Week 17 is here and for most leagues, championships will be decided this week. Congratulations on being one win away from fantasy football glory, prestige and hopefully a fat payout too! We are so close to the finish line we can reach out and touch it. However, the grind isn’t over quite yet, and this includes fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
The playoffs bring about a unique set of strategies for making fantasy football waiver wire pickups, and Week 17 epitomizes this with championships on the line. Whether you need an injury replacement, wish to block your opponent from plugging a weakness or are simply trying to jumpstart your lineup one last time, there are a handful of players worthy of your attention. Here are our top fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 17.
Note: Players must be owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues to be included in the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups column. Ownership percentages will reflect their status on Tuesday mornings ahead of standard waiver processing.
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Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 17
QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons (12.1%)
Although Michael Penix Jr. emerged victorious in his first NFL start, he didn’t have to do a whole lot to get the win. Thanks to a monstrous performance from the Atlanta Falcons’ defense, Penix and the offense were on cruise control for much of the game. A matchup against Washington in Week 17 figures to give the rookie more opportunities to show what he’s truly capable of. This game has shootout written all over it. The health of Drake London will factor into how Penix ultimately stacks up in rankings this week. That said, so long as he avoids throwing to Kyle Pitts at all costs, he could be one of the most impactful fantasy football waiver wire pickups for champ week.
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RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans (48.2%)
In the last two games, Tyjae Spears has scored four touchdowns. He is firmly on the Week 17 fantasy football waiver wire pickups radar as a result. These two recent breakout performances have coincided with the only two games all season in which the former Tulane standout has played more than 50% of the offensive snaps. Spears is also the better receiving back for the Tennessee Titans who will be matched up against Jacksonville in Week 17. For the season, the Jags’ defense has given up the second-most receiving yards and the third-most receptions to opposing RBs. Spears caught six passes for 87 yards and a score when the two teams met just two weeks ago.
Ameer Abdullah, Las Vegas Raiders (23.9%)
Outside of Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers, the Las Vegas Raiders don’t have any reliable offensive playmakers This is exactly why Ameer Abdullah is quietly having one of his best statistical seasons ever at age 31. Abdullah first became relevant when the Raiders were without both Alexander Mattison and Zamir White due to injury. The former has since rejoined the lineup, but he is still not a good running back and the Raiders’ run blocking still stinks. As the more prolific pass-catcher, Abdullah offers far more upside from a fantasy standpoint. He has scored north of 19 PPR points in each of the last two games and has reached double-digits in four of the last six.
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WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (33.1%)
For the third straight week, Jalen McMillan occupies real estate in our fantasy football waiver wire pickups column. It’s nice to see his ownership rising with each passing week, but he is still available in two-thirds of ESPN leagues. There’s no denying his upside at this point. The rookie has seen at least six targets in each of the last three games and in five of his last seven games played overall. Over the last three weeks, he has found the end zone four times and has scored over 16 PPR points in each game. Even if your team is set at WR heading into champ week, McMillan is worth rostering so your opponent doesn’t get him.
Hollywood Brown, Kansas City Chiefs (29.0%)
We now pivot from a late-season rookie breakout to a veteran who was finally able to make his season debut this past week. In his very first game with the Kansas City Chiefs, Hollywood Brown promptly got showered with eight targets. He caught five of them for 45 yards and figures to be good for more going forward as his playing time (27% of the offensive snaps in Week 16) increases. With Brown back, Patrick Mahomes now has two legitimate wideouts. Given the attention that must be paid defensively to both DeAndre Hopkins and Travis Kelce, Brown figures to benefit. Depending on the state of your roster, he could be a terrific FLEX option on Christmas Day.
Diontae Johnson, Houston Texans (38.3%)
Look, this is a bit of a Hail Mary as far as a Week 17 starter is concerned, but I’m always down for a good revenge game narrative. Simply put, it’s hard to come up with a better one than what sits in front of Diontae Johnson this week. After being traded from Carolina to Baltimore earlier this season, Johnson was barely used and then suspended by the Ravens when he didn’t take kindly to that. He was subsequently waived and promptly claimed by the Houston Texans, who just lost Tank Dell to injury this past week.
So, who do the Texans play in Week 17 you might ask? None other than the Ravens. And on Christmas Day at that! Johnson will probably need more than a few days to get up to speed in Houston, but if that process is somehow able to be fast-tracked, look out! Also, for those managers who find themselves in the unfortunate scenario of having to play into Week 18, Johnson becomes that much more appealing.
TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans (44.2%)
Now, assuming that Johnson isn’t going to be fully ready to roll on such short notice, Dalton Schultz becomes a prime target amongst this week’s fantasy football waiver wire pickups. How’s that for a cross-positional segway?! The Texans are now without two of their top three receivers for the remainder of the year, and none of John Metchie, Xavier Hutchinson or Robert Woods have shown an ability to truly rise to the occasion previously. Much like the Houston passing attack, it’s been a down year for Schultz. However, he has reached pay-dirt in two of the last three games and figures to see an uptick in targets by default as a result of Dell’s injury.
Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans (6.4%)
Outside of a random 70-yard touchdown catch last month, Chig Okonkwo has been absent from the fantasy football landscape up until the last two weeks. After Will Levis was benched in favor of Mason Rudolph in the middle of the Tennessee Titans’ Week 15 contest, Okonkwo promptly hauled in six receptions, bringing his total to eight in that game. Rudolph then peppered him with 11 targets this past Sunday, nine of which he caught to finish as the top Titans pass-catcher in the game. Suddenly, Okonkwo is a hot name amongst fantasy football waiver wire pickups and even looks like a viable start in Week 17 against a bad Jacksonville defense.
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