Welcome to the Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 13, and an early Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Thanksgiving week is tricky for fantasy, with three games on Thanksgiving Day, one on Black Friday, eleven on Sunday, and one on Monday. That also makes it a tricky week for marriages/relationships. I don’t pretend to offer relationship advice. But for fantasy, it can be hard to navigate that kind of staggered schedule with players who are uncertain to play due to injuries — and there are plenty of those.
The good news is that for the first time since Week 4, no teams are on Bye in Week 13. But four teams are on Bye in Week 14, and with the fantasy playoffs starting the week after that, this is a good week to look ahead at the schedule and grab what you need for Week 14, and that’s especially true with weaker-than-normal Waiver Wire offerings this week.
The Process: Each week, I try to identify the top Waiver Wire targets and evaluate the short- and long-term prospects of those players. I also do my best to reveal which players who are coming off a big week are fool’s gold. Finally, I look at streamers who might help you in a pinch.
Note that I’m writing this column BEFORE the Week 12 Monday night game (CAR@SF).
Some players discussed won’t be available in your league. I try to list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10-team league with six bench spots will have a much larger Free Agent pool than a 14-team league with eight. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.” By way of example, I won’t list Joe Burrow, Kareem Hunt, R.J. Harvey, Kyle Monangai, Emmanuel Wilson, Kenneth Gainwell, Michael Wilson, Ricky Pearsall, or Colston Loveland, among others who probably aren’t available in any of your leagues.
WEEK 13 BYES: NONE
Week 13 Waiver Wire
Quarterback:
Quarterback availability varies widely between 1-QB and Superflex/2-QB leagues.
Tua Tagovailoa, Jacoby Brissett, Sam Darnold, and Trevor Lawrence won’t be available in most Superflex leagues, but they’re the obvious places to start if you need long-term help, a streamer, or an injury replacement in a 1-QB league.
Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Tyrod Taylor, and Marcus Mariota (for however long he starts) are a step below the group above. Mariota and Taylor have rushing upside. Young is coming off his best game of the season, but was mostly dreadful before that, so keep an eye on his Monday night performance. Stroud has missed the last three games, and the resurgent Texans won them all behind Davis Mills, but I don’t expect a quarterback controversy when Stroud is ready, which I assume will be this week.
If you’re truly stuck in a 2QB/Superflex format, keep reading.
If Jameis Winston gets a third start, he offers upside as a passer as we saw with his huge Week 12 performance at the Lions. But like with Stroud, there’s optimism that Jaxson Dart will return this week.
Cam Ward is showing signs of life, at long last. He’s got 37 fantasy points over his last two games and is using his legs more. A note of caution: If you’re looking for him as potential Bye week streamer in Week 14, the Titans will be visiting the Browns that week, which is no bueno. He’ll also face the Chiefs in Week 16. The rest of the remaining schedule is favorable, and Ward could be a sneaky add in deeper formats.
Teddy Bridgewater will be the starter in Tampa if Baker Mayfield misses time with the injury he suffered Sunday night to his non-throwing shoulder. Bridgewater doesn’t have a lot of upside and especially with the Bucs so banged up.
I can’t get too excited about Shedeur Sanders, Tyler Shough, or Kirk Cousins, but all three have some favorable matchups remaining (and it’s unclear how long Sanders will start).
Running Back:
Before we dive in, a PSA: Make sure Omarion Hampton and Trey Benson weren’t dropped in your league. Both should return soon.
Chris Rodriguez appears to have taken over the lead-back role for the Commanders. He didn’t get scooped up as much as he should have last week because the Commanders had a Week 12 Bye. It’s a timeshare with three backs involved, but Rodriguez needs to be rostered.
Alvin Kamara suffered a knee injury on Sunday and Taysom Hill got the majority of the carries after he went down. He didn’t do much with them (10 for 17 yards), and Devin Neal didn’t do much more with his (7 for 18 yards). But Neal also caught five passes for 43 yards and with Kamara likely to miss time, Neal is an obvious add this week.
Repeat entry from the last two weeks: Devin Singletary is getting enough work to be serviceable if you’re stuck at running back.
