Week 13 Fantasy Football: Waiver Wire Adds Guide
Wading through the waiver wire each week can be a daunting task, no matter what kind of league you’re in. Do you play in an eight-teamer with small starting lineups? Then there’s a plethora of options and it’s hard to figure out which to grab. Maybe you play in a 16-teamer with 12 starting spots; then it’s hard to figure out which flier is on the verge of breaking out.
Each week, I’ll help you find potential players to add off the waiver wire who will provide additional value to your fantasy football team. We’ll limit ourselves to players rostered in 40% of Yahoo! leagues or less, meaning these are players that should be available in most leagues.
Don’t force yourself to pick through the player pile alone; I can be your help in winning from the wire. Which players are must-adds, interesting options, and deeper sleepers for Week 13’s waivers?
Must-Adds
RB Jamaal Williams, DET (41% rostered)
RB Chuba Hubbard, CAR (40% rostered)
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will have heard that three of the top running backs in the NFL got injured this week: the Carolina Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey will go on injured reserve for the second time this year and miss the remainder of the season, Dalvin Cook of the Minnesota Vikings has a torn labrum and could be out until the NFL playoffs, and Detroit Lions do-it-all back D’Andre Swift is likely to miss this week, then will be week-to-week after that.
That leaves guys like Chuba Hubbard, Alexander Mattison, and Jamaal Williams as the top waiver claims of the week. These are three players that, when given the chance, have shown league-winning fantasy upside as three-down starting running backs. Hopefully you snared Williams last week thanks to this column or were holding onto Hubbard from before, because that will make life even easier for you. Mattison isn’t a recommended pickup because he’s rostered in too many Yahoo! leagues already, but we stretched the 40% threshold a tad for Williams. In order, I’d prefer Mattison, Hubbard, then Williams — who could be back in a 1B/backup role as early as next week. Hubbard and the Panthers have a nasty playoff schedule, otherwise he’d be sharing top billing with Mattison.
Interesting Options
RB Boston Scott, PHI (20% rostered)
Despite star running back Miles Sanders also playing in this past game (and much more efficiently; nine rushes for 64 yards), it was Boston Scott who saw the bulk of the workload for the Philadelphia Eagles. Scott delivered admirably, however, with 18 opportunities that totaled 72 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. Three of those opps were targets and the touchdown also came on a one-yard goal-line plunge, so Scott is seeing varied and valuable work. If Sanders’ tweaked ankle from this game is less than 100% going into Week 13, expect Scott to rack up an even better workload.
RB Tevin Coleman, NYJ (19% rostered)
If you are in a deeper league, or just need someone to fill an RB spot for the short term, Tevin Coleman is a reasonable pickup. This past week without starter Michael Carter, Coleman got 19 opportunities and converted those into 70 scrimmage yards. Receiving back Ty Johnson saw just seven, which seems to be a clear indication that the rushing backs will be much more fantasy-viable (not a high bar to hurdle) than receiving ones in this offense as long as New York Jets one-week legend Mike White isn’t the starting quarterback.
WR Sterling Shepard, NYG (29% rostered)
I guess I’ll keep banging the table: LOVE ON STERLING SHEPARD, PLEASE! The New York Giants’ slot maven keeps drawing the short straw on injury luck in 2021, but there’s a non-zero chance he returns for Week 13 from his quad injury. In every full game he has played this year, Shepard has seen a 24% or better target share for the Giants, and appears poised to continue that trend due to the bevy of other injuries in the G-Men receiving corps.
WR Curtis Samuel, WAS (14% rostered)
The Washington Football Team finally saw wide receiver Curtis Samuel return to the field in Week 12, and he promptly caught his lone target for nine yards. It’s an encouraging start for Samuel, who has missed all but 30 offensive snaps scattered between Weeks 4 and 5 for the WFT. As long as he doesn’t tweak his groin injury again, Samuel’s role should grow into a number-two receiver share by the end of the season. He’s a high-upside flier for the fantasy playoffs at the very least.
WR Josh Reynolds, DET (1% rostered)
I know, things are pretty dire if I’m recommending a receiver for one of the worst offenses in the league, but Detroit Lions wideout Josh Reynolds has been pretty solid since making his way there. After getting waived from the Tennessee Titans (by his request), Reynolds has been active for two games. In those two games, he has seen 16.7% of the team target share — a decent amount considering the offense largely runs through tight end T.J. Hockenson and Swift. This past week, Reynolds caught three of his five targets for 70 yards and a score. Bigger things could be to come for this deep threat on a team that will throw a lot as they continue to play from behind.
Deeper Sleepers and Streaming Options
QB Taysom Hill, NO at LV (6% rostered)
QB Daniel Jones, NYG at MIA (28% rostered)
RB Sony Michel, LAR (28% rostered)
RB Latavius Murray, BAL (33% rostered)
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET (5% rostered)
WR Jauan Jennings, SF (0% rostered)
TE Foster Moreau, LV vs. WAS (1% rostered)
TE Tyler Conklin, MIN at DET (33% rostered)
