Waiver Wire Week 12: Dontrell Hilliard, Cedrick Wilson Highlight Pickups to Know

The Tennessee Titans' running back situation has been a nightmare for fantasy football players to figure out since Derrick Henry's injury in Week 8.

Adrian Peterson, D'Onta Foreman and Jeremy McNichols have all had chances to make up for his production.

On Sunday, Dontrell Hilliard emerged as the latest potential top waiver-wire candidate out of the Tennessee backfield. The 26-year-old running back earned a heavy workload in both facets of the Tennessee offense. That could foreshadow how the Titans manage Henry's absence for the rest of the season.

Hilliard is one of a few players who came out of nowhere in Week 11 to become potential waiver-wire stars in Week 12 and beyond.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cedrick Wilson and New York Jets running back Ty Johnson could play larger roles in their respective offenses moving forward.

Prior to Sunday, Hilliard had 199 receiving yards and 97 rushing yards in his NFL career.

The former Cleveland Browns running back finished Sunday with 35 rushing yards on seven carries and 47 receiving yards on eight catches.

Hilliard was targeted on 10 occasions by Ryan Tannehill. That was the highest number of targets earned by a single player on the Tennessee offense in the loss to the Houston Texans. Tennessee has tried to make up for some of Henry's production through the Foreman-Peterson connection. Those players combined for 65 rushing yards on 16 carries and three catches.

Hilliard appears to have an edge in the passing game over Foreman and Peterson in a wide-open competition for snaps. His pass-catching ability could benefit the Titans offense more in the coming weeks, especially if A.J. Brown is out for any period of time after leaving Sunday's game with an apparent shoulder injury.

While it may seem risky to add Hilliard after just one week of prominence, it could be worth the gamble if you are in need of running back depth for the stretch run of the regular season.

Cedrick Wilson has provided the Dallas Cowboys with some decent moments in the passing game all season, but up until Sunday he was viewed as a fringe fantasy football roster candidate.

Wilson was sitting behind Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb on the depth chart, and Michael Gallup's return cut into his production even more.

But Wilson's role could be elevated for Week 12's Thanksgiving clash with the Las Vegas Raiders because of the issues Dallas is suddenly having at wide receiver. Cooper was placed on the COVID-19/reserve list, so he will miss at least one more game. Lamb, meanwhile, left Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with a concussion.

If Lamb is not active Thursday, Wilson and Gallup will be Dak Prescott's top two targets. Wilson had four catches for 36 yards in Sunday's loss. He has found the end zone on three occasions this season and has four games with three or more catches.

Wilson is not an unknown player in the Dallas offense, so there should be some comfort among fantasy football players to pick him up for a game in which he should play a much larger role than usual.

Ty Johnson's fantasy football value could increase in the next week or two after New York Jets starting running back Michael Carter suffered an ankle injury in Sunday's defeat to the Miami Dolphins.

Johnson has been used mostly in the passing game by the revolving door of Jets quarterbacks. He has 25 receptions for 271 yards and a pair of touchdowns this season. He has not been utilized that often in the rushing attack, but if Carter is banged up, that could change.

There are plenty of variables at play with Johnson's situation, including which quarterback will start against the Houston Texans in Week 12. Another is how Tevin Coleman figures into the offensive picture.

The good news for the Jets is they are playing the Texans, which could open up a few things on offense. And as we saw Sunday with Hilliard, Houston is susceptible to giving up yardage to pass-catching running backs.

Johnson might be a tough sell as a waiver-wire pickup for some fantasy players, but there are few options out there that could help at running back in the way Johnson could.