There’s an old fantasy football adage that says “you can’t win the championship at the draft, but you can definitely lose it.” It reminds all fantasy owners that the draft is just one small part of winning the fantasy football title. Making the proper waiver wire pickups is just as, if not more important than drafting well. The second half of the NFL season brings the most important waiver nights of the year. The last two weeks each produced six teams on a bye, which means there are some great opportunities to improve your team for a playoff run. Here are the top fantasy acquisitions you should be targeting to help win your league.
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Hunt
Position: Quarterback
Player: Eli Manning
Team: New York Giants
Rationale: It is very possible Manning was dropped in your league. If he was, take advantage and scoop him up. His four touchdown performance serves as the springboard to a potentially fantastic end of season schedule. Manning faces Cincinnati at home on Monday Night Football, followed by Chicago at home, then at Cleveland, at Pittsburgh, and Dallas and Detroit at home. That is four home games and six consecutive opponents that struggle to defend the pass. The best reason to like Manning? The Giants simply cannot run the ball. They are last in the NFL in rushing yards per game, averaging 68.3 yards per game. At this point in the season, the Giants are who they are. They will make or miss the playoffs on the strength of Manning’s arm. He is the ideal quarterback to target on the waiver wire.
Position: Running Back
Player: Kapri Bibbs
Team: Denver Broncos
Rationale: Metrics lovers will hate this choice. Fantasy Football mirrors poker: it is important to know the math, but in the end it comes down to your gut. When I watch Kapri Bibbs, he looks the role of an NFL running back: 5’9″, 211 lbs. His Body Mass Index (BMI) is 31.3, which is a 75th percentile positional score. Bibbs also had 24 reps of 225 lbs at the combine as well (79th percentile). Current Denver lead running back, Devontae Booker, has impressed in limited work, but just looks weaker than Bibbs. This will easily become a “hot hand” situation, and head coach Gary Kubiak is already saying Bibbs needs more touches. Booker is not a bell cow, Bibbs could be. At worst? He’s a bench stash. At best? He’s a fantasy playoff RB2.
Position: Wide Receiver
Player: Quinton Patton
Team: San Francisco 49ers
Rationale: Patton’s 89.8% season long snap count proves he is always on the field. However, his targets and fantasy production has dramatically increased since Colin Kaepernick has started as quarterback. Patton has 20 targets over the last three weeks, including two red zone targets. Also worthy of note is Patton has the third best fantasy schedule remaining among the wide receiver position (playerprofiler.com). With upcoming games against Miami, Chicago, New York Jets, and Atlanta, Patton has clear WR3 upside as in available on every league’s waiver wire.
Position: Wide Receiver
Player: Dontrelle Inman
Team: San Diego Chargers
Rationale: The Chargers have the fifth best offense in the NFL, and Inman is looking at a massive increase in target share over the second half of the season. In four of the his first six games, Inman tallied just one reception. In Sunday’s win over Tennessee, Inman led the Chargers wide receivers in snaps with 76. Fellow wide receiver Travis Benjamin was only on the field for eight snaps, and left after aggravating his sprained PCL. Inman provides a 97th percentile Agility Score, 86th percentile Catch Radius, and the fourth best remaining schedule for wide receivers (playerprofiler.com). Inman faces Miami at home, followed by a bye week, then at Houston, Tampa Bay, at Carolina, Oakland, and ends miraculously with the Cleveland Browns. He’s a WR3 floor with WR2 upside that should be picked up immediately.
Position: Wide Receiver
Player: Tyreek Hill
Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Rationale: Hill is a an athletic phenom that has a 98th percentile 40-yard dash time (4.34), 94th percentile Burst Score (133.4), and an 85th percentile Catch Radius (10.21) on PlayerProfiler.com. His upcoming schedule is remarkable, with three consecutive home games during Weeks 14-16. Take a closer look at the next few games as well. In Week 10? Hill faces the 29th ranked defense against opposing fantasy wide receivers (At Carolina). In Week 11? He faces the 32nd ranked defense against opposing fantasy wide receivers (Tampa Bay). In Week 13? 31st ranked defense against opposing fantasy wide receivers (at Atlanta). Besides the incredible schedule, Hill will now receive a higher target share because of Jeremy Maclin‘s injury. Similar to DeSean Jackson, Hill has big play ability and can easily be a week winner with just a few catches.
