Early waiver wire adds for Week 12 fantasy football

Welcome to this week’s fantasy football waiver wire!

We’re starting to get really close to the fantasy playoffs and with that, I’ve decided to spice up the waiver wire and make an effort to include more players in all the positions you could need. So, I’ve got two to three players you should be adding to your fantasy team this week from each major position (I’ll leave kickers to your own personal choice). Ownership via Yahoo leagues.

Quarterback

Sam Darnold, New York Jets (22% owned)

It’s taken a little time for the Jets offense to get back in the swing of things but they certainly righted the ship Sunday against Washington. Darnold tossed four touchdowns and 293 yards, his second week in a row of scoring at least twice. Next on the schedule for him he faces off against the Raiders, Bengals and Dolphins, three teams this offense can certainly take advantage of. Darnold is here to help those of you who’ve lost Matthew Stafford (like yours truly).

Nick Foles, Jacksonville Jaguars (32% owned)

Foles was solid in his first game back, making a few mistakes, but that is to be expected from someone who hasn’t played since Week 1. He threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns against the Colts while also tossing one interception. His numbers will get better quickly as he becomes more comfortable in this offense. It helps to that his schedule is very friendly, facing the Titans, Buccaneers, Chargers, Raiders, Falcons, and Colts rest of the way. That’s a good lineup of teams.

Running back

Jonathan Williams, Indianapolis Colts (2% owned)

Marlon Mack had a great game against the Jaguars but unfortunately for him and his fantasy owners, he left the game with a broken hand and will be out indefinitely. Williams came in for Mack and carried the ball 13 times for 116 yards and added 31 yards on one catch. He seems to be the back most likely to take over the Colts ground game moving forward and with games against the Texans, Titans, Panthers and Jaguars still on the schedule, he’s 100% worth rostering.

Nyheim Hines, Indianapolis Colts (17% owned)

Hines has shown up on this list multiple times before and I’ve been preaching his name for those in really deep PPR leagues who just need solid, consistent production. Now he might have regular non-PPR value. He scored a touchdown Sunday and will likely see more work on the ground and through the air rest of the season with Mack’s injury. I’d break in favor of Williams if you’re deciding between both backs, but Hines certainly is worth rostering.

Wide receiver

Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers (53% owned)

I’m using my one guy over 50% ownership here because Samuel could be a league winner down the stretch. Samuel now has gone over 110 yards and 10 targets in back-to-back games and is clearly breaking out as a vital part of the 49ers passing game. I’ve added Samuel in all the leagues I’ve could and I would highly suggest you do the same with games against the Saints, Falcons and Seahawks still on the schedule.

Hunter Renfrow, Oakland Raiders (14% owned)

If you’ve been waiting for Renfrow to fade back into obscurity, I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon. The rookie wideout has now seen at least five targets in his last three games and has gone over 11 PPR points in three of his last four. He’s developing as one of Derek Carr’s favorite receivers and with a favorable matchup against the Jets next week, could be in line for another strong outing.

Tight end

Ryan Griffin, New York Jets (3% owned)

You can’t ignore a tight end that goes over 100 yards and catches a touchdown in fantasy football. Not when there only seem to be two or three names who are weekly top fantasy performers. Griffin now has gone for double digit PPR points in three of his last four games with two of those outings going over 20 points. With Chris Herndon out for presumably the rest of the season, Griffin has the TE1 spot in New York locked down and needs to be on your team if you’re struggling at the security blanket spot.

Ross Dwelley, San Francisco 49ers (14% owned)

Shoutout to those who read Heath’s tight end rankings and did the prudent thing and put Dwelley in every single one of your DFS lineups. He was cheap and he performed, catching four balls on five targets for 14 yards and a touchdown. As long as George Kittle is out, Dwelley has value and if Kittle misses next week as well, Dwelley could be in for another solid showing vs the Packers who’re currently giving up the sixth most points to the position.

D/ST

Atlanta Falcons (2% owned)

The Falcons defense has been hot trash and one of my favorite matchups to exploit for most of the season but now it seems things might be finally clicking into place for the unit. In their last two games they’ve allowed only 12 total points and have recorded 11 total sacks and they picked Kyle Allen off four times Sunday. They face off against the Buccaneers and Jameis Winston who we know loves nothing more than to throw the ball to the opposing team.