The Watch List: Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Sleepers to Stash Ahead of Week 12

The fantasy football landscape changes so quickly that you should always be thinking weeks ahead. It's a short season, and you can't neglect your current week's lineup, but with the roster spots at the end of your bench you should be taking some gambles.

The following three players, all owned in fewer than 15 percent of Yahoo! Fantasy Football leagues, may not offer much fantasy appeal in Week 12, but their long-term upside could make them worth a roster spot.

1. Patrick Laird, RB, Miami Dolphins (1% Owned)

Featured on last week's list as well, Patrick Laird's usage in Week 11 was encouraging, though still not enough to make him worth starting in Week 12. His snap share nearly doubled from Week 10 (from 12 percent to 26 percent), and he went from two carries plus two targets in Week 10 to one carry plus six targets in Week 11. Kalen Ballage continues to run the ball terribly, notching nine yards on nine carries last week and averaging 1.9 yards per attempt on the season, and if Laird continues to play well he could overtake Ballage as the lead back, creating some strong fantasy upside down the stretch.

2. Bilal Powell, RB, New York Jets (0% Owned)

Bilal Powell stepped up and handled seven carries and two targets on a 23 percent snap share with Le'Veon Bell playing hurt in Week 11. He's not a threat to jump Bell on the depth chart, but with seven rushes in back-to-back games, Powell has passed Ty Montgomery. The 3-7 Jets don't have a ton of incentive to run Bell into the ground down the stretch (especially with the contract they gave him), so we could see Powell's workload start to expand toward the tail end of the season. That could mean big things for his fantasy outlook with some really soft matchups (Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13, Dolphins in Week 14), so he's worth an add now if you have the bench space, before a potential expanded workload makes him a hot waiver wire add.

3. Darrel Williams, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (6% Owned)

The Kansas City Chiefs backfield has been a bit of a mess this season, and their offense brings enough upside that it's worth stashing a long-shot like Darrel Williams. Damien Williams made an early exit in Week 11, and LeSean McCoy was a healthy scratch in Week 10. We've seen Darrel Williams offer upside as a lead back, eclipsing 12 fantasy points in all three games in which he saw at least eight carries, and if Damien Williams misses any time down the stretch it would make Darrel a terrific play.

Join FanDuel Sportsbook Today. New users get a risk-free bet up to $500. Join Now.

Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.