0:00Good morning, friends and enemies.
0:02Welcome into the week 16 waiverwire, the semifinals of your fantasy playoffs.
0:08Kind of an interesting one, not going to lie. There's some moving parts around.
0:10There's some injuries that we need to make clear before we know who the hits, who the bangers are. But for right now,
0:17you know, I think there's some gold on the waiver wire if you play your cards right. And we're going to go through
0:21each of the positions, all the trending players, talk through my thoughts on these thoughts, and then go through the trending down players, guys that I think
0:28you can officially drop for the season.
0:31All right, let's start with the running back position because I think that is the most interesting position of the week for the waiverwire. You have
0:37Michael Carter up top there, who I would say is probably my number one waiverwire pickup of the week at the running back
0:42position, given the fact that Zonovan Knight has sprained his ankle. Troy Benson is out for the year, James Connor's out for the year. Donovan
0:49Knight got hurt very early on in Sunday's game against Houston and it led to Michael Carter playing on nearly 80% of the snaps in this one. Took all the
0:59early down work, got a lot of passcatching work as well and Michael Carter is going to end up filling that role. The one wrench kind of thrown in
1:05here is that Amari de Marcado did come back from a high ankle sprain for the first time in week 15 and I do think he
1:11will likely take that like pure passcatching role when he's a little bit healthier which obviously as the weeks progress he will become healthier and
1:18healthier. They've got a great schedule Atlanta and Cincinnati and I think Michael Carter as the lead back for those two games can be someone who
1:26scores, you know, one or two touchdowns over the next two weeks. He's also just a good versatile back. if y'all remember
1:31watching him at UNCC. He was a really a really good runner and pass catcher along with Jvonte Williams there when they were both there together. So, I
1:37think he's versatile. I think he could be used in all facets of the game and I think he will likely be their lead
1:43runner in the way that Zonovan Knight had kind of been for the last few weeks.
1:45So, in the same vein where now it's all condensed to Michael Carter and Amari De Marcado and this is assuming Zonovan
1:50Knight is out for the remainder of the season because I think he probably will be based on reports that we've heard. I
1:55think Michael Carter will be like a top, you know, 25 to 30 running back where he's not a must start, but I think you
2:00could definitely do worse if you're in a pinch, especially in PPR league. So, I like Michael Carter a lot this week.
2:05Jaka Kroski Morett only owned in 42% of leagues. He had a big game because Chris Rodriguez kind of randomly got ruled
2:11out. Ended up going 18 for 96 on the ground, a touchdown. A lot of that had to do with the fact they were playing
2:16against the New York Giants. Obviously, split work with Jeremy McNichols. One thing I will say about Chris Rodriguez, he missed the game of the groin. He was
2:23a DNP on Wednesday, but did get limited practices in on both Thursday and Friday. And as far as I'm concerned, he
2:30didn't suffer like a setback over the weekend or pregame warm-ups or anything like that. So, it does feel like he's probably trending to get back for the
2:37game against Philadelphia, who have been kind of a subpar uh defensive team against the run when Jaylen Carter is not playing, which I don't think I
2:44expect him to play in week 16, but we'll have to keep an eye on that. When Chris Rodriguez is back, this is just going to
2:48be a very, very muddled back field again. I just don't think they are planning on giving anyone just all the work here. You know, even when Chris
2:55Rodriguez kind of like was the starter, it was still like 12 carries to five for him, five for McNichols. So, it's messy.
3:01I'd pick up JCM just in case. He should be owned just in case Chris Rodriguez misses another game. He'll be a flex
3:07option for you, but not overly optimistic about it. Malik Davis just a high-end handcuff to Javvante Williams.
3:13The New Orleans backfield is a little bit interesting here as well because Deon Neil leaves the game with a hamstring injury and that likely means
3:19he's going to miss at least one game if not the remainder of the fantasy season.
