I know in some way, shape, or form, I always begin these waiver articles with an allusion to how far we are into the season, and I can’t believe that we’re here already. Well, this week, I felt that even more as I realized that in many of my leagues, this is the last regular season week of the year for CFF. This year has truly flown by, and if you’re on the bubble for your league’s playoff picture, every move is magnified 20x.
The great news is that the CFF Gods have blessed us with a new round of waiver wire options to consider, and frankly, it’s the best group, top to bottom, that I’ve seen in some weeks. The QBS have certainly taken a dip the last few weeks as certain players who have been available slowly disappear from most free-agent pools. However, if you need some help with your skill position players, you’ll find plenty of options to dig through this week. It’s a surprisingly good amount for such a late point in the season.
With all that being said, let’s look at who you could be grabbing off the waiver wire to either continue your dominance or turn your season around! All players mentioned are sub-30% rostered in Fantrax CFF leagues.
Quarterbacks
As I mentioned in the intro, if you’re a team struggling to find good QBs, you had your chance over the last several weeks. Guys like Caden Veltkamp and Tyler Huff were surprisingly slow to be picked up off waivers, and now they’re leading their respective teams to playoff appearances. Now, they’re gone, and what is left over at the QB positions offers some intrigue but nothing on the level of some of the guys who came before in previous weeks.
Dylan Rizk – UCF – Ros: 1%
Why yes, this is indeed the second UCF QB we’ve recommended in this column in the last three weeks. With KJ Jefferson bottoming out, it looked like the age of Jacurri Brown as Gus Malzhan’s QB1 began early. While Brown’s legs were the stuff of dreams for CFF players, his passing numbers were bad enough that even John Rhys Plumlee was giving him a bombastic side-eye. This made UCF’s offense extremely one-dimensional, and Malzhan needed to make a switch to open up the passing game as well. Enter: Redshirt Freshman, Dylan Rizk.
While clearly not Malzhan’s top option coming into the season, the word about Rizk, for the longest time, was the stability he brought to the passing game. Given the game and a half we’ve seen out of Rizk, the aerial attack from the Golden Knights is night and day different. This past week against Arizona, Rizk was able to finish the game with almost 300 yards passing and completed 80% of his passes. Just like King George in Hamilton, I’m not sure Malzhan was aware that was something a person could do.
The initial worry with Rizk was that while he’d bring stability to the passing game, the rushing potential of the Malzhan QB would be quashed. Well, the only quashing that has occurred has been that narrative in Rizk’s first game and a half of action. While Rizk may still not threaten to post a 100+ yard game on the ground, he’s seen half a game with 31 rushing yards, and in his first full start, Rizk finished with 55 yards. If Rizk can continue to bring a nice floor with rushing AND provide UCF with a passing game they can rely on; he should be a solid option for CFF. His next two games are against Arizona State this weekend and then West Virginia in two weeks.
Maddux Madsen – Boise State – Ros: 17%
With Mountain West teams focusing 150% of their effort on slowing down Ashton Jeanty, the opportunity has arisen for someone else to emerge as a fantasy option for the Blue Broncos. Madsen hasn’t been phenomenal up until recently, with him only scoring 20+ fantasy points twice in his first six games. However, as I mentioned, we saw firsthand what can happen if defenses key in on Jeanty and leave Madsen alone to do his things.
Madsen carved up San Diego State this past weekend, throwing for 307 yards and 4 TDS. With the Aztecs loading the box every play, Madsen was able to get wide-open receivers all over the field, and they were able to cash that in. If Boise wants to take some heat off of Jeanty, they’ll continue to let Madsen chuck it all over the field in upcoming games, which should lead to some more fantasy consistency. Madsen has hit 24+ fantasy points in his last two games, and there’s little reason to expect that he’ll regress back to where he was before. Especially if this coaching staff continues to let Madsen work with his legs, which are heavily under-utilized. Upcoming games against Nevada, San Jose State, and Wyoming will provide fertile ground for him to work.
Kadin Anderson – Wyoming – Ros: 0%
I’m almost certainly getting ahead of myself here, but call it hunch, but I think Kadin Anderson has the goods to be fantasy relevant even at Wyoming. Obviously things were not working out with Svboba at QB, so the Cowboys had to make a change. So far, Anderson looks like he’s just what the doctor ordered for Wyoming. Granted, his two performances has come against New Mexico and Utah State, two of the worst defenses in the country.