Repeat entry from the entire season: Tyler Allgeier continues to show that he has significant stand-alone value on top of handcuff worth.
Depth adds: Tank Bigsby, Blake Corum, Bhayshul Tuten, Ollie Gordon II, Brian Robinson, Jr., and Jaleel McLaughlin.
Wide Receiver
There aren’t a lot of great choices here, as the position is thinner this year than it usually is. What’s to blame? In part it’s that multiple NFL teams have only had one truly viable starting fantasy option at receiver for most of the season (examples: Bills, Chiefs, Ravens, Seahawks, Saints, Falcons, Texans, and Steelers). Sad but true: There are only a dozen receivers averaging more than 12 Half PPR fantasy points per game this season. There were 21 last year, and 19 the year before.
Here is the best of what’s available this week:
Jayden Reed’s practice window is open and Chris Godwin returned to action Sunday night, albeit on a limited pitch count. Both are proven performers when healthy, so if they’re available (they likely aren’t), they’re attractive options for your roster. It could be a few weeks before Godwin is playable as he ramps up (and he needs his QB back).
Andrei Iosivas should fill the WR2 role for at least one more week, with Tee Higgins all but certain to miss the Thanksgiving game with a concussion. The Bengals throw as much as any team, so he’ll have an opportunity and was already good bench depth as the team’s third receiver.
Tre Tucker and Tyler Lockett don’t offer a whole lot of upside, and the Raiders’ offense has been so bad that Chip Kelly just got fired, but both are seeing decent target volume from Geno Smith.
John Metchie III is on his third team in three seasons, but right now he’s stepping up for the lowly Jets. He’s got a TD and at least 45 receiving yards in back-to-back games and can potentially offer some roster help, especially while Garrett Wilson remains out.
I’ve mentioned Chimere Dike multiple times. With Calvin Ridley’s season over and Elic Ayomanor out with a hamstring injury, Dike is seeing a lot more of the field than he did early in the season, when he was mostly just a returner. If your league rewards return yardage points, Dike is a solid WR2, but even if it doesn’t, he’s the Titans’ leading receiver over their last five games. He could be one of those rookies who pops during the second half of the season (and especially if Ward continues to improve).
Speaking of ascending rookies, Luther Burden III is getting more run. Chicago has a lot of other options, but there’s no denying Burden’s big-play ability. He totaled 61 yards on Sunday, albeit on just four touches. He’s now seeing about half of the offensive snaps, which is about double what he saw for much of the first half of the season. It feels like Ben Johnson is trying to find ways to get him more involved. He’s a nice stash for the stretch run.
Others to consider for depth: Parker Washington, Malik Washington, Jayden Higgins, Darius Slayton, Xavier Legette, Tez Johnson, and Josh Palmer.
Deeper depth: DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, Greg Dortsch, Isaiah Hodgins, and Adonai Mitchell.
Tight End:
If Taysom Hill is going to see a meaningful share of the rushing attempts for however long Alvin Kamara is out, then he’s a potential cheat code at tight end. I suspect he’ll get plenty of touches even if he’s not the team’s lead back.
Brenton Strange returned to action on Sunday and had a big day, with five catches for 93 yards in the Jaguars’ OT win at Arizona. He was off to a solid start before he got hurt, and picked up where he left off. Add him.
Rinse and repeat: Theo Johnson and Juwan Johnson are two more players who I keep listing, and both have been pretty steady producers who should not be sitting on waiver wires.
Others to consider for depth, or an emergency stream if you need them: Colby Parkinson, Chig Okonkwo, Dalton Schultz, Brock Wright, and Greg Dulcich.
PK and D/ST Streamers, Week 13: (ranked outside the Top-12 for the week):
PK: J. Myers (vs. MIN), W. Lutz (@WAS), A. Borregales (vs. NYG), J. Slye (vs. JAC)
D/ST: ARI (@TB), DET (vs. GB), MIA (vs. NO), BAL (vs. CIN)
Good luck with your waiver claims!
***This column appears each Monday right here at Big Blue View. Each Thursday, my weekly fantasy preview with my rides, fades and sleepers (start/sit) appears here, and on Fridays you can find my weekly Giants Props of the week, also right here. ***
See More:
