This article is part of our NFL Waiver Wire series.
This column is geared toward "standard" 12-team leagues and based upon a $100 free-agent budget. Please, please adjust for your league based on both the number of teams (I'm in a 24-team league, for example) and budget. This column will run every Tuesday to, hopefully, accommodate the various waiver schedules. I'll update it in the comments section during the week; please keep in mind a lot can change from Tuesday to Sunday.
Players listed/discussed last week: Blake Bortles, Nick Foles, T.J. Yates, Theo Riddick, Rod Smith, Wayne Gallman, Marquise Goodwin, Dede Westbrook, Trey Burton, Brent Celek
QUARTERBACK
Secondary Targets
Joe Flacco, BAL - Flacco is in the conversation this week solely based on matchup. The Colts are not only out it (bye, bye Chuck Pagano!), their secondary is a shambles due to injury. Picking Flacco will feel much better when Rashaan Melvin is ruled out again, and the Ravens are fighting for a wild-card spot. The loss of Jeremy Maclin doesn't help, but maybe Breshad Perriman can finally show the upside everyone has been waiting for. FAAB: $3-$6
RUNNING BACK
Secondary Targets
Tion Green, DET - It's unlikely Green will find his way into lineups for championship week, but his 10 carries to Theo Riddick's eight last week are notable. He's a bigger back better suited to running between the tackles, and the Lions are in desperation mode when it comes to the running game. The key is
This column is geared toward "standard" 12-team leagues and based upon a $100 free-agent budget. Please, please adjust for your league based on both the number of teams (I'm in a 24-team league, for example) and budget. This column will run every Tuesday to, hopefully, accommodate the various waiver schedules. I'll update it in the comments section during the week; please keep in mind a lot can change from Tuesday to Sunday.
Players listed/discussed last week: Blake Bortles, Nick Foles, T.J. Yates, Theo Riddick, Rod Smith, Wayne Gallman, Marquise Goodwin, Dede Westbrook, Trey Burton, Brent Celek
QUARTERBACK
Secondary Targets
Joe Flacco, BAL - Flacco is in the conversation this week solely based on matchup. The Colts are not only out it (bye, bye Chuck Pagano!), their secondary is a shambles due to injury. Picking Flacco will feel much better when Rashaan Melvin is ruled out again, and the Ravens are fighting for a wild-card spot. The loss of Jeremy Maclin doesn't help, but maybe Breshad Perriman can finally show the upside everyone has been waiting for. FAAB: $3-$6
RUNNING BACK
Secondary Targets
Tion Green, DET - It's unlikely Green will find his way into lineups for championship week, but his 10 carries to Theo Riddick's eight last week are notable. He's a bigger back better suited to running between the tackles, and the Lions are in desperation mode when it comes to the running game. The key is if Riddick's wrist keeps him out this weekend, Green could be in for a bigger workload with Ameer Abdullah in the doghouse. FAAB: $4-$8
Mike Gillislee, NE - The injury to Rex Burkhead could open the door for Gillislee to handle the goal-line work for the Patriots. He has the revenge narrative working for him against the Bills at home this weekend, and Tom Brady shouldn't have any difficulty moving the ball up and down the field. Gillislee is better suited to running between the tackles than James White or Dion Lewis, and Burkhead has scored five touchdowns in his last four games and at least one in each of those contests. FAAB: $3-$6
WIDE RECEIVER
Primary Targets
Martavis Bryant, Eli Rogers, PIT - Antonio Brown's injury creates an opportunity for other Steelesr wide receivers as defenses focus on stopping Le'Veon Bell. JuJu Smith–Schuster is owned in roughly 85 percent of leagues, but Bryant is about 50 percent owned and Rogers only one percent. The Steelers have an excellent matchup this week against the Texans, who have gotten torched since J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus went down. FAAB: Bryant $15-$25, Rogers $3-$6
Keelan Cole, Jaydon Mickens, JAC - Cole is the top target this week after posting a 9-7-186-1 line Sunday against the Texans while Mickens in on the radar with a 5-4-61-2 line. Marqise Lee left the game early with an ankle sprain and it appears he'll miss some time. Allen Hurns doesn't appear to be returning anytime soon, putting Cole into the No. 2 wide receiver spot after Dede Westbrook (who gets an upgrade as well), while Mickens will assume the third wide receiver role. The Jaguars have a decent matchup against the 49ers, who are middle of the league in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers. FAAB: Cole $15-$25, Mickens $3-$6
Secondary Targets
Randall Cobb, GB - Instead of Jordy Nelson, it was Randall Cobb who returned to fantasy relevance Sunday with Aaron Rodgers, finishing with 14-7-84-1. Cobb still has the same skill set; he's going to catch a lot of passes but expecting him to regularly find the end zone isn't an expectation (13 touchdowns the last three seasons). The other problem is Rodgers could be shut down with the Packers eliminated from the playoffs. Without Rodgers, there's really no reason to consider Cobb. FAAB: $3-$6
TIGHT END
Primary Targets
Eric Ebron, DET - Ebron seems to be coming on as the season winds down with back-to-back games of double-digit fantasy points in .5 PPR formats. Ebron is scooped up in 46 percent of Yahoo leagues, so he might not be sitting on the waiver wire. This week's opponent, the Bengals, is middle of the league in fantasy points allowed to tight ends, making it a decent matchup for Ebron. FAAB: $5-$10
Secondary Targets
Ricky Seals-Jones, ARI - The Giants are the worst team in the league against tight ends, surrendering 16.9 fantasy points per game (11 touchdowns) this season. Seals-Jones has a mediocre 14 targets the last three weeks but had some notable games a few weeks back (15.2 and 18.9 fantasy points in .5 PPR formats) that showed his upside. FAAB: $3-$6
