For Week 16, we’ll provide fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Royce Freeman, James Cook, Joshua Kelley and Dare Ogunbowale.
Fantasy Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 16: Royce Freeman, James Cook, Joshua Kelley and Dare Ogunbowale
Also read: Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups: Zack Moss, Tyler Allgeier, Deon Jackson and Chuba Hubbard
SUMMARY
- Royce Freeman
- James Cook
- Joshua Kelley
- Dare Ogunbowale
1. Royce Freeman, Houston Texans – 1% Rostered
With Dameon Pierce on injured reserve, many fantasy managers expected Rex Burkhead to lead the Houston backfield, but it was actually a committee led by Dare Ogunbowale and Royce Freeman.
While Ogunbowale had the most snaps overall, Freeman appeared to take over the backfield as the game progressed.
Freeman finished with 11 touches to Ogunbowale’s eight, while Burkhead had only two. Freeman was the leading rusher, gaining 51 yards on 11 attempts. Ogunbowale had only 14 yards on eight carries.
Fantasy managers should expect Freeman to be the primary first and second down running back next week based on how these running backs performed as the game progressed. He’ll also get first dibs on any goal-line carries.
2. James Cook, Buffalo Bills – 53% Rostered
After their Week 13 game, it appeared that James Cook was on his way to taking over this backfield. Unfortunately, that didn’t translate as well as fantasy managers hoped in Week 14.
While snaps were still fairly evenly distributed in Week 14, Singletary led the way in total touches, keeping any optimism at bay.
Things got even worse this week when Singletary not only had more snaps (46-28) but also had more touches (16–7).
Despite receiving eight more carries than Cook, Singletary finished with only eight more yards. Cook averaged 6.8 yards per carry to Singletary’s 3.2. In terms of yards per reception, Singletary was more effective through the air, but it was Cook who found the end zone.
Cook should be considered one of the better handcuffs in fantasy football, and he still has a chance to earn a role that will give him flex viability.
Read more: Week 16 Fantasy Injury Update: Latest news on Deebo Samuel, Brandin Cooks, Corey Davis and Zack Moss
3. Joshua Kelley, Los Angeles Chargers – 4% Rostered
Week 15 demonstrated that Joshua Kelley is the man to have as Austin Ekeler’s handcuff. When Ekeler left the game briefly on Sunday afternoon, Kelley took over at running back and handled all of the touches.
Kelley doesn’t currently provide any stand-alone value, but this past weekend cemented Kelley’s status as one of the best handcuffs in fantasy football.
At this point in the fantasy football season, most of the best handcuffs are rostered, but Kelley is one of the few who is still available in almost every league. While Ekeler’s injury appears to be minor, based on his return to play and return to his usual role, stranger things have happened.
4. Dare Ogunbowale, Houston Texans – 3% Rostered
While Dare Ogunbowale appeared to be demoted as their Week 15 game progressed, this is still an ambiguous backfield, and we’re not sure how it’ll shake out.
Ogunbowale finished with the most snaps, the most routes run, and only three touches less than Freeman, who led the Texans’ running backs.
Normally, this is the player fantasy managers should be looking for, but his efficiency was atrocious. The coaching staff is likely to take a “hot hand” approach to this backfield, giving Ogunbowale more opportunities, but based on what we saw in Week 15, there isn’t much reason to be optimistic.
NFL Schedule 2022 – NFL Week 16
Thursday, Dec. 22
Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets, 8:15 p.m., Amazon
Saturday, Dec. 24
Atlanta Falcons at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m., Fox
Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m., Fox
Buffalo Bills at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m., CBS
New Orleans Saints at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m., CBS
Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m., Fox
New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m., Fox
Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots, 1 p.m., CBS
Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m., CBS
Washington Commanders at San Francisco 49ers, 4:05 p.m., CBS
Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m., Fox
Las Vegas Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:15 p.m., NFL Network
Sunday, Dec. 25
Green Bay Packers at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m., Fox
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Rams, 4:30 p.m., CBS/Nickelodeon
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Arizona Cardinals, 8:20 p.m., NBC
Monday, Dec. 26
Los Angeles Chargers at Indianapolis Colts, 8:15 p.m., ESPN
