Fantasy Football 2024 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 rostered in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com.
Immediately Useful
Gus Edwards, RB, Chargers (25% Rostered): Edwards was far from efficient on Monday night vs. the Ravens, but he did tote the rock nine times in relief of J.K. Dobbins, who left with a knee injury, and found the end zone. We likely won’t know how much time, if any, Dobbins is slated to miss by the time waivers run, but given his history, we should expect Edwards to be the man for at least Week 13, and probably for a few weeks. The Chargers have leaned on Justin Herbert more as the season’s worn on, but Edwards will see big volume as the workhorse, and he is a beast on the goal line. He’s the top add of the week for sure.
Jeremy McNichols, RB, Commanders (1% Rostered): McNichols’s stats are nothing to write home about this season, but he has proven capable in the limited opportunities he’s received in the Washington offense. This offense has gone from an absolute wagon in the early going to one that has struggled in recent weeks, but with Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler both getting hurt on Sunday, McNichols is in line for a large workload in Week 13, and potentially longer once we know the severity of both injuries. Ekeler sustained his second concussion of the season, so his prognosis is likely to be multiple weeks at best, if not the rest of the season, so even if Robinson can return to the field for Week 13, McNichols should see an increase in work.
Ameer Abdullah, RB, Raiders (25% Rostered): Abdullah is the clear RB1 for the Raiders as long as Alexander Mattison and Zamir White are banged up, and while he’s a low-ceiling veteran, and the Raiders’ offense is about to get even worse with Desmond Ridder potentially taking the reins at QB, volume makes a useful RB. Another byepocalypse is coming in Week 14, so if Abdullah still has this role he can be thrown into a FLEX spot.
Tank Bigsby, RB, Jaguars (39% Rostered): Bigsby’s status has to be monitored as he was out with an injury ahead of the Week 12 bye, but should Bigsby be able to suit up, he’s outplayed Travis Etienne all year and could take the lion’s share of opportunities back from him. With Mac Jones running the show, Jacksonville’s offense is not in a good place, but they’re going to lean on the run game, with Bigsby as their preferred option near the goal line. The uncertainty of his Week 13 status paired with the negative perception of the Jaguars’ offense should make Bigsby a pretty cheap option where available, but I think he’s got a pretty high ceiling rest of season for a player available on waivers this late in the year.
Xavier Legette, WR, Panthers (27% Rostered): Legette caught four passes for 56 yards on Sunday vs. the Chiefs, one of the most stout defenses in the NFL. It was not a special game, but he was on the field for 94% of snaps, is seeing a consistent target share, and has the benefit of playing with a rapidly improving Bryce Young. It’s not like Young’s going to be lighting it up rest of season, but he looked competent vs. the Chiefs, and the Panthers’ offense has resembled a mediocre unit of late rather than the dumpster fire of the early season with Young. If you’re relying on Legette, you’re likely not in good shape, but he can fill gaps for bye weeks or injuries in the short term.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR, Titans (12% Rostered): Westbrook-Ikhine has been someone I have been hesitant to recognize because Tennessee’s offense isn’t appealing, and Will Levis is not a player I trust. But facts are facts; Westbrook-Ikhine has scored a touchdown in six of his last seven games. The path to his very fantasy-relevant production has been fluky for sure. In that seven-game span he’s caught 5 passes just once, and gotten to 50+ yards only twice. We are headed for a disaster game without question, because this TD pace is completely unsustainable, but if you’re hunting for big play upside this dude clearly possesses it.
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, Giants (47% Rostered): The Giants are an absolute mess right now, but our job here is to cut through the noise and figure out who is useful for fantasy. Robinson is a decidedly low-ceiling play, but he has a high floor these days in deeper formats precisely because the Giants offense is so trash. Tommy DeVito stinks, and Drew Lock, who I’m sure we’ll eventually see, also stinks. The Giants’ coaches are not going to let these guys wing it and embarrass themselves, so Robinson is going to be fed short targets all day, every day. He’s a solid bet for 5-6 receptions and 30-50 yards week after week, with higher upside in the receptions category, and he can mix in the occasional TD.
Russell Wilson, QB, Steelers (36% Rostered): Wilson may look like he’s hit a bit of a wall with one touchdown pass in the last two weeks, but chalk it up to a mix of AFC North rock fights and bad weather. He’s got another AFC North matchup lined up Sunday, but it’s the Bengals, who have one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL (27th per FTN Fantasy heading into Week 12). Wilson has big downside as we’ve seen of late, but he makes his money chucking it down the field to George Pickens. He’s able to be productive for managers via just a handful of plays, and on a good day he can really light it up.
