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.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson suffered a concussion in week 12. This would leave P.J. Walker and Joe Flacco to compete for the starting opportunity in Thompson-Robinson's absence. Neither warrants a major bid and only warrants consideration in premium formats for teams on a bye.
The New England Patriots benched Mac Jones again on Sunday after he completed 12 passes on 21 attempts for 89 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. Bailey Zappe took his place and likewise struggled, throwing 9 completions on 14 attempts for 54 yards and one interception. The offense is a major struggle, so like Flacco, he only warrants adding in the highest of premium formats.
Veteran Backups
As a general rule, you should have a limited amount 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
Tight Ends
Tight ends to monitor on your waiver wires include:
Brevin Jordan saw a big jump in snaps in week 12, running routes on 41% of the team's dropbacks. This corresponded to a big drop in route participation from starter Dalton Schultz. There was no word of an injury early in the week for Schultz, so the uptick warrants monitoring. Jordan warrants a pre-emptive addition this week in deeper formats or premium scoring formats.
Juwan Johnson ran a route on 85% of the team's dropbacks, the highest of the season. The team is going through a bout of injuries, with Michael Thomas on injured reserve, Chris Olave in concussion protocol, and Rashiid Shaheed dealing with a thigh injury. The team's entire receiving corps is banged up, leaving Johnson and Alvin Kamara as the two most established receiving options in the offense. Johnson warrants a waiver bid, particularly with a bye gauntlet coming in week 13.
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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 roster 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.
Moving Up this Week
The following running backs have improved this week and are available in over 50% of MFL leagues.
Trevor Etienne week 12 with a chest injury but returned to the game and should play in week 13. The news in the backfield is what happened with Etienne out of the game. D'Ernest Johnson took over the backfield and handled 43% of the team's snaps compared to only 3% for Tank Bigsby. Johnson has played more than Bigsby in each of the past three weeks and is one of the most available injury-away running backs in dynasty formats.
Cordarrelle Patterson has seen a spike in snaps in the past two weeks. Initially, the work came in route participation in the passing game (37%). However, in week 12, he saw 21% of the team's rushing attempts, his highest participation since week 7 when Bijan Robinson was injured. Atlanta's usage is unique, but Patterson's growing role is notable for a player on an injury-away role.
Other Backups
Other backups or free agents with high availability include:
- Trayveon Williams (83% available)
- Ke'Shawn Vaughn (88% available)
Wide Receivers
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 strategy for the wide receiver position should be to find immediate lineup help or a flip candidate.
Greg Dortch ran routes on at least 80% of the team's dropbacks the past two weeks as he steps forward in Michael Wilson's absence. Dortch has accounted for 25% and 20% of the team's targets each of the past two weeks. Michael Wilson missed practice all last week, so there is a chance Dortch can spot-start during a bye-heavy week in week 13.