Week 11 wasn’t terrible on the injury front, but we did lose a couple of big names. One of those names is Joe Mixon. How much of a priority does this make Samaje Perine for fantasy football managers to add off the waiver wire ahead of Week 12?
Samaje Perine Is the Joe Mixon Replacement
Entering Sunday Night Football, Perine was the overall RB2 on the week with 30.2 PPR fantasy points. He wasn’t particularly efficient on the ground, carrying the ball 11 times for just 30 yards. Fortunately, he was quite productive through the air, catching all four of his targets for 52 yards and a whopping three touchdowns.
Perine scored on limited touches early in the game, but his usage really increased once Mixon went down. Mixon was diagnosed with a concussion, which cost him the second half of the game.
In years past, guys without histories of concussions would be considered better than 50% bets to return to action without missing a game. Ever since the Tua Tagovailoa fiasco, we’re seeing more and more players miss at least one week with a concussion.
MORE: Week 12 Waiver Wire Targets
With that said, Mixon is by no means a lock to miss Week 12. But if he does, we know Perine is going to be the guy.
Perine played 46 snaps against the Steelers. Third-stringer Trayveon Williams played just eight snaps.
Most importantly, Perine ran 22 routes. That’s key on a team that loves to throw the ball. The Bengals led the NFL in neutral game script pass rate before their 39 passes against 20 non-Joe Burrow rushes in Week 11. That fact led to Burrow’s passing yards higher on Underdog Fantasy, which hit easily.
How Aggressively Should Fantasy Managers Pursue Perine Off the Waiver Wire?
This is easily one of the trickiest waiver wire adds of the season. We have clarity in terms of the player’s value. Perine will be a startable RB2 for as long as Mixon is out. Unfortunately, given the nature of concussions, we have no idea how long Mixon will actually miss.
If we knew for sure Mixon would miss only one week, how much is a single week spot start RB2 worth? If Mixon was going to miss the season, Perine would be worth every dollar you have left.
It’s still within the realm of possibilities that Mixon plays this week. That would render any FAAB spent on Perine a complete waste. Nevertheless, Perine is going to be very heavily added come Wednesday morning. If you have the FAAB and have the need, you have to take the shot.
With each successive week, FAAB becomes less and less valuable because anyone you pick up is spending fewer and fewer weeks on your roster. There are just three weeks remaining in the fantasy regular season.
If you need a running back and a win this week, spend up for Perine. Even if you’re wrong, it’s not like you have anything to lose.
If you have Mixon, it’s probably worth it to spend up for the insurance.
If you’re sitting pretty, any recommendation is kind of moot, as you’re unlikely to be willing to spend more than the manager who desperately needs a running back.
It’s also worth noting that there are no byes in Week 12. Of course, injuries remain an issue. However, with fantasy teams at full strength, there is going to be less of a need for Perine. At the same time, someone in your league is almost certainly going to need to go all out for Perine.
If you play in a league that still uses the continual rolling list waiver priority system, use your priority if you need to.