With the fantasy football playoffs quickly approaching, now is the time to be proactive on the waivers. These players should be your top priority if they're available on your waiver wire.
In Week 11, we saw some new faces emerge just in time for the stretch run of the fantasy football season due to injuries. Unfortunately, injuries are part of the violent game we've all come to know and love. With that in mind, it is a next-man-up mentality in the NFL and injuries create opportunities for new players to rise to the occasion.
Be sure to add these players, who are available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo Fantasy football leagues, ahead of Week 12.
QB Waiver Wire Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 12
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (46 percent rostered)
Jordan Love is coming off what may arguably be his best game as a pro against the Chargers in Week 11. Love completed 27 of his 40 pass attempts for 322 yards and two touchdowns while committing zero turnovers.
While it has been an up-and-down season from a real-life perspective, Love has been a steady fantasy option. He's had 15-plus fantasy points in eight of the 10 games he's played this season, averaging 17.8 fantasy points per game in that span (QB13 overall).
Love's rushing ability and propensity to score touchdowns have helped keep his fantasy value afloat. He's rushed for at least 20 yards in five of 10 games this season and scored multiple touchdowns in seven of those 10 games.
Managers who just lost Joe Burrow for the season due to his wrist injury or those who may be without Geno Smith after he suffered an elbow injury in Week 11 will be hard-pressed to find a better streaming option than Love.
Up next for Love is a Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Lions. The Lions defense has a strong pass-rushing unit but their secondary doesn't strike fear into the eyes of their opponents. If the Packers offensive line can buy Love time in the pocket, he should be in for another productive outing in Week 12.
Love and the Packers also still have the Giants, Bucs, and Panthers on their schedule in the coming weeks which is as fantasy-friendly of a schedule as you can get.
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (15 percent rostered)
The struggles continued for this year's No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young in the Panthers' Week 11 loss to the Cowboys. Young took seven sacks and completed 16 of his 29 pass attempts for 123 yards and a touchdown, adding an interception. Putting Young in your fantasy lineup may make you feel queasy given what he's shown through his first 10 games as a rookie, but trust the process.
Young's end-of-season schedule is too favorable to ignore. In Week 12, he faces a Titans defense that just got carved up by Trevor Lawrence, who produced nearly 300 yards of total offense and scored four touchdowns. Then, he faces a Bucs defense that allows 300 passing yards and multiple touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks before they even get off the bus.
If those two matchups weren't enough to sway you, he has a Week 17 matchup against the Jaguars, who are a bottom-five defense in terms of opponent passing yards allowed per game (254.4).
In other words, better days are ahead for Young and the Panthers offense, who stood no chance against a relentless Cowboys defense.
RB Waiver Wire Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 12
Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks (45 percent rostered)
With Kenneth Walker's status officially in doubt moving forward after suffering what head coach Pete Carroll an "oblique strain that was legit," per The News Tribune's Seahawks beat Writer, Gregg Bell.
As of this writing, Walker did not practice in Monday's walkthrough as the Seahawks prepare to face the 49ers on Thanksgiving. Carroll not only seemed pessimistic about Walker's chances of suiting up this week but also cast doubt over his status in the coming weeks after seeming unsure about whether or not he'll need to be added to the injured reserve list.
Even if he isn't placed on injured reserve, it sounds like Walker could be headed for a multi-week absence, paving the way for rookie running back Zach Charbonnet to pace the backfield in usage.
Charbonnet played 85 percent of the snaps in Week 11 as a result of Walker's injury, earning 21 touches. While the touches didn't amount to much (69 yards), the touches are eye-opening. Charbonnet had six receptions, showcasing his pass-catching ability
If Walker is forced to miss any time (which it sounds like he will based on Carroll's comments), Charbonnet becomes a must-start fantasy option and borderline RB1 thanks to his receiving prowess and role within a talented offense.
Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings (44 percent rostered)
Ty Chandler was expected to have the backfield to himself on Sunday Night Football after Alexander Mattison suffered a concussion in Week 10. However, Mattison was able to clear the NFL's concussion protocol in time for Week 11. Despite this, Chandler still earned a sizeable workload and performed admirably with the touches he earned.
