Week 12 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Waiver Adds: Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Elijah Moore, Kayshon Boutte

Welcome to the Week 12 fantasy football wide receiver waiver wire breakdown! We’ve got interesting options of all shapes and sizes this week, headlined by the resurrection of Marquez Valdes-Scantling in New Orleans. Let’s get right into it!

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Week 12 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Waiver Adds

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, New Orleans Saints (17.3% Rostered)

MVS, who was cut by the Bills just about a month ago, is now the fantasy WR3 over the last two weeks. Obviously, some of this is flukey. He has just five catches over those two weeks but has hit on three big plays of over 40 yards, two of which went for touchdowns, and added a third receiving TD as well. 

On the other hand, MVS is undoubtedly the top option in the Saints’ injury-riddled WR room. He has led the team in routes in each of the last two weeks, including a respectable 77% route participation rate on Sunday. He has just a 13% target share but an 18% first-read target share and a massive 47% air yards share. 

We have to remember that New Orleans started the season with Derek Carr chucking it deep to Rashid Shaheed multiple times per game — Valdes-Scantling is now filling that role, and deep balls are one area where Carr undeniably shines. It may be boom or bust, but three deep shots a game comes with a pretty good chance of connecting, and one big play can be enough to carry a fantasy outing. MVS is worth adding in deeper formats, where his bad weeks won’t hurt as much and his boom weeks can win matcuhps from a flex spot. 

Elijah Moore, Cleveland Browns (12.1% Rostered)

Since Jameis Winston took over as the Browns’ starting quarterback, Moore is averaging a respectable 10.8 Half-PPR points per game. His actual role in Cleveland’s offense hasn’t changed much, as he is still serving as the team’s clear WR3 and running routes on roughly three-quarters of Winston’s dropbacks. The difference is that Winston brings a unique combination of volume and aggression, a huge change for an offense that previously had league-worst quarterback play. 

Winston has averaged 44.3 attempts in his three starts, seven more than the current NFL leader in attempts per game, Geno Smith at 37.4. And he’s done that on an ADOT of 10.3 yards, second-highest behind only Anthony Richardson among QBs with at least 100 attempts. That means there are tons of fantasy points to go around in the Browns’ passing game. On a relatively modest 21% target share over the last three weeks, Moore ranks sixth in the entire NFL with 126 air yards per game (while Cedric Tillman and Jerry Jeudy both also rank in the top seven). That alone is enough to make him worth adding. 

For what it’s worth, Moore also seems to be Winston’s favorite target, with a team-high 25% target per route run rate despite trailing both Tillman and Jeudy in first-read targets. I do expect Winston’s pass volume to regress (44 attempts per game is simply insane), but Moore may be able to maintain fantasy relevance regardless if he can maintain this connection with the Browns’ new QB.

Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots (1.8% Rostered)

At some point, I’m going to have to give up on Boutte, who has been below seven Half-PPR points in each of his last five outings and all but one of his 14 career games … but this is not that point. The reason I won’t give up on Boutte is simple: He is the WR1 on an offense with an exciting young quarterback. 

The sophomore WR has led New England in routes in five of the last six weeks (losing out once to TE Hunter Henry). He has posted absolutely elite participation rates of 93% and 89% in the last two contests. Those routes are starting to turn into targets, too, as he has exactly six targets in each of the last four games. He also easily leads the Patriots with a very nice 40% air yards share over those four weeks. There’s a real chance this never turns into useable fantasy production, but it doesn’t take much squinting to see a future where Boutte is a weekly flex play by the end of the season, especially with the way Drake Maye has been playing.

Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers (41.4% Rostered)

Legette should have been widely added in fantasy football leagues last week, but he likely flew under the radar because the Panthers were on bye in Week 11. If your league is one of the 59% where he is still available, he should be your top priority on the waiver wire for this week.

Legette posted an absolutely elite 96% route participation rate last week, by far his best mark of the year. I’ve been shouting from the rooftops all season about the benefits of route participation rates this high (we saw this in action with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine this week), and it’s especially true for an exciting young player with potential plus ability as a playmaker. Bryce Young seems to have turned the smallest of corners since reclaiming the Panthers’ starting job, and that could be enough for Legette to be a useful fantasy option down the stretch. 

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasySP. Find him on Twitter @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.