Fantasy Waiver Wire Adds Week 13
Now it’s getting serious. Week 13 is either the first playoff week in bigger fantasy leagues or is one of the final regular season slates before the postseason begins. Either way, these late-season games are either critical to securing a playoff birth or for shoring up your postseason roster to give your squad the absolute best chance at taking home the title.
After all, why else have we been working so hard over these past three months for?
The main approach to take when exploring waivers this late is to attack any opportunity you can to simply win this week, while also being sly enough to stash players that might be in a good position to help you in Week 15 or Week 16. (Think last week when I suggested a proactive Sammy Watkins pick up.) Bottom line- if you’re in must-win mode to simply make the playoffs,
Bottom line- if you’re in “must win” mode to simply make the playoffs, don’t worry about saving money for the future. Do whatever you can to win Week 13, including making sure you’re not outbid for players listed highly here that are in a position to produce this week.
Final 2016 Bye Weeks:
- Tennessee Titans
- Cleveland Browns
Waiver Wire Pickups: Quarterbacks
Colin Kaepernick (at Chicago) – Considering the controversies that he’s been in the news for, it’s amazing that Kaepernick is somehow flying under the radar in fantasy football. While it’s also debatable if Kaepernick can be a successful NFL quarterback, he’s been quite fantasy signal caller over the past month. In that time, Kaepernick is a top-10 overall fantasy QB, while producing four straight elite games.
| Week | Pass Yds | TD | Rush Yds | TD | fPPG | Rank |
| 9 | 398 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 21 | QB9 |
| 10 | 210 | 1 | 55 | 1 | 23 | QB5 |
| 11 | 206 | 2 | 32 | 0 | 19 | QB9 |
| 12 | 296 | 3 | 113 | 1 | 32 | QB1 |
As long as he keeps producing numbers like this, most notably as a runner, there’s a place on any playoff-bound team for Colin Kaepernick.
Ryan Tannehill (at Baltimore) – As the Dolphins have heated up with six straight wins, Tannehill is starting to put up respectable fantasy numbers again. Most notably, he’s tossed seven touchdowns versus only one interception over Miami’s past three wins. Tannehill also has averaged 23 rushing yards in those three contests and should be a solid streaming option this week against Baltimore’s secondary.
Trevor Siemian (at Jacksonville) – Siemian is coming off of the best game of his young career and has tossed multiple touchdowns in three straight Broncos games. Denver travels to Jacksonville this week and while the Jags have done a good job against the past recently, they have the fewest interceptions in the league and there are signs that the team has completely quit on Gus Bradley. Marcus Mariota owners looking for a cheap plug-and-play option for this week should consider Siemian, who is likely to produce top-16 numbers this week.
| Player | Team | Pos. | Own% | FAAB |
| Tyreek Hill | WR | 26.5 | 35% | |
| Will Fuller | WR | 47.8 | 30% | |
| Tyler Boyd | WR | 34.7 | 30% | |
| Colin Kaepernick | QB | 22.7 | 25% | |
| Taylor Gabriel | WR | 3.5 | 25% | |
| Dontrelle Inman | WR | 6.5 | 24% | |
| Kenneth Dixon | RB | 25.1 | 20% | |
| Vernon Davis | TE | 21.9 | 18% | |
| Rex Burkhead | RB | 4.7 | 16% | |
| Quincy Enunwa | WR | 40.7 | 15% | |
| Cameron Brate | TE | 43.5 | 12% | |
| Charles Sims | RB | 8.7 | 12% | |
| Tavon Austin | WR | 48 | 10% | |
| Anquan Boldin | WR | 23.3 | 10% | |
| Cameron Meredith | WR | 39.8 | 9% | |
| Marquess Wilson | WR | 0.2 | 8% | |
| Ladarius Green | TE | 10.8 | 8% | |
| Ryan Tannehill | QB | 20.5 | 5% | |
| Trevor Siemian | QB | 11.1 | 5% | |
| Adrian Peterson | RB | 36.7 | 3% |
-Ownership data based on ESPN public leagues
Waiver Wire Pickups: Running Backs
Kenneth Dixon (vs. Miami) – We’ve been monitoring this situation for weeks and waiting for Dixon to emerge from a stagnant Baltimore backfield. Perhaps Week 12 was that turning point. For the first time all season, Dixon out-snapped Terrance West 31-23 and produced more yards as both a runner and receiver. This may remain a fairly even timeshare, but Dixon is the Baltimore back to own here and has the best chance of emerging for the playoffs.
