Broncos Country, Let's ... nevermind... 

In today’s Fantasy Life Newsletter presented by Goldbelly:

• The Broncos fire Nathaniel Hackett
• Sam's Waiver Wire Diving: Week 17 pickups
• Buy/Sell/Hold: Don't win graciously
• Tua Tagovailoa in concussion protocol
• It's 12/27. Take it away, Kendall Valenzuela...

We had a lot of news come out on Monday, and I think it’s best we check the panic meter when assessing everything going into Week 17. Let’s ride…

❌ Broncos fire Nathaniel Hackett | Panic meter: 0

Maybe Santa decided to give the Denver Broncos a belated Christmas gift this year. Sitting at 4-11 with no hope in sight, the team fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday morning and confirmed the move in a press release. This comes a day after their blowout 51-14 loss to the Rams — showing that things actually could get worse for the Broncos.

Not only did Russell Wilson finish 15/27 for 214 yards with one touchdown and three (yikes) interceptions, but the team was also fighting each other AGAIN. The Broncos have a lot more problems than just Hackett. 

Someone tell Hackett to not book a Southwest flight out of Denver

— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean)
Dec 26, 2022

They traded multiple draft picks and players for (supposedly) a franchise quarterback in Wilson and gave him a five-year extension worth more than $240 million. Needless to say, his performance isn’t living up to expectations. Some are saying it’s the worst trade in NFL history.

At one point this season, the Broncos featured the No. 1 scoring defense and the No. 32 scoring offense. Read that again.

You also have an organization under new ownership — the Walton-Penner Group, led by Walmart heir Rob Walton, who owes no one loyalty since they were not part of the hiring process for Hackett and Co. Spending a record $4.65 billion makes patience thin when the hopes were so high. 

The Hackett-Wilson marriage had to end, but the decline for Russ has been a few seasons in the making

— Kevin Cole (@KevinCole___)
Dec 26, 2022

The panic meter sits at zero because this script had already been written.

At 15.5 points per game, the Broncos are at their lowest point total at this point in a season since 1966. Fantasy managers knew this offense was bad — Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton rank as WR28 and WR45, respectively. Nothing hurts us anymore. 

Let’s write the Broncos’ New Year’s Resolution together: be better.

❗️Tua Tagovailoa in concussion protocol | Panic meter: 10 

Horrible news came out on Monday that the Dolphins have placed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in concussion protocol. This marks the second time this season Tagovailoa has been placed into the protocol (really it should have been three times).

Head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters that Tagovailoa “displayed and admitted” to having concussion symptoms when he spoke with team doctors Monday. 

This would seem to be the play on which Dolphins’ QB Tua Tagovailoa was injured, when his head bangs the ground.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter)
Dec 26, 2022

To be clear, the panic meter is at a 10 not because of our fantasy teams, but because we should all be worried for Tagovailoa’s health and safety. We all remember the hit he took against the Bengals in Week 4 that sent him to the hospital and made him miss the next two games. That was just four days after another scary hit that was ruled as a “tweak to his back”. 

The Dolphins are on a four game slide right now. If Miami loses the next two games, they miss the playoffs. If the Dolphins win the next two games, they're in the playoffs. 

Miami plays the Patriots and the Jets to close out the regular season.  

🤕 Derrick Henry on Injury Report | Panic Meter: 3

Don’t panic, but this is definitely something to monitor for the Titans. Derrick Henry did not practice Monday due to a hip injury. Usually Monday practice reports mean nothing, but there are some layers to this.

#Titans RB Derrick Henry did not practice today with a hip injury. Tennessee plays on Thursday night and the result of the game has no impact on their playoff situation. Week 18 vs. JAX will determine if they're in or not.

Holding Henry out would not be surprising.

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate)
Dec 26, 2022

Tennessee has a short turnaround as they play the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football in Week 17. The Titans currently hold a 7-8 record but their playoff hopes are very much alive — HOWEVER, this TNF matchup doesn’t matter as much. 

The winner of the Week 18 matchup between the Titans and Jaguars will win the AFC South. Are the Titans going to look ahead? Rest their starters? We literally have no clue, but wow this will be a fun (SARCASM) one to follow. Henry managers brace yourselves…

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Round 2 is over and we are onto our championship matchups. With the season’s end looming in sight, let’s talk league etiquette from a buy/sell perspective. Take it away, Cooterdoodle...

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🛒SELL

🙄Win / Loss records matter

Forget Santa, it’s Week 17 and the fantasy reaper has come to town. 