3:22They get the Jets at home next week which is a juicy matchup. Now we're going to see some sort of a split
3:27backfield. No Deon Neil. We don't have word on Alvin Kamara. I still think he probably tries to make a return and
3:32probably doesn't want to go out like this, but we'll have to see. Maybe it's this week. Maybe it's next week. Maybe
3:36it's just week 18 against Atlanta. If not, it'll be a split between Aldrick Esme and Evan Hull. Now, it's kind of
3:44weird how they were used. Like Esme ended up being more heavily utilized when Devin Neil went out, but he was like more of a pass catcher. He was
3:51playing a long down and distance snaps.
3:52He was playing the passcatching role, which is weird cuz that's not the type of player he is. He is a huge body. He
3:58is a big power running back, like a thumper from Notre Dame, as you could see, 5'11, 227 pounds, where Evan Hull
4:03is like a lot more explosive, a lot more fit to be the pass catcher. So, I'm not clear on what their actual role is going
4:09to be going forward. I would prioritize Audrey Esté and Evan Hull to me doesn't feel like a high upside play really. Not
4:18even sure I really want to go ahead and add him to any of my teams, but I do feel like he will be part of the
4:22committee here and and will throw a little bit of a wrench into Audrey Estay. Though, I do think Esté is very
4:26very likely to be the one that ends up getting the goal line scores here. And at the end of the day, I think the
4:30running backs in New Orleans have like a relatively featured role. They catch a lot of passes. They get a decent amount
4:36of goal line scores. Like I don't hate Audrey Esté as a play, a fill-in play in week 16 as a flex guy against the New
4:43York Jets, assuming Deon Deal and Alvin Kamar are both out. The other guy to talk about here that is not listed is
4:48Jaw Jordan. Jaward Jordan, Houston running back. He is 26 years old. He was a very late round pick years ago, like
4:562023 or 2024. He actually was the starter over Isaac Greno at Louisville at the time. This was his first carry in
5:03the NFL in week 15 because Nick Chub was ruled out with a rib injury. Woody Marks left the game with an ankle injury and
5:09didn't return mainly because they were whooping the out of Arizona. So, I get it. Maybe it's something that lingers though. Jar Jordan was placed
5:16back with the practice squad, but I think that's just more of a formality.
5:18They'll have to see what the deal is with Woody Marks. If Woody Marks does end up missing this game and or Nick
5:22Chub, they probably call Jaw Jordan back up. Now, Jar Jordan, great game. 15 for 101 on the ground, two for 17 through
5:28the air. So overall, like good on paper.
5:31I am not overly confident that like both Woody Marks and Nick Chub both end up missing the week 16 game against the
5:38Raiders. Good matchup at home against the Raiders here. I do think Woody Marks could have returned again if they weren't putting the beat down on the
5:44Arizona Cardinals. Nick Chubbs got the rib injury. I would put him at 50/50 to play this week as well. Obviously, if
5:50either of those guys are active, Jar Jordan just takes a major back seat here. He should probably be owned just in case the practice reports end up
5:56moving in favor of him. He'll be a guy that probably consolidates a lot of the work. I will also say Darian Goomba was
6:02playing the passcatching role. So it wouldn't be just like pure upside. It wouldn't be pure Bellcow role for Jaw Jordan, but you do expect Houston to be
6:10a very very friendly game script to the running backs against Las Vegas. They'll probably be like 8 n 10 11 point
6:17favorites in that one, which does not point towards like Darren Goombow getting a lot of play time as a pass catching back. Move over to the wide
6:24receivers now. I think there's basically two situations to talk about here. The first would be the Green Bay situation.
6:30You have Christian Watson leaving the game, going to the hospital, got the chest injury. I would be blown away if he played in week 16 from everything
6:37that I have heard. They also play on a short week on Saturday against Chicago.