Regardless, Anderson had a nice performance this past week against the Lobos, tossing the ball 29 times for 342 yards and 3 TDs. His passing is a significant improvement over Svoboba. Very similar to Rizk, Anderson may not be as mobile as his counterpart, but he has shown some mobility in his game against Utah State, where he ran for 25 yards on the ground. Obviously nothing ground breaking (literally), but it hints at more potential in his upcoming matchups, Speaking of, Anderson is on bye this week, so unfortunately we won’t get to see more of him until playoff weeks. His playoff schedule starts with Colorado State and Boise State, two teams that, if he holds up his performance from this past week, Anderson should throw up some solid stats against.
Honorable Mentions
- Parker Navarro – Ohio – 15%
- Katin Houser – East Carolina – 8%
- Colton Joseph – Old Dominion – 25%
- Owen McCown – UTSA – 25%
- Sam Leavitt – Arizona State – 28%
Running Backs
Eli Sanders – New Mexico – Ros: 8%
I had listed Eli Sanders as a watch list candidate all the way back in Week 0. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of Bronco Mendenhall RBs, but his close to 20 touches in Week 0 had me raising my eyebrows. Then, for a time, New Mexico went with a hot-hand approach, but it appears that Sanders has worked his way back up to clear RB1 status for this Lobos team.
Over the past couple of weeks, Sanders has been showing the volume consistency I had been hoping for from him. He’s seen 15+ opportunities in his last three games and has gotten higher than that in recent weeks. Sanders’ magnum opus occurred this past weekend against Wyoming, where he ran for 205 yards and 2 TDs. Obviously, I don’t expect that to be the case every week, but it’s the kind of performance that settles Sanders’ role moving forward as we finish the regular seasons.
New Mexico is an offense that can score on most and is paired with a defense that will let a squad of toddlers score on them. It’s the perfect fantasy combination. When Sanders isn’t breaking off his own long runs, he’s clearly the back the staff trusts the most around the goal line. So, if you’re worried about Sanders getting the game scripted out, there is no need to worry. As long as the Lobos are scoring TDs, Sanders will be involved. The next two games against San Diego State and Washington State are quite juicy before New Mexico gets a bye in the middle of week 13.
Gerald Green – Troy – Ros: 1%
This next player almost flew under the radar for me because, outside of Devonte Ross, I had written off following any Troy players. As far as I could tell, the backfield was a full committee, and the one guy I thought I could count on was Damien Taylor as the sometimes third RB at best. Well, it appears the situation has changed with the Trojans.
Gerald Green, the East Carolina transfer, looks to be breaking away from the committee in Troy. I’ve been burned by this archetype multiple times, including this year. However, usually, whenever that happens, I’m hyper-focusing on a player’s volume and disregarding their production. The great news is that over the last two weeks, Green has both. Green has seen 20+ opportunities in each of his last two games so that checks off the volume. In addition, he’s averaging between 5.7 and 6.5 yards per carry in those games, allowing him to hit the 100-yard mark in both.
I’m praying this is not just a hot-hand situation that could be messed up in a single week. I’m praying Green holds onto this workload because look at this upcoming schedule for Troy after their bye this week: Georgia Southern, Louisiana, and Southern Miss. All three of those teams have defenses that are ranked 115th+ in our C2C Winning Edge Rushing Defensive Team Performance metric. If Green keeps up his efficacy and volume, he could be in for a monster playoff stretch and a potential league winner late in the season here.
George Pettaway – James Madison – Ros: 23%
Given that Bob Chesney is the head coach of James Madison, we in the CFF community knew there was value to be had somewhere in the backfield, given Chesney’s system history. As the season got closer, we settled in around Ayo Adeyi as the top guy for the Dukes. Unfortunately, Adeyi is washed, and a younger face has taken over the reins of the RB1 job here: former UNC RB and 4-star prospect George Pettaway,
While the volume still isn’t fantastic from a CFF perspective, Pettaway is good enough not to need high-volume totals to provide a solid CFF day. This past week, Pettaway had his best game of the season, with 16 carries, 119 yards, and a touchdown on the ground. He also added two catches for 34 yards. That’s the other part that excited us about Pettaway coming out of high school: his receiving ability. Jame Madison and their staff have certainly recognized this and actively involved Pettaway in the passing game. He’s seen not less than three targets in each of his last three games.
If Pettaway could secure more TD opportunities, he’d possibly be the best value on the waiver wire right now. Much like Green, Pettaway has a great schedule coming up, with matchups against Georgia State this weekend and then Appalachian State two weeks from now. Both teams rank outside the top 110 in rushing defensive team performance according to C2C Winning Edge. While Pettaway may not win you a week, he may be a perfect stop-gap, especially with some of these ill-timed bye weeks in the middle of playoffs.
