Fantasy Football Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickup Advice

Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com.

Quarterbacks

Jared Goff, Lions (46% Rostered): Goff is not a name we want to trust in fantasy, and, truthfully, I don’t recommend him as a particularly trustworthy option. He is, however, a QB with a high ceiling in a pool of players that are mostly just bad. Detroit has a defense that puts the team in shootouts. Goff has playmakers in the passing game in Amon-Ra St. Brown and D’Andre Swift, and he has proven he can go off. With upcoming matchups vs. Jacksonville and Minnesota, the potential is there for QB1 production. Is there big risk? Of course, but if you’re streaming QBs this late in the season you have an iron stomach. It’s encouraging that he threw for 240 yards and two TDs vs. Buffalo on Thanksgiving.

Mike White, Jets (4% Rostered): Playing White might be legit crazy. White lit up a bad Chicago D in his first start for 315 yards and three scores, but we’ve seen White go nuts before imploding before. There’s insane risk in playing him, but two of his next three matchups – at Minnesota, at Buffalo and vs. Detroit – are possible smash spots. Unlike last year, White has a legit WR1 in Garrett Wilson as well as two professional TEs (Tyler Conklin, C.J. Uzomah) to help him out. I do not believe White is a secret superstar, but he’s shown real ability to blow up.

Sam Darnold, Panthers (2% Rostered): Darnold isn’t safe at all, but in his first game back under center he ran for a touchdown. Darnold doesn’t look it, but he’s lowkey one of the more dangerous QBs with his legs, and Carolina doesn’t really care about the risks of him getting hurt. Darnold is guaranteed some super dud weeks, but he has D.J. Moore at his disposal and a decent rushing floor. If you’re one of the poor souls who needs to get off Russell Wilson, Darnold might be a solid pivot. Also, he’s got a bye this week, so he’s going to be free on waivers before getting Seattle, Pittsburgh and Detroit in his next three tilts.

Running Backs

Jamycal Hasty, Jaguars (3% Rostered): Hasty had himself a day in relief of Travis Etienne, doing mostly nothing with 12 carries, but racking up 67 receiving yards and a touchdown on five catches in the passing game. Hasty looks to be the main guy in this backfield if Etienne’s foot injury forces him to miss time, but according to Etienne he’ll be back for Week 13. If that’s the case, no reason to play Hasty, but a $0 or $1 bid makes sense just in case.

Zonovan Knight, Jets (1% Rostered): Who? That’s what we all said when he was on the field this week piling up almost 100 yards from scrimmage and running ahead of Ty Johnson. Knight looks like he’s in line for relevant work if Michael Carter’s ankle injury keeps him on the shelf, although it would be reasonable to think James Robinson will be back in the mix and could nix the value on all the Jets RBs.

Alexander Mattison, Vikings (35% Rostered): Mattison should be snapped up by Dalvin Cook managers. He’s valueless at the moment, but when Cook inevitably gets banged up, Mattison will cost buku FAAB bucks. Why not grab the insurance now while it’s free?

Wide Receivers

Donovan Peoples-Jones, Browns (50% Rostered): Peoples-Jones saw the targets fall this week, but he remains worth a roster spot now that Deshaun Watson is coming back. Expecting Watson to immediately return to Pro Bowl form is not reasonable, but he could still be an upgrade on Jacoby Brissett, who is competent, but pedestrian. It was Peoples-Jones’ first time in seven games below 50 yards, so give him a break.

DeAndre Carter, Chargers (23% Rostered): Carter went off this week for seven catches, 73 yards and a touchdown. With Justin Herbert looking like himself of late, Carter will be playable for as long as Mike Williams is out. Doesn’t mean he will do much, because Keenan Allena and Joshua Palmer are preferred options to Carter, but Herbert is so good he can feed everyone on a good day.

Zay Jones, Jaguars (25% Rostered): Jones is consistent. He’s not a player anyone’s ever excited to play, but he’s always involved in this offense to some degree, and on occasion draws double-digit targets like he did on Sunday. His 11-catch, 145-yard effort was an outlier for sure, but in deep leagues or full-PPR formats, he can be relied upon to not goose you.

Julio Jones, Buccaneers (18% Rostered): Julio Jones is far from his days as a clear-cut fantasy WR 1, but he’s seeing his snaps increase which indicate he’s getting healthier. Julio is still fast AF, and he remains a huge mismatch for nickelbacks and/or No. 2/No. 3 corners, which is what he faces with opposing defenses focused on Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. You shouldn’t be expecting more than 3-5 catches in any given week, but he can turn those into big plays and TDs. If you’re desperate, there is upside.

Michael Gallup, Cowboys (48% Rostered): Gallup’s performance this year has been a major disappointment, but he is still a very talented player and he had his best game of the year on Thanksgiving. Gallup remains capable of big plays, and he’s on the field a ton for a good offense. A breakout game is bound to happen, and at worst, he’ll make a few catches for your team.

Demarcus Robinson, Ravens (17% Rostered): Robinson is Baltimore’s de facto WR1 now, and that doesn’t guarantee anything. The Ravens are one of the NFL’s worst passing offenses this year, largely because they don’t have any top-tier pass catchers. Still, Robinson’s role means he can, at times, provide legit PPR production; he’s posted one catch in two of his last four games, but he combined for 15 receptions and 102 yards in the other two games on 17 targets. Robinson’s not safe at all, but he’s a legit WR3 right now.

Tight Ends

Foster Moreau, Raiders (39% Rostered): Moreau’s not flashy or fun, but he’s scored in two of his last three games. While he’s not super involved in the passing game, which is dominated completely by Davante Adams, Moreau is on the field for every play. While touchdown-dependent, many TEs are, and it’s impossible to play more of a team’s snaps than Moreau does.

Juwan Johnson, Saints (48% Rostered): Johnson goosed his managers this week, so expect this roster % to be way down when you’re adding him. The goose egg sucked, but it was always built in to the evaluation. He’s touchdown-dependent, much like most TEs not named Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews. Rage dropping him is understandable, but you’ll be picking up a similar player. If touchdowns are king at the position, Johnson’s three in his last four games.

Tyler Conklin, Jets (18% Rostered): Conklin doesn’t play as much as Moreau, but he’s on the field a lot and actually can expect passes to come his way with Mike White running the show. Unlike Zach Wilson, White isn’t allergic to safe throws, which are exactly what Conklin targets are. He’s a safety valve, and the point of White is that he’s quick to turn to those safe routes when the primary targets aren’t open.