My two teams in the semifinals both started Jalen Hurts (QB, Phi) which cost my team passes to the championship match in both leagues. As owners, we know any player on our roster can get injured at any time, and we are responsible for keeping the bench full of plug-in players in case one of our regular starters isn't ready to go.

However, there's nothing we can do when a player goes down early in a game. This is especially painful when it's our quarterback because, on average, QB is the highest-scoring player position. So my losses last week don't reflect on my skill at fantasy football, just a misfortune that came at a bad time.

I ended up losing 162.10 to 147.05, but if Hurts had scored only 19.75 fantasy points I would have won.

If it happened to you also, then you have no one to blame, not even yourself. You did all you could to get your team to the semi-finals and in a position to win, but lightning struck in a bad way. So pick yourself up, go get 3rd place, and get ready for 2025!

I like to do a post-season analysis of how I managed my dynasty team. I can usually find nuggets of wisdom for improvement. I'll do a deeper analysis sometime in the off-season.

My early thought is that I went into this season thinking I had a very strong WR/TE corps, with Tyreek Hill (WR, Mia), Deebo Samuel (WR, SF), Evan Engram (TE, Jax), and Dalton Kincaid (TE, Buf). However, these players either fizzled or were injured, and I didn't sit around and do anything about it. I acted decisively and in time for the playoffs. My Week 16 lineup included Tee Higgins (WR, Cin), Courtland Sutton (WR, Den), Brian Thomas Jr. (WR, Jax) and George Kittle (TE, SF). None of these players were on my roster last year, and my WR corps is competitive and younger.

Kittle is older than Engram, but with Engram out I was compelled to bring in a top TE if I was going to be competitive in the league playoffs. I often state how important it is to be efficient with draft picks, and only use them for a "playoff boost" at the latest possible time into the year, so that I can be certain I am spending them on real needs. My trade for Kittle was exactly such an example.

I thought my RB corps was weak coming into the season, but it turned out to be better than I thought. In-season I picked up Jordan Mason (SF) on waivers, who has a good chance to be an RB1 next year, and acquired Joe Mixon (Hou). However, my Week 16 lineup featured James Cook (Buf), and Jerome Ford (Cle), who had monster Week 16 results. Cook and Ford were strategic acquisitions last year and I believe with Mason, Cook, Ford, and Brian Robinson (Wsh), I have a good overall RB corps heading into next year.

I spent three 1st round picks to give my team a playoff boost, acquiring Mixon, Higgins, Sutton, Jayden Reed (WR, GB), and Kittle. I believe I did okay in terms of not compromising the future of the team, but will review it in more depth later as I plan my strategy for 2025.

Players I would like to trade away right now, are Hurts, Kittle, and Mixon. I believe in Bo Nix (QB, Den), and I haven't completely written off Anthony Richardson (QB, Ind) - so based on my past analysis of QB drop-off, I think it is a good time to trade Hurts away. Maybe I can get three 1st round picks back.

Finally, I did better than average in the draft, acquiring Thomas Jr. and Nix, and my team seems to be positioned well for 2025. So overall I believe I waged a solid 2024 campaign.

This will be my last streamers article of the year, but I plan to write my usual off-season articles ahead of the 2025 Dynasty rookie draft.

If you are headed to the championship match in your league, then congratulations, and go get 'em.

On to the Week 16 streamers...

If you are familiar with my format of "Streamers for the Desperate" articles, then skip the following introduction.

This article is based on the principles I wrote about in How To Own Your League's Waiver Wire.

I name this article as such because it is generally for deep roster leagues (18-to-24-man rosters), and as the season progresses (especially in the 24-man roster leagues), the pickings can get very thin. ASL's Alex Cuilla writes an article focused on regular Yahoo redraft leagues that is more descriptive but does not cover as many players. See Week 17 Fantasy Football Waiver Adds.

I list the players who are available on waivers in my three leagues and who generally scored more than 10 fantasy points (PPR). The players with an asterisks are available in my 24-man roster league. As we get deeper into the year, no matter how slim the options are, I always list a couple of available players for each position from my 24-man league.

I have loosely ranked the players but you need to decide which ones are right for your team. Your criteria for deciding will be different depending on team need and if you are in a redraft, keeper, or dynasty league.

The ranking in parenthesis after each player is the strength of the opponent against that position for the remaining weeks of the fantasy season. So a "1st" indicates the most difficult opponent for that position, and a "32nd" indicates the weakest opponent against that position.

As much effort as it is, I make waiver requests every week for all of my teams. I don't just try to fill in obvious immediate needs, but look to make my team better to the last man on the roster. A deep roster creates resilience against injury. It also results in other teams having fewer good options, increasing the opportunity to trade to teams that truly are desperate and thereby building my draft pick arsenals.

Quarterbacks

• Bryce Young, Car @ TB (26th) - Young completed 17 of 26 passes for 158 yards and 2 TDs, and rushed 5 times for 68 yards and a TD in Week 16, making it his best start of the season. Young's dynasty value is on the rise, and he has a favorable matchup in Week 17 against the Buccaneers.
• ^*Mason Rudolph, Ten @ Jax (32nd) - Rudolph seems to have procured the starting job from Will Levis. Although his Week 16 performance was marred with interceptions, the third interception came on a game-ending Hail Mary pass. He completed 23 of 34 passes for 252 yards, 2 TDs, and 3 Ints, and rushed 4 times for 3 yards. He has a favorable matchup against a soft Jaguars D in Week 17. 
• Mac Jones, Jax v Ten (18th) - Jones completed 25 of 39 passes for 247 yards and 1 TD in Week 16. Jones put together another decent performance and went on to perform another aerial assault against an average Titans D in Week 17.
• ^*Cooper Rush, Dal @ Phi (6th) - Cooper completed 26 of 35 passes for 292 yards and 1 TD, and rushed 3 times for -4 yards in Week 16. Expectations should be tempered as he goes up against the Eagles stout D in Week 17.

