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13 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes Ahead of Week 17 (2024)

It’s been a long season. If you’re reading, you’re the kind of dedicated fantasy football manager who deserves all the success that comes their way.

Hopefully, this article has helped you navigate roster management to a high standard all season long, saving you from fighting for players on the waiver wire by grabbing them days before.

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes Ahead of Week 17

For anyone reading this for the first time, we give you the players rostered in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues who will be in demand next week. Thanks to everyone for reading all year. Let’s get to this week’s waiver wire stashes.

Aidan O’Connell (QB – LV): 4% Rostered

Let’s start hot with a player who should be available in almost every league because, let’s be real, there are very few quality readily available players at this time of the year. Aidan O’Connell missed Week 15. It was catastrophic for Raiders skill position players with Desmond Ridder once again showcasing he’s not an NFL-caliber quarterback.

In O’Connell’s last full game, he scored 19.6 points and was the QB11 in Week 13. It couldn’t get much easier for O’Connell over the next two games with matchups against the Jaguars and Saints. Two teams struggling to defend all aspects of the game. O’Connell is nothing special but he understands the most important aspect of being an average quarterback — pepper your good players with targets.

Mason Rudolph (QB – TEN): 1% Rostered

Is Aidan O’Connell not disgusting enough for you? Well, how about Mason Rudolph? I swear, we’ll get to better players as the article goes on, but seriously, the quarterback waiver wire is devoid of talent and there are reasons to be optimistic about Rudolph, not just because of the time of year… Sorry.

Rudolph has finished as a top-20 quarterback in four games this year, including a QB13 finish in Week 15, despite entering the game halfway through the third quarter. Rudolph has a true cupcake matchup in Week 17 against the Jaguars, who rank 32nd in pass defense DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average). I get that nobody will want to start Rudolph, but it’s something to mull over. He’s worth stashing as your backup so you have a little more depth.

Alexander Mattison (RB – LV): 46% Rostered

Sincere McCormick looked prime to have a strong opportunity down the stretch of a lost season for the Raiders, only to land on the injured reserve (IR) almost immediately. McCormick’s loss is Alexander Mattison’s gain. The former Vikings running back is now firmly back in the rotation for the last few weeks of the season.

Mattison hasn’t been the most efficient back this year but he did seem to have the team’s trust, with 104 rush attempts and 34 targets this season. In Week 15, Mattison was out-touched by Ameer Abdullah, as the Raiders chased the Falcons throughout. In the coming weeks with competent quarterback play from O’Connell and friendly matchups against the Jaguars and Saints, Mattison can stay more involved and be a Flex-worthy fantasy start sit consideration.

Kendre Miller (RB – NO): 37% Rostered

Speaking of Saints, Alvin Kamara‘s injury has been described as worse than initially thought. He’ll likely miss Week 16 and it wouldn’t be surprising if he finds himself on (IR) and starts his offseason early.

Kendre Miller is averaging 4.6 yards per carry and has an explosive run rate of 7.1%, admittedly that’s coming on a small sample. For reference, that’s similar to Derrick Henry, Tyler Allgeier and Bucky Irving. The Saints face the Packers this weekend, who are a good run defense but sometimes volume alone can be all we need at running back.

Miller is worth picking up even if you don’t need to start him this weekend, ideally allowing you to see what his involvement is like ahead of a Week 17 matchup with the Raiders, who rank 25th in run defense.

Tyler Allgeier (RB – ATL): 32% Rostered

This one doesn’t require in-depth analysis. It just comes down to Tyler Allgeier being a starting-caliber running back who is stuck behind one of the very best running backs in the league in Bijan Robinson.

If anything were to happen to Robinson, Allgeier would be the best waiver claim of the year staring down perfect matchups against the Giants and Commanders, who have both struggled against the run in recent weeks. Starting Allgeier when Robinson is healthy is always tricky as his production can be volatile but he does have over 43 yards in three of his last five games.

Patrick Taylor (RB – SF): 28% Rostered

The Curse of San Francisco’s running back Room lives on. No sooner had Isaac Guerendo found his way into the lineup and looked good while doing so, but then he left Week 15’s game and is set to miss Week 16.

There’s a lot of projection here but Patrick Taylor has 14 rushes for 50 yards (3.8 yards per carry), which isn’t all that impressive, but he has forced four missed tackles on those attempts, which is quite impressive.

The Niners have had excellent production from running backs in the past and it shouldn’t surprise us if they get good returns from Taylor, even if the Week 17 matchup with Detroit on paper doesn’t look great. It could be the Lions are simply too beaten up and depleted to shut down the run like they normally do.

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Romeo Doubs (WR – GB): 44% Rostered

The Packers’ wide receiver room can be a volatile group often hard to figure out from one week to the next. One thing is true, if Romeo Doubs is out there, he’s likely involved.

Doubs leads the team in target share this season (18%) and has averaged 13% more snaps than the next nearest Packers receiver. Doubs faces the Saints this weekend, who are allowing the fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers, and then the Raiders, who rank 21st in pass defense DVOA.

Jalen McMillan (WR – TB): 42% Rostered

By this point, Jalen McMillan should be rostered regardless of his upcoming schedule. When you factor in the games against the Cowboys and Panthers, he definitely should be rostered.

The Cowboys allow the 10th-most fantasy points and rank 19th against the pass. The Panthers rank 30th against the pass and allow the 18th-most fantasy points to the position. Teams don’t need to go pass-heavy against the Panthers.

McMillan has scored over 40 points in his last two games and has separated from the rest of the contenders as the Bucs’ No. 2 WR.

Marquise Brown (WR – KC): 37% Rostered

It seems like Marquise Brown will be in line to make his Chiefs debut this weekend against the Texans before playing the Steelers in Week 17. The Chiefs badly need someone with some speed who can connect with Patrick Mahomes on deep passes.

DeAndre Hopkins has been playing no more than 65% of the snaps. Travis Kelce has been largely ineffective and can’t find his way into the end zone despite having the third-most red-zone targets in the league. Brown could be too rusty to make a difference but he’s worth stashing in case he does look good from the get-go.

Isaiah Likely (TE – BAL): 22% Rostered

The Ravens are all of a sudden hurting at pass-catcher with Rashod Bateman banged up, Nelson Agholor concussed and Diontae Johnson waived by the Ravens after his detrimental conduct.

Isaiah Likely started the season in scintillating form but wasn’t able to keep it going. Now would be a good time to recapture it once again. The Ravens’ remaining games are against the Steelers and Texans — both of whom are top-12 run defenses.

Chigoziem Okonkwo (TE – TEN): 9% Rostered

It’s been a bleak year for Chigoziem Okonkwo, who many hoped could emerge as a relevant tight end. Like many others who’ve come before him, however, the hype failed to deliver.

With that said, Okonkwo has seen 20 targets in the last three games. It’s been his most involved period of the season with him also seeing three deep targets.

Okonkwo is worth rostering for his Week 17 matchup with the Jaguars, at a complete minimum, with them allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to tight ends and ranking 32nd against the pass.

Indianapolis Colts D/ST: 44% Rostered

The Colts face Mason Rudolph and whichever quarterback the Giants roll out in Week 17 over the next two weeks. On defense, they’ve scored seven or more points in their last two games, which isn’t spectacular, but is a solid floor. They’ll likely surpass that in their next matchups.

Miami Dolphins D/ST: 46% Rostered

The Dolphins play the Browns in Week 17 and will get a chance to light up Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who has completed a miserable 53% of his career pass attempts for four interceptions and one touchdown.

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