Waiver Wire Success

So you’ve found the next great Ernest Graham, what do you do now? One common misconception around waiver wire acquisitions is that you must have a need on your roster to run out and pick them up. There are 3 other options available to you.

The first option is that if I have them you don’t. Picking up competitive free agents can add wins to your record by keeping these players off of other teams. For instance, in one of my public leagues, a team in a bye week pinch had to drop Maurice Jones-Drew to fill a bye. I already have Matt Forte Ronnie Brown and Marion Barber as my two starters and my back up. So I did not need another quality running back, but I picked him up off waivers anyway to keep him off another team. You can also use these waiver wire gems to build your team in other ways.

Another option is to package these waiver wire diamonds in the rough with an existing player in a trade to upgrade the talent on your team. This option takes a little more patience and more research on your part. If you were the first person to jump on Steve Breaston, then you could package him with a second tier player to another owner in your league to upgrade to a top tier player at that or another position. The success of this option depends on the configuration of your league. 10 team leagues will be more challenging than 16 team leagues and public leagues will be more challenging than private leagues. In a private, keeper or dynasty league there is another option available.

The third option is to deal that next superstar that you found to another team to build for your future. Find a trade partner and deal that waiver wires find for a draft pick in the future. It does not help you with your success for this year. If your team is already strong enough that you won’t use the player this year anyway, this helps you build for future dominance in your league.
So working the waiver wire doesn’t necessarily mean that your team can use that player in your starting line-up. Thinking outside of your current roster with these waiver wire players can be the difference in one or two wins that get you to the playoffs or a championship this year or next. Good Luck and here’s to your waiver wire success.

Author: Derek Braun
Email: staleys1920@hattywaiverwireguru.com
Need Advice? Email Derek!