Running Backs

• Ameer Abdullah, LV @ NO (27th) - Abdullah had a second consecutive big week. He rushed 7 times for 38 yards and a TD and caught 5 of his 6 targets for 47 yards in Week 16. If he continues to get similar volume in Week 17 in a favorable matchup against the Saints, he will be a decent streaming option.
• ^*Michael Carter, Ari @ LAR (15th) - Carter became the lead rusher in Week 16 after James Conner left the game due to injury. Despite only playing on 25 of 70 offensive snaps, Carter rushed 5 times for 18 yards and caught all five of his targets for 30 yards. With the Cardinals backfield severely banged up - Conner (knee), Emari Demeraco (back), Trey Benson (ankle), Carter could be the lead running back, sharing carries with Deejay Dallas in Week 17. 
• Gus Edwards, LAC @ NE (23rd) - Edwards got an unexpectedly large spike in volume in Week 16 and made the most of it. He rushed 14 times for 68 yards and 2 TDs. It seems he will get a similar volume load against a soft Patriots D in Week 17.
• Audric Estime (R), Den @ Cin (19th) - Estime rushed 9 times for 48 yards and a TD in Week 16. He led the Broncos ground attack, outpacing both Javonte Williams and Blake Watson in carries. His dominant performance might have earned him the lead-back role for Week 17.

Receivers

• Keenan Allen, Chi v Sea (22nd) - Allen caught 9 of 13 targets for 141 yards and a TD. Allen has seen the lion's share of targets for the Bears in the last two weeks. If you are looking for a tiger to add to your lineup in Week 17, Allen might be your guy. (I know - bad pun - "Lions and tigers and bears" - couldn't help it... "Oh my!")
• Jalen McMillan (R), TB v Car (15th) - McMillan caught 5 of 7 targets for 57 yards and 1 TD in Week 16, giving him 4 TDs in the last three weeks. With Chris Godwin out the rest of the year and the 31-year-old Mike Evans on the decline, McMillan should continue to get more opportunities in Week 17. As a rookie on the rise, he is worth a stash in dynasty and keeper leagues.
• Parker Washington, Jax v Ten (2nd) - Washington caught all 6 of targets for 54 yards in Week 16. The sophomore has seen an uptick in targets the last four weeks as the No. 2 receiver behind Brian Thomas Jr. with Mac Jones (QB) slowly seeming to improve a little each week. The Jaguars face a stout Titans defense in Week 17, so expectations should be tempered, but Washington might make a for a decent stash on dynasty and keeper leagues.
• Marvin Mims, Den @ Cin (10th) - He caught 3 of 5 targets for 62 yards and rushed once for 3 yards in Week 16. He has seen an uptick in volume since Week 10, averaging 5 touches per game. He could help your team if you need a WR in Week 17.
• ^*Omalide Zaccheaus, Wsh v Atl (9th) - Zaccheaus caught 5 of 8 targets for 70 yards and 2 TDS in Week 16. With Dyami Brown potentially out with a hamstring injury in Week 17, Zacchaeus could see an even greater uptick in volume in Week 17.

Tight Ends

• Dalton Schultz, Hou v Bal (23rd) - Schultz caught 5 of 8 targets for 45 yards and a TD (his 2nd in the last three games), in Week 16. His targets are inconsistent from week to week, so he is a bit of a dart throw. However, his average stat line over the last 5 weeks is 4.75-34.4-5.6 and 0.2 TDs and he has a favorable matchup against the Ravens in Week 17.
• Chigoziem Okonkwo, Ten @ Jax (26th) - Okonkwo caught 9 of 11 targets for 81 yards in Week 16. He has had a spike in volume the last two weeks but hasn't scored a TD since Week 12. He is up against a soft Jaguars D in Week 17, and wouldn't be the worst streaming option if you need a TE to plug in your lineup.
• Austin Hooper, NE v LAC (6th) - Hooper caught all 4 of 5 targets for 55 yards in Week 16. He has been getting consistent volume and has 2 TDs in his last 4 games. He has a tough matchup against the Chargers in Week 17.
• ^*Tommy Tremble, Car @ TB (28th) - Tremble caught all 3 of his targets for 32 yards in Week 16. He has a favorable matchup in Week 17 against the Buccaneers but is still a desperate streaming option if you have no other choice. 

Kickers

• Chase McLaughlin TB v Car (32nd)
• Jason Sanders, Mia @ Cle (11th)
• Chad Ryland, Ari @ LAR (20th) - Matt Prater from IR might return in Week 17
• Joshua Karty v Atl (24th)
• Wil Lutz, Den @ CIN (9th)
• Matt Gay, Ind v Ten (13th)

Defense / Special Teams

• Dallas Cowboys @ Phi (11th)
• Philadelphia Eagles v Dal (23rd)
• Detroit Lions  @ SF (17th)
• Kansas City Chiefs @ Pit (15th)

^*Available in my league with 24-player rosters