Waivers of the future will focus on making decisions that improve our odds of our dynasty championship. The back of your dynasty roster should be flexible, with preferences made for players you can use in your lineup during the season.
Quarterback
Among the quarterbacks, there are two types of waiver options: those moving up this week and veteran backups.
Joe Burrow is out for the season after suffering a wrist injury on Thursday Night Football. He will be replaced by veteran journeyman Jake Browning. With 15 career attempts, you should not expect much from Browning, but the supporting cast is strong, with Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, and, when healthy, Tee Higgins. Browning warrants a waiver bid for teams in a desperate state in premium formats after Burrow's injury but can be left on the waiver wire in start 1QB leagues.
Jameis Winston came into week 10 in relief of an injured Derek Carr and put the whole Jameis Winston experience on display. He threw two touchdowns early, then followed them up with two interceptions late in the game. The Saints had a bye, and Derek Carr is still in the concussion protocol. Winston should be rostered in Superflex leagues as a backup but does not warrant immediate addition in 1QB leagues unless a dynasty GM is very desperate at quarterback.
Veteran Backups
As a general rule, you should have a limited number of backup quarterbacks on your monitor list. With roster spots tight, optimized dynasty rosters under 25 spots in Superflex or quarterback premium. If you are in 25 to 35-man rosters and have a roster spot, these quarterbacks are the premium backups:
- Mike White, MIA
- Tyler Huntley, BAL
- Cooper Rush, DAL
- Jacoby Brissett, WAS
- Teddy Bridgewater, DET
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Running Back
One of the keys to dynasty fantasy football is continuously optimizing your backup running back situation. The last five to ten spots on your roster should be very fluid, with little allegiance if the player does not offer the capacity to help your lineup. A constant churn on the back end of your roster is critical.
De'Von Achane returned from IR in week 11 but played only three snaps before he left with an aggravation to the knee that landed him on injured reserve. There is optimism about Achane's health, but it warrants monitoring, especially on a short week. Ahmed has passed Wilson on the depth chart and warrants a look ahead of Miami's short-week game on Black Friday this week.
Ken Walker III suffered an oblique injury that kept him out of the lineup in week 11. His status for the coming weeks is up in the air, and his absence would elevate Zach Charbonnet to the leading role and DeeJay Dallas to the injury away. Dallas warrants a small bid as a potential injury away player during Walker's absence.
Other backups or free agents with high availability include:
Wide Receiver
The odds wide receivers from the waiver wire will become big difference-makers on your dynasty roster are very small. For every Tyreek Hill, there are 100 Travis Fulghams. Your strategies on the wide receiver position should be to find immediate lineup help or a flip candidate.
Khalil Shakir has vaulted into the WR3 role in the Buffalo offense, running routes on at least 70% of the team's dropbacks in each of the past four weeks. Shakir showcased his performance with a 115 receiving yards performance, highlighted by an 81-yard touchdown. Shakir is unlikely anything better than a 4th option in a week, but attached to a good quarterback, Shakir has outs.
Tight End
Tight ends to monitor on your waiver wires include:
Mark Andrews suffered a season-ending injury on Thursday Night Football. Andrews only ran 12% of the team's routes and was replaced by Isaiah Likely, who ran routes on 88% of the team's routes. In premium formats, there Likely will be a major waiver bid this week, but make sure your expectations are reasonable. In three career games without Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely has averaged 6.3 targets, 3.3 receptions, 43.7 receiving yards, and 0.33 touchdowns, good for 9.7 points per game, which would be outside the top 12 tight ends in per-game scoring this season.
News surfaced late in the week the New York Jets would be showcasing some of their younger players in week 11, and that turned out to be the case, with Ruckert running routes on 42% of their dropbacks and was targeted on 25% of his routes, and posted 25 yards on 3 receptions, the second-best receiving performance on the team on the week. Ruckert warrants a stash in deeper and premium formats.