Fantasy Football Week 16 Waiver Wire: Ronald Jones, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Big Ben among top potential options – CBSSports.com

We’re publishing this story as we usually do on Tuesday afternoon, but obviously things can change with two games still to go Tuesday night. If something happens in the Washington-Dallas or Seahawks-Rams games then this story will be updated, so please check back before your league runs waivers.

There are a lot of things up in the air heading into Week 16, mostly due to players who are injured and on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Here are the guys who could be missing in the second round of the Fantasy playoffs:

• Quarterbacks: Lamar Jackson (ankle), Teddy Bridgewater (concussion), Taylor Heinicke (COVID), Baker Mayfield (COVID) and Jared Goff (COVID)
• Running backs: Joe Mixon (ankle), Leonard Fournette (hamstring), D’Andre Swift (shoulder), Elijah Mitchell (knee), Damien Harris (hamstring), Kareem Hunt (COVID), Alexander Mattison (COVID), D’Onta Foreman (ankle), J.D. McKissic (concussion) and Alex Collins (COVID) 
• Wide receivers: Chris Godwin (ACL), Mike Evans (hamstring), Tyler Lockett (COVID), Adam Thielen (ankle), Julio Jones (hamstring), Jarvis Landry (COVID), Emmanuel Sanders (knee), Allen Robinson (COVID), Kendrick Bourne (COVID), Kadarius Toney (COVID) and Sterling Shepard (Achilles)
• Tight ends: Travis Kelce (COVID), Darren Waller (knee), Pat Freiermuth (concussion), Tyler Higbee (COVID) and Austin Hooper (COVID)

The biggest injuries coming out of Week 15 were definitely in Tampa Bay where Godwin was lost for the season, and we expect Evans and Fournette to be out in Week 16. Antonio Brown is back from his three-game suspension this week to help Tom Brady and Fantasy managers, and we’ll talk about the potential for guys like Scotty Miller and Tyler Johnson below. Ronald Jones is also a must-add running back in all leagues.

We’ll also be keeping an eye on the injury status of Mixon, Jackson and Thielen, among others. And we’ll be watching the COVID-19 reports for guys like Kelce, Lockett and Landry. There’s also the chance Austin Ekeler might be on the reserve/COVID-19 list based on reports Monday, but as of Tuesday morning he’s in the clear.

We got some good news with the expected return of A.J. Brown (chest), who could play Thursday night against San Francisco. And some running backs have emerged as potential starters this week in Jeff Wilson, Craig Reynolds and Duke Johnson.

We’ll break down all of these guys and more. This should be a fun week on the waiver wire for those of you still alive in your Fantasy playoffs.

Editor’s note: For this waiver wire column, we are only looking at players rostered in less than 65 percent of CBS Sports leagues.

Week 16 Waivers

• Injuries: Lamar Jackson (ankle), Teddy Bridgewater (concussion), Taylor Heinicke (COVID), Baker Mayfield (COVID) and Jared Goff (COVID).
• Check to see if available: Taysom Hill (80 percent rostered), Jimmy Garoppolo (79 percent) and Tua Tagovailoa (77 percent). Hill just had his worst performance as a Fantasy starter with nine points at Tampa Bay in Week 15. I expect him to rebound this week against Miami, and he should still be considered a low-end starter in deeper leagues. … Garoppolo is also worth using as a low-end starter in deeper leagues in Week 16 at Tennessee. He’s scored at least 19 Fantasy points in six of his past eight games. … Tagovailoa disappointed in Week 15 against the Jets with 16 Fantasy points, but he still managed multiple passing touchdowns for the third time in his past four games. He remains a low-end starting option in deeper leagues in Week 16 at New Orleans.

