NFL Week 16 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Additions

Dec 19th 2022Sosa Kremenjas

The second week of the Fantasy Football playoffs has arrived. Let's address the best waiver wire additions available in our leagues ahead of this upcoming slate of games.

All stats and data are sourced from PFF and Sports Info Solutions. Rostered percentages are sourced from Yahoo Fantasy leagues.

Top Adds of the Week:

1. Indianapolis Colts RB Zack Moss - 2% rostered

Starting running back Jonathan Taylor suffered an ankle injury early in the Saturday game and was ruled out not long thereafter. With Taylor out, it was Moss who stepped up and received the majority of the available work:

Snaps: Taylor (2), Moss (53), Deon Jackson (25)

Routes run: Taylor (1), Moss (14), Jackson (9)

Targets: Taylor (1), Moss (1), Jackson (1)

Rushing attempts: Taylor (0), Moss (24), Jackson (13)

Moss is the clear choice for early-down rushing work, though he also out-snapped and had more routes run than Deon Jackson did, too. It's fair to expect Jackson to handle more of the receiving work but the usage from this game suggests the splits could be much closer than what they might've been earlier this season when Taylor missed time.

2. Atlanta Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier - 37% rostered

Even though he is a backup, Allgeier is one of the few players on this list that does have some standalone value and that will likely increase with backup Caleb Huntley out for the season with an Achilles injury. Allgeier splits work with Cordarrelle Patterson, though Huntley also played a minor role in the committee approach. With Huntley out, Allgeier played the most snaps (36) since Week 8.

With that being said, Allgeier should maintain a decent workload (17 rushing attempts this week), though he hasn't run more than 12 routes in a game since Week 10. Either way, he has a legitimate role, took all four short-yardage snaps for the team this past week, played more third downs than any other running back on the team, and split work in goal-line situations. He's FLEX viable moving forward.

3. Chicago Bears RB Khalil Herbert - 39% rostered

Herbert is now eligible to return from IR and could return as soon as Week 16. Unfortunately for Herbert, the Bears seemed reluctant to make him the starting back and not only that, but he never really received a larger split of the backfield work alongside David Montgomery, despite playing great football. Herbert had between 21 and 29 snaps in all four of the games leading up to his injury, though he was able to reach double-digit rushing attempts in three of those four contests.

It's tough to see a road to standalone value for Hebert throughout the remainder of this season but he is easily one of the best handcuffs in the sport. At worst, Herbert offers some very low-end or desperation FLEX value, and at best he could be a league-winner in the event of an injury to Montgomery.

4. Indianapolis Colts RB Deon Jackson - 7% rostered

Jackson was mentioned above under Moss's write-up, though there is some more digging to do here. Earlier this season, Taylor missed Weeks 5, 6, and 9. In those games, Jackson played 46, 54, and 39 snaps and led the backfield in all three weeks. He also had a combined 36 rushing attempts in those games and ran between 20-34 routes in those contests.

This may be overthinking, but perhaps Jackson closes the workshare gap moving forward if Taylor is sidelined. Moss dominated the available work in Week 15 and should be the favorite for touches and snaps moving forward, but he wasn't active in Week 9 when Jackson was mostly featured and Taylor was injured. Perhaps Moss wasn't caught up on the playbook just yet, and that may be the reason he had so much more work this past week.

5. Houston Texans RB Dare Ogunbowale - 3% rostered

The Texans' backfield is a gross one that looks like it's gonna feature three players between Ogunbowale, Royce Freeman, and Rex Burkhead. All three are fine to add for what it's worth, but Ogunbowale did lead the way in snaps (27), routes run (14), and contributed eight rushing attempts.

The one player that might ultimately carve himself out a bigger role heading into next week is Freeman. He actually led the backfield with 11 rushing attempts though he offers minimal passing game utility. The Texans are unlikely to lead as long as they have the past two weeks and that is why it might make more sense to lean toward Ogunbowale — or even Burkhead — over Freeman.

6. Carolina Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard - 39% rostered

Like the Texans, the Panthers are another backfield that could be undergoing some transition. Hubbard led the team in snaps, routes run, and targets. The passing game back tied a season-high 29 snaps and set a new season-high in routes run with 16. This backfield is likely still D'Onta Foreman's, particularly on early downs, though Hubbard seems to be inheriting a bigger slice of the pie. As it stands, neither player is worthy of starting, though both are worth stashing on your bench for at least another week.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars TE Evan Engram - 72% rostered

To preface this addition — Engram appeared to suffer a wrist or arm injury though he continued to play. With that being said, he's notched 24 targets in his past two games and 31 in his past three games. No tight end has scored more fantasy points over the past three weeks with Engram having nearly a 30-point gap from the next-closest player. He is in must-start territory moving forward.

8. Houston Texans RB Royce Freeman - 0% rostered

Freeman has done next to nothing all season and now looks like he could be in a backfield by committee with the Texans. He led the team with 11 rushing attempts, though the breakdown was fascinating to see:

Early downs: Ogunbowale (25), Freeman (21), Burkhead (1)

Goal line: Ogunbowale (0), Freeman (1), Burkhead (0)

Short yardage: Ogunbowale (1), Freeman (2), Burkhead (1)

Third downs: Ogunbowale (N/A), Freeman (N/A), Burkhead (10)

This backfield won't be easy to predict moving forward but Freeman will at least be a part of it. He should be rostered and could be a FLEX option if he inherits more of the early-down work from Ogubowale.

9. Jacksonville Jaguars RB JaMycal Hasty - 6% rostered

Etienne suffered another ankle injury in this game and was ruled as questionable before returning to the contest. There's no reason to panic or worry yet, but this is just another reminder that Hasty should be rostered, particularly if Etienne is on your roster.

10. New Orleans Saints TE Juwan Johnson - 20% rostered

Johnson has seen his role decrease slightly over the past few weeks, though he did miss Weeks 13 and 14 because of injury. This past week, Johnson had just 28 snaps, and just 27, 36, 31, and 38 snaps in the weeks prior. From Week 5-8, Johnson didn't register fewer than 44 snaps in any game and had two contests with 53-plus snaps.

With that being said, he's still one of the best passing game weapons for this offense and is coming off a team-high 31.6% target share. Just one tight end scored more full-point PPR points this week, though Johnson is unlikely to recreate a two-touchdown performance.

Honorable mention: Philadelphia Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell - 15% rostered

You'd have to travel back to Week 11 to get to a game where Boston Scott took more snaps in a game than Gainwell. As it stands, Gainwell appears to be the handcuff to Miles Sanders. There's basically no standalone value here whatsoever, even with Gainwell playing a minor receiving role. But, he is the preferred handcuff and could get a few extra touches next week after an ineffective game from Sanders.