We will have you covered throughout the 2023 fantasy football season with our bevy of tools, including our Waiver Wire Assistant. Find the top available players and get detailed analysis on how potential waiver wire adds will impact your team. Of course, our team of analysts will also have written advice each week. Check out some of our top waiver wire targets for the week below. And here’s all of our fantasy football Week 12 waiver wire advice and targets.
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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets
WIDE RECEIVERS
Written by Derek Brown
Josh Downs (IND): 50% rostered
- Next Opponents: TB, @TEN, @CIN
- True value: $8
- Desperate need: $13
- Budget-minded: $5
Analysis: The last time we saw Downs, he gutted out Week 10 through a knee injury. He had only a 42.9% route run rate and a 10.7% target share. Hopefully, Downs emerges from the Week 11 bye healthier. He probably won’t be available in most leagues, but double-check your waiver wire for him. Before being limited by injury in his last two games, Downs had an 18.9% target share, a 21.7% air-yard share, 2.00 yards per route run and a 19.2% first-read share (per Fantasy Points Data). Downs has five weeks as a WR3 or higher in weekly fantasy scoring (WR32, WR18, WR20, WR4, WR29). If he’s available in your league, GRAB HIM NOW! If healthy, Downs should destroy the Buccaneers in Week 12. They have surrendered the 10th-most PPR points per target to slot receivers (per Fantasy Points Data).
Demario Douglas (NE): 32% rostered
- Next Opponents: @NYG, LAC, @PIT
- True value: $8
- Desperate need: $13
- Budget-minded: $5
Analysis: Douglas has been money since becoming a starter in New England, with WR3 or higher fantasy finishes in three of those four games (WR29, WR27, WR23). Since Week 7, Douglas has had a 21.5% target share, 1.88 yards per route run and a 27.1% first-read share (per Fantasy Points Data). That’s WR2-equivalent usage. Douglas has not scored any touchdowns this season, or those WR3 weeks would easily all be WR2 finishes. Douglas’s roster percentage is a travesty. He should not be so readily available, and if you don’t rectify this NOW, you’ll be sorry. Douglas has an amazing three-game stretch starting this week against three secondaries that all rank inside the top 10 in PPR points per target allowed to slot wide receivers (ninth, sixth, third). Pick him up and find a way to get him into your lineups for the next three weeks.
Jayden Reed (GB): 36% rostered
- Next Opponents: @DET, KC, @NYG
- True value: $5
- Desperate need: $9
- Budget-minded: $3
Analysis: Reed’s snap share has bounced all over the map this season, but it seems as if Green Bay is beginning to understand that good things happen when Reed is a big part of the offense. In Week 11, Reed played 69% of the snaps with a 15% target share while also chipping in three carries for 46 yards and a touchdown. Reed entered Week 11 with five weeks of WR3 or higher weekly fantasy scoring production (WR20, WR36, WR32, WR36, WR11), and I’m sure when the dust settles from Week 11, he’ll have a sixth plaque to add to the wall. Reed has beautiful slot matchups coming up against the Lions and Giants, who, respectively, have allowed the most and ninth-most PPR points per target to slot receivers (per Fantasy Points Data).
Rashid Shaheed (NO): 45% rostered
- Next Opponents: @ATL, DET, CAR
- True value: $5
- Desperate need: $9
- Budget-minded: $3
Analysis: Michael Thomas is dealing with a significant knee injury. As long as he is sidelined, Shaheed will be the WR2 in this offense. In Week 10, with Thomas leaving the game, we got a peek at what that would look like, as Shaheed commanded a 20.9% target share, an 18.7% air-yard share and a 24.2% first-read share. That’s WR2-level usage. I don’t expect Shaheed to produce as a weekly WR2 for as long as Thomas is out, but we need some context around just how juicy that usage is. Shaheed has been an excellent zone beater this season, which lines up well in the next three weeks, as Atlanta, Detroit and Carolina have all utilized zone coverage on at least 70.4% of their defensive snaps since Week 6. Among 109 qualifying wide receivers, Shaheed ranks 32nd in yards per route run (2.05) and 30th in fantasy points per route run (0.40) against zone coverage (per Fantasy Points Data). As long as Thomas is sidelined, Shaheed is in the WR3/4 conversation with weekly WR2 upside.
Elijah Moore (CLE): 42% rostered
- Next Opponents: @DEN, @LAR, JAX
- True value: $2
- Desperate need: $4
- Budget-minded: $1
Analysis: Moore has flashed some life over the last two weeks with a 17.5% target share while averaging 52 receiving yards. Even with Dorian Thompson-Robinson under center, the passing volume in Cleveland should be fine for Moore. The Browns had no issues with Thompson-Robinson throwing it 43 times last week even though they led nearly all game. Moore has decent matchups in the next two weeks that offer flex upside. Denver has allowed the 14th-most PPR points per target, while the Rams are 12th in that category.
