Fantasy Football Waiver Wire, Week 17: Add Clyde Edwards-Helaire

I have only included players who are rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo fantasy football leagues. A player’s roster percentage will appear in parentheses next to their name.

Quarterback

Gardner Minshew, Colts (31%)

Minshew has at least one touchdown in all but two of his 11 starts this year and has multiple touchdowns in four appearances. He has finished as a top-15 fantasy option five times. The Colts also have a 23.75 implied team total, tying them with the Lions. Minshew is far from an elite option, but he has a reasonable floor and is available in over half of all Yahoo leagues.

Derek Carr, Saints (39%)

Carr is tied with C.J. Stroud for a league-high, six games with 300 passing yards this year. The big difference between Carr and most of the other high-volume throwers was a lack of touchdown production until recently. However, like Matthew Stafford before him, Carr's touchdown rate has regressed (in the good way). He has thrown six touchdowns over the past two weeks. Carr still ranks just 19th in touchdown rate, but the recent scoring boom has bumped him up the QB2 rankings.

Running Back

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs (36%)

Jerick McKinnon was placed on injured reserve over the weekend and Isiah Pacheco left Week 16 with a concussion. Edwards-Helaire didn’t do much on the ground with Pacheco out for roughly a quarter, but he did contribute through the air, catching three balls for 42 yards. With only La’Mical Perine behind him on the roster, nothing is standing between CEH and a three-down role for the Chiefs to close out the fantasy season. The Chiefs are currently touchdown favorites versus a weak Cincinnati defense.

Khalil Herbert, Bears (45%)

Per usual, there is no rhyme or reason in the Chicago backfield. Roschon Johnson led the backfield in touches two weeks ago only to see Herbert earn 20 carries to his nine in Week 16. Herbert rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown. Johnson still held onto his gig as the team’s top option on passing downs. D’Onta Foreman was out for personal reasons last week and his status for Week 17 is unknown. Herbert would have RB2 potential if Foreman remains out.

Chris Rodriguez, Commanders (3%)

The sixth-round rookie from Kentucky hasn’t usurped Antonio Gibson in terms of snaps, but he has out-carried him 20-13 over the past two weeks. Rodriguez has also seen three carries inside the five-yard line to Gibson’s one. Rodriguez hurt his ankle late in the game and gets a brutal matchup with the 49ers in Week 17. He is worth an add for team's desperate at the running back position, but fantasy managers should view him as an option of last resort.

Wide Receiver

Demario Douglas, Patriots (21%)

Douglas returned to the Patriots’ lineup two weeks ago and earned a solid role in his first game back from injury. His share of the targets and routes then skyrocketed in Week 16. He earned a 26 percent target share and a 37 percent air yards share while running a route on 92 percent of Bailey Zappe’s dropbacks. Over his past six games, Douglas has a 24 percent target share. The Patriots are terrible but should be forced to throw plenty against the Bills, putting Douglas in a great spot for Week 17.

K.J. Osborn, Vikings (17%)

The Vikings lost T.J. Hockenson to a serious knee injury and Jordan Addison to a less concerning ankle issue in Week 16. Hockenson will not play in Week 17 while Addison’s status is up in the air. With both players missing roughly a half of football, Osborn stepped up with five catches for 95 yards and a touchdown. He earned a 21 percent target share and saw his first end zone target since Week 5.

Curtis Samuel, Commanders (40%)

You can skip this section if you’ve read my waiver wire column even once this year, but, for the newcomers: Samuel is the highest-scoring FLEX player this year who remains on waivers in over half of all Yahoo leagues. He is 37th among receivers in catches and leads the Commanders in both targets and yards per route run. Facing a pass-funnel 49ers defense, Samuel will fire up the PPR scam one more time this year.

Joshua Palmer, Chargers (45%)

Palmer’s role hit light speed in Week 16 when he earned a 25 percent target share and saw half of his team’s air yards. He ran a route on every one of Easton Stick’s dropbacks. With Keenan Allen unlikely to return for Week 17, Palmer should again hold the No. 1 role in LA to close out the year.

Tight End

Gerald Everett, Chargers (42%)

Everett crushed his previous season-high route rate last week, running a route on 82 percent of his team’s passing plays. He also earned his second-highest target share of the season at 25 percent. His season-high came just one week ago. The loss of Allen has elevated Everett’s role substantially, putting him in the TE1 conversation for Week 17.

Chig Okonkwo, Titans (32%)

Okonkwo caught his first touchdown of the season last week and you better believe it wasn’t normal.

More importantly, the second-year tight end also saw a quarter of the Titans’ targets and 42 percent of their air yards. Both marks go down as season highs for Chig. Tennessee’s low passing volume will keep Okonkwo out of the TE1 ranks for Week 17, but he once again has life as a mid-range TE2.