A lot of times in fantasy football, players will bust or get injured and you feel your team is basically done for the year. However, without even making trades you can drastically improve your team by working the waiver wire. For those new to fantasy football, the waiver wire is full of ‘free-agent’ players that you can pick up and add to your team.
Oftentimes, there will be a variety of players worth adding to your roster and depending on your team this article might contain most of them or just a few. Therefore, whenever I put a player on this list he will have a 50% ownership percentage or lower to make it so there should be players for everyone to add and make their teams significantly better.
Additionally, all ownership percentages will be based on the ESPN website data but usually the percentages are relatively uniform across platforms from my experience.
I am going to always divide this article into three sections: Running Backs, Wide Receivers, and Tight Ends. So if you need one of those positions more than anything else feel free to just scroll to that given section.
Running Backs:
D’Ernest Johnson (1% owned):
Johnson only makes this list because it seems like Chubb and Hunt are both going to miss at least one week each. Additionally, in this Browns system, Shanahan loves to use multiples running backs so it would not surprise me whatsoever to see Johnson having a role in this offense regardless of whether Chubb plays or not simply because Hunt is out for the foreseeable future. He’s not the most talented guy but at the end of the day opportunity can trump talent and allow Johnson to be fantasy relevant.
JD McKissic (46% owned): This is almost certainly McKissic’s last week on this list so pick him up while you still can. With Gibson leaving for injury, McKissic had 16 touches including eight receptions on an insane ten targets. McKissic is a target hog and is being fed the ball out of the backfield. It is incredibly rare to find a running back on the waiver wire who just had ten targets in one game. If Gibson is injured McKissic has RB2 upside pretty easily and even if Gibson is not injured, McKissic does have standalone value as a desperation flex play.
Rhamondre Stevenson (12% owned):
With injuries to the running back room in New England, it appears Stevenson is about to step into a pretty big role potentially. Stevenson had eight total touches on Sunday not to mention a touchdown. It was Stevenson’s first time ever breaking the 10+ point mark as he finished with 12.2. He had three receptions for 39 yards as well which is great value in PPR. Just be careful with Stevenson and Patriots running backs in general because Belichick has been known to randomly give the ball to a random running back at any time.
Wide Receivers:
AJ Green (33% owned):
I never thought Green would be back to playing football again at a somewhat high level but here we are. Green has double digit points in 4/6 games which is very nice value for a flex option. He has exactly six targets in five out of six games meaning he is involved quite heavily in this offense. Green has three touchdowns to go along with all of these targets as well. Green is honestly a very solid flex play week in and week out and I am pretty confident in him doing at least okay on a weekly basis.
Rashod Bateman (15% owned):
This may be a confusing player on this list due to a lack of production, but the fact that Bateman had six targets in his first ever NFL game and first game back since his injury is very impressive. Bateman is someone with long term upside this season as someone who could potentially explode down the line. I love him as a stash play although some people are not the biggest fans of simply storing a player on their bench. Personally, I’m willing to bet on the upside and pick up Bateman.
TY Hilton (24% owned):
Hilton is just a good, solid player. Despite his advanced age, Hilton still managed to put up four receptions for 80 yards this past week. The Colts have struggled all season trying to find “the guy” at wide receiver and there is no reason Hilton cannot have a big role in this offense provided he stays healthy. I think he’s a great flex play with back-end WR2 upside if he maintains the role I believe he currently has.
Tight Ends: Ricky Seals-Jones (20% owned): I feel like the fantasy community was waiting for a Seals-Jones breakout on the Cardinals for years before finally just giving up. However, Seals-Jones is now a viable fantasy option this year to everyone’s surprise. Heinicke seems to love him as he has 4+ targets in each of the last three games. Seals-Jones has two touchdowns in just four games played and should continue to have a decent-sized role in this offense on a weekly basis.
Zach Ertz (48% owned):
Another player who will not be around on the waiver wire much longer, Ertz has an amazing new situation in Arizona. Ertz is no longer trapped in a horrible tight end committee and should be the bonafide TE1 for the Cardinals. Personally, I still think he has a lot of talent and should be able to have a really solid year with the Cards. With tight end as horrible as its ever been this year, Ertz is most definitely worth a pick up.