6:42So, less rest. I'd go as far as saying he's not playing, which does open up the receiver room to Jaden Reed, who's still
6:47under 50% own somehow. But, it's going to be Jaden Reed. It's going to be a lot of Romeo Dobs. And I'm sure there's
6:51going to be one of either Matthew Golden or Dontaven Wixs that kind of like pop off per se on any given week over the
6:58next couple of weeks. So assuming Christian Watson's out, would definitely prioritize Jaden Reed as the one. He's running a lot of routes now. He's seeing
7:04a decent amount of targets right now. We haven't seen the ceiling game, but we know it's there on any given week. Romeo
7:09Dobs was really good for a while when Christian Watson was not playing. So I do expect him to continue to run 90% of
7:15the routes. And you know, Jordan Love's got to throw the ball somewhere. They don't got Tucker Craft. They don't got Christian Watson. So Jaden Reed to me is
7:20like a really really solid wide receiver three right now. I think Romeo Dobs is flex worthy against the Chicago Bears going forward. I don't want to have him
7:27in my lineup, but you could definitely do worse. And then the other two like Golden had the good game, but he still
7:32ran 41% of routes compared to 46% for Dantavian Wick. So yeah, he he caught a couple of passes like finally, but this
7:40was not any sort of like changing of the guard. And maybe they force him more into a role that's like, "Hey, you need
7:44to do what Christian Watson was doing, but I think you're insane if you're trying to throw Matthew Golden into your lineup in week 16 of the fantasy
7:51playoffs right now." So, I would order it. Jaden Reed, Romeo Dobs, Matthew Golden, Dantavian Wixs. You guys kind of know the deal with Adonai Mitchell. The
8:01Chicago receiver room is probably the only other one worth talking about here because you have Roma Dunes who reagravated the stress fracture in his
8:08foot and will likely be out for at least a week if not the remainder of the season. Now reagravations typically end
8:14up being a much longerlasting injury. I guess I should throw that in with Ricky Pierall who is likely to miss the
8:20upcoming game at Indie. He reagravated his knee injury. So I would be surprised if he ended up suiting up on Monday
8:25Night Football. It's up for Jawan Jennings, up for George KD, but I don't really necessarily want to touch anything else in that offense in
8:32relation to the wide receivers. Chicago though, so we have Luther Burton in the midst of like a little bit of a breakout
8:37with Roma Dunay out. However, he ends up suffering an ankle sprain. I really don't know the severity of it. We haven't got much word on it. He was seen
8:44carded off the field at the end of the game, but again, could be precautionary.
8:48Just don't want to walk on it. From what we've heard, he's very much dayto-day.
8:51That feels more like a low ankle sprain than a high ankle sprain. Again though, what is working against them is they
8:57play Saturday, so they have one fewer day of rest, but it does also mean we'll have practice reports earlier on. We
9:03will probably get our first practice report. Saturday games will be Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So hopefully by the time you guys see this, we'll have our
9:09first practice report on Luther Burton.
9:10We'll see if he's LP or DNP and we can get a little bit more clarification on it. Unfortunately, even if Luther Burden
9:16ends up missing this game, like I'm not interested at all on Zakius. I'm not interested in anyone behind him. You know, you got DJ Moore who's now going
9:22to be siphoned targets and then they'll probably play a lot of two tight end sets. So, like Coulson Love, I I think
9:27becomes a stronger start. You're not starting Cole Keta obviously, but hopefully Burton can play and if that's the case, you know, I think he's a
9:33decent wide receiver three flex option with weekly upside right now. And as always, you know, the rankings that I have up on the website will be updated
9:40live throughout the week as injuries come in, both the waiverwire rankings, which will be live by the time this video goes live. So, it'll have my exact
9:47fab suggestions. It'll have my actual rankings of all these players in terms of who I would prioritize. And then my weekly sit start rankings go live
9:54tomorrow around noon Eastern. So, you'll be set up for Thursday Night Football, Saturday, Sunday, all that good stuff.
9:59You can get access to both of them through one single membership, the big dog membership on BDGE.co.
