The Green Bay Packers have not been hesitant to roll with inexperienced wide receivers through the last season-plus, and accordingly, rookie fifth-round pick Dontayvion Wicks was afforded opportunity right out of the gate in his NFL career.
Wicks put up a career best six receptions for 97 yards on seven targets in Week 15 against the Buccaneers, and two of his position mates are nursing injuries that could sideline them at least for Week 16.
Should fantasy football managers that need wide receiver help in their upcoming playoff games trust Green Bay’s emerging pass catcher and pluck him off their league’s waiver wire?
Should Dontayvion Wicks Be a Fantasy Waiver Wire Add in Week 16?
Wicks played 37 snaps in his Week 1 NFL debut and has managed to maintain a relatively steady role in terms of playing time on most weeks this season. He hasn’t been deemed a healthy scratch for any contest and has proven durable, missing just the Thanksgiving win over the Detroit Lions due to the double whammy of a knee injury and concussion.
Wicks has demonstrated some toughness as well, playing through what was believed to be a high ankle issue against Tampa Bay and still managing to put together the aforementioned career best game.
Moreover, Wicks’ strong stretch of noteworthy numbers predates Week 15, as he’s posted a 21-351 line across the last six contests overall while drawing a target on 34.9% of his 187 routes in that span.
Christian Watson has already logged five absences this season, including two straight with his latest hamstring injury. The Packers’ No. 1 receiver hasn’t so much as made it on the practice field since suffering his current strain in Week 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs, leaving his availability for Sunday’s Week 16 road matchup against the Carolina Panthers highly tenuous at best.
Additionally, Wicks’ fellow rookie wideout Jayden Reed, who’s been a revelation for Green Bay as both runner and receiver, exited the loss to the Buccaneers after hurting his toe. Given how an injury of that nature can hamper a receiver, it’s certainly possible Reed joins Watson on the inactive list versus Carolina this coming Sunday.
Wicks played in only 23 college games over three years, but he flashed some of the same playmaking ability he’s started demonstrating at the pro level back during his sophomore 2021 campaign.
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He posted a 57-1,203-9 line across 12 games that season, and Wicks has impressively come close to the 18.8 yards per reception he generated on his 90 college catches by clocking 15.8 yards per grab through his first 13 NFL contests.
Wicks clearly already has plenty of chemistry with the improving Jordan Love, who’s completed 65.9% of his passes for 1,648 yards and generated a 13:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio over the last six games.
Even with tough positional matchups in Weeks 16 and 17 against the Panthers and Vikings, respectively, Wicks still has a promising outlook given the sheer amount of volume he could enjoy in a potential No. 2 role for at least one of those games.
Considering all the factors cited, I would recommend Wicks as a viable waiver wire consideration for fantasy managers in need at the WR position for what remains of the fantasy postseason.
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