10 Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 12

Jonas Gray, RB, New England Patriots

The most obvious add of the week goes to Jonas Gray, who rushed for more touchdowns on Sunday night than nearly the entire NFL combined in Week 11.

Gray's owned in 8.4% of ESPN.com leagues, so chances are, he's out there for you to snag. And I'd use a top waiver spot on him. But while some owners or potential owners are going to be overly excited about his potential, I think it's important to recognize that the Patriots are a matchup-driven team bound to use more Shane Vereen when the matchup says to.

And, really, their upcoming schedule could dictate less Gray and more Vereen. I wrote about this earlier in the season, and there seemed to be a strong connection between bad rush defenses and a decrease in Vereen's snap count. We saw that on Sunday - Indianapolis, entering the game, ranked 22nd against the run according to our metrics. It was a bruiser's game. It was a Gray game.

The Patriots get the Lions, Dolphins and Jets in three of their next five games, all teams who can stop the run well. Don't be surprised to see a little less Gray during those contests, and even if he sees volume, he may not produce.