2022 Fantasy Football Championship Week Waiver Wire Picks and Injury Replacements

How should you attack the fantasy football waiver wire in the championship week!? Check this article out for all the answers!

Claim Mike White Off The Waiver Wire Today Photo Credit: NewYorkJets.com
Claim Mike White Off The Waiver Wire Today Photo Credit: NewYorkJets.com

The Desai Guys continue their Waiver Wire Fantasy Football coverage this week with injury updates and replacements.

Fantasy Football Updates: Week 16 Injuries And Waiver Wire Championship Week

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1213453″ player=”32134″ title=”The%20Mason%20Cobb%20Effect%20%20USC%20Film%20Breakdown” duration=”541″ description=”Mason Cobb is the LB from Oklahoma State that Lincoln Riley and the USC Football Trojans got in the College Football Transfer Portal for the 2023 CFB Season. USC Transfer tracker at 24/7 sports had the USC transfer class as the 5th best in College Football. Mason Cobb is a thick framed and surprisingly quick linebacker that should improve the USC defense in both the run and pass. With Ralen Goforth gone how should Lincoln Riley assemble the USC LBs? With Shane Lee, Tackett Curtis, Eric Gentry, and now Mason Cobb which 3 LB would you put on the field for USC to hopefully highlights this defense. Caleb Williams the Heisman Trophy winner also needs some Offensive Line help, but this transfer is a big step forward for the USC Defense heading into next year.Listen to our USC Football Trojans Podcast: https://www.lafbnetwork.com/la-football-podcast/Go to www.LAFBNetwork.com for FREE full access to all of our podcasts and join the community!Text ‘Trojans’ to 31032 to join the conversation!Twitter: @LAFBNetwork | @Michael_Maclane Sponsors: TickPick is the official ticket partner of the LA Football Network: https://www.tickpick.com/LAFBLincoln Riley is the USC Trojans Football Head Coach for the 2022 College Football Season but after the 2023 NFL Draft the USC Trojans could have more transfers come in and highlights from 2023 NFL Draft prospects. Caleb Williams, Travis Dye, Austin Jones, Raleek Brown, Mario Williams, Tahj Washington, Brenden Rice, Kyron Ware-Hudson, Michael Jackson III, Gary Bryant Jr. Kyle Ford, Jordan Addison, and Miller Moss should be playing great for the USC offense highlights. Eric Gentry, Shane Lee, Max Williams, Mekhi Blackmon, Jaylin Smith, Ralen Goforth, Calen Bullock, Tuli Tuipulotu, Solomon Byrd, Stanley Ta’ufo’ou, and Tuasivi Nomura should get usc football trojans defense highlights 2022. The USC national signing day 2023 commitments are Malachi Nelson, Zachariah Branch, Makai Lemon, Braylan Shelby, Tackett Curtis, Quinten Joyner, Elijah Paige, Maliki Crawford, A’Marion Peterson, Christian Pierce, Amos Talalele, David Peevy, Sam Greene, Micah Banuelos, Alani Noa, Kade Eldridge, Tobias Raymond, Deijon Laffitte, Elijah Hughes, and Ja’Kobi Lane. The USC Transfer Portal tracker has Mason Cobb, Dorian Singer, Christian Roland-Wallace, Kyon Barrs, Edward Czaplicki, and Jamil Muhammad.#uscfootball #usc #trojans #collegefootball #cfb” uploaddate=”2022-12-27″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/22501/snapshot/1213453_th_1672121203.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/22501/sd/1213453.mp4″ width=”16″ height=”9″]

Christian Watson, WR – Green Bay Packers

  • Left the game against the Miami Dolphins in the third quarter with a hip injury
    • Did not return to the game and is now considered day-to-day with the hip injury
  • Watson has said that the injury is not a big deal and he shouldn’t miss time
  • It’s a situation to keep an eye on because if the practice week doesn’t work out the way the Packers want, they may hold out Watson for a week
  • If Watson can’t go this week, there are some good options on the Packers roster that you may be able to snag
    • Allen Lazard is healthy, but he’s probably rostered in your league
    • Romeo Doubs has been great at times and there’s a good chance he’s available in your league
    • If you’re in a deep league, then Randall Cobb can be a good option too
  • If you would prefer a receiver with a better match-up this week and a low roster percentage, go with any of the following guys

