The witching hour of fantasy football has arrived!
With only three more games left in the regular season for most leagues, it’s now or never for managers to secure a playoff spot, improve their standings in the playoffs, or even try to avoid last place and the penalty that comes with it.
Getting a win this week won’t be easy with six teams on a bye, the Bengals, Bills, Falcons, Jaguars, Jets and Saints. Streaming options will play a key role in achieving your goal, and with so many top receivers out this week because of the bye, the waiver wire will be a hot spot as we head to the home stretch.
Below are three wide receivers who could help your team this week and are available in most leagues. All availability data comes from ESPN. Let’s get into it.
Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Streaming Options in Week 12
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Tennessee Titans, 98% available
Westbrook-Ikhine, or NWI as most call him, caught a 98-yard TD against the Vikings in Week 11 and now has a TD in five of six games. He’s averaging only 4.2 targets per game in that time, but since DeAndre Hopkins was traded that number has moved to 4.8. He’s also been on the field for at least 85% of the Titans' plays over the last four games, playing more snaps than presumed No. 1 Calvin Ridley.
This week, he faces a Texans defense allowing an average of 23.9 fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers, seventh-most in the NFL. QB Will Levis just had one of his best games of the season, throwing for 295 yards, and the Titans only ran the ball 12 times to their RBs against the Vikings. Expect NWI to be a top pick-up this week with so many teams on bye and a good matchup on deck.
Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers, 51% Available
Watson finally appeared healthy in Week 11 and his playing time improved because of it. Watson was on the field for 67% of the Packers' offensive plays, his highest amount since Week 8, and he had 4 catches for 150 yards against the Bears, his highest yardage number of the year.
Over the last three weeks, Watson has seen 17 targets, and his 104 air yards in Week 11 was among the Top 15 in the NFL. He’s also getting around 20% of the team's targets in the last two games.
The Packers face the 49ers this week. San Fran is giving up 19.7 points per game to opposing wideouts. They also could be without Nick Bosa, who injured his hip in the Niners' Week 11 loss to the Seahawks. The Seahawks scored all 20 of their points with Bosa out of the lineup.
Either way, Watson is a good add if available in your league.
Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots, 98% Available
Bourne isn’t going to beat a defense deep, but for PPR leagues, he holds some good value for those in need.
Bourne had 5 catches for 70 yards and a TD against the Rams and now has 11 targets across his last two games. He only played 47% of the Patriots offensive snaps, but he had 13.2% of the Pats’ targets in that time. He was playing in 78% of the Pats offensive plays in Weeks 8-9 before getting hurt.
The Dolphins aren’t the best matchup for the Patriots wide receivers, giving up just 16.4 fantasy points per game to opposing wideouts, second-fewest in the NFL. However, the Dolphins could build a big lead, forcing the Pats to throw the ball more. In that case, Bourne’s stock goes up.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fantasy Football Streaming Wide Recievers to Add on Waiver Wire in Week 12.
