There are only two more days until Thanksgiving, and this is the place where you'll find out about under-owned players and the week's hottest pickups. Unlike the past couple of weeks, the waiver wire will have a cornucopia of players to choose from, just in time for you to secure your fantasy playoff spot. I've included 30 players in this article for you to consider, and if you're juggling defenses based on the matchups, I have three teams in my top 12 with tasty matchups that are all available in more than 60% of leagues.
Notes: Scoring is standard non-PPR. Ownership percentages are based on Yahoo leagues as of Tuesday morning at 12:15 AM Eastern Time. FAAB values are listed as a percentage of your season budget and are based on a standard, 12-team league with 15 roster spots. Use my values as a starting point and adjust them to fit your league size and the tendencies of your competitors. If a player does not have a FAAB value, it means that I'm recommending that you pick him up as a free agent after waivers clear. Within each section the players are listed in the order that I'd pick them up.
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Under-Owned
These players are already on most fantasy radars, but they need to be owned in significantly more leagues. Either due to impressive performances or increased opportunities, the values of these players are on the rise. If your league is small, has shallow benches, or has a bunch of managers in tryptophan-enduced food comas, you might be lucky enough to stumble across one of these players on your waiver wire. I won't spend much time discussing them since I've covered most of them in previous articles.
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James Starks (GB – RB): 23% Owned, 19% of FAAB
Alex Green disappeared this week as Starks had 25 touches for 80 yards. Any player getting 20 touches per game in one of the NFL's best offenses should be owned in all leagues.
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Cecil Shorts (JAC – WR): 43% Owned, 12% of FAAB
Justin Blackmon overshadowed another great day from Shorts on Sunday. Only four receivers have more fantasy points than Shorts over the past four weeks. With a rejuvenated, Chad-Henne-fueled offense, Shorts definitely needs to be owned.
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Beanie Wells (ARI – RB): 27% Owned, 9% of FAAB
Wells will resume his feature back role this week with La'Rod Stephens-Howling being relegated to change-of-pace duties. Arizona's schedule isn't favorable, but the volume of work is worth rostering.
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Ryan Broyles (DET – WR): 14% Owned, 9% of FAAB
Broyles didn't put up big numbers this week, but there was an interesting development at the end of Sunday's game involving Titus Young. The Lions' wide receiver coach was so frustrated with Young, that he yelled at the offensive coordinator to sit Young for the last offensive series of the game. (Source: Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press)
On Monday, the Lions announced that Young is suspended for the Thanksgiving game. Broyles will gobble up this opportunity against a Texans team that just got carved up by the Jaguars. It's possible that Broyles could overtake Young for the remainder of the season if his poor attitude and mental errors continue. Monitor this situation closely.
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Pierre Garçon (WAS – WR): 49% Owned, 6% of FAAB
Garçon eased back into game action this week, and was limited to playing 40% of the snaps. He came out of the game without any setbacks and should see increased playing time over the next couple of weeks. He should be back at full speed just in time for the fantasy playoffs.
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Hot Pickups
Before this week's games, these players were on the fringe of fantasy relevance in standard-sized leagues. They should be the hottest additions of the week, and are fresh from the oven.
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Ronnie Hillman (DEN – RB): 18% Owned, 41% of FAAB
Lance Ball (DEN – RB): 2% Owned, 5% of FAAB
Willis McGahee left Sunday's game against the Chargers with a torn MCL and will miss 6-8 weeks (Source: ESPN's Adam Schefter). Hillman's 59 yards on 14 touches as McGahee's replacement weren't eye-popping, but as the new starting running back in this high-scoring offense, Hillman is a solid flex play the rest of the way with top-15 upside.
Hillman will share some of the workload with Ball as we saw after McGahee exited. With the Broncos' remaining opponents combining for 21 wins and 39 losses, there should be plenty of opportunities to use both backs to burn time late in games. Ball is an RB4 who should be owned in deeper leagues in case Hillman falters.
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