NFL Waiver Wire: Week 12 Deep Dive

It's a big week for fantasy managers due to the volume of teams on bye and the current point in the NFL calendar. For those in FFPC leagues, Week 12 marks the final week of the regular season. For those in more traditional home leagues, the clock is ticking to lock in a playoff spot. 

As always, we'll try to present options that are both streamers for the current week and ones to stash. We also won't cover any names mentioned in the traditional waiver column.

Quarterback

Will Levis – 3% ESPN, 74% FFPC

There are a lot of fantasy-relevant quarterbacks on bye this week (most notably Josh Allen and Joe Burrow), leaving streaming options as the only path forward for some teams. Levis has looked competent since returning from a shoulder injury by averaging 8.7 yards per attempt with a 3:1 TD:INT. He won't be confused for an elite fantasy option, though there are worse options than a one-week stream at Houston.

Cooper Rush – 2% ESPN, 11% FFPC
Trey Lance – 1% ESPN, 9% FFPC

Rush wasn't the picture of efficiency in Monday's loss to Houston, but he did take to the air 55 times. Dallas has an abysmal run game and will almost certainly be playing from behind against Washington, meaning volume should once again be on Rush's side.

Lance represents an intriguing stash. The Cowboys remain stubborn about starting him in public comments, but logic dictates he gets a shot at some point. Lance's running ability would immediately place him on fantasy radars.

Running Back

Cam Akers – 17% ESPN, 58% FFPC

It's a light week at running back, so it's time to either secure the backup to your starters or speculate for points this week. Akers would be among the best available options in the former category having clearly overtaken Ty Chandler for the backup role with 14 and 12 touches the last two weeks as Aaron Jones appears to be playing at less than full strength.

Deuce Vaughn – 0% ESPN, 5% FFPC
Dalvin Cook – 1% ESPN,19% FFPC

We now venture into the area of speculation. We can project there will be some change to the Dallas offense, though the question will be to what degree. Using Vaughn rather than the rotation of ineffective backs we've seen for the Cowboys this season is about the easiest switch to make, so it wouldn't be a big surprise to see him emerge down the stretch. He's not going to be a workhorse back due to his size, but he was an elite pass catcher in college and could carve out a change-of-pace role.  

Ameer Abdullah - 1% ESPN, 1% FFPC 
Dylan Laube – 0% ESPN, 48% FFPC

The Raiders offer a nice combination of potential opportunity and uncertainty with injury. Neither Alexander Mattison (ankle) nor Zamir White (quadriceps) has been effective while both left the Week 11 contest. Their statuses are unclear heading into a matchup against Denver, which could open up a lot of work in the Vegas backfield. Abdullah would seem to benefit most directly, but Laube could get involved after being a healthy scratch for most of his rookie season.

Wide Receiver

Ray-Ray McCloud - 12% ESPN, 31% FFPC

Atlanta is on a bye in Week 12, so McCloud won't be of immediate help. However, I'll watch closely for any news about Darnell Mooney (hamstring) as he landed on the injury report with an Achilles issue during Thursday's practice leading up to Week 11 and was then forced out of the game with a hamstring issue. The problem reportedly isn't serious, yet suffering multiple lower-body injuries over a short period raises some questions. Meanwhile, McCloud has managed moments of productivity this year and should assume a bigger role if Mooney is sidelined.

Curtis Samuel – 10% ESPN, 65% FFPC

The timing doesn't make much sense due to the addition of Amari Cooper, but Samuel has finally run a full route share the last two weeks with a combined 14 targets and nine catches. With Josh Allen under center, any pass catcher with that significant of a role offers the chance to deliver results - though the Bills are on a bye this week.  

Darius Slayton – 9% ESPN, 55% FFPC

Getting ahead of offenses that could change down the stretch is a theme of the week. We don't know exactly what Tommy DeVito will bring to the Giants, but Slayton is the only legitimate downfield threat besides Malik Nabers.

Kayshon Boutte – 3% ESPN, 20% FFPC

Boutte has operated in a consistent role within the New England offense by recording six targets in four straight games. That hasn't yet led to big results, yet he's getting valuable looks with air yards of 98, 110 and 117 from three of the last four weeks. The Patriots may not be efficient enough offensively to make that count this season, but Boutte is at least a watchlist-worthy option.

Marvin Mims – 2% ESPN, 60% FFPC

Mims' usage remains intriguing and comparable to Deebo Samuel. As was warned in last week's column, don't expect the same results as Samuel - though Mims has a realistic chance to be a meaningful fantasy contributor as a gadget player the final weeks of the fantasy regular season and into the playoffs.

Parker Washington – 1% ESPN, 28% FFPC

It's difficult to be excited about much of anything in the Jacksonville offense, but they are simply running out of bodies. Christian Kirk (collarbone) and Gabe Davis (knee) are both gone for the year, leaving Brian Thomas and Washington as the last established wide receivers standing. Evan Engram also figures to heavily factor into the gameplan, though there should be enough targets to go around for Washington to possibly make an impact.

Tight End

Theo Johnson – 5% ESPN, 70% FFPC

As previously noted, it'll be interesting to see how the Giants' offense responds to Tommy DeVito taking over under center. Johnson had forced himself into a significant role prior to the team's Week 11 bye by commanding six targets in each of the last two games.

Luke Schoonmaker – 1% ESPN, 2% FFPC

Like the rest of the Cowboys, there's some debate as to how much any of their skill-position players can contribute for fantasy purposes other than CeeDee Lamb. Schoonmaker could vacuum up short-area targets if Jake Ferguson (concussion) remains sidelined after suffering a concussion Monday and now on a short week of prep. We've already seen that in Ferguson's absence with Schoonmaker commanding 10 targets.

Ja'Tavion Sanders – 1% ESPN, 89% FFPC

Sanders has been inconsistent, which isn't a surprise given Carolina's overall offense. He's a decent streaming option based on the upcoming schedule, which includes a pair of matchups against Tampa Bay and one with Dallas.