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10:24All right, so we got Green Bay, we got Chicago. Jaylen Coker, I think needs to be mentioned. He is now kind of getting
10:30back to form, back-to-back big weeks for him. Four for 74 against the Rams, week 13 by 4 for 60 and a touchdown. Week 15
10:37against New Orleans. Gets a very friendly matchup against Tampa Bay. How sticky is it? I I think he's moved into like the number two option behind Tet
10:45McMillan for sure. And and you're seeing a little bit of Bryce Young, Jaylen Coker chemistry happening here. So, he'll probably be somewhere in the the
10:52wide receiver 40 to 48 range when I drop my rankings this week. Just one of those like you could do worse. Tight end gets
10:59a little bit interesting. We have Kobe Parkinson, which is going to be like the worst kept secret this week. Everyone's just going to kind of reiterate the same
11:05things over and over again. Dvonte Adams is going to be out for their Thursday night game against Seattle. Seattle's not good against tight ends. The Rams
11:11run a ton of three tight end sets.
11:13Obviously, Kobe Parkinson now has six receiving touchdowns in his last six games. That is crazy. And now when they're inside the five, they're going
11:21to have to go to those playaction tight end sets often or just feed Kairen and Blake Corm over and over and over again
11:28without Dvonte Adams on the field.
11:30Obviously opens up targets, opportunities, all that kind of stuff.
11:32And I guess we could touch on that. I'm not really confident in any receiver outside of Puka in this receiving core.
11:37Like typically this is kind of a plug-and-play system where it's like you kind of expected when Puka is out that Jordan Whittington was going to step
11:44into that role, but they've got Jordan Whittington. They've got 2 T2 Atwell.
11:46They've got I think Mumfield who was a guy that that stepped in during Puka's absence and scored a touchdown. So yeah,
11:51I mean if you're starting one of those nonpuka wide receivers from the Rams in week 16 of your fantasy playoffs, you
11:57are down tremendously. So if you want to take a shot on one of them, like if you want to just like hold Jordan
12:01Whittington and kind of like see what happens and maybe you start him in week 17, go for it. But that ain't me. And
12:06then we've got Darren Waller who I can't believe is still under 40% owned. Like he needed to be picked up and we saw
12:11last night why played Pittsburgh. Two touchdowns, seven catches on eight targets, 66 yards. So monster fantasy performance for those of you that ended
12:19up playing him. Came at the end of the game for the most part, but still that is their red zone offense when they get
12:24down there. Two looks for the big body Darren Waller and they play Cincinnati next week. Couldn't ask for a better matchup. So I will be starting Darren
12:31Waller in my tight end spot in my most important league next week. Couple other names that were not on the trending tab
12:36list. I already mentioned Coulson Lovelin. Obviously a really good pickup if Rome and Luther Burton are out. Mike Siki I still think deserves a shout if
12:43T. Higgins ends up missing a game. I know that he had a very very poor game on Sunday. But like more often than not
12:49when T or Jamar Chase misses, Mosiki becomes the secondary receiver. Joe Burrow just couldn't get anything going against the Ravens defense outside of
12:56just throwing to Jamar Chase. So I think better days are ahead. They play Miami next week again. Like I just like
13:00getting pieces of that matchup. So, I think if you're desperate, can definitely get back into your lineup if needed. And don't like overemphasize
13:08recency bias off of a one game sample size. And then two other receivers real quick to circle back there. Devon Vele,
13:14about time that needs some respect out of y'all. He is playing really well. They get the Jets. He's become like a very high floor PPR play.
13:22He's averaging 14 PPR fantasy points per game over the last three. Now that they give him a workload, like he's playing
13:28really well. He's he's gotten almost the same amount of targets as Chris Ave over the last three weeks. So, and then
13:33Darius Sllayton coming off a 10arget game. I think he's just good. I I think he's just good for this offense. I think
13:39he just provides something a field stretcher. His A dot is very high, which is why a lot of his targets end up being
13:44uncatchable, but he had 10 targets in this one. I think he's going to continue to get a decent amount of targets. He's
13:49got a low floor, but he's got a very high ceiling because the average depth of target is very far downfield. And the
13:53last player I will circle back on, you know, I don't typically do a lot of quarterback discussion in these videos.
