2022 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Best Pickups for Week 17
The 2022 fantasy football season is nearly finished. If you are still playing, that means you are probably in your championship game, congratulations. However, the job is not finished. You likely need one or two more wins to leave the 2022 season with fantasy gold. If that is the case, here are five players you can add off waivers to help you win your league.
*All of these players are available in more than half of ESPN leagues.*
James Cook — 46.7%
The top waiver option this week is Buffalo Bills running back James Cook. Cook has continued to see an increase in touches in the last couple of weeks. In Week 16, he had 11 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown.
The issue with Cook in 2022 has been his workload. In the games where he has gotten more than 10 carries he has produced. The issue is that Cook has only seen more than 10 carries four times this year.
For the remainder of the 2022 regular season, Cook could be in line for an increase in carries. Most importantly, Cook has been trending upwards in offensive snap percentage and touches recently. On top of that, the Bills could opt to get Cook involved to get him some more experience before the playoffs.
Regardless, of why, if Cook is involved in the Bills’ high-scoring offense, he will produce fantasy points in your league’s championship games. That is worth the waiver wire add this week.
Tyler Allgeier — 39.2%
Typically, I do not like to fill waiver wire posts with players that made appearances recently. But, since it is championship week, the goal is to find the best players that are available. In this case, Atlanta Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier is still worth the waiver wire add after being included in this post last week.
To summarize, Allgeier was a solid addition last week because he was coming off a season-high performance in Week 15 and the Falcons would need to run the ball with Desmond Ridder under-center. Those points held true.
In Week 16, Allgeier finished with 18 carries for 74 yards and four receptions for 43 yards. This was a solid week of production to back up his Week 15. This seems to be the level of production we will get from Allgeier in the Falcons’ final games. I would expect him to sit around 15 fantasy points per game in PPR leagues.
Allgeier should be everyone’s go-to waiver wire target heading into Week 17. Even if you do not need a running back, blocking your opponent from adding him could be beneficial.
Jahan Dotson — 30.2%
The top fantasy football waiver wire option at wide receiver heading into Week 17 is Washington Commanders wide receiver Jahan Dotson. Dotson was also included in last week’s post, but he needs to be included in this week’s post after having a productive outing in Week 16.
Dotson is an appealing wire option because of his high ceiling. For the majority of the 2022 season, he has either boomed or busted. In the last three games, Dotson has boomed each game. In this span, Dotson has recorded 16.4, 20.5, and 19.6 points in PPR formats.
Dotson is a player with a high ceiling that has come close to that ceiling in the last three weeks. Now is a good time to add Dotson and attempt to ride his hot streak to a fantasy championship.
DJ Chark — 30.9%
Detroit Lions wide receiver DJ Chark has been great since returning from injury. This has culminated in Chark scoring at least 14 weeks in three of his last four games. The outliner in this streak came against a solid Jets defense.
While Chark is not the Lions’ go-to receiver, that title belongs to Amon-Ra St. Brown, he does get a lot of deep targets. The Lions have largely looked to Chark when attempting to stretch the field. That has led to Chark finishing with respectable yardage totals.
The catch with Chark is a late-season emergence of first-round picks Jameson Williams could reduce his downfield targets and eat into production. A Williams emergence in 2022 is not a guarantee though, leaving the door open for Chark to finish strong in 2022.
Still, Chark is a solid waiver option for the remainder of the 2022 fantasy football season. I would not add him before Dotson, but he can be a player to help you down the stretch.
Romeo Doubs — 14.6%
At one point in the 2022 season, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs had the potential to be the number-one receiving target in Green Bay, but, Christian Watson eventually won that job. Since then, Doubs has been relegated to a smaller role in the Packers’ offense.
In Week 17, the Packers’ offense could face a massive shake-up. Watson has been listed as day-to-day heading into Week 17. If Watson is unavailable, Doubs can see an increase in targets and help be a potential difference-maker in your championship game.
To be clear, if Watson plays, Doubs should not be on your roster. If Watson is inactive you can add Doubs from waivers. Still, Doubs is not as appealing as the aforementioned Dotson or Chark. But, if you or in a deeper league or need a last-second addition, Doubs could be useful.
