Monday night’s matchup featured a superbowl rematch between the reigning Super Bowl champion, the Kansas City Chiefs, versus the Philadelphia Eagles. The Chiefs took a 17-7 lead in the first half which was largely one sided. The Chiefs defense kept Hurts in check, holding him to 46 passing yards and picking him off on a pass to AJ Brown. The Eagles had some trouble getting going and it seemed like the Eagles O-line forgot how to play football. I felt like everytime I looked over at the game, Hurts was running for his life. The Eagles would pick it up in the second half with Deadre Swift ripping off a big run to set up a Jalen Hurts rushing touchdown. Hurts would later throw a bomb to Devonta Smith before punching in another rushing touchdown via the “Brotherly shove”. With a 1:48 left in the 4th quarter, the Chiefs almost made a comeback but Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped the go-ahead touchdown. The Chiefs would then fail to convert and the Eagles kneeled it out to win the game.
As we start to approach the final stretch of the fantasy season, here are my top waiver wire targets heading into week 12.
Waiver Wire Targets:
Zach Charbonnet (Rostered in 32.6% of ESPN leagues) Genius Pick of the Week
In Sunday’s loss to the Rams, Kenneth Walker suffered an oblique injury which head coach Pete Carroll called “legit”. He stands to miss a bit of time which opens the door for Zach Charbonnet to assume the starting workhorse role. Charbonnet has recorded two double digit performances the past two weeks and should be added to all rosters moving forward. Charbonnet is likely the top waiver wire addition going into week 12.
Keaton Mitchell (Rostered in 34.9% of ESPN leagues)
Compared to his past two weeks, Mitchell did not give out the performance many had hoped. He put up only 5.1 fantasy points against the Bengals. However, there are some encouraging signs to consider. The first is that he saw 7 more carries than Justice Hill which leads me to believe Mitchell is taking over the RB2 slot. The second is that Mitchell has shown the potential to be explosive and rip of big plays within the Ravens powerful rushing attack. Worth adding to fantasy rosters.
Ty Chandler (Rostered in 49.6% of ESPN leagues)
Last week, Chandler was my Genius Pick of the Week and he delivered on Sunday against the Broncos. Chandler rushed 10 times for 73 yards and chipped in 37 receiving yards. That was good for 16 fantasy points on the day. While Chandler will still be splitting time with Alexander Mattison, the Vikings made some effort to get him involved. It never hurts to have more running back depth on your bench.
Demario Douglas (Rostered in 24.5% of ESPN leagues)
The Patriots are coming out of their BYE this week hopefully with some of their offensive kinks worked out. Not a lot to like in this offense, however, I think Demario Douglas is worth picking up. Since week 7, Douglas has seen 6+ targets each week. He is just about the only wide receiver able to make any space. Not to be repetitive but check out this take from last weeks list:
Douglas finished Sunday’s loss against the Colts with 6 catches for 84 yards. He was targeted 9 times in what was an overall poor offensive performance for the Patriots. He is just about the only wide receiver with any fantasy relevance. He has a fairly easy schedule after his team’s BYE which makes him an intriguing flex option to close out the year.
Jayden Reed (Rostered in 18.7% of ESPN leagues)
Jayden Reed has been on fire recently and has scored 19 fantasy points in back to back weeks. Over the last 5 weeks he has scored in the double digits in 4 out 5. He has also seen his route rate jump in that time span. I really like the Packers schedule to close out the year. There are some games that should require the Packers to throw a lot (Chiefs, Lions, Vikings) as well as some really soft defenses (Panthers, Buccaneers, Bears). Reed could be a quality add as you make your push for the playoffs.
Romeo Doubs (Rostered in 39.1% of ESPN leagues)
Early on the year I was pretty high on Doubs and had him on my waiver wire list a bunch. He is similar to Jayden Reed in the amount of points he has been scoring but the targets are way higher. The Christian Watson experience never took off this year and Doubs has been the main man in Lambeau. Again, I think the Packers have a nice schedule to close out the year which could mean a buff to the Packers pass catchers. It is a pick your poison kind of scenario on which Packers wide receiver to roster.
Noah Brown (Rostered in 40.3% of ESPN leagues)
After recovering from a knee injury, Brown could be a sneaky addition to your roster if he is still available. Reminder that Brown went for two back to back 24+ point games in weeks 9 and 10. Brown could serve as a boom or bust flex candidate as the team’s third wide receiver.
Isaiah Likely (Rostered in 1% of ESPN leagues)
In Thursday’s win over the Bengals, Mark Andrews suffered a left ankle injury that will likely sideline the tight end for the remainder of the fantasy season. With Andrews out, Isaiah Likely will look to fill the large hole left in the offense by the star tight end. In 2022, Likely flashed some fantasy relevance when Andrews was out with a couple double digit fantasy performances. This time around a healthy Lamar Jackson will be slinging the ball. Likely should be on rosters.
Jordan Love (Rostered in 43.6% of ESPN leagues)
I added two of Love’s wide receivers to this list so why not add the guy throwing to them? Love has had an interesting year but I think the fantasy potential is there even if the Packers themselves are not doing the best. He is averaging 17.1 fantasy points a game and currently sits as QB13 on the year. Already mentioned but I like the schedule for the Packers and Love may be able to exploit a few defenses/throw a lot. Worth a pickup if you are in need of a second quarterback as he can flirt with the QB1 range for the rest of the year.
*Point totals mentioned assume full point PPR scoring
Want to tell me who I left off or needs to be added? Follow me on twitter at @The_FFGenius and let me know!