Waiver Wire Pickups and The Dump List for Week 12

In case you do not follow me on Twitter, I owe you an apology.  There is no excuse for a bye-week from your favorite fantasy analyst without any notice.  If you don’t know, my grandfather passed away Wednesday morning after we were told that he would have just a month to live the night before.  My heart wasn’t in it and I didn’t want to just spew out random numbers and half-hearted thoughts.   I received a lot of support from you readers and I can’t thank you enough for what your encouraging words meant to me. I hope you all continue to read my musings on the world of fantasy football and it’s time to go get us some championships.

Pick ups

Ronnie Hillman, RB, DEN – With Willis McGahee out for 6-8 weeks with an MCL tear, Ronnie Hillman is the top Waiver Wire pickup of the week. He is going to split some time with Lance Ball, who is also worth a grab in DEEP leagues, but it is Hillman’s opportunity to capitalize on.  If you are a McGahee owner, you need to run (not walk) to free agency or the waiver wire.

Danario Alexander, WR, SD – Alexander is a physically big target for Rivers in the passing game and he is now taking over for Robert Meachem.  Alexander has had two big games this year (the first filling in for Antonio Gates) and actually has a lot of upside.  This team needs to find a way to re-invigorate the passing game and Phillip Rivers.  Alexander might just give them a spark.

Jalen Parmele, RB, JAC – The Jaguars gave no notice to fantasy owners that Rashad Jennings had squandered his opportunity away.  There is now officially a new starting QB, a new top fantasy WR and a new top fantasy RB on this offense going into next week.  Parmele’s value is tied to the return of MJD but in the mean time, the upside is better for Parmele than it was for Jennings because Henne appears to be able to stretch the field with the vertical passing game.  This guy will be an “if your desperate” starter this week.

Justin Blackmon, WR, JAC – Blackmon had a staggering 236 yards and a TD this week against a typically stout defensive backfield as the Jaguars lost a tight game on the road at Houston this past week. Kicker is that it took the back-up QB coming into the game to give this offense a spark.  I was big on Blackmon as a sleeper in the preseason and pin his shortcomings on Blaine Gabbert being a terrible QB more than anything.  If Henne can keep getting him involved, Blackmon could be a HUGE acquisition this week.

James Starks, RB, GB – I said it as soon as Benson went down… Starks is the best RB that the Packers have on the active roster.  He has more experience in the offense and is, in my opinion, more talented. Green was almost non-existent this past week and his ownership levels should be non-existent after waivers get processed this week.

Brandon Meyers, TE, OAK – This guy has been VERY consistent for a few weeks now.  The Raiders offense passes the ball, a lot, and Meyers is clearly a top 10 TE.  I wouldn’t expect a lot of double-digit point games (unless it’s a PPR league) but he is going to see targets and he will get you a respectable fantasy point total for the week.

Beanie Wells, RB, ARI – LaRod Stephens-Howling had a really strong game this past week but Beanie is going to destroy any fantasy value at the RB position on the Cardinals.  The only possible outcomes are that there are no viable options in that backfield or Beanie is a flex-able option with the lion’s share of the workload.

Dump List

Joique Bell, RB, DET – I advocated stashing Bell on your bench for a bit because he was getting a few carries and was involved in the passing game.  With Stafford faltering and his carries down to almost none, you can just drop Bell now.

Dustin Keller, TE, NYJ – He is a very viable waiver wire roulette option still but if he was going to make a serious impact and become a must-start tight end, we would know by now.  This week went as well as it could have for the Jets offense and Keller just wasn’t a factor.

Titus Young, WR, DET – I am not saying you should drop Young, I am saying that I am fine with it.  He’s benched from the Thanksgiving game due to his on field issues and it isn’t clear if his snap-count will be affected by his place in Jim Schwartz’s dog house.

Michael Bush, RB, CHI – 55% of leagues still have Bush as owned. Around 30% of the owners that own Bush should get smacked around.  If you don’t have Forte and there is any chance you want to start the guy holding this roster spot, you HAVE to drop him.  You (if you don’t own Forte) should really only keep him if you are cruising to a playoff spot and don’t have any injury prone running backs.

Andre Roberts, WR, ARI – This team is plummeting and with all the bye weeks behind us, you need to drop Roberts now.  There is an insane amount of free agent talent this week and Roberts only has two even remotely decent match-ups left.

Isaac Redman, RB, PIT – He was barely worth keeping before the concussion. Get one of the guys on the list above instead.