The Tank Dell Dilemma
December 7, 2023
Uncover the essential Week 12 waiver wire adds to strengthen your dynasty fantasy football team. Make strategic roster moves for long-term success!
Elevate your dynasty fantasy football roster with these waiver-wire gems heading into week 12. Week 11 saw another two major injuries open new season-long opportunities for players. The waiver wire should be chalked full of a large amount of FAAB spent on some top-end claims. Be sure to purge the bottom of your dynasty rosters to maximize the potential value of your team each week with this article.
A few quick disclaimers before we get going. To make this list, I will require players to be under (20% owned in MFL leagues or under 30% in Sleeper leagues). Rostership in the article will be listed as (MFL%, Sleeper%) In general; we want running backs to fill the bottom of rosters in lineup leagues, and this level of wide receivers only in best-ball leagues. I will distinguish which leagues I’m interested in the player for at the end of each player’s notes. The players listed here are listed in no order. Lastly, I will not provide a value that I would spend in FAAB on each player; the way each league operates varies wildly with activity, format, and values. You must know your league and if each player should be considered for your roster. If you ever have any questions or comments, reach out to me on Discord @TheFantasyDraftRoom or on X @CodySmithTFDR
We’ll kick off week 12 with the significant injury replacements for your playoff run down the stretch. The quarterback season-ending injuries keep coming, with Joe Burrow exiting the game early last week with his wrist ligament tear. That leaves Jake Browning as the starter and AJ McCarron and Drew Plitt as the backups for now. Jake Browning will be one of the most sought-after assets right now in superflex leagues, and rightfully so. However, if this team still has playoff aspirations and Browning can’t improve upon what he’s shown so far, I don’t think stashing a couple of McCarron shares is wrong if you have the depth spots on your bench open. I would add both to most superflex leagues.
The second season-ending injury we saw in the same brutal game was to Mark Andrews. While John Harbaugh said today that he could potentially come back this season, Andrew’s left ankle injury will, at minimum, keep him out for the fantasy season. Isaiah Likely is the first name to look for, but he should already be owned in most leagues. Charlie Kolar becomes a name that could have some standalone value going forward. The offense has changed with Monken not using multiple tight ends nearly as often as the Ravens of old. Kolar should be an add-in to most tight-end premium leagues over a total of 1.75 or more and even more sought after in bestball.
The last quarterback change going forward this season wasn’t one due to injury. The leash has finally run out on Zach Wilson, and most are only left wondering why it took this long. While he still has won almost double the games that another class of 2021 rookie has, the defense and weapons have had to carry him to every one. The team looked like they had fully lost their faith this last week and couldn’t roll out there in support of him anymore. The team has announced that Tim Boyle will be the starter in week 12, and Trevor Siemian will be the backup, moving Wilson to be the emergency QB. None of these names provide much week-to-week upside, though the offensive line has worsened with the injury to Mekhi Becton. Still, with all the injuries at the position this year, both could be worth an add in superflex leagues.
Thankfully, the injury to Cooper Kupp was not as serious as it could have been. While he was pushing to return on Sunday, the team decided to hold him out the rest of the way. He may be able to suit up in week 12 versus the Cardinals, but the name of Trammell is interesting. I probably don’t know the name of the 2021 UDFA out of Rice, mostly because he hardly played at all earlier this year while Kupp was missing time. Since then, the team has traded Van Jefferson, and Ben Skowronek and Demarcus Robinson have become afterthoughts. Trammell ran a career-high 46 snaps in replacement of Kupp and was targeted six times. While he may get relegated to an unusable snap rate if Kupp is back, he is worth a speculative add in bestball leagues to see if Kupp does miss time.
The injury bug continued hitting the Packers as Aaron Jones and Emmanuel Wilson were carted to the locker room on Sunday. Both appear to have injuries that will keep them out for multiple weeks without another running back on the roster outside of practice squad member Ellis Merriweather. The Packers backfilled the backup running back position on the team going forward, bringing in Patrick Taylor and James Robinson. Both have spent time with the team already this year. While neither should be looked at to be plugged into any lineup, they are only one injury to AJ Dillion away from significant playing time. That makes them both worth an add-in lineup leagues.
Greg Dortch, the waiver wire darling of 2022, had a 2023 breakout day on Sunday. After only having two targets total on the season, Kyler Murray peppered him with eight targets for 76 yards. Dortch was thrust into the role because of the time Michael Wilson and Zach Pascal missed. While I expect Wilson to return to his role, this team cannot roll out Pascal over Dortch. Pascal has only turned 11 targets into four catches, and 19 yards total this season. With Kyler back under center moving forward this offense is worth holding onto more pieces each week. We’ve seen this connection thrive before, and if Kyler has any say in the offense, I don’t see why the team wouldn’t try to give Dortch a shot to take back a more significant role. He’s worth adding to best-ball leagues to see if he can continue the production.
The Chigoziem Okonkwo hype of the offseason has completely flopped. While somewhat due to the pure inefficiencies of the offense, the Titans also continue to deploy a three-man rotation. For the first time this year, Josh Whyle, the Cincinnati rookie, outsnapped Okonkwo and only trailed him in routes run by one. The chances that Whyle becomes a weekly staple are admittedly low at this point, but if there were an injury to Okonkwo, I would expect him to become the primary tight-end pass catcher over Trevon Wesco. Whyle can be considered a deeper add in best-ball and tight-end premium lineup leagues.
The Buffalo Bills have continued to leave Leonard Fournette off the active roster. I’m giving it one more week, but unless he starts to see some snaps, I am giving up all hope that he will become a thing this year. The Bills instead used Ty Johnson in his largest role of the year. Johnson trailed Latavius Murray and James Cook in snaps but still turned six touches into 58 yards and a touchdown. The Bills have continued to show a lack of trust in giving James Cook as many touches as some may want. Pair that with last week’s showing, and Ty Johnson may have earned himself some more burn moving forward over 33-year-old Latavius Murray. Johnson is worth an add in most formats.
In a surprise move, the Dolphins left Ahmed on the active roster while making Jeff Wilson a healthy scratch. The Dolphins also saw returning De’Von Achane suffer another injury in his first game back after just two touches. If Achane were to miss any additional time with this reinjury, it now looks as if Ahmed would be the number two behind Mostert. While Ahmed hasn’t produced a game over 41 total yards this season, we have still seen how explosive this role can be at any time. Ahmed is worth holding as a primary handcuff and could even be worth an add in best-ball leagues to see if Achane will miss any more time.
I’m keeping these two players for the end of the week 12 waiver wire while writing this during the Monday night game. The Eagles haven’t been able to do much in the passing game in the first half. So far, Albert Okwuegbunam can be dropped everywhere as he is securely the distant third in the tight end of the room. Jack Stoll was the only tight end to see a target in the first half, but there were only six targets, so the sample size is too small to draw any conclusions. So far, Stoll and Calcaterra have split snaps, taking 11 and 10, respectively. More than likely, both will continue to split work but monitor their routes run at the end of the game to determine if one has the larger receiving opportunity. Both could be worth an add in deeper best ball premium leagues, but you’ll probably never want to put either of these two into a lineup regardless of the premium.
