Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets Week 12

Week 11 was a brutal week for the health of running backs.  Devonta Freeman left his game in the first quarter with a concussion.  Justin Forsett left his game in the first quarter with a broken arm.  He is out for the year.  Marshawn Lynch might need sports hernia surgery.  Charcandrick West left his game with a hamstring injury and is considered day-to-day.

All 4 of those guys are valuable fantasy assets.  That means that all 4 of their backups have some level of value if the starter isn't able to go.  The biggest question here is which backup running back is going to have the most value in week 12 and beyond.

Here are my top waiver wire targets for week 12:

Thomas Rawls, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Rawls carried the ball 30 times for 209 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers in week 11.  He also added a receiving touchdown for good measure.   Now he won't get the 49ers defense every week, but if Lynch does have a sports hernia and is out for the year, Rawls could be a top-10 guy for the rest of the year.  Seattle likes to feed the running back, and there are enough weapons in that offense that opposing defenses can't stack the box.

Javorius "Buck" Allen, RB, Baltimore Ravens

Forsett is done for the year.  That means Allen is the guy going forward.  Allen got the ball 22 times on Sunday after Forsett left the game.  The Ravens will need to rely heavily on the running game for the rest of they year now that Joe Flacco is out with a torn ACL.  That's a good thing for Allen.  The bad thing for Allen is that the Ravens don't really have any other threats on offense.  Opposing teams will be able to stack the box.

Spencer Ware, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Ware had 11 carries for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns after West left the game.  This once again proves that the running back for the Chiefs has fantasy value regardless of what his name is.  West probably isn't going to miss a lot of time but hamstring injuries tend to linger.

Devin Funchess, WR, Carolina Panthers

The Panthers best wide receiver to this point in the season has been Ted Ginn.  Let that set in for a minute.  Funchess got a slow start to the season because of a hamstring injury.  He was targeted 8 times on Sunday and turned that into 4-64-1.  Those numbers should continue to go up.

Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

I am not really excited about adding Coleman, but he does have value if Freeman is out.  It sounds like Freeman is progressing pretty well, however, so you might be wise to let someone else in the league use their waiver spot here.

Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, Indianapolis Colts

Bradshaw has value as long as Matt Hasselbeck is the starter in Indy- especially in PPR leagues.  Matthew doesn't have the arm he once did.  That makes Bradshaw one of the primary options in the passing game.  He had 4 catches for 20 yards and 2 touchdowns on Sunday.

Vernon Davis, TE, Denver Broncos

Tight ends have value in a Gary Kubiak offense.  The tight end is also extremely valuable for a young quarterback.  Davis is 2 for 2 there.  In his fist game with Brock Osweiler, Davis had 6 catches for 68 yards.  A lot of people stream tight ends based on match-ups.  Davis should be in that conversation every week.