Chandler converted 14 touches into 110 yards from scrimmage, including this 31-yard gain on a gutsy fake punt call made by Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell.
Mattison played well too, rushing for 81 yards on 18 carries. But, Chandler was more efficient with his touches and saw the bulk of the pass-catching work out of the backfield (four targets to Mattison's two).
Even before Mattison suffered a concussion in Week 10, he was ceding carries to Chandler against the Saints. Mattison has operated as the team's workhorse for much of the season but is averaging a measly 3.7 yards per carry, paving the way for Chandler to get a shot.
Chandler offers standalone value as a low-end FLEX for managers struggling to get through bye weeks but has immense upside as a handcuff to Mattison if he were to get injured and/or lose his grip on the backfield.
WR Waiver Wire Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 12
Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts (50 percent rostered)
It is shocking to see Josh Downs' rostership fall to 50 percent during his bye week. While he did struggle in the two games before the bye, it is noteworthy that he was playing through a knee injury. Now, he had the bye week to get right and help fantasy managers win games.
Before suffering an injury in Week 9, Downs was putting up fringe WR2/3 numbers in PPR formats. From Weeks 1-8, he averaged 12.4 PPR points per game. Downs saw no less than six targets in six of his first eight games.
Downs has become a reliable option for Gardner Minshew in the middle of the field and has a firm grip on being the team's No. 2 pass-catching option behind Michael Pittman Jr. Downs' role within the Colts offense is secure, making him someone who needs to be rostered in leagues of all formats.
Downs will look to get back on track following the bye and has a perfect opportunity to do so in Week 12 when the Colts host the Bucs, whose defense epitomizes what it means to be a pass funnel.
Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers (36 percent rostered)
The Packers selected Jayden Reed in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft and he has quickly emerged as one of Jordan Love's favorite targets. Reed has quietly emerged as a reliable fantasy option in the process, scoring double-digit PPR fantasy points in four of his past five games.
Reed is an ascending rookie who followed up his career-best receiving total (84 yards) in Week 10 with his best game as a pro in Week 11. He hauled in four of his six targets for 46 yards and added three carries for 46 yards and a touchdown as a rusher, totaling 92 scrimmage yards on nine opportunities.
With running back Aaron Jones carted off during the Packers' win over the Chargers, there could be more opportunities for Reed. Not to mention, Packers quarterback Jordan Love seems to be finding his stride and is coming off of what could be his best game as an NFL starting quarterback.
Reed has a chance to establish himself as a weekly WR3/FLEX moving forward given his talent, opportunity, and improved quarterback play.
TE Waiver Wire Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 12
Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens (4 percent rostered)
There is no one-for-one replacement for Mark Andrews, who suffered an ankle injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for the foreseeable future. However, Isaiah Likely is about as good of a replacement as you can get thanks to his pass-catching ability.
Likely has proven that he can be a fantasy-viable option when given the opportunity. Per Yahoo Fantasy, Likely hauled in 15 catches for 204 yards and two touchdowns in the three games that he played over 50 percent of the snaps last season.
Now, he will assuredly become a full-time player as the Ravens look to fill the void left by Andrews. Not to mention, he's also connected to one of the more potent passing attacks in the NFL and best quarterbacks in the NFL (Lamar Jackson).
Managers in need of tight end help would be wise to prioritize Likely.
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams (41 percent rostered)
After earning 26 targets through the first four weeks of the season while All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp was on injured reserve due to an ankle injury, Tyler Higbee was quickly phased out of the offensive game plan once Kupp returned to the lineup.
Higbee has seen fewer targets from Weeks 5-11 (20) than he did in the first four games of the season. That is natural when a player of Kupp's caliber returns from injury combined with the emergence of rookie phenom Puka Nacua.
Now, Kupp is dealing with yet another ankle injury after he suffered a low ankle sprain in Week 11 against the Seahawks. ESPN's Adam Schefter notes that Kupp is currently being viewed as day-to-day but also notes that the Rams will "be careful with him" given his extensive history with ankle injuries.
With that said, Higbee has a chance to re-emerge as a viable PPR option for managers in need of a tight end.
