When fantasy football season is in full swing, there are always a few players that come out of nowhere and find themselves on the waiver wire. Sometimes these are players who have been injured or benched for one reason or another. And sometimes they’re just guys who were drafted too late to be owned by most teams but end up seeing plenty of playing time due to injuries at their position. Whatever the situation may be, these players can often make an impact for your team if you can pick them up off waivers before someone else does!
In this post, I’ll give you my list of potential waiver wire targets you should keep an eye on during your league’s upcoming draft week.
Deonte Thompson, WR (Bears) – The Bears are thin at wide receiver with Kevin White out for the season and Alshon Jeffery currently in the league’s concussion protocol. It leaves a lot of targets up for grabs from whoever takes over as QB Brian Hoyer’s main target on offense. If you’re looking deep into the waiver wire to find a sleeper that could pull off some big games, Deonte is your guy right now.
Jesse James, TE (Steelers) – With Ladarius Green done for the year due to injury and Ben Roethlisberger still injured himself most likely, Jesse James has been great so far this season when he gets his opportunities to air it out downfield! His targets so far this season are 11 and has caught seven of them for 140 yards. If Big Ben is still out, James will be a solid waiver wire pickup!
Kenny Britt, WR (Rams) – Kenny’s been waiting to show off his talents since arriving in LA but with Goff at quarterback now he may have the opportunity to do just that. Britt had some big games back when Rams QB Case Keenum was under center last year already; now with someone who can actually throw deep balls it could mean even more touchdowns for him soon enough. Definitely worth picking up if you’re looking for wide receiver depth on your team or need an upside play down the road after Week 14 or 15.
Tajae Sharpe, WR (Titans) – Sharpe has been a disappointment this season but with Rishard Matthews being sidelined for the next few games it means more targets and touches coming Tajae’s way. He should be in line to get plenty of looks from Mariota, who’ll need someone to throw to while Tennessee is in comeback mode.
Sterling Shepard, WR (Giants) – Shepards’ value took a hit when Beckham Jr came back into the lineup last week; that said he still managed five grabs for 69 yards which isn’t too bad given how poorly New York was playing on offense overall. I expect him and Eli Manning to have better chemistry than we saw against Carolina so there could potentially be some big weeks down the line for Shepards.
Marquise Goodwin, WR (49ers) – The 49ers are a team in transition right now and I think that could work out well for Marquise next year as he continues to establish himself with Jimmy G at the helm. With Pierre Garcon out this week it looks like Goodwin will be the main beneficiary in terms of targets so if you’re looking for some upside on your bench or someone who’s already rostered but not playing too much then keep an eye on him going forward.
Josh Doctson, WR (Washington Redskins) – Josh was having a decent season up until last week when he caught two balls for just 12 yards against Minnesota; his teammate Jamison Crowder had 11 receptions for 143 yards. If he can get back on track this week against Philadelphia then I think we’ll see Doctson be one of the more relevant options in a Washington offense that was shaping up to have some much-needed depth with Crowder and Chris Thompson out there but now seems like they’re going to lean heavier on their top guys over the next few weeks.
Jerrick McKinnon, RB (Minnesota Vikings) – With Dalvin Cook done for the year it’s time to start looking at backup running backs who will carry the load while also being flex option plays down the line as well; Jerick is my favorite target right now because when you look at his numbers from last season compared to Latavius Murray you could see that Jerick is a more explosive back (he had five runs of 20+ yards last year to Latavius’ one) and the usage should be there as well with Cook out.
Mohamed Sanu, WR (Atlanta Falcons) – With Calvin Ridley breaking his hand it opens up an opportunity for Sanu to eat in Atlanta’s passing game; he’s not going to have huge volume like Julio Jones or Mohamed Massaquoi but you could see him getting at least four targets and catching two passes on Sunday against Tampa Bay which would make him flex consideration if we were dealing with full health elsewhere.
