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We are at Week 16, which means we are at championship week! So if you’ve gotten it that far in your respective leagues, it’s clearly because you’ve been listening to my advice and reading my writing every week. If you didn’t make it, sorry, but maybe you should listen to me more. But, alas, there is still one more week where who you have on the bench for options and who should have dropped is important and that is what I’m here to help with!

Firstly, if you still own Andy Dalton, Andrew Luck, or even Peyton Manning on your teams, it’s time to let go. They are either not going to play due to injury or just can’t play anymore (ahem, Peyton). These quarterbacks are taking up valuable bench space that could be used for widely available Tyrod Taylor or Ryan Fitzpatrick, who both are coming off solid weeks this past weekend and have plus matchups this weekends for their respective teams. Tyrod helps you with his lack of bad decisions and his legs, while Fitz helps you with his high yardage totals and three of his weapons (Marshall, Decker, Powell) are fully healthy and doing great.

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With as many injuries as we saw in Week 14, with Eifert, J-Stew, Olsen, Dalton, Yeldon, Rawls, V-Jax and Blount to name a few, the teams that made it through to their league’s semi-final round (the teams that actually followed my advice of course) are going to need some help. And of course, I’m here to wipe away the tears and tell you everything is going to be Okay. Even this late in the season, there is still plenty of players that could still help your team go all the way and win me… I mean, you money! So, let’s get to it!

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We are officially in Fantasy Football playoff season, and that means that if you’ve made it this far, it’s because you’ve read my articles and followed my advice, obviously. You’ve still got a chance to win money and if you listen to me, we’ll go far together kid. Plenty of gems on the waiver wire to snag now as we get serious in our Fantasy Football leagues with cold, hard cash on the line (and/or pride too). Let’s get to the nitty-gritty now.

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Another week, another handful of big injuries in fantasy football. We saw Jimmy Graham go down for the season with a knee injury, Rob Gronkowski go down with a knee injury that isn’t too serious, but still potentially a multi-week injury, and also Chris Johnson suffer a fractured tibia. As the season progresses, more and more injuries will pop up and determining who to keep, who to pick up, and who to drop becomes crucial for those vying for playoff spots. Hence, the Benchwarmers and yours truly is here to save your Fantasy Football season.

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Overall, it was a disastrous week in Fantasy Football, let’s face it. We saw injuries galore, some upsets, and some uninspiring performances from fantasy stars. We saw some major injuries, potentially major injuries, and that is what will be dissected in this post, to make sure you guys are making all the right moves as we move that more closely to Fantasy Football playoffs. If you’ve been following and reading my Benchwarmer’s series, you probably are first in your league anyway, but for those just joining us for this special Waiver Wire edition, let’s get to it!

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Another week of football means another crazy week of Fantasy Football. Former number one pick candidate in drafts, Eddie Lacy, was inactive Sunday after just disappointing everyone who owns him this season, and James Starks had a decent, but uninspiring day against the lowly Lions, finishing with 96 yards from scrimmage on 21 touches. Lacy is borderline droppable in leagues simply because of how much better Starks is playing and also the fact that Lacy is injured as well, and who knows when he could even be relevant this season, if at all. In most leagues, he is still worth owning and having on your bench, but won’t be more than a low-end RB3 for Week 11. Starks, meanwhile, will be a low-end RB2 for the time being.

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A week where we saw an undefeated be beaten by the Colts (yes, THOSE Colts) and also some more major injuries, we are getting closer and closer to fantasy football playoffs times and knowing who to have and not to have is important. That is what I do, I tell you who to have on your benches, who to play, and who to drop as well. With some injuries at quarterback and running back, there will be some players who need to be stashed or even better, grabbed and potentially be worth playing. In the past three games, Derek Carr has thrown 11 touchdowns to only one interception and is quickly turning around compared to what he did in his rookie season last year. With a solid run game and two good wide receivers to throw to in Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. He has thrown for at least three touchdowns in the past three games as well and thrown no lower than 289 passing yards in those games as well. He is quickly proving to be match-up proof and does not show any signs of slowing down as the season progresses. For owners who may have lost Ben Roethlisberger (again) may need a quarterback on the waiver wire to pick up the slack and there may be no better option right now than Derek Carr as he continues to rack up fantasy points like crazy. And with Matt Ryan, Andrew Luck, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, and Eli Manning still having bye weeks coming up over the next two weeks, Carr could be the perfect plug-and-play quarterback.

