Pollard this year (per Fantasy Points Data). More importantly, head coach Mike McCarthy recently said he wants to get Dowdle more touches.
Last week, the Cowboys destroyed the New York Giants, creating plenty of opportunities for everyone (but Pollard) on offense. Thankfully, that could happen again against the 1-8 Panthers. More importantly, Carolina has surrendered 27.3 fantasy points per game to running backs, the second-most in the NFL. They have also given up the most rushing touchdowns (12) to the position this year. According to Fantasy Points Data, the Panthers have allowed the third-highest yards after contact per rushing attempt this season (3.0). Hopefully, Dowdle finds the end zone for the second consecutive week.
Jayden Reed (WR – GB) vs. Los Angeles Chargers (17.9% Rostered)
The Packers’ wide receiver core has been a puzzling mess for fantasy players. Christian Watson is the de facto No. 1 wide receiver. However, Romeo Dobbs and Reed have been much more appealing fantasy options. According to Fantasy Points Data, the rookie leads the team in receiving yards market share (20.6%) and is second in designed targets (nine), only behind Aaron Jones. More importantly, he has scored 9.6 or more half-point PPR fantasy points in three of four games since the bye week, including 16.9 in Week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Reed was third on the team in targets (five) and played only 51% of the snaps last week. Yet, the rookie led the Packers in receiving yards (64) and fantasy points. Meanwhile, he has an outstanding matchup on Sunday. The Chargers have given up 32.8 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, the fifth-most in the NFL. Furthermore, Reed runs over 80% of his routes from the slot, meaning he will see plenty of Ja’Sir Taylor (61% allowed catch rate and a 57.2 PFF coverage grade). Expect Jordan Love to lean on his slot receiver.
Kyle Philips (WR – TEN) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (0.3% Rostered)
While the Titans’ passing attack has struggled since Will Levis‘ four-touchdown performance in his NFL debut, Philips has become a decent bye-week replacement or streaming option lately. Over the past two weeks, the former UCLA star is the WR25, averaging 3.5 receptions on five targets for 64.5 receiving yards and 8.2 half-point PPR fantasy points per game despite playing 35% of the snaps or less in both contests. Furthermore, he is fifth in routes run (19.5 per game) but first in receiving yards market share (28%) over the past two weeks per Fantasy Points Data.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars have surrendered 29.6 fantasy points per game to wide receivers this year, the 13th-most in the NFL. They have given up 10 receiving touchdowns to the position, the fifth-most in the league, surrendering at least one in every game. Last week, the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver had 30.7 fantasy points against Jacksonville on only nine receptions. Since Levis took over at quarterback, Philip is second on the team in target per route run rate (25%) among qualifying players (per Fantasy Points Data), only 2% behind DeAndre Hopkins.
Tyler Conklin (TE – NYJ) vs. Buffalo Bills (18.6% Rostered)
Unfortunately, not every Zach Wilson pass can go to Garrett Wilson. More importantly, the second-year wide receiver is questionable to play Sunday because of an elbow injury. Conklin has seen an increased workload lately. Over the past two weeks, the veteran is the TE9, averaging 6.5 receptions on 6.5 targets for 68 receiving yards and 10.1 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. Furthermore, he has averaged a 22% target per route run rate (Per Fantasy Points Data) in the four contests with six or more targets this season.
More importantly, the Bills have held tight ends to 8.7 fantasy points per game this year, slightly below the league average. Unfortunately, they have lost several critical starters on defense over the past several weeks, including star linebacker Matt Milano. Last week, the Denver Broncos tight ends only had 3.6 fantasy points on four targets. However, Buffalo had surrendered one touchdown and 17 fantasy points per game to tight ends over their previous three matchups. Conklin is a solid bye-week replacement and a top-10 tight end if Garrett Wilson can’t play.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.