Rex Burkhead (vs. Philadelphia) – He only got seven touches last week, but Burkhead was on the field one more play than Jeremy Hill and will continue to see a sizable workload for the remainder of the season as the Bengals look to replace Gio Bernard’s change-of-pace role. He’s worth a stash in deeper, PPR leagues.
Charles Sims (at San Diego) – Sims won’t play until Week 14, but he has begun practicing. As soon as he’s activated, Sims will immediately be on the PPR RB2 radar taking about a third of Tampa’s carries and acting as the receiving down back. Sims is a very talented back and more than just a handcuff for Doug Marting owners. Tampa’s Week 14-16 schedule (vs New Orleans, at Dallas, at New Orleans) is one of the best in the NFL.
Waiver Wire Pickups: Wide Receivers
Tyreek Hill (at Atlanta) – There may not be a lot of desirable pick ups at RB this week, but there’s a dearth of talent at the wideout position. Hill’s athleticism was on display Sunday night, as he scored as a runner, receiver, and returner. With J.Maclin missing for three games, Hill has stepped up with 23 receptions and now has seven total touchdowns this season. Hill played a season-high 59 snaps last week, and even if Maclin returns, he’s playing too well to see a reduction in playing time moving forward. View Hill as a weekly WR3/flex and bid accordingly.
Will Fuller (at Green Bay) – After a big September, Fuller has battled injuries and ineffective QB play to become a fantasy afterthought over the past two months. Fuller finally looked healthy again in Houston’s Week 12 home loss to the Chargers, catching four balls for 60 yards. When healthy, Fuller is one of the fastest wideouts in the league and could be a surprisingly good play this week against Green Bay’s struggling secondary.
Tyler Boyd (vs. Philadelphia) – Boyd played 55 of 75 snaps in Week 12 and led Cincinnati’s receiving corps in catches (5) and yards (62.) While Brandon LaFell and TE Tyler Eifert will remain red zone threats, Boyd is in a good position to be a reliable fantasy producer as long as star WR AJ Green remains sidelined.
Taylor Gabriel (vs. Kansas City) – The Falcons burned Arizona’s secondary with the same screen pass to Gabriel that resulted in his two touchdowns in Week 12. Don’t expect those kinds of results again, as Gabriel only plays about half of the Falcons’ snaps. Still, in favorable home matchups- like Week 13 against a Chiefs secondary that has allowed the most fantasy points to wide receivers in the league- he’s worth a dart throw.
Waiver Wire Pickups: Tight Ends
Cameron Brate (at San Diego) – If you’d rather avoid the cloudy waters of Washington’s TE duo, Brate is a nice pivot. He’s logged multiple receptions in eight of nine Bucs’ games and stands as the No. 10 scoring tight end in PPR formats. Week 13 brings a nice matchup against San Deigo’s overmatched secondary, so Brate makes a great start right off the waiver wire for Delaine Walker owners who are in a bye week pinch.
Vernon Davis (at Arizona) – Depending on the health of teammate Jordan Reed, Davis could either be a top-3 overall add this week or simply the No. 2 tight end to bid on. We likely won’t have any clarity on Reed’s Week 13 status before your bids are due, so bid like Reed will sit this week. Even if Reed manages to play, Davis has played over half of Washington’s snaps every week since Week 2. He’s on the weekly TE2 radar with TE1 upside.
Ladrius Green (vs. New York Giants) – Green only played 14 snaps on Thanksgiving, but still finished second on the team with 67 receiving yards. Nearing full health, Green is going to be a force when he gets into “football shape” and is a sneaky add for the fantasy playoffs.
Deep Sleeper Adds
- Quarterbacks – Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jared Goff, Matt Barkley
- Running Backs – Denard Robinson, Matt Asiata, DeAngelo Williams
- Wide Receivers – Corey Coleman, Seth Roberts, Kenny Stills
- Tight Ends – Lance Kendricks, Vance McDonald, Jermaine Gresham
Jody Smith | Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 13 - Gridiron Experts