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We're 11 weeks in and most of us have two or three games left in our fantasy football regular season. Are you cruising to a bye, comfortable enough to look forward a bit, or clawing for those last playoff seeds? With our famous waiver wire pickups list and our weekly waiver wire columns by position, this column focuses on suggested waiver wire bidding percentages for fantasy football owners in leagues using a Free Agent Budget (FAB). In case you were not aware, several fantasy sports platforms are switching from FAAB to FAB in 2020, and RotoBaller will make that change as well.
As a caveat, these prices do not by any means indicate how much these free agent players will go for. Each league values players differently and will continue to do so. These values are here to provide a baseline or priority order to understand roughly how much you should be looking to spend on a particular player. Specific needs are always reasonable cause for a manual override.
There are no teams on bye in Week 12 thanks to earlier schedule shuffling. With that in mind, here are my median FAB bid ranges and adds heading into Week 12, with Yahoo rostership rates from Monday night.
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FAB Waiver Wire Bids - Quarterbacks
Taysom Hill (QB, NO) - 42% rostered - FAB Bid: 20-50%
42% rostered
Hill surprised me (and many) in his first career start by completing 18-of-23 passes for 233 yards. What wasn’t as surprising but still welcome were the 10 rushes for 51 yards and two touchdowns. The Falcons didn’t put up much of a fight in the second half and the Saints capitalized, but Week 12 in Denver’s thin air may cap the ceiling a touch. My projections still have him as a top-12 QB to target and he faces the same Falcons in Week 13. If you need a win and have been streaming QB then process-wise I'm okay throwing the wallet at Hill.
PFF's Highest-Graded Passers (Week 11)
1 Derek Carr (96.0)*
2 Deshaun Watson (93.5)
3 Russ Wilson (90.9)
4 Philip Rivers (86.6)
5 Pat Mahomes (83.0)
6 Taysom Hill (81.1)*** Highest grade by any QB this season. 2nd-closest was Aaron Rodgers in Week 1 (94.6)
** 1st career start— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) November 23, 2020
Derek Carr (QB, LV) - FAB Bid: 1-2%
37% rostered
Carr once again played well against the Chiefs, tossing three touchdowns yet again versus Kansas City. He hadn’t thrown for more than 165 yards in any of his previous three games so you had to have faith, but he looked the part of an above-average QB on Sunday night. He’ll face the same Falcons inside their dome that Hill just scorched, with the hope being that Atlanta scores more than nine points and pushes the pace.
Daniel Jones (QB, NYG) - FAB Bid: 1-2%
28% rostered
Jones and the Giants come off their bye on a two-game win streak and renewed hope in a wide-open NFC East. The young QB has played better of late, with six passing TDs and strong rushing numbers elevating him to fantasy viability. His last two games have yielded his best completion percentages of the season (67.7% and 75%) and his 384 rush yards rank third among QBs. Now he’ll face a Cincinnati defense that is already subpar and will likely be put into holes by Ryan Finley and a clipped offense.
FAB Waiver Wire Bids - Running Backs
Gus Edwards (RB, BAL) - FAB Bid: 20-30%
28% rostered
Edwards only registered three touches in Week 11, getting handily outworked by J.K. Dobbins (17 touches). But Dobbins and Mark Ingram II are now both on the COVID list while Edwards and Justice Hill are the last men standing in that RB room (for now). The Ravens face the Steelers in Pittsburgh in the Thanksgiving nightcap so there’s little time for anyone to return. Edwards has shown himself capable of handling 15+ touches in a game and should be a top-24 option despite the poor matchup.
Frank Gore (RB, NYJ) - FAB Bid: 20-30%
10% rostered
After reports that the Jets would feature Perine throughout the rest of 2020, he went and suffered a high-ankle sprain. That left Gore with a chance to rack up 71 total yards and a touchdown on 17 touches in a grinding 34-28 loss to the Chargers. The TD gives him a score in three different decades, and his son also scored a TD for Southern Miss the day before. We’ll see how well the Jets move the ball against a sharpened Miami defense in Week 12, but Gore’s good for 12-15 touches at the moment. That counts for something in deep leagues.
