Week 16 Waiver-Wire Pickups: Available Sleepers in Most ESPN, Yahoo Leagues

This is not the time of the year you want to be desperate, but fantasy football rarely goes as planned. Sometimes you need to find a last-minute sleeper who can lead you to a championship.

While there usually isn't too much of a challenge to get players at this stage, the key pickups for Week 16 were Christine Michael, Kirk Cousins and Rueben Randle. If there are any leagues left without Doug Baldwin, Ted Ginn Jr. or Michael Floyd, you should also pick them up immediately.

For those who need to look deep down the list, however, here is a look at a few sleepers who can help you right away. All players are available in more than 70 percent of leagues on both ESPN and Yahoo.

Pos.	Player	Team	ESPN Owned	Yahoo Owned
QB	Blaine Gabbert	San Francisco 49ers	3.0	3
QB	Brock Osweiler	Denver Broncos	14.3	19
RB	Cameron Artis-Payne	Carolina Panthers	19.6	16
RB	Donald Brown	San Diego Chargers	5.7	1
RB	Joique Bell	Detroit Lions	26.1	24
WR	Dorial Green-Beckham	Tennessee Titans	16.9	23
WR	Dwayne Harris	New York Giants	11.2	18
WR	Dontrelle Inman	San Diego Chargers	6.6	8
TE	Will Tye	New York Giants	15.4	11

Blaine Gabbert, QB, San Francisco 49ers

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Using the usual criteria of under 30 percent owned leaves few quality options, especially at quarterback, but if available, Cousins and Alex Smith are better options. Whoever starts for the Baltimore Ravens also has a favorable matchup against a struggling Pittsburgh Steelers secondary.

However, the best option available could be Blaine Gabbert, who has been surprisingly solid as the San Francisco 49ers starter the past few weeks. He has a touchdown pass in every game he has played and has generally avoided turnovers until his three interceptions last week. Of course, not all of those were his fault, as noted by Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

It's also important to mention Gabbert has played a tough schedule when it comes to defenses. In his last five starts, he has faced the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals, none of which allow big fantasy games to anyone. In one of his other two games, he posted 24 fantasy points in standard leagues.

This gives hope for him to put up big numbers against an inconsistent Detroit Lions defense. With veteran talent around him like Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith, Gabbert has a chance to have at least a decent day.

Cameron Artis-Payne, RB, Carolina Panthers

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Jonathan Stewart is the starting running back for the Carolina Panthers when healthy, but it isn't yet known if he will be back in the lineup in Week 16. His latest explanation didn't provide much clarity either, per Steve Reed of the Associated Press:

The reality is that while an undefeated season is nice, the Panthers care much more about the playoffs and are likely to hold back the veteran if possible. This leaves an opportunity for other players to get a chance, including Cameron Artis-Payne.

It was unclear coming into last week who could get the majority of carries in the backfield between Artis-Payne, Fozzy Whittaker and Mike Tolbert, but the rookie dominated the touches in Week 15, finishing with 14 carries for 59 yards to go with two catches for 34 yards. Cam Newton is still the best runner in the backfield, but the team will need a running back to take off some of the pressure, and Artis-Payne is the guy to do that.

Just as importantly, the Atlanta Falcons have struggled against the run this year and allow the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, per ESPN. A lot of that has to do with 15 rushing touchdowns allowed. If Artis-Payne gets the opportunity, it could lead to a big day.

Dontrelle Inman, WR, San Diego Chargers

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

After missing Week 14 with a neck injury, Dontrelle Inman returned to action Sunday and appeared to be the best healthy receiver for the San Diego Chargers. Although he had just three catches, they were big ones, as noted by Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union Tribune:

He also trailed only Antonio Gates for the team lead in targets, which is a big deal in a pass-heavy attack like the Chargers. No quarterback in the league has thrown the ball more than Philip Rivers this season, and that won't change with the injury to Melvin Gordon. The team has seemingly run out of other options at receiver, but there at least seems to be some sort of connection with Inman.

Before getting hurt a couple of weeks ago, the receiver was showing plenty of promise with five catches for 65 yards and a touchdown in Week 12. If he can continue this against an Oakland Raiders secondary that has had its issues this year, Inman will have plenty of opportunities to pick up big chunks of yards and possibly get into the end zone.  

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