Russell Gage (WR, ATL) - Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

ROSTERED: 24% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: Julio Jones missed Week 10 (Atlanta's bye week) as every other Falcon, but after that, he has also been out of W12, W14, and W15 entirely. Atlanta is playing for nothing these days, and it won't risk Jones' long-term health considering the low stakes and Jones' own age. This situation has moved every other Falcons' wideout up a spot in the pecking order and Russell Gage couldn't be taking more advantage of the situation as he currently is.

After starting the season with back-to-back 16+ PPR performances, Gage went on a low run in which he topped at 11.4 PPR from W3 to W9. Starting in Week 11 after Atlanta's bye, Gage has four 12.8+ PPR games including three in a row of scoring at least 15 PPR points in the past three weeks consecutively. Gage's usage has sky-rocketed steadily in the past three weeks, with the WR logging 8, 7, and 10 targets of which he has turned 4, 5, and 5 in catches for a combined 201 yards and 2 TDs.

Just this past Sunday, in another game inexplicably lost by Atlanta, Gage logged his third-best fantasy score of the season to the tune of 17.8 PPR points. He caught 5-of-10 targets, reached 68 yards, and scored a touchdown (his second in three weeks). More importantly, he was part of 59 snaps for a monster 91 percent snap rate.

Atlanta has the second-worst matchup of W16. The Chiefs have the 2nd-best defense against fantasy WRs, but Jones is still nurturing a hamstring injury and even if he comes back, odds are he'll be limited. On top of that, Gage has played great football lately, so he should retain a spot in the starting lineup along with Jones and Calvin Ridley while getting at least five-to-seven targets easily.

Gage has played to WR3 levels (top-36) in eight of his 14 games this season is a realistic low-end WR2 and has WR1 upside if Jones misses another game. Must-add for those in deeper formats with FLEX appeal for fantasy GMs in shallower leagues with a hole in that spot for Championship Sunday.

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