It's win-or-go-home time (or win-and-get-a-better-playoff-seed time) in fantasy football leagues, and if you need streamers from the waiver wire, now's the time to go all-out for pickups. There's no reason to hold back your FAAB bids or high waiver claims, and heading into Week 13, there are several interesting players worth adding, including potential starting RBs Devontae Booker, Frank Gore, and Cam Akers, breakout WRs Michael Pittman Jr., Nelson Agholor, and Breshad Perriman, streamer TE Trey Burton, and sleeper QB Kirk Cousins.
As we do every week, let's break down the top pickups and project how much of your FAAB budget you should bid on them. Again, if you have excess money and are in desperate need at a certain position (especially if you're on the playoff bubble), you should be willing to go over the projected bid amounts.
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Week 13 Fantasy Football FAAB targets: Waiver wire QB pickups
Ryan Fitzpatrick (MIA). Fitzpatrick is an obvious waiver pickup this week going against the Bengals. He didn’t light it up by any means against the Jets, but he got 19 points in four-point per passing touchdown leagues. That’s serviceable. Give him a full week of practice with the first-team offense to prep for a bad defense and he’ll be fine once again this week. The ceiling may not be there if the Dolphins opt to run a little more, but many fantasy owners will be looking to stream Fitz, especially if they have Tom Brady or Teddy Bridgewater on bye. Proj. FAAB Bid: 7-8%
Kirk Cousins (MIN). He’s on a heater right now. He has at least 290 passing yards in three straight games with 11 touchdowns and just one interception in his past four outings. The matchup this week against Jacksonville has Dalvin Cook ’s name written all over it, but so did last week’s game and Cook got a little beat up and Cousins was part of the massive comeback win. The Jags have allowed five straight quarterbacks to throw for multiple touchdowns against them. I fully expect Cousins to continue that trend on Sunday. Proj. FAAB Bid: 6-7%
WEEK 13 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Week 13 Fantasy Football FAAB targets: Waiver wire RB pickups
Cam Akers (LAR). It pains me to say this because I’ve been a Darrell Henderson truther all year, but it’s starting to feel like the tide is shifting in Akers’ favor. He found the end zone for the second straight game (after yours truly predicted he wouldn’t find the end zone at all in 2020) and had nine carries for 84 yards. It’s worth mentioning that 61 of those yards came on one carry, so on the other eight carries he averaged fewer than three yards per carry, but it was still far better than what Henderson did. Sean McVay has said he expects more from Akers as the season comes to an end, so he’s definitely worth stashing and possibly worth starting at the flex in deeper leagues. Proj. FAAB Bid: 14-15%
Benny Snell (PIT). He’s available in about 75 percent of leagues, and he’s the presumed lead back for the Steelers against the Ravens on Wednesday afternoon (which I know doesn’t pertain to Week 13’s scoring). While it’s believed that Snell is the lead back for this game, I’m not completely sold. I do think there’s a chance we see more Anthony McFarland, but Snell is probably the safer option based on opportunity. You can’t use either in Week 12 if they’re on waivers, but if Conner is forced to miss Week 13’s game against Washington (now scheduled for Monday), then Snell could be a nice addition off waivers. Proj. FAAB Bid: 8-10% (but see how this duo shakes out on Wednesday)
Frank Gore (NYJ). Oddly enough, in terms of opportunity the rest of the season it feels like Gore might be our safest option. The ceiling is minimal. However, if he’s getting double-digit carries and a few catches per game, then he can return 10-to-13 points in PPR formats, and if he miraculously finds the end zone, then we shouldn’t have no quandaries with that. Adam Gase is enamored with Gore, so in deeper leagues, I’m not ruling out the ageless wonder. Proj. FAAB Bid: 7-8%
Brian Hill (ATL). Just two weeks ago the Saints held the Falcons to just 52 rushing yards, and Hill’s coming off a pretty weak performance this past Sunday. He only collected 55 rushing yards on 13 carries, but 13 carries are still flex-worthy. We’ve seen Hill in “smash” spots before and knew this was a risk. He’ll carry even more risk this week against New Orleans, but the opportunity will still be there. Atlanta’s 4-2 since firing Dan Quinn so hopefully we see a different offense on Sunday and keep your fingers crossed that Julio Jones (hamstring) is active for Atlanta. Proj. FAAB Bid: 6-7%
Devontae Booker (LV). Admittedly, I’ve been off the Booker Bandwagon, but I have seen his name pop up in previous waiver questions I’ve fielded. It wasn’t so much the talent I didn’t like as much as it was the opportunity. Josh Jacobs has seemingly proven that he can’t handle a lion’s share of the carries, as he’s now nursing an ankle injury. Jacobs still has a decent shot at playing next week against the Jets. However, if you’re a Jacobs owner, it certainly doesn’t hurt to give his handcuff a look on waivers. Proj. FAAB Bid: 6-7%
Jordan Wilkins (IND). Nyheim Hines had a much better day and more carries on Sunday than Wilkins did, but I’m not writing off Wilkins just yet. Of courser, this all depends on if Jonathan Taylor (COVID) has to miss this week’s game against Houston, as well. It’s a great matchup for both Hines and Wilkins, as the Texans allow 154.7 rushing yards per game (second worst in the league). Hines might still be out there, and if he is then he’s the preferred target. But Wilkins still touched the ball nine times last week, so if Taylor’s inactive, then this is a good spot for Wilkins to get extra work. Proj. FAAB Bid: 5-6%
DeAndre Washington (MIA). This is contingent on whether Myles Gaskin (knee) and Salvon Ahmed (shoulder) are active this week. Against the Jets last week, Patrick Laird and Matt Breida both put the ball on the ground, and after that Washington handled most of the carries. Sure, they mostly came with the game in hand, but ball security is job security. It’s a gamble, but the Dolphins have a great matchup this week against one of the worst defenses in the NFL in Cincinnati. Matt Breida is also worth a look, but you may have to pay a little more for him. Proj. FAAB Bid: 3-5%
