Last Updated on March 17, 2026 4:37 pm by Mike Passador | Published: March 17, 2026

The last time we met here, the head-to-head playoffs were just starting. Here we are again, and the head-to-head playoffs are about to end. This week is championship week in many leagues, while the vast majority will be completed by the end of March. Time flies when you’re having fun.

That means this is the final Deep League Pickups article that can impact your fantasy team. We will be back in a couple weeks to help the crazy leagues that go right to the end — and the roto leagues, of course — but for the vast majority of you, it is, now more than ever, winning time.

What we said last time about the potential relative abundance of waiver options holds true: Most leagues will lock the non-playoff teams from making moves. Even in leagues that don’t, unless there’s future penalties for finishing at the very bottom, many managers who are not competing for the title will cease to be active. That means you have a smaller pool of competition for the available players on waivers.

Now there are even fewer teams in the mix, and some managers are going to ignore players with legitimate appeal because of matchup/fit reasons. Which leads us to the fact that our advice about targeting categories is also still accurate:

Perhaps the most important change now is that you can be increasingly targeted in your pickups. Winning 5-4 is just as valid as winning 8-1, and you can scout your matchups very seriously. Go to your league’s standings page and sort by stats. Find out where you stack up compared to your opponent. Forget about any categories with wide gaps, unless there are pressing injury situations that have taken a major contributor out of the picture. Hunt out the categories that are going to be close and attack them. If you finished second in your league in assists and your opponent was 11th but you sit 6th and 4th in blocks, drop one of your assist-specialist types for someone who can grab more steals. You need to win this week.

What that also does is throw some conventional wisdom out the window. We have been operating with loose roster percentage guidelines all year but from now on we’re taking a category-based approach. If you need steals in a 14-team league, the guy who is 0% rostered is absolutely in play if he grabs some steals. You’re going to see some funny-looking transactions this time of year but it’s all in service of getting through the week and coming out on top. Don’t be afraid to be bold. You know your teams’ needs.

Go get ’em.

Overall Adds

As always, here’s a quick rundown of guys who are rostered near the 20% ballpark who have enough wind in their sails to be viable in 12-team leagues. That means they’re obviously in play in deeper formats, so give them a look if they’re available to you:

Keon Ellis (10%), Javon Small (14%), Julian Champagnie (19%), De’Anthony Melton (14%), Jay Huff (23%), Brook Lopez (17%), Derrick Jones Jr. (18%), Jaylen Wells (18%), Moses Moody (13%), Davion Mitchell (17%), Brandon Williams (14%), Scoot Henderson (21%), Herb Jones (20%), Cedric Coward (20%), Kyle Kuzma (21%), Jaylon Tyson (15%), Will Riley (11%)

Graduated from Deep League status: Gui Santos (35%), Tre Jones (25%), Brice Sensabaugh (31%), Precious Achiuwa (38%), Nique Clifford (25%), Tristan da Silva (26%)

Beyond that, here are some players we would make sure a rostered in deep leagues in general for their overall production.

Danny Wolf (9%)

Wolf’s shooting might end up being problematic, especially compared to other bigs, but his minutes are on the rise and Day’Ron Sharpe has been taken out of the equation since the last time we reviewed Wolf’s case. He’s going to give you low-end points and rebounds but the real intrigue comes in with Wolf’s ability to contribute assists, 3-pointers and blocks. He’s a no-brainer in punt-FG% builds but should get enough volume to counteract his so-so efficiency. It’s a fun stat set colliding with expanding opportunity, which is exactly what you want this time of year.

Taylor Hendricks (7%)

Don’t look now but Hendricks is getting consistent mid-20s minutes and sits just outside the top-100 in the last 12 games with a line of 11.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.1 blocks and 1.7 3-pointers on .519 shooting from the field. Add him where you can.

Aaron Nesmith (15%)

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Mike Passador

Mike graduated from Boston University’s Dual Degree Program with a BA in Economics and a BS in Business with Concentrations in Marketing and Operations Management. He is a faithful supporter of Toronto sports and the Detroit Lions and is always ready to be let down. Tweet to him @Mike_Pandador, but if you badmouth Jose Calderon you might get blocked.

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