James White (RB, NE) - FAB Bid: 10-15%
40% rostered
White’s usual receiving floor hasn’t been there with Cam Newton at the helm, with that work going to Rex Burkhead instead. But Burkhead injured his knee on Sunday and White stepped up with six catches for 64 yards on a team-high nine targets. He also had 19 rush yards on five totes. We’ll likely see Sony Michel active alongside Damien Harris and White, with White in line for plenty of work as the Pats look to keep pace with Kyler Murray and the Cardinals.
Cordarrelle Patterson (RB/WR, CHI) - FAB Bid: 8-12%
7% rostered
With David Montgomery out (concussion), the Bears leaned on Patterson as their RB throughout Week 10’s loss to Minnesota. He only got 30 rush yards on 12 carries behind Chicago’s shoddy playcalling, but added 19 receiving yards on two catches and made a splash with a return TD against his old team. Sporting genuine RB/WR dual eligibility on Yahoo and ESPN, Patterson could be another quiet source of 10-15 touches against the Packers in Week 12. Expect plenty of Wildcat opportunities if both Nick Foles (hip/glute) and Mitch Trubisky (shoulder) can’t play -- perhaps even if one is cleared.
Tony Pollard (RB, DAL) - 19% rostered - FAB: 8-10% - Outgained Zeke, ramping up.
Kerryon Johnson (RB, DET) - 16% - FAB: 6-10% - Swift battles a short week to return.
Tevin Coleman (RB, SF) - 18% - FAB: 4-5% - Only if he returns and Mostert isn’t ready.
Boston Scott (RB, PHI) - 29% - FAB: 0-1% - Easing off Sanders, 50 yards on 8 touches. Jordan Howard looms?
FAB Waiver Wire Bids - Wide Receivers
Michael Pittman Jr. (WR, IND) - FAB Bid: 25-30%
43% rostered
Pittman is a playmaker, there’s no doubting that. Despite a spread-the-love Colts passing game, Pittman turned a mere three targets into 66 yards and a touchdown. This comes after he hung 101 yards on the Titans in Week 10. He gets a nice rematch with Tennessee next week and is a top-40 WR even with the low floor. You can see how well the 6'4" wideout moves with the ball in his hands on his first career TD:
#Colts 2nd round pick, rookie WR Michael Pittman breaks away for a 45-yard touchdown.pic.twitter.com/2Qp8seHg7M
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 22, 2020
Jalen Reagor (WR, PHI) - FAB Bid: 10-12%
28% rostered
Reagor’s four catches and 52 yards paced all Philly wideouts on Sunday, though Dallas Goedert’s 5-77-1 line was the best of the pass-catchers. You’d be shocked to learn that Travis Fulgham’s poor one-catch day came with a team-high seven targets, giving him two catches for 16 yards on 12 targets in his last two games.
Philly needs a spark and while Fulgham shouldn’t disappear, especially with big plays needed against Seattle in Week 12, it’s clear that Reagor is better right now. Reagor still has plenty to improve upon but is the only reliable WR with eight or more points in PPR in each of his three games since returning.
Breshad Perriman (WR, NYJ) - FAB Bid: 10-12%
11% rostered
After dropping 101 yards and two touchdowns on the Patriots in Week 9, Perriman put up 54 yards and another score on the Chargers in Week 11. It took him a while to look 100% after his early injuries but he’s got big-play ability so long as Joe Flacco or Sam Darnold can stay upright long enough to allow it. The Jets will need to pass even more with Perine’s injury and their lack of a reliable defense.
Nelson Agholor (WR, LV) - FAB Bid: 3-6%
20% rostered
Only Agholor and Darren Waller saw more than three targets in the Raiders’ loss to the Chiefs on Sunday night, signaling further involvement for the sixth-year WR. His six receptions were a season-high and he’s logged at least 55 yards and a touchdown in three-of-five games since the Week 6 bye. The other two games have yielded just one catch for eight yards combined. Those in deeper waters seeking double-digit upside at the cost of a nonexistent floor should roster Agholor going into a plus matchup with Atlanta.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (WR, GB) - 31% - FAB: 2-3% - Iffy but 50+ yards in 3 straight.
Rashard Higgins (WR, CLE) - 12% - FAB: 2-3% - CLE is run-first but starting snaps here.
Keelan Cole Sr. (WR, JAX) - 28% - FAB: 2-4% - Another starter on a struggling pass game.
Damiere Byrd (WR, NE) - 2% - FAB: 2-3% - Zero in Week 10, then 6-132-1. Low range.
Josh Reynolds (WR, LAR) - 13% - FAB: 3-5% - Increased usage as LAR works 3 WR more.
Russell Gage (WR, ATL) - 7% - FAB: 1-2% - Led ATL with 12 targets, good if ATL is underdog.
Denzel Mims (WR, NYJ) - 5% - FAB: 2-3% - 8 targets, 3 catches, 71 yards led NYJ WRs.
Richie James Jr. (WR, SF) - 2% - FAB: 1-2% - If Samuel and Aiyuk can’t go then fire up James.
Tim Patrick (WR, DEN) - 21% - FAB: 1-2% - Remains involved, 5-119-0 on 8 targets.
Keke Coutee (WR, HOU) - 0% - FAB: 0-1% - Caught TD with Cobb and Stills hurt.
FAB Waiver Wire Bids - Tight Ends
Jordan Reed (TE, SF) - FAB Bid: 4-6%
15% rostered
Reed quietly had five catches on six targets in Week 10, totaling 62 yards on the day prior to San Francisco’s bye. Many had a sour taste after he only had one catch for three yards in his Week 9 return from the IR and few trust the 49ers passing game sans Jimmy Garoppolo. Don’t let a two-game sample coming off injury taint your perception that much, especially with the TE landscape being what it is. He's still a beast and can bail out horrid throws:
OMG JORDAN REED ? @JR86 @49ers
? #SFvsNO on FOX pic.twitter.com/kjBotujLAE
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) November 15, 2020
Dalton Schultz (TE, DAL) - FAB Bid: 4-6%
16% rostered
Schultz returned from the bye as involved as before, seeing six targets for a nice 4-25-1 line buoyed by that TD. But he’s seen at least six looks in three straight games for an average of seven targets in that span, with Andy Dalton’s return helping stabilize the offense. Dallas plays on Thanksgiving Thursday, as is tradition, against a reeling Washington Football Team that surrenders top-10 numbers to TEs on the year.
Richard Rodgers (TE, PHI) - FAB Bid: 0-2%
3% rostered
Rodgers only saw two targets in Week 11 but made them count, catching both for 48 yards and a touchdown. You’re throwing darts here but Philly has no problem letting two Eagles TEs stay relevant, and Zach Ertz doesn’t appear to be returning soon. And he was producing like a third-stringer prior to the injury anyhow. The Eagles have a lot of weapons to deploy but I understand the deep-league desperation that comes with this position.
FAB Waiver Wire Bids - Defense/Special Teams
New York Giants Defense (at CIN) - 16% rostered - FAB Bid: 3-5%
Green Bay Packers Defense (vs. CHI) - 33% - FAB Bid: 2-3%
Seattle Seahawks Defense (at PHI) - 27% - FAB Bid: 2-3%
We talked about how Daniel Jones has stepped up, but Big Blue’s recent success also lies with improved play by the defense. They’ve shown an ability to get to the QB and will face overmatched backup Ryan Finley, so I’m not asking many questions beyond that. The Packers may face the aforementioned Wildcat desperation schemes from Chicago, and even if Foles or Trubisky can go then they won’t be 100%.
Then you’ve got the Seahawks, whose defense has earned scrutiny but we can’t ignore they’ve faced Arizona twice and had road games against the Bills and Rams in their last five games. Now they draw a turnover-happy stretch against the Eagles, Giants, Jets, and the Washington Football Team through Weeks 12-15. The offense will put those lesser teams in desperate scenarios that should yield ample sack and turnover opportunities.
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