Fantasy football: Top 10 waiver wire Week 12 pickups
By Morgan Dunn
Week 11 is now behind us, and fantasy owners can benefit from scouring the waiver wire heading into Week 12.
The rollercoaster ride that has been the 2017 fantasy football season continues, and Week 12 is in the books. Antonio Brown finally woke up from his nap, scoring three times against Tennessee on Thursday night. The Buffalo Bills saw their starting quarterback intercepted five times in the first half. Ricky Seals-Jones, an Arizona Cardinals tight end with a 0.0 percent ownership in ESPN leagues, scored a pair of touchdowns.
D’Onta Foreman scored two touchdowns and looked like he was about to become the Houston Texans running back to own, but he left the game with an injury that looked serious. It’s been a wild, unpredictable, and sometimes frustrating season, but in a lot of ways it’s been one of the most fun fantasy years in recent memory.
Once again, we saw a multitude of players owned in less than half of ESPN leagues put up performances that make them worthy of a look for most owners. Here are the Top 10 waiver wire pickups for Week 12.
10. Teddy Bridgewater
Sure, Teddy Bridgewater isn’t even a starting quarterback right now, but hear me out. The Vikings have been extremely hesitant to commit to current starter Case Keenum, and it feels like head coach Mike Zimmer is simply waiting for Keenum to falter so he can justify bringing in Bridgewater. The Louisville product is finally healthy after an arduous rehab coming back a devastating knee injury. Expect to see Bridgewater start a game before the regular season comes to a close.
Just when Bridgewater will be handed the keys is a tricky question. Keenum just put up his second consecutive impressive performance, and Zimmer can’t bench him as long as he’s winning games. However, the first Minnesota loss could mean a change at quarterback. With Detroit, Atlanta and Carolina as their next three opponents, the Vikings could experience a loss sooner rather than later.
Bridgewater wasn’t exactly setting the league on fire when he was Minnesota’s starter, but he was a young quarterback showing promising signs. This Vikings offense has a lot of potent weapons, especially in the passing game. Adam Thielen has emerged as one of the better wide receivers in the entire NFL this season, and Stefon Diggs boasts the kind of big-play ability that gives this passing game a crucial vertical element.
Kyle Rudolph is a solid tight end, and running back Jerrick McKinnon is a good pass-catcher, though the Minnesota running game took a big hit when rookie Dalvin Cook went down with a season-ending injury. Bridgewater could serve as a speculative pickup in deeper leagues for owners feeling iffy about their QB situation.