Fantasy Football Week 13 Waiver Wire

New York Jets Quarterback Sam Darnold. Photo Credit: slgckgc | Under Creative Commons License
New York Jets Quarterback Sam Darnold. Photo Credit: slgckgc | Under Creative Commons License

The bye weeks have come and gone, now it is time for uninterrupted fantasy football showcasing. Time to stack your roster for the playoff push or stream the best available to slide up in the rankings. This week’s article is coming to you on Monday before/during the Monday night game since there are six teams playing on Thanksgiving.

I thought you’d be thankful to have a day or so extra to chew on the info, even without the Baltimore and LA players. Which, in all honesty, has some of the most fantasy football relevant players playing. So it’s not like you’re missing out on Malcolm Brown or Cooper Kupp. They are already owned.

As usual, I’m keeping the pickin’s under 50% owned in the ESPN Fantasy Football App. So let’s get started.

Fantasy Football Week 13 Waiver Wire Wonders

Quarterback

(NYG) Daniel Jones vs Green Bay Packers

Owned in 33.1% of fantasy leagues

Daniel Jones threw for a total of 150 yards on Sunday against the Bears. This was the first time he had thrown less than 160+ yards since Week 1 in his four-play debut. In hindsight one would have assumed that Jones wouldn’t have done much damage going against the Bears secondary. Yet Daniel Jones still finished as the QB 14 of the week (still not accounting for the Monday Night game).

Jones just got back Sterling Shepard and even made Kaden Smith, the 3rd string TE, look fantasy relevant with their target share. This has Jones looking swell this week when he faces Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Green Bay just let Jimmy Garoppolo hit them for a 20 fantasy point day with both Deebo Samuel and George Kittle getting some TDs. Jones would be a fine sub to switch in for a tougher QB matchup.

(NYJ) Sam Darnold @ Cincinnati Bengals

Owned in 18.9% of fantasy leagues

How weird to start the article off with two New York QBs. I guess it wouldn’t be so weird if both the teams were competitive in the NFL but here they are. Unlike Daniel Jones, Sam Darnold has been in the league just a season longer so everyone expects Darnold to be performing a certain way. Jones has that rookie leeway to fall on, while Darnold has run short of failing cushion.

For Sam Darnold’s case, he has been living up to his offseason hype recently. In the past two weeks, Darnold has thrown six TD passes and gotten more than 30 fantasy points in both showings. The next two weeks, CIN and MIA, show some promise that Darnold could keep a starting spot in a fantasy lineup with other QB matchups proving to be troublesome.

(TEN) Ryan Tannehill @ Indianapolis Colts

Owned in 15.3% of fantasy leagues

Lookie there, another QB that I can recommend. Yes. This past week of football showed to have a little more juice in the QB column than normal. Tannehill finds his way in the article because of his performance on Sunday: 259 passing yards for 2 TDs and 40 rushing yards for 2 TDs. Quite an afternoon for a player that was practically cut from the NFL at the beginning of the season.

Tannehill was actually the QB 1 (still not accounting for BAL or LA) with a 37 fantasy point total. Unfortunately to all of those 15.3% of managers that actually rostered Tannehill, only 6.8% of coaches actually put him in their lineups. This week the Colts will try to contain Tannehill but after burning the Jacksonville D, Tannehill might turn the tables.

Running Back

(IND) Jonathan Williams vs Tennessee Titans

Owned in 29.2% of fantasy leagues

With Marlon Mack down, Jonathan Williams took the rushing helm for the Colts offense. The Thursday night showcase against Houston could be ventured as the Williams coming out party. He totaled 26 rushing attempts for 104 yards and a TD and even dabbled in the passing game going 3 – 3 for 17 yards. He began Sunday morning as the RB 1 and only slid down to the RB 5 when Sunday night’s game finished.

(SF) Raheem Mostert @ Baltimore Ravens