Week 16 QB and TE Waiver Adds: Tucker Kraft, Nick Mullens, Hunter Henry, and More!
All the best fantasy football waiver adds at quarterback and tight end for Week 16
Happy Monday! The fantasy playoffs are here, and I hope this article finds you advancing -- or about to advance. We're very much in win-or-go-home mode, so any waiver adds need to be in service of this week. If you don't win this week...there is no tomorrow. It's time to stop thinking about bye week depth and time to start thinking "will I start this guy this week?" or "will adding this guy keep my opponent from potentially starting him?"
With running backs and wide receivers coming in a separate article, let's take a look at the quarterbacks and tight ends you should be scooping off the waiver wire for Week 16.
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Quarterback
(ownership percentages are based on ESPN leagues)
Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals (36.7 percent)
I had Browning here last week, and he's staying here this week. Over his past three games, Browning has five passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns, and just two interceptions. He's also topped 270 yards in all three games and has gone over 300 in two of them. While Ja'Marr Chase is iffy for Week 16, Browning will still have Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and other serviceable weapons at his disposal if Chase is unable to suit up against the Steelers. And while the Steelers defense should be good, they haven't been as of late and have made Bailey Zappe and Gardner Minshew look like world beaters. It feels weird to say this, but I feel good about Jake Browning as a fantasy playoffs starting quarterback.
Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts (15.5 percent)
Speaking of MInshew, he has six touchdown passes and just one interception over his last three games while throwing for an average of 256 yards per game during that span. Like Browning, he might be without his top receiver if Michael Pittman is unable to suit up for Week 16, but Minshew should be able to do some damage against the Falcons. While I don't completely trust Minshew, he has a high enough floor with fantasy scores of at least 14 points in each of his last four games.
Nick Mullens, Minnesota Vikings (6.2 percent)
Mullens' fantasy score from Saturday looks better than his actual play looked, but he still managed to point up numbers against the Bengals in the Vikings' loss. With Justin Jefferson back and Jordan Addison looking like a budding star, Mullens has a great cadre of weapons (and I didn't even mention T.J. Hockenson) heading into this week's matchup against the Lions. While the Lions have a tough defense, they've also given up big games to opposing quarterbacks this year. With Mullens' looking like he'll again get the stodding nod this weekend, he's a solid pickup for anyone in desperate need of a quarterback.
Note: Both Aiden O'Connell and Easton Stick put up big fantasy numbers on Thursday night, but I'm not buying into either of them (unless you absolutely have no other option). If I had room to put a fourth player on my list, it would've been Joe Flacco.
Tight End
(ownership percentages are based on ESPN leagues)
Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers (3.4 percent)
Kraft has become everything we hoped Luke Musgrave would be and has been seeing consistent usage over the past few weeks. He's seen 16 targets over his last three games and has turned that into 11 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown. That's about as good as you can ask for from a waiver wire tight end (with one exception below), and Kraft needs to be added in most leagues. With matchups against the lowly Panthers and so-so Vikings coming up, Kraft is well-positioned to be a solid fantasy starter if you're struggling to find a tight end for this week.
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots (17.5 percent)
I'd have Henry as my top add, but he's dealing witih a knee injury that forced him to miss the end of the Chiefs game so I'm a little less bullish on him. All that said, I think he still needs to be added if he's on your waiver wire as he's become Bailey Zappe's top target and has seen 12 targets over the past two weeks. Most importantly, he's turned those targets into 10 catches for 106 yards and three touchdowns. That's elite production. I don't think we can bank on that type of production moving forward, but Henry is getting high-value targets and will continue to if he's healthy for the Patriots' Christmas Eve matchup against the Broncos.
Tanner Hudson, Cincinnati Bengals (4.2 percent)
While Hudson is still seeming limited route-running opportunities, he's doing the most with his opportunities and that's all that really matters. He's seen four-plus targets in six of his last seven games (he saw three in the exception game) and has put together a floor of somewhere around 7-8 fantasy points per game. Is that league-winning stuff? No. But he found the end zone this week and put up 9.9 fantasy points on the heels of putting up 10.1 fantasy points last week. That's a lot better than most other waiver wire tight ends can offer right now.
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