13:58I guess we could talk about Gardenner Mchu, though. They play at Tennessee this week is obviously filling in for Patrick Mahomes. That's a good matchup
14:04for him, but then they play Denver in week 17. So, if you're going to pick up Gardenner Mchu as like a quarterback 2
14:08streaming option in Superflex leagues, you could do so. Just know that he will not be in your lineup in week 17. Tyler
14:15Shuck is a great streamer at this point.
14:16CJ Stroud's a great streamer at this point for one quarterback leagues. And then Anthony Richardson is the other one that I want to talk about real quick.
14:22Philip Rivers has already been named the starter for their week 16 matchup, Monday Night Football, against the 49ers. I think as soon as Philip Rivers
14:31and the Colts are eliminated from the playoffs, and I don't know if that's actually possible to happen on Monday night, but I do think they end up going
14:39to Anthony Richardson, maybe even Riley Leonard, but Anthony Richardson was just cleared medically from his orbital fracture. Now, when he returns to
14:47practice, when he's actually in game shape, when they're ready to play him, remains to be seen. It obviously won't be in week 16. So, the only other option
14:54left is week 17. But again, if you are in a superflex league, you need a quarterback, too. I'm definitely not throwing Anthony Richardson in, you
15:02know, a one quarterback league off of 10 weeks of of being out at this point. But we know the weekly ceiling that A- Rich
15:08has if he does get that week 17 start. I believe they play the Jacksonville Jaguars. So, tough matchup, but y'all know A- Rich. All right, let's move over
15:14to the trending down tab. Once again, we've got the running backs. Emanuel Wilson, just a handcuff to Jacobs. Do what you want with it. Devin Singleary
15:21kind of got overtaken by Tracy. Listen, if you need the spot, you're probably not starting him this week, so I don't
15:26blame you. Chris Rodriguez, another one where if you need the spot, don't blame you. Brian Robinson, just a handcuff to I believe, is getting surgery on his
15:32finger, going to be out for a while, so he's droppable. Jaylen Wright, it's fine. Droppable. Zonovan Knight dropable. Kyle Manangi would not drop.
15:39Trey Benson is droppable. Ali Gordon droppable. Jordan Mason wouldn't drop.
15:43He's splitting carries pretty evenly with Aaron Jones at this point. They get the New York Giants in week 16, so could
15:48hold on to him. Uh Kareem Hunt, they might go run heavy there without Mahomes. I I don't know. Obviously, it's not it's not pretty out there. I would
15:55hold on to the Kansas City Chiefs running backs for one more week. Shawn Tucker getting about three carries, goal line carry. Yeah, he's droppable to me.
16:02Fenoi is fine. Uh he's kind of like a handcuff wide receiver at this point.
16:06They get the Chargers next week. You're not actually going to throw him into your lineup, so he's droable. Jerry Judy, I probably hold on to I might uh I
16:12might rip him in one of the next two weeks if I'm really desperate. Mchi I think is still runs a lot of routes
16:16still gets a decent amount of targets so he's got a floor but like I can't imagine him being in your lineup. Jen
16:20Higgins I would hold on to. Yoshio is droppable. Worthy at this point is probably droppable. Quint Johnson missed last game but I wouldn't drop him. Trey
16:27Tucker at Houston this week droppable if you need the spot. Shimray DK is droppable. Darnell Mooney has been asked. They do get Arizona so a decent
16:35matchup. Should see an okay amount of targets. So hold on to him if you want to. Devon do not drop. Isaac Tesla you
16:41could drop. Malik Washington you could drop. Romeo Dobs, I would not drop.
16:44Brettton Strange, I would not drop. Zack Z, you could drop. Mark Andrews, I probably wouldn't drop. Waller, definitely not. Gassiki, I would not.
16:50Concincade, I would not. AJ Barner, you could drop. Katton, you can drop. All right, and that is it for the week 16
16:57waiver wire. Thank you for hanging out with me today. And again, if you want access to my Waverwire rankings, my weekly start rankings, all of that is
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