Fantasy Football Week 16 Waiver Wire: Best Pickups At Each Position

The fantasy football championship stage has arrived.

If you managed to reach the final round, you’ve largely done so on the strength of some combination of the top fantasy-point producers in the game. While these players obviously will be your bread and butter as you try to claim a league title, your overall roster probably still can be improved.

The waiver wire still is fairly bountiful, too, as it’s not uncommon at this stage in the season for players to be dumped off for matchup purposes. With that in mind, here are pick-up options at each position among players currently rostered in 65 percent or less of Yahoo! fantasy football leagues.

Quarterback: Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers (59 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues)
It’s been another disappointing season for Rivers and the Bolts, but the veteran quarterback looks like a solid play this weekend. The Chargers on Sunday will host the division-rival Raiders, who’ve allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to signal-callers this season. In fact, Oakland has allowed multiple passing scores in all but four games on the campaign. If you’re not crazy about your current QB situation, Rivers probably is your best back-up plan in Week 16.

Other quarterbacks to target: Andy Dalton (CIN), Gardner Minshew II (JAX)

Running Back: Adrian Peterson, Washington Redskins (53 percent owned)
With Derrius Guice back on injured reserve, Peterson now is the clear-cut feature back in the nation’s capital. Peterson has looked like his former self in recent weeks, rushing for a touchdown in each of the Redskins’ last three games. He faces a favorable matchup this weekend against the New York Giants, who’ve allowed four rushing scores over their past five weeks. Rookie Dwayne Haskins Jr., obviously, still is fairly raw, so Washington could lean on the running game in this NFC East clash.

Other running backs to pursue: Alexander Mattison (MIN), Tarik Cohen (CHI), Duke Johnson Jr. (HOU)

Wide Receiver: Breshad Perriman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13 percent owned)
It’s been a tough week-plus for Tampa Bay wide receivers. Mike Evans recently went down with a season-ending hamstring injury, and it appears No. 2 wideout Chris Godwin soon could suffer a similar fate due to the same ailment. Next in the pecking order is Perriman, who made the most of his uptick in playing time this past weekend. The 2015 first-rounder exploded for 116 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the Bucs’ three-score win over the Detroit Lions. Perriman could be in line for solid production again in Week 16 against a shaky Houston Texans defense.

Other wide receivers to target: Darius Slayton (NYG), Chris Conley (JAX), Zach Pascal (IND)

Tight End: Jacob Hollister, Seattle Seahawks (61 percent owned)
Hollister has come back down to Earth after bursting on the scene in Seattle, but his upcoming matchup is tough to ignore. The Arizona Cardinals have allowed the most fantasy points per game to tight ends this season, highlighted by 14 touchdowns surrendered to players at the position. For reference, no other team in the league has allowed more than nine TDs to TEs on the campaign. Not to mention, Seattle now is down a high-end pass-catcher after Josh Gordon was suspended indefinitely.

Other tight ends to pursue: Dallas Goedert (PHI)