Hunter Henry, TE, Patriots (48% Rostered): Henry continues to be a high-floor play at a volatile position, with a rookie QB in Drake Maye who has proven to be a huge upgrade on Jacoby Brissett, and who understands the value Henry has as a chain mover and occasional big play threat.
Zach Ertz, TE, Commanders (48% Rostered): Ertz’s roster % is finally inching up, but he’s still rostered in fewer than half of Yahoo leagues, which is just surprising. Washington has exactly one WR of note, a superstar QB, and Ertz has at least four catches or 50 yards, or both, in six of his last seven games. He’s a model of consistency at TE where zeroes abound, and his volume is likely to increase with Austin Ekeler on the shelf.
Speculative/Deep Cuts
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, Saints (25% Rostered): Valdes-Scantling offers mouth-watering big play potential, but he also can crater hard and straight up goose you. He has three touchdowns and nearly 200 yards in his last two games, but they came on five receptions and seven targets. He’s a big play or bust guy, which is pretty scary in these late-season matchups where every week carries massive playoff implications. On the plus side, we have seen Derek Carr consistently connect on those deep shots with Rashid Shaheed before his injury, and MVS has continued to keep that role thriving.
Keon Coleman, WR, Bills (43% Rostered): Forgot about Coleman? I can see why, as he’s missed the last few weeks due to a wrist injury. Coleman is far from a guarantee each week, as Khalil Shakir has emerged as a steady target and Amari Cooper is a polished target with extensive experience as a WR1. But Coleman has shown even as a rookie that he can win downfield in contested catch situations and be a real option for Josh Allen in the end zone even when he’s covered. That can be valuable when the QB is arguably the best in the NFL.
Noah Gray, TE, Chiefs (4% Rostered): Gray is undoubtedly going to be a red hot waiver add after scoring four touchdowns in the last two games, and drawing nine targets (eight receptions). I don’t hate the idea of chasing that production in this offense, because you have the most elite of elite QBs throwing the ball and a lack of clear high-volume competitors for targets. With that said, Gray’s heavy involvement is very, very new and he’s never contributed at this level before for any extended period of time. So be careful out there.
Rashod Bateman, WR, Ravens (32% Rostered):
Demarcus Robinson, WR, Rams (21% Rostered): Robinson is always on the field, which we like. He’s scored five touchdowns in his last five games, which we also like. Finally, we like his QB (Matthew Stafford). The problem is that he’s a distant third banana to Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, and RB Kyren Williams is a touchdown machine. The spike weeks are spotty, and even as a guy with big play potential, he’s become a very touchdown-dependent play. He’s very hard to trust, but at the bare minimum you can rest easy knowing that he’ll be on the field.
Alec Pierce, WR, Colts (21% Rostered): Pierce’s Sunday was a lesson in playing boom or bust receivers. He finished with one catch for 39 yards, which isn’t good, but he was centimeters away from a loooong TD that Anthony Richardson simply missed due to inaccuracy. So goes it for Pierce, who will get a few of those chances every week. More often than not, he’ll be missed because they are tough opportunities. But sometimes they hit, and that’s why he can be played out of desperation.
Cooper Rush, QB, Cowboys (5% Rostered): Rush isn’t that good, let’s be clear. But the 45-yard debacle vs. Philadelphia had much more to do with the Eagles’ defense being very good than Rush being that bad. We have seen Rush be competent in the past, and that’s what he’s been since the Eagles game. Forced into a pass-heavy game script vs. Houston he threw it 55 times for 354 yards, and then amassed 247 yards and two touchdowns vs. Washington on Sunday, a defense that’s on the rise. As long as CeeDee Lamb is on the field, Rush has the potential to put forth a performance that won’t shred your chances of victory.
Pure Handcuffs
Jordan Mason, RB, 49ers (43% Rostered)
Cam Akers, RB, Vikings (24% Rostered)
Trey Benson, RB, Cardinals (27% Rostered)
Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seahawks (41% Rostered)
Tyler Allgeier, RB, Falcons (31% Rostered)
Ray Davis, RB, Bills (16% Rostered)
Roschon Johnson, RB, Bears (28% Rostered)
Sean Tucker, RB, Buccaneers (2% Rostered)
Braelon Allen, RB, Jets (24% Rostered)