CFF Waiver Wire Targets – Week 12
College Fantasy Football championships are won and lost on the waiver wire. Purple Reign has identified the players you need to target on this week’s waiver wire that will help give your fantasy team a champion’s edge. Premium subscribers will have access to hand chosen waiver wire targets for the best match-ups on this week’s slate, high volume workload players, and players with the most favorable playoff match-ups. In the free preview below I will review players I feel are honorable mention waiver wire targets that did not make any of the specified target lists that are featured for premium subscribers.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
QUARTERBACKS
Kitna had been riding high until hitting a roadblock in UConn. His poor week 11 performance was expected so don’t dwell too much on it. Jennings was on a bye last week and he has been a regular waiver wire target for over a month now. Anderson is interesting in my eyes. In Week 10 he made his starting debut and put up 33 fantasy points against New Mexico. We still don’t know if he can keep this up but the remaining schedule is VERY good.
RUNNING BACKS
Marshall has emerged from a crowded backfield and is getting 20+ carries/game over the last two games. Washington has been putting up good fantasy numbers but he has not logged a game with more than 10 carries over his last four games. Booth has shown he can be a good fantasy RB but his remaining schedule is not good at all. Dowdell has scored 3 TDs in his last two games and has seen his carries increase each of those weeks. He is risky but has two good match-ups in Weeks 12-13. Jackson has been a favorite waiver wire target of mine for weeks now. His workload is great but he struggles to find the end zone.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Its a shock that Lemon is still sitting under 30% Fantrax ownership. Since he’s coming off a bye you could probably snag him with your last waiver pick. Jones was great in Weeks 9-10. Week 11 was an expected set back due to match-up, and many fantasy owners will probably overlook him. Sykes is another player that has been red-hot lately and the fact he’s on bye might make it easy to scoop him up. Roberts has put together two good weeks in a row and has a great match-up for this week. Lockett is the WR2 for Eastern Michigan and this offense is throwing the ball all around the yard. Its still hard to tell if a new WR1 for the Utah State offense will be a fantasy weapon this season. White has totaled 27 targets over three games and looks to be the best option for the new WR1. Hernandez has had three decent weeks but its hard to tell if he can be counted on during the playoffs.
TIGHT ENDS
Conroy has been pretty good but the issue I have is the difficulty of the schedule. He has been up and down this season and the level of defense has not been an indicator of Conroy’s success.
QUARTERBACKS
Current Week Match-Up Targets
In terms of match-up stats, Houser has a slight lead over Ogbonna and McCown is in a tier behind them. Ogbonna’s three week PPG has just two games in it, and one of those was a tough match-up with Ohio. In the two contests before the Ohio game he was scoring 25+ PPG. Due to Houser’s scoring streak he is the top QB match-up for this week. McCown is coming off a bye week which means he may fly under the radar of other fantasy owners. If you don’t feel comfortable taking a risk on Ogbonna this week then McCown becomes the #2 QB option of the week.
Volume Workload Targets
Once again we find Snyder as the highest volume QB on the target list. Right behind him is the newcomer Mendoza. Last week’s game against a terrible Wake Forest defense will grab the eyes of fantasy owners. Take note that Mendoza had put up 38 fantasy points in Week 10 against Oregon State. Legas’ PPG is being pushed up by one game. I’m not a fan of his 17 fantasy point performance against UAB last week but I can’t ignore his current workload. McCown and Petras are the only pocket passers on this list. McCown has been playing well but Petras has been struggling since the departure of WR Jalen Royals. Joseph is the best dual-threat QB on the list but his remaining schedule is not very friendly. I want to wait and see how well Ogbonna plays this week and if he can earn his way on my waiver wire target list next week.
Playoff Match-Up Targets
Legas, Anderson, and Ogbonna have the best remaining schedules but all have questions about their playability. You can wait one more week on these three and try a more proven QB in Houser and Navarro. Both Snyder and Mendoza have been performing for multiple weeks now and I think they are safer than the top three names on this list.
RUNNING BACKS
Current Week Match-Up Targets
The best match-ups for the week would go to Johnson and Mozee; with Green, Henderson, and Thomas right behind them. Green has been pretty reliable lately but he is still splitting carries. Johnson just burst on the scene this week when starting running back Antario Brown went down due to injury. Henderson has scored 15+ fantasy points/game in three of his last four games, with two of those being 21+ fantasy point performances. Thomas has been very hot and cold over his last four games and while Mozee has been putting up good yards he has only scored 2 TDs all season.
Volume Workload Targets
Washington and Green are getting a real strong workload in offenses that have been splitting carries this season. Henderson, Sanders, and Pettaway are the only PPR targets on the list. In Weeks 9-10 Robichaux averaged 9.5 carries/game, then last week received 28 carries. This reeks of regression so don’t bank on him maintaining that workload. Carson is another guy who’s workload exploded out of nowhere in Week 11, jumping up to a whopping 33 carries against Fresno State.
Playoff Match-Up Targets
If Green can keep getting 18+ carries/game moving forward he will be my favorite player of this group. Pettaway and Henderson are the only other players with multiple good fantasy performances under their belts. Guys like Thomas, Carson, Washington, and Johnson still have a little more to prove but they can still be worth picking up if you are looking for a potential spot-starter for Weeks 13-14.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Current Week Match-Up Targets
Yes you read that right, I have a Rutgers WR on this list. To quote the great Sherriff Buford T. Justice, “What in the hell is this world coming to.” All of the pass defenses these guys will face give up 1.78-2.00 passing TDs/game. Vandeross faces a defense that’s better at preventing red zone TDs, so I would put him at the bottom of the list. When it comes to the match-up stats of the remaining three guys, you can basically flip a coin. Miller has the best targets and TDs per game of this group making him my top WR choice for this week. Lockhart has been a week in and week out fantasy producer, where I’d value his dependability as my #2 choice followed by Carpenter.
Volume Workload Targets
Not only do we have a Rutgers WR making the waiver wire targets list, but he is also the king of targets! Singleton has been a target machine at times this year but he struggles to find the end zone. Tyson is my favorite combination of target share and TD production on this list. Merriweather is averaging a TD every 50 yards which smells like there’s TD regression coming. Lockhart has been rock solid each week and is also a favorite of mine. My favorite sneaky pick is Walker who I’ve featured for several weeks now. He continues to produce and fly under the fantasy radar.
Playoff Match-Up Targets
I mentioned Lockhart and Walker in the workload section as two of my favorites and they make the top of the playoff match-up board. I see a significant drop off after those two when it comes to reliability. Vandeross is probably the next best option but he is the WR2 in that offense. Napier would probably be next followed by Edwards who would be higher if he didn’t have to face Arkansas.
TIGHT ENDS
Current Week Match-Up Targets
Gyllenborg has been the most reliable of these options followed by Thompson, but their yardage has been lacking. Thomas has been commanding a good workload lately and would be the obvious volume play for the week. Morris is a sneaky pick that I’m hoping will have a strong finish to the season.
Volume Workload Targets
This is a pretty short list. I mentioned Thomas as the hands down leader for target share. Fleming has not put up good fantasy numbers the last three weeks but he is still commanding a good workload. I previously stated that Morris is a sneaky play and he just makes the 5 target cut-off for this list.
Playoff Match-Up Targets
Morris is 3 for 3 with these TE lists this week and he should be considered as a top option at TE. All three of the other players have been featured throughout the season in these articles. If I had to put my money on someone I would pick Gyllenborg first, followed by Morris with Thompson right behind him.