Honorable Mentions
- Michael Benefield – Kennesaw State – 6%
- Al-Jay Henderson – Buffalo – 3%
- Jevon Jackson – UTEP – 26% – This week only
- Amari Daniels – Texas A&M – 8% – Beneficiary of Moss injury
- Elijah Gilliam – Fresno State – 18%
Wide Receivers
Ryan Davis – New Mexico – Ros: 3%
It hurt my soul to see Luke Wysong go down to injury. While Wysong struggled to find the endzone (1 touchdown in 7 games), there was no doubt he was a PPR warrior, averaging over 11 targets and 7 catches a game. However, with him out for what looks like an extended period of time, it did not take long for New Mexico to pivot to a new favorite top target: Ryan Davis.
Once Wysong went down, the impact was immediate. Before then, Davis averaged 6.4 targets per game and was the clear secondary option in the passing game, sometimes third behind Nic Trujillo. After Wysong’s injury, Davis has seen 12 and 13 targets in each of his last two games. He’s turned these targets into games of 146 yards and 74 yards, but just like with Wysong, the value is crystal clear in his PPR potential.
Like Wysong, Davis is also struggling to find the end-zone, as he’s only found it twice so far this year. If that little tick gets fixed, Davis’ value could be massive down the stretch during the playoffs. As we discussed with Eli Sanders before, New Mexico has San Diego State and Washington State on deck for their next games. While defensively it’s not the greatest matchup for WRs, Davis would be getting enough volume to not matter. What does matter is that Davis has a Week 13 bye, which throws a wrinkle into playoff plans for Davis.
Jordan Napier – San Diego State – Ros: 1%
It looked like Louis Brown IV would run away with this top receiver job at San Diego State. However, things have started to shift in the last few weeks. Brown was given a surprise in-house suspension for a game, and the following week against Boise State, Brown got much more limited opportunities. One receiver who has stepped up while Brown and the staff figure things out is redshirt freshman Jordan Napier.
Normally, I wouldn’t dream of putting someone on this column who is third on his own team in targets this year, but for Napier, I’m making an exception. Napier has been building momentum this year, and it culminated in this weekend’s matchup versus Boise State, where Napier was targeted 11 times for 78 yards and a touchdown. Other metrics point to an increased role for Napier moving forward. Among anyone on his team, Napier has by far the highest yards per route run at 3.10 yards/RR. To compare, Louis Brown IV has 1.85 yards/RR.
If Napier can survive a potential full reintroduction of Louis Brown IV, San Diego State has some incredible matchups for him to feast on during the playoffs. This includes this weekend’s matchup against the now infamous New Mexico defense and two weeks after that, he’ll also see him go up against Utah State’s defense. I’m slightly worried about the UNLV matchup in Week 12, but Napier still has the chance to provide.
Kameran Shanks – UAB – Ros: 5%
Many in the CFF community are oo-ing and aw-ing at what Amare Thomas has been able to do once UAB made their change at quarterback, and rightfully so. What Thomas is doing is fantastic for CFF. However, many are so focused on Thomas that they do not see the full picture of this offense and the key role that Kameran Shanks plays in it.
Thomas and Shanks are from the same class at UAB and quickly established themselves as the top options for this offense. Shanks has 57 targets in the year, and the next closest receiver after him has less than half that. As I mentioned, with Thomas getting the splashy plays, it was only a matter of time before Shanks broke out in a big way, too. And boy, did he ever. This past weekend, Shanks pulled in 153 yards and three touchdowns through the air. By the way, he also returned a punt for a touchdown.
If you missed out on grabbing Amare Thomas, Shanks offers you a second chance to get a piece of this offense, which is much more attractive for CFF purposes than it was earlier this year. Shanks’ upcoming schedule doesn’t include any clear feasting grounds like others in this column, but it is three defenses that the Blazers should be able to find ways to score on. Grab Shanks and pray for a shootout or two between UConn, Memphis, and Rice.
Honorable Mentions
- Eric Rivers – FIU – 28%
- Kelly Joiner – USF – 26%
- Jordan Tyson – Arizona State – 24%
- Matt Sykes – Rice – 7%
- Caleb Douglas – Texas Tech – 21%
- Kris Hutson – Washington State – 24%
- Jacoby Jones – UCF – 1%
