Fantasy Football ‘24: Waiver Wire, Week 17 (playoffs, round 3) edition

Wading into the free agent pool for roster help

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 17. Congrats to all who advanced out of Week 16 – you’re in the finals! For those whose fate hangs in the balance with the Saints and Packers on Monday night, good luck! For those whose season ended when Jalen Hurts headed to the blue tent, that was a tough beat. I realize I’m writing for a dwindling audience. If you’re still reading my columns, thank you.

If you read my first two playoffs waivers columns, you know I’ve shifted the approach from the regular season. Stashing players is now completely out the window. The focus this week is solely on players who can help you in Week 17, or those who you think your opponent might want or need. Those guys are worth picking up also, even if they won’t crack your lineup. And for the most part you can empty your bench to get them, since you no longer need reserves. Just don’t drop players that could help your opponent.

It’s going to be a weird championship week, with the games strung out over multiple days like never before. There are two games on Wednesday, one on Thursday, three on Saturday, nine on Sunday, and one more on Monday. When you’re printing money, and every network wants in on it, this is the result. For the four teams playing on three days’ rest twice in 11 days at the end of a very long season, this is the NFL’s way of saying Happy Holidays, fellas.

As noted above I’m writing this column BEFORE the Monday night game (NO@GB).

Some players discussed won’t be available in your league. I try to list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10-team league with six bench spots will have a much larger Free Agent pool than a 14-team league with eight. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.” By way of example, I won’t list Bo Nix, Drake Maye, Jerome Ford, Gus Edwards, Zach Charbonnet, Tank Bigsby, Adam Thielen, Rashod Bateman, or Jalen McMillan, among others who probably aren’t available in any of your leagues. They’re all very good pickups if available.

WEEK 17 BYES: NONE

Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Week 17 Waiver Wire

Quarterback: If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably set at QB. However, a lot of leagues allow or even require two starting quarterbacks, and that could be a problem in Week 17, given how many NFL teams are starting the likes of Drew Lock, DTR, Mason Rudolph, and Aidan O’Connell, plus QB injuries.

Here are a few quarterbacks who you might be able to grab and who should be OK in Week 17:

Anthony Richardson (@NYG), Caleb Williams (vs. SEA), Matthew Stafford (vs. ARI), and Bryce Young (@TB). If you really want to get crazy (or you’re desperate), you could also consider Michael Penix, Jr. (@WAS). Penix didn’t have to do a lot in the win over the Giants, and I’d probably not go there. Richardson would be my top choice of the players mentioned, given the matchup.

Running Back:

Audric Estime. Sean Payton wants to get him more involved, and with Jaleel McLaughlin out, he turned nine carries into 48 yards and a TD. If McLaughlin misses the Week 17 game at the Bengals, Estime is in the Flex conversation if you need him.

Trey Benson. This one is tricky. James Conner was having a huge game against the Panthers (no surprise there) but left with a knee injury. Benson didn’t suit up Sunday because of an ankle injury. So there are a lot of “Ifs” here, but you want Benson on your roster, and not your opponent’s, as the week unfolds. He could be starting against the Rams this week, with little competition for carries.

Alexander Mattison. His efficiency, and the entire Las Vegas running game, continues to be terrible. He’s averaging just 3.2 yards per carry on the season. But he’s the starter now, and he’s a capable pass-catcher. He scored a TD but didn’t do much else in Week 16 in a great matchup with the Jaguars. He’s got another very good matchup in Week 17 at New Orleans (they’re Bottom-10 vs. the position), so you could do worse if you’re stuck.

Patrick Taylor, Jr. Taylor didn’t do much with his starting opportunity in Week 16. The 49ers’ plan seemed to be to use a lot of Deebo Samuel in the running game, and not to have much of a running game in any case. Still, if Isaac Guerendo misses Week 17, Taylor should get some opportunities against the Lions, whose defense is decimated with injuries. He’d be a very risky start, but if for some reason you don’t have a second running back and he is all you can get, well, good luck this week!

Others to consider: Ameer Adbullah and Tyjae Spears.

Wide Receiver:

Hollywood Brown. He looked decent in his first game of the season (5-45 on eight targets), and could see his role expand this week. It’s a short week and the Chiefs will be facing a strong defense, so I’d be a little careful with him.

Calvin Austin III. If George Pickens misses another game, Austin should again be playable. He has 65 receiving yards in back-to-back games with Pickens out.

Devaughn Vele. He scored this week, and continues to see his role grow, in what has become a pretty good passing offense.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. He scored another TD this week (but had just two catches), which makes nine TDs on the season. On 25 catches. That can’t be real, you say. I agree…but it is. The Titans play the Jaguars this week, so he has a decent shot to make it 10. Just know the risk you’re taking.

Xavier Hutchinson. Who? He’s the next man up in Houston, and the Texans play the Ravens this week which has been the No. 1 most favorable matchup for wide receivers. If John Metchie can’t return, Hutchinson should play plenty of snaps and have a shot at some production.

Others to consider: Tim Patrick, Ricky Pearsall, Quentin Johnston, Joshua Palmer, and Keon Coleman.

Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Tight End:

I’ll give you four names this week: Chig Okonkwo, Stone Smartt, Brenton Strange, and Noah Gray.

The Titans made a change at quarterback during Week 15, and Okonkwo has had his two most productive games of the season the last two weeks, with 17 total catches and double-digit targets in both games. Coincidence? Maybe, but he’d be my first choice.

PK and D/ST Streamers, Week 17 (ranked outside the Top-12 for the season):

PK: J. Karty (vs. ARI), C. McLoughlin (vs. CAR), M. Gay (@NYG), N. Folk (@JAC)

D/ST: IND (@ NYG), MIA (@CLE), LV (@NO).

That’s all I’ve got. Good luck with your waiver claims!

***This column appears each Monday right here at Big Blue View. Each Thursday, my weekly fantasy preview with my rides, fades and sleepers (start/sit) appears here, and on Fridays you can find my weekly Giants Props of the week, also right here. ***