WEEK 13 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Week 13 Fantasy Football FAAB targets: Waiver wire WR pickups
Michael Pittman (IND). If we’re going to celebrate Pittman when he catches all three of his targets and a touchdown in Week 11, then we need to at least be optimistic when he gets nine targets, which was the case in Week 12. He caught just two passes for 28 yards, but this was the third time in his past four games with at least seven targets. He just didn’t yield the fantasy production we would’ve liked. Their next three games are against the Texans (twice) with the Raiders sandwiched in there. He’s the best wide receiver they have, but Philip Rivers tends to spread the ball around as noted last week. Proj. FAAB Bid: 12-14%
Nelson Agholor (LV). Agholor didn’t return the big performance many were anticipating. To be honest, nobody on the Raiders had a good game. It was hard to stomach because they were incredible DFS values and the Falcons defense came out of nowhere for a huge game. That being said, he still caught five-of-six targets for 54 yards. He’s still scored in six different games this season and has a great chance to find the end zone against in Week 13 against the Jets. I also really like Henry Ruggs in this game, as well. Proj. FAAB Bid: 8-10%
Corey Davis (TEN). Davis has double-digit PPR points in all but one game this year. He hasn’t scored since Week 8, and if we’re being objective, the targets have dropped a little bit. He has 19 total over his past five games, but the Titans also love running the ball -- and you would, too, if you had Derrick Henry on your team. There are some good matchups for Davis over the next four weeks, and when they’ve thrown the ball his way, he’s made the most of it. This past Sunday he caught all three of his targets for 70 yards. Proj. FAAB Bid: 8-9%
Breshad Perriman (NYJ). As a deep league replacement for Will Fuller, you could honestly do a lot worse than Perriman. Over his past five games, he had double-digit points in PPR formats in four of those contests. And it doesn’t matter too much who is under center whether it’s Joe Flacco or Sam Darnold . He’s shown plenty of upside, and we’ve seen that he can get seven or eight targets in a given week. Also be sure to give Denzel Mims a look. The Jets have been actively trying to get him involved now that he’s healthy. He has three straight games with eight targets and has at least seven targets in four of the five games he’s been active this season. Proj. FAAB Bid: 6-8%
WEEK 13 FANTASY: Top pickups
Week 13 Fantasy Football FAAB targets: Waiver wire TE pickups
Jordan Reed (SF). He didn’t have a ton of production last week, but the targets just seem to always be there for Reed. In four of the past five games, he’s been active he has at least six targets. Ross Dwelley may see more playing time in terms of snap percentage, but Reed is the one getting more targets. He didn’t have a great game on Sunday, but given the nature of the tight end position, you’ll have to eat some poor performances here and there. Next week Reed will draw the Bills, who got off to a terrible start against tight ends but have done better of late. Last week, though, Hunter Henry caught seven passes for 67 yards. Proj. FAAB Bid: 6-7%
Trey Burton (IND). Burton has found the end zone in back-to-back weeks, which now marks the fifth time he’s scored in eight games this season. The targets have become a little more steady, as well, and in general he seems good for five or six targets each game. As noted previously, Rivers loves to spread the ball around to a multitude of targets. He’s a good streaming option again this week against the Texans. Proj. FAAB Bid: 6-7%
Kyle Rudolph (MIN). Rudolph benefitted from the absences of Adam Thielen and Irv Smith on Sunday. Rudolph caught seven-of-eight targets for 68 yards with most of the production coming in the second half during Minnesota’s comeback. I am of the mindset that Thielen could potentially return in time for Sunday’s game because he was placed on the COVID list early last week, and if he can yield a few negative tests then he’s in good shape for Sunday’s game against Jacksonville. But if Smith continues to miss time with the groin injury, then I’ll still feel pretty good about Rudolph as a streamer this week. The Jaguars have allowed an tight end to score in seven of their 11 games this year and in general they’ve allowed tight ends to score nine times. Proj. FAAB Bid: 5%
Week 13 Fantasy Football FAAB targets: Waiver wire D/ST pickups
Seattle Seahawks. I wasn’t going to mention Seattle until I saw that their ownership is still down about 53 percent on ESPN leagues, so it’s worth reminding everyone that this defense has looked much better since they acquired Carlos Dunlap. They also put up a good performance Monday night against Philadelphia with six sacks, an interception, and 17 points allowed. They have back-to-back home games against the Giants and Jets coming up, and the Giants likely won’t have Daniel Jones (hamstring). This is an easy D/ST to stream over the next two weeks.
Los Angeles Chargers. I absolutely loved this defense coming into the year, but sadly injuries have done them in once again. That being said, they’ve looked strong the last two weeks. They’ve forced four sacks and four turnovers in their past two games, and now the Patriots are coming to town. The Patriots will try to slow this game to a grinding halt, so I’m not expecting a ton of offense on either side of the ball. In 10 games this year, Cam Newton has thrown for over 200 yards just three times, and there’s a good chance he’s held under that mark this week, as well. If the Seahawks or say, the Chiefs are available, they’re the preferred targets. It’s likely they aren’t available in deeper leagues, so this may be your best option.
Proj. FAAB Bids: <1%