Greg Dulcich, TE – Denver Broncos

  • Dulcich suffered a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams
    • There’s a good chance that he may not play this weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs with his injury
      • Add on to the fact that the Broncos are out of playoff contention and have nothing to play for, they may ensure that Dulcich is healthy before letting him suit up again
  • The Broncos have decided to part ways with head coach Nathaniel Hackett, which signifies that this season from hell is finally coming close to ending for Denver
  • With Dulcich possibly being out this week, look for Eric Saubert to take the lead role at the right-end position
    • Albert Okwuegbunam has also been a healthy scratch most of the season and could very well be active this week with Dulcich possibly being out
  • It’s hard to envision what this offense was capable of with Hackett at the lead, but now without him it could be even harder to know what to expect
  • Look towards other offenses for a streaming option at tight end if you need it in your championship game
  • Noah Fant, Tyler Conklin, Taysom Hill, and Hayden Hurst offer more fantasy football value compared to any tight end suiting up for Denver not name Dulcich

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Championship Week Picks

Waiver Wire Championship Week Quarterbacks

Mike White, New York Jets vs. SEA (ESPN Roster Percentage – 12.8%)

  • It seems that Zach Wilson’s time in New York is coming to an end in the offseason and the Jets will ride with White for the rest of the season
  • White averages over 300 passing yards per game in all his starts compared to Wilson who is averaging less than 200 in his combined starts
  • The Seahawks have been on a slide the past couple of weeks and now must face a Jets team that is trying to keep their playoff hopes alive
    • Adding White will allow the Jets to be a little more balanced on offense and bring added challenges for the Seattle defense to contend with

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers vs. LV (ESPN Roster Percentage – 28.6%)

  • Purdy has now thrown at least two touchdown passes in every game he’s appeared in this season for San Francisco
    • He also owns a 68 completion percentage in four games and is averaging a little over 200 passing yards as well
  • San Francisco is not afraid to let Purdy air it out on offense and he’s a great option if you’re in dire need of a quarterback this week
  • The 49ers face the Raiders this week and Las Vegas is allowing the sixth most passing yards in the NFL currently
  • While Purdy may not break the bank with fantasy football points, he’ll have a good enough day not to cost you a fantasy title if you need to roll with him this week

Waiver Wire Championship Week Running Backs

James Cook, Buffalo Bills vs. CIN (ESPN Roster Percentage – 46.7%)

  • The Bills have started to involve the rookie in the offense more
    • Cook is coming off a great game against the Bears, where he went off for 99 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown
      • The previous week he scored a receiving touchdown and has averaged 11 touches for 66 scrimmage yards in the past four games
  • While Devin Singletary is also involved in this Bills offense, Cook is really becoming a great complementary piece to Singletary in the Buffalo backfield
    • Cook is becoming what the Bills initially thought they could do with Zack Moss
  • The Bills have a tough match against the Cincinnati Bengals this coming week, but you can expect the Bills offense to pull out all the stops to come away with a victory on Monday Night Football

Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons vs. ARZ (ESPN Roster Percentage – 39.2%)

  • Since rookie Desmond Ridder has taken over at quarterback, Allgeier has had great numbers on the ground
    • He’s averaging over 100 rushing yards in two games and is also averaging nearly 18 carries as well
  • It looks like head coach Arthur Smith likes what he sees from Allgeier and could be in line to take over the starting running back duties in 2023
  • In the meantime, while the Falcons are trying to see what they have in Ridder at quarterback, Allgeier is going to be utilized on the ground to make sure this offense can move the ball down the field
  • Playing the Cardinals this coming weekend, expect Allgeier and this rushing attack to take advantage of a defense allowing 4.6 yards per attempt, which is ninth worst in the league

Waiver Wire Championship Week Wide Receivers

Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders vs. CLE (ESPN Roster Percentage – 30.2%)

  • Over the last three weeks, Dotson has led the Commanders in targets
  • While Terry McLaurin is still the primary option in this passing offense, it seems like Dotson has surpassed Curtis Samuel as the second option now
  • Last week against San Francisco, Dotson led the team in all receiving categories and was able to take advantage of the second and third options of the 49ers secondary
  • Washington is hanging on to a playoff spot right now and you can expect them to play hard against a Cleveland Browns team that has nothing to play for
    • Expect Dotson once again to take advantage of the double coverage that will be shaded toward McLaurin to allow him to put up some good numbers this week

Greg Dortch, Arizona Cardinals vs. ATL (ESPN Roster Percentage – 3%)

  • Sorry to all those fantasy managers that had DeAndre Hopkins on their roster last week
    • He ended up catching one ball off of 10 targets for four receiving yards and this totaled to about 1.4 fantasy points
  • On the flip side, Dortch had the eye of quarterback Trace McSorley and led the team in all receiving categories
    • He totaled 11 targets, 10 receptions, and 98 receiving yards. This led to a total of 22 fantasy points
  • Now the big thing here is that if quarterback Colt McCoy clears concussion protocol and receiver Marquise Brown is healthier, Dortch’s value drops significantly
  • Dortch earned the start with Brown dealing with a groin injury and if Brown progresses further, then expect Dortch to be relegated to a backup role
  • Monitor the practice week all this week as both McCoy and Brown change the landscape for Dortch’s fantasy aspirations in a championship week in fantasy leagues

Waiver Wire Championship Week Tight Ends

Tyler Conklin, New York Jets vs. SEA (ESPN Roster Percentage – 36.3%)

  • It’s already been brought up, but the Jets are bringing Mike White back as the starting quarterback. They clearly throw the ball more with White compared to Zach Wilson
  • There was an outlier game from C.J. Uzomah couple of weeks ago where he scored two touchdowns, but it’s really been Conklin as the primary tight end weapon for the Jets
  • With the switch back to White, Conklin should become a great option to stream in a championship week
  • He’s not just a touchdown-dependent option either as White looks his way consistently to move the ball on crucial conversion downs
  • Seattle is terrible at defending the tight end position and this should mean Conklin can have a good day in a very important week for fantasy football managers

Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints vs. PHI (ESPN Roster Percentage – 45.9%)

  • Hill has scored double-digit fantasy points in three straight games
    • He’s scored a touchdown in those three games all through various means with one receiving touchdown, one passing touchdown, and one rushing touchdown.
  • This Saints offense has really lacked playmakers all season long and Hill has been a bit of a saving grace for New Orleans to stay in games
  • Playing Philadelphia next week, the Saints will need any type of offense to keep up with the Eagles offense and you can expect New Orleans to deploy Hill in any and all situations

Waiver Wire Championship Week Defenses/Special Teams

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. HOU (ESPN Roster Percentage – 15.5%)

  • In one of the great stories of the 2022 season, the Jaguars are now leading the division after being the laughingstock of the league in 2021
  • The Jaguars can win the division by winning out and they get a good matchup this week with the Houston Texans
  • While the Texans have been showing some fight in their last couple of games, they are in contention of getting the number one overall pick and not getting moral victories
  • Expect the Jaguars defense to be aggressive and force some turnovers to lead to a good streaming option here in Week 17

Los Angeles Chargers vs. LAR (ESPN Roster Percentage – 22.1%)

  • In the battle of Los Angeles, expect the Chargers to control this game against the Rams
  • While Baker Mayfield was impressive against the hapless Broncos, the Chargers defense will present more of a challenge to him
  • Considering the Chargers have more to play for as well, you can bet that the Chargers will do whatever they can to make sure they can come away with a victory against their in-town rivals in the Rams

Waiver Wire Championship Week Kickers

Greg Joseph, Minnesota Vikings vs. GB (ESPN Roster Percentage – 37.5%)

  • This divisional game is important for both teams
    • The Vikings are trying to hang on to their #2 seed and possibly overcome the Eagles for the #1 seed
    • The Packers need to keep winning in order to keep their playoff hopes alive
      • Also when these teams met all the way back in Week 1, Minnesota controlled the game from the jump. Green Bay will look to split the season series
  • This game will be closer than most people think. Minnesota has won 11 games by one score. Expect Joseph to have his fair chance at making some field goals
    • Joseph kicked the game-winning 61-yard field goal last week and he might have another chance to kick a game-winner this week against the Packers

Michael Badgley, Detroit Lions vs. CHI (ESPN Roster Percentage – 7.6%)

  • Badgley has four double-digit fantasy performances this season for the Lions
    • Of those four games, three of them came at home. Which is where the Lions are playing this week
  • It’s no secret that Detroit has been serving it up at home. This coming week should see more scoring from the Lions offense which includes chances for Badgley
  • Playing the Bears this week in a divisional game could be a close one between both squads or Detroit could run away with the game
    • Either way, Badgley is a great pick-up this week if you need double-digit points in a championship week
Claim Mike White Off The Waiver Wire Today Photo Credit: NewYorkJets.com
Claim Mike White Off The Waiver Wire Today Photo Credit: NewYorkJets.com