Last Minute Waiver Wire Pickups Week 12: Gardner Minshew, Jeff Wilson, Pop Douglas, Isaiah Likely and More

The waiver wire period has come and gone and you may have missed out on the guy you wanted. The waiver wire darlings everyone was clamoring for are long gone and you're still looking to fill out your roster and maybe even your lineup. These are the late waiver wire adds that you should be picking up. Everyone listed is rostered in less than 50% of leagues.

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Last Minute Waiver Wire Pickups

Quarterbacks

Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts

Rostered: 5.6%

If you are looking to stream a quarterback this week then you find a better option than Minshew. He takes on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who are allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. The only two quarterbacks who haven't played yet that have a better matchup are Jalen Hurts and Justin Herbert and I promise you won't find them on the waiver wire. If you're still not sure which QB to start this week then snatch up Minshew and plug him in your lineup. 

Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals

Rostered: 0.8%

This isn't a guy I'm telling you to plug in this week, however, he could be a sneaky good stash candidate. If you have an extra bench spot and are potentially looking for a QB you can start down the stretch then grab Browning. He looked like a solid quarterback when he was thrust into the lineup without notice against the Ravens' defense. If you give him a few weeks of practice with Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Joe Mixon at his disposal, who's to say he can't be a strong fantasy option for you in the most important weeks of the season? If he's terrible, no harm no foul, just send him back to waivers. 

Running Backs

Jeff Wilson, Miami Dolphins 

Rostered: 24.6%

The Dolphins play today so jump on this if this is who you want to roll with. If De'Von Achane is inactive for the Dolphins' Black Friday game against the New York Jets, Wilson becomes an interesting option. Salvon Ahmed has also been sent to injured reserve so it would be just Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson getting snaps in Miami. The Jets' defense is dominant against the pass, but not so much against the run so that is how Miami is going to attack them. The Jets are allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to running backs while simultaneously allowing the fewest fantasy points to wide receivers and the ninth-fewest to quarterbacks. The matchup and likely game script make Wilson a very interesting play this week.  

Ezekiel Elliott, New England Patriots

Rostered: 23.7%

Zeke needs to be rostered at this point and can be started this week against the Giants. The Giants defense is bad and all the Pats can do is run the ball and throw short passes. They don't even know who their quarterback is going to be this week. If you are still looking for a safe flex option, Elliott is the perfect guy to pick up and throw in there. You know he's getting a handful of carries, and a handful of targets, and he'll probably see some goal-line looks. 

Wide Receivers

Demario Douglas, New England Patriots

Rostered: 19.2%

Despite the Patriots' nightmarishly bad quarterback situation and complete inability to throw the ball downfield, Douglas has still been a bright spot for this offense. The rookie has clearly separated himself as the best wideout on this team and the only playmaker on the outside. The coaching staff has made an effort to get him the ball in space and let him try to make something happen. The targets have been there as well so he has a fairly safe floor in PPR leagues. It's inexcusable that his ownership percentage is still so low. 

Justin Watson, Kansas City Chiefs

Rostered: 1.0%

We aren't believers in Watson and wouldn't be surprised if people picked him up and he let them down. However, after Monday night we have to at least give him a mention this week. He's still in an Andy Reid offense led by Patrick Mahomes with teams triple-teaming Travis Kelce. On Monday, he saw 11 targets and caught five of them for 53 yards and a TD. If he was better at football and could catch and run routes, he probably could have caught about nine of them for well over 100 yards and two TDs. While the player isn't good, the volume and situation have to be considered. 

Tight Ends

Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens

Rostered: 12.7%

The math is simple here. Mark Andrews is gone and Likely is in. Although we did see him fall flat earlier in the year when Andrews was out, we have also seen him put up huge fantasy numbers in the past in the same situation. We don't think he puts up anything close to the numbers Andrews was putting up, but he has proven to have the ability to be a valuable fantasy asset when given the opportunity.  

Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints

Rostered: 47.9%

Hill pops up in these articles all the time. We always talk about his upside and versatility. We've said that enough and we aren't going to get into it again. What we will get into is that Derek Carr has been banged up and if he goes down we could see a lot more of Hill. Granted, Jameis Winston would still be the starter, but Hill would take a lot more snaps under center. Even if Carr is fully healthy, Hill still has plenty of fantasy value. It baffles us how often fantasy owners pass on him for lesser options.