The majority of leagues are entering their championship matchup rounds this week and plenty of teams with 11-3 or better records found themselves surprisingly eliminated this morning in Round 2. Not only did they lose, but they lost to a team with a total of only seven or eight wins. Gross. 

Losing to a team that’s worse than you can hurt the ego a bit.

But don’t get caught up lecturing everyone on how it should have been you who made it to the finals. Year after year, league mates will try to justify that final loss, recounting endless stories of how they dominated all year long. They won’t let us forget that they had the highest points scored all season long. They won’t let us forget about how they sniped Christian Watson off of waivers. And they surely won't let anyone live down a terrible trade. 

Don’t be a sore loser. 

I’m not saying you should go radio silent in the group chat once you lose out, but don’t diminish the teams that moved deeper into the bracket than you did. Your wins and losses tell a story of your season, but they don’t outshine the trophy. No one will remember your record 5 years from now. 

Your regular wins are no good here, in playoff land.

🛒SELL

😈Win graciously

Nah, we don’t win graciously in this house. I’ll find ways to talk trash year round.

But you see, there are two key components that people fail to take into account when talking sh*t.

1. You have to be willing to take the heat. And I don’t mean theoretically. You have to prove to your league that you can take a shot in the group chat if you’re going to fire your own.
2. You have to be willing to make fun of yourself. Don’t just brag when you’re up, brag when you’re down.

If you can dish it and take it, all is fair. It can be tough to secure that win in the final round, so there’s no time to be humble. 

Print out your final starting lineup, autograph it, and mail it to your opponent. Send a picture of you buckling up your trophy and taking it on a date to the movies. Alert everyone each time you make a purchase with all of their money that you won. 

The possibilities are endless. Don’t go out in grace. 

🏆 There’s a list no wide receiver wants to be on. Congratulations, Diontae Johnson.

🎭 Nathaniel Hackett was fired. Where does he rank among funniest hires?

📣 Need help with your championship waiver run? We have you covered.

🤕 Every fantasy manager knows pain. Week 16 might have reached new levels. 

🏋️‍♂️ Think your job is hard? Head coaches need to warm up before game time too.

🥇 Step-by-Step guide to a fantasy championship. Start here.

Waivers are a crucial component of fantasy football, and nabbing the next league winner ahead of your leaguemates can help you edge out that title. Each Tuesday, Sam Wallace will highlight players to target in your redraft leagues. 

The fantasy football championships have arrived.

Take a moment to look at your roster. Is it the same one you left your draft with? I’m guessing not. For yet another year, being active on the waiver wire likely played a significant role in you reaching this point.

Whether you lost Cooper Kupp or Jonathan Taylor, or spent premium picks on Rashod Bateman or Elijah Moore, you’ve had to remain active this season.

Nice work.

This is what we’ve been building towards all season. For one more week, let’s put the finishing touches on your squad and go win this thing.

I'll be using Yahoo's "percentage rostered" data. Players are listed in order of priority, by position.

➕ Tyler Allgeier

• Available in 51% of leagues

RB Tyler Allgeier has quietly put together an impressive rookie campaign. This week, he set career-high marks in rushing attempts (18), targets (5), and receptions (4) and brought his season-total to 817 rushing yards in just 14 games.

On Saturday, he handled 62% of the RB rushing attempts and figures to remain heavily involved with rookie QB Desmond Ridder likely starting the rest of the season.

Looking ahead, Allgeier will take on a Cardinals defense that has struggled to contain the run. Entering Week 16, they ranked 25th against opposing RBs per our NFL DvP tool.

FAAB: 75%

➕ Jahan Dotson

• Available in 77% of leagues

Over his last three games, rookie WR Jahan Dotson is averaging (per game)

• 8 targets
• 5 receptions
• 78 receiving yards
• 18.8 fantasy points

Even with the Commanders benching QB Taylor Heinicke and switching back to QB Carson Wentz, fantasy managers shouldn’t be concerned. Dotson has demonstrated fantasy success with both QBs and is a must-start moving forward.

FAAB: 60%

➕ DJ Chark

• Available in 49% of leagues

The New York Jets defense has been as good as advertised, especially against opposing WRs. You shouldn’t use that to discount talented players like WR DJ Chark.

Chark posted a dud against the Jets in Week 15 but bounced back this week. Over his last five games, Chark has either a receiving TD or 95+ receiving yards in four of them.

He plays the WR2 role alongside teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown but Chark’s downfield playmaking ability should keep him up in your lineups next week.

FAAB: 50%