Noah Brown (HOU): 49% rostered
- Next Opponents: JAX, DEN, @NYJ
- True value: $2
- Desperate need: $4
- Budget-minded: $1
Analysis: Brown missed Week 11, as he is dealing with a knee injury. If Brown is available in your league, he’s worth picking up. C.J. Stroud keeps humming along. Stroud is elevating the play of everyone around him, which has been especially true for Brown. In Weeks 8-10, Brown had a 17.1% target share, a 23.4% air-yard share, 4.55 yards per route run and a 16.7% first-read share, as he averaged 127.3 receiving yards per game over that stretch. With Robert Woods healthy, I’m not sure Brown returns to a starting gig, but he’s worth taking a shot on regardless. Stroud is the rising tide that lifts all ships in Houston.
Odell Beckham Jr. (BAL): 29% rostered
- Next Opponents: @LAC. BYE, LAR
- True value: $2
- Desperate need: $4
- Budget-minded: $1
Analysis: Beckham has been on a hot streak, with at least 40 receiving yards and a score in Weeks 9 and 10 before blowing up with 116 receiving yards in Week 11. Since Week 9, Beckham ranks second in Baltimore in target share (18.3%), first in air-yard share (29.5%) and first in yards per route run (4.42), per Fantasy Points Data. All of these data points look amazing, but the problem is that Beckham has only logged a 47.5% route run rate over this time frame. Beckham is walking a tightrope while playing limited snaps. His stat line could bottom out at any time, but Week 12 is a good time to stay in Beckham’s flames. The Chargers have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. With Mark Andrews out, we could see Beckham get a bump in playing time and target share moving forward.
Rondale Moore (ARI): 15% rostered
- Next Opponents: LAR, @PIT, BYE
- True value: $1
- Desperate need: $2
- Budget-minded: $0
Analysis: Moore has finished with at least 43 receiving yards in each of his last two games while housing a long touchdown in Week 11. That deep shot against the Texans was his only target for the day, but he has averaged 4.5 targets over his last two games. Moore is a decent add this week tied to a re-emerging Kyler Murray. While Moore played on the perimeter more in Week 11 with Michael Wilson out, assuming Moore moves back into the slot beginning in Week 12, his next two matchups are quite nice. The Rams and Steelers have allowed the 12th-most and third-most PPR points per target to slot receivers (per Fantasy Points Data).
Tutu Atwell (LAR): 26% rostered
- Next Opponents: @ARI, CLE, @BAL
- True value: $1
- Desperate need: $2
- Budget-minded: $0
Analysis: Atwell is a decent speculative add this week who could see a big volume bump with Cooper Kupp hurt. When Kupp returned from the hamstring injury that sidelined him early in the season, Atwell’s role was vaporized. He has not recorded more than 31 receiving yards in any game since Week 3, but that could change in Week 12. Arizona has been a wondrous matchup for perimeter wide receivers this season, allowing the third-most PPR points per target (per Fantasy Points Data). Atwell is a plug-and-play flex with upside in Week 12.
Khalil Shakir (BUF): 11% rostered
- Next Opponents: @PHI, BYE, KC
- True value: $1
- Desperate need: $2
- Budget-minded: $0
Analysis: Shakir is free exposure to the rocket arm of Josh Allen. Over the last four weeks, he has finished with at least 92 receiving yards twice. Shakir could post another tasty stat line in Week 12 against an Eagles secondary that has allowed the most receiving yards to slot receivers this season (per Fantasy Points Data).
Zay Jones (JAX): 18% rostered
- Next Opponents: @HOU, CIN, @CLE
- True value: $1
- Desperate need: $2
- Budget-minded: $0
Analysis: Jones finally returned to the starting lineup in Week 11, playing 69% of the snaps while drawing a 12.5% target share. If his health continues to improve, Jones should see his snap share continue to climb. Jones has flex viability in Week 12 against the Texans, who since Week 6 have allowed the second-most PPR points per target to perimeter wide receivers (per Fantasy Points Data). Jones is live to secure a touchdown in this game, as his red-zone rapport with Trevor Lawrence has been well-documented over the last two seasons.
Stash Candidates:
Yes, my stash candidates this week are like being visited by the ghost of Christmas past. Rashod Bateman has finally started to resemble the player I have loved for the last few seasons. Since Week 10, he has had a 71.4% route run rate, 12.2% target share and 19.4% first-read share. With Mark Andrews out for the season, Baltimore’s wide receivers will have to shoulder more of the pass game load, and Bateman could answer the call.
Joshua Palmer could possibly return from IR in Week 13 if he is fully recovered from his knee injury. If your squad is looking playoff-bound, Palmer is a fantastic stash. The Chargers’ offense has been hurting with Palmer out, and Quentin Johnston has not been the answer. Before landing on IR, Palmer had at least 60 receiving yards and seven targets in four of his last five games.
Jameson Williams is stash-worthy if you have the bench depth. Last week, he played 65% of the Lions’ offensive snaps, and while he only drew an 8.5% target share, he flashed his big-play ability with 44 receiving yards and a score. Williams has been a near zero in fantasy this season, but with his playing time trending up, if he continues to stack big plays, he could still realize the hope we had for him entering this season.
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