Pivot Plays and Post-Waiver Pickups: Week 17

We have one more regular-season Sunday of NFL football, fantasy football folks! Let’s end the season on a high note!

Week 17 is always the hardest one to navigate for fantasy football general managers. Some superstars are rested because their teams have already clinched a playoff spot, while others are rested because their teams have been eliminated from any postseason possibility. Then you have the players who might only play a quarter or a half because they want to stay fresh and injury-free leading into the playoffs or the offseason. On top of all these scenarios, you have the guys who are banged-up and may or may not play, depending on the circumstances. Pass fantasy managers the anxiety medication!

Without further ado, here are my pivot plays and post-waiver pickups for Week 17 --- and the questionable stars who you might need to replace:

Potential Pivot Plays for Fantasy Lineups

If Indianapolis Michael Pittman (concussion) misses his game on Sunday, you could go with…

Zach Pascal (IND, WR) vs. JAX

Indianapolis’ passing attack has gone through a transformation over the course of the season. During the first half of the year T.Y. Hilton was ignored and Pascal was used as a spare part while Indy’s three tight ends and Pittman were featured more often than most pundits believed they would. But during the past few weeks the script has been flipped. Hilton is the top target again and Pascal has supplanted Pittman and the tight ends as the No. 2 threat out of the pass-catching corps.

Pascal had his two best of the year back-to-back in Weeks 15 and 16, catching eight passes for 143 and three touchdowns. He now enters the final week of the regular season facing a Jacksonville defense that is 27^th against the pass and has allowed 27 points or more in 13 of its past 14 games. If Pittman does not play than more targets will come Pascal’s way, and against this pitiful defense he could have a fantasy field day.

If Detroit’s’ Matthew Stafford (ankle) is not healthy enough to suit up on Sunday, you could go with…

C.J. Beathard (SF, QB) vs. SEA

Have you ever seen a team deal with the furious flow of injuries the poor 49ers have had to deal with this year? Many of their offensive players have been injured multiple times, such as top tailback Raheem Mostert and receiver Deebo Samuel. The front seven of their defense was riddled with season-ending injuries right off the bat. Now San Francisco is trotting out its third-string quarterback for the second Sunday in a row.

Beathard was more than serviceable in San Fran’s upset win over Arizona last weekend. He threw a trio of touchdown passes without being intercepted. He might be without his top two wideouts this Sunday, but he will be passing against the 32^nd-ranked pass defense in the NFL. Seattle’s defense has improved over the past month, but the secondary is still sketchy. If you REALLY need a QB in a two-QB league, Beathard could give you 225 yards and a couple TD tosses, especially if a positive game script comes his way if his Niners are trailing in the second half and throwing a lot.

If Los Angeles’ Keenan Allen (hamstring) misses a second straight game on Sunday afternoon, you could go with…

Josh Reynolds (LAR, WR) vs. ARI

Reynolds is one of the last men standing in a Rams offense that has watched its skilled position players fall by the wayside at a rapid rate. With Cooper Kupp on the COVID list and running backs Darrell Henderson and Cam Akers out due to injury, Reynolds will fight it out with tight end Tyler Higbee for the second most targets on Sunday behind Robert Woods. Granted, we really don’t know how great that will be for Reynolds considering his quarterback will be someone named John Wolford and not someone named Jared Goff.

Reynolds has not broken any fantasy records in 2020 and has been a mild disappointment, but he is coming off a 10-target game against Seattle and could be targeted that often again this week. I cannot tell you that Wolford can throw a decent spiral, but I can tell you that cover corner Patrick Peterson will be covering Woods and not Reynolds. Reynolds is a high-risk/high-reward pickup this week, but I would take the chance if I needed a WR as badly as Cam Newton needs a new tailor and quarterback coach.

If Philadelphia’s Dallas Goedert (calf) cannot play on Sunday, you could go with…

Irv Smith Jr. (MIN, TE) at DET

Smith is probably still available on the waiver wire in your league, so if the rules allow you to pick him up and your tight end is shakier than I am when I go outside on a 32-degree day with no coat on, by all means sign him up! Minnesota’s talented tight end is coming off a two-TD game and will not have Kyle Rudolph taking his time and targets away from him as the veteran will miss the season finale with a foot injury. But these are not the most important reasons why Smith is the tight end to snag if you are a fantasy manager of Goedert.

Have you seen Detroit’s defense lately? The unit was one of the worst in the NFL before, but once head coach Matt Patricia was fired there has seemed to be no rhyme or reason with their schemes or plans. Defensive backs routinely miss assignments and allow receivers and tight ends to roam free. Smith could win titles for managers in fantasy leagues where Week 17 counts towards the championship game. And guess what happened earlier this season when he faced Detroit’s 30^th-ranked pass defense? He had a two-TD effort that day, too.

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