• Injuries: Joe Mixon (ankle), Leonard Fournette (hamstring), D’Andre Swift (shoulder), Elijah Mitchell (knee), Damien Harris (hamstring), Kareem Hunt (COVID), Alexander Mattison (COVID), D’Onta Foreman (ankle), J.D. McKissic (concussion) and Alex Collins (COVID).
• Check to see if available: Devin Singletary (77 percent rostered), Jamaal Williams (76 percent), Mark Ingram (67 percent) and Dontrell Hilliard (67 percent). Singletary is looking to score at least 14 PPR points for the third game in a row in Week 16 at New England. It won’t be easy, but he should be considered at least a flex option in that matchup. He has over 90 total yards in consecutive games and has taken over as the top running back in Buffalo. … Williams is off the reserve/COVID-19 list, and we’ll see what his role is now that Craig Reynolds has taken off in Detroit. It’s worth adding Williams if you have an open roster spot in case he’s back as the lead running back for the Lions, although Swift can also return. … Ingram should be added as a handcuff/lottery ticket in case something happens to Alvin Kamara. And in deeper leagues, Ingram has flex appeal in deeper leagues since he had at least 11 total touches in tandem with Kamara. … Hilliard should also be added where available as a handcuff/lottery ticket behind D’Onta Foreman. Hilliard also just had 13 total touches in Week 15 at Pittsburgh and can be used as a flex option in deeper leagues.

• Injuries:  Chris Godwin (ACL), Mike Evans (hamstring), Tyler Lockett (COVID), Adam Thielen (ankle), Julio Jones (hamstring), Jarvis Landry (COVID), Emmanuel Sanders (knee), Allen Robinson (COVID), Kendrick Bourne (COVID), Kadarius Toney (COVID) and Sterling Shepard (Achilles).
• Check to see if available: Antonio Brown (78 percent rostered), Russell Gage (74 percent) and Tyler Boyd (67 percent). Brown is a must-add where available because of the injuries to Godwin and Evans, and Brown has league-winning upside for the remainder of the season. Prior to his ankle injury and three-game suspension, Brown scored at least 13 PPR points in four of five games, including three with at least 23 PPR points. … Gage is also a must-add where available because he’s been awesome for the past four games. He’s scored at least 18 PPR points in three of those outings, including two with at least 11 targets and eight catches. And he has an amazing matchup against the Lions in Week 16. … Boyd is worth a look in deeper leagues where available since he’s scored at least 11 PPR points in three of his past five games. In his three quality outings he had at least six targets, and hopefully Joe Burrow continues to look for Boyd in Week 16 against the Ravens.

• Injuries: Travis Kelce (COVID), Darren Waller (knee), Pat Freiermuth (concussion), Tyler Higbee (COVID) and Austin Hooper (COVID).
• Check to see if available: Hunter Henry (69 percent rostered) and Jared Cook (65 percent). Henry just had his best game of the season in Week 15 at the Colts with six catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets, and he could be heavily involved in the game plan again in Week 16 against Buffalo — if the Patriots stay committed to throwing the ball. Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor could be out, and Henry would remain an important asset for Mac Jones. Henry had no catches against the Bills in Week 13 when Jones attempted just three passes, but I expect that to change. Henry should be considered a low-end starter in all formats if Bourne and Agholor are out. … Cook could see more targets with Donald Parham (concussion) likely out in Week 16 at Houston. Cook actually has 12 targets in his past two games against the Giants and Chiefs, and he scored against New York in Week 14. It’s a good matchup against the Texans, and Cook could be a low-end starter if Parham is out.

• Eagles (64 percent rostered) vs. NYG
• Chargers (61 percent rostered) at HOU
• Broncos (58 percent rostered) at LV
• Chiefs (53 percent rostered) vs. PIT
• Seahawks (54 percent rostered) vs. CHI

• Mason Crosby (52 percent rostered) vs. CLE
• Younghoe Koo (54 percent rostered) vs. DET
• Daniel Carlson (61 percent rostered) vs. DEN
• Mike Badgley (30 percent rostered) at ARI
• Brett Maher (2 percent rostered) vs. MIA

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