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Just like Oprah with her giveaways, the football gods certainly gave us a lot of injuries to have to deal with in football and also to deal with in fantasy football. That is what this post is for though, to figure out the treats from the tricks (yeah, yeah, it was late but it still works).

Firstly, we are dealing with the season-ending injury of a consistent fantasy football contributor and one of the best wide receivers to ever play the game. Steve Smith Sr. went down on Sunday with a torn Achilles and is out for the season. Arguably the only wide receiver/tight end worth owning in Baltimore, the task will fall onto a rag-tag bunch of misfits. Now, whether or not the Ravens actually go out and try to acquire a wide receiver before the trade deadline on November 3rd is another story. But for the time being, considering who is there… it’ll be hard to figure out who will pick up the slack. But when Smith down with his back injury before, Kamar Aiken was the one who seemed to be the biggest beneficiary of Smith’s absence. He had two straight weeks of 75+ yards (Week 4 and 5) receiving and saw the most targets of any Ravens wide receiver during that span. He is immediately thrust into an inconsistent WR3 zone that owners need to grab, as first round pick Breshad Perriman does not seem like he will be playing this season. Aiken may not be worth playing right away, but he deserves to be on benches for those who are lacking wide receiver depth.

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Another week, and unfortunately another huge injury. On Sunday, Arian Foster tore his Achilles’ tendon and is out for the season after coming back only a few weeks prior from preseason groin surgery. A tough blow for owners who had seemed to have gotten a steal when drafting him back in August and September. The situation in Houston tough and to try and replace their star running back is not going to be a pretty one. Alfred Blue is expected to receive the first shot at replacing Arian Foster, but it’ll be hard to trust someone that outside of a 31 carry/139 yard/1 touchdown in Week 3 versus Tampa Bay (it’s Tampa Bay for Godsake), has gone for 95 yards rushing on 29 rushing attempts (3.28 yards per carry). He should still be picked up in most leagues but stashed on benches as he can’t be trusted as more than a low end RB3/FLEX option for the time being. Neither Chris Polk nor Jonathan Grimes are worth rostering for the time being, however.

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Luckily there are no major injuries this week that would kill fantasy football owners. Minor injuries? Sure, but that’s what I’m here for. To tell you who to stash, drop, and even start as well. This week, it’s time to part ways with some of our high draft picks even though my heart is literally in pain having to tell you some of them. Even though I did love some of them, I don’t as much anymore and have to let them go for the next “hot thing” to come along.

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So obviously the big news from this past weekend is the loss of Jamaal Charles for the rest of the season. The Chiefs running back suffered a torn ACL in his knee and is done for the season. But now, the presumed handcuff before the beginning of the season, Knile Davis, only saw two carries after Charles went down. It had been reported weeks ago that Charcandrick West had passed him on the depth chart, and it appeared so as he received 12 carries after Charles’ departure. West appears to be the new starting running back in Kansas City and needs to be immediately owned in all leagues. Knile Davis will also get touches, but not nearly as much as West. Davis should be owned in all 12 team leagues and above as anything could happen and both could be in a time share or if one underperformed, the other could excel. Also keep an eye on a running back signing from the Chiefs in the next day or so. They tried out both Ben Tate and Pierre Thomas on Monday and Thomas could be an interesting prospect as his pass catching ability could get him a decent role.

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So like my team (the best team in the league of course) the Patriots had their bye on Week 4, so did I. But now I’m back, and all of you who were lost without my words of wisdom are saved. As the season is ¼ over, we are starting to see injuries, starters struggling, and backups thriving. This changes the tide of who is worth owning and who is worth dropping. As always, I’m here to lead you in the right direction. And the first player I’m going to talk about is someone I never thought I’d mention worth owning since like 2010…

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