Joel Bartilotta 
Welcome to the Week 17 edition of The Wire Report for the 2021 NFL season. In this article, I’ll be highlighting some of the top available players to help your team make the playoff push.
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If you’re still reading this article it means one of two things. You’ve been able to navigate injuries and made it to the championship game. Or you are trying your hardest to avoid having to take a calendar shoot for finishing last in your league. Either way, congrats on making it to week 17 and having something to play for!
Below are my top waiver wire targets:
Isaiah McKenzie – Wide Receiver – Buffalo Bills (.3% Rostered in ESPN Leagues)
With the Bills missing both Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis this weekend, it was McKenzie that shined. Prior to this week McKenzie hadn’t had more than 3 targets in any game. This past weekend McKenzie was targeted 12 times and caught 11 of them for 125 yards and one touchdown.
With Davis already ruled out for the week 17 matchup against the Falcons, there’s a very strong chance that McKenzie plays an important role in the offense 2 weeks in a row. He’s available everywhere. Pick him up if you need a wide receiver for your championship game.
Trey Lance – Quarterback – San Francisco 49ers (4.8% Rostered in ESPN Leagues)
It came out late yesterday afternoon that Jimmy Garoppolo had a UCL tear and fractured bone in his throwing hand. I’m not a doctor or an NFL trainer, but that sounds painful and it also sounds like there is a good chance that Garoppolo misses this weekend. Trey Lance made 2 starts earlier in the year and filled in pretty admirably, throwing for nearly 200 yards in both. If Jimmy G got you this far or your QB is now on the COVID list or hurt, you’ll need to grab a guy like Lance for week 17.
Rex Burkhead – Running Back – Houston Texans (24.2% Rostered in ESPN Leagues)
With David Johnson on the shelf this weekend, the Texans turned the ball over to Rex Burkhead. Against the Chargers this weekend Burkhead turned in one of the better performances of his career on Sunday as he rushed for 149 yards on 22 carries. Both numbers were season highs.
Should David Johnson miss week 17 with his quad injury, Rex Burkhead will make for a nice addition to your squad. That said, the matchup is nowhere near as tasty as the 49ers have a much strong run defense than the Chargers
Josh Palmer – Wide Receiver – Los Angeles Chargers (7.3% Rostered in ESPN Leagues)
The Chargers were absolutely decimated by injuries this past weekend as they were without Austin Ekeler, Mike Williams, and Jalen Guyton. Should Williams and Guyton miss more time in week 17 I really like the chances of Palmer having another solid game. Palmer’s 6 targets this weekend were the second most he’s had all year.
Palmer’s been extremely steady when thrown the ball as he was able to catch 5 of the 6 balls thrown his way this weekend. If you’re in dire need of a wide receiver this weekend, make sure to pick up Palmer as he’s available in nearly 93% of ESPN leagues.
Boston Scott – Running Back – Philadelphia Eagles (12.9% Rostered in ESPN Leagues)
The Eagles announced yesterday that the injury Miles Sanders suffered against this Giants this weekend was a broken hand. That means Sanders is set to miss week 17 against Washington. While the Eagles backfield is always tough to gauge, my lean is Scott here because Howard is also a little banged up. Scott was the second leading ball carrier for the Eagles on Sunday with 12 carries. While my lean here is to pick up Scott, you could also go the way of Howard.
Dare Ogunbowale – Running Back – Jacksonville Jaguars (.2% Rostered in ESPN Leagues)
You have to feel bad for James Robinson. With Urban Meyer finally out of the picture in Jacksonville Robinson was finally getting a chance to shine. Then bam, an Achilles injury in just his second game without Meyer. Now that Robinson is set to miss week 17 vs. the Patriots, the Jaguars are going to hand the ball over to Ogunbowale.
Ogunbowale ran the ball 17 times on Sunday and gained 57 yards with one touchdown against the Jets. This weekend will not be as easy of a matchup as the Jaguars take on the Patriots. Even with the tough matchup, Ogunbowale should get plenty of volume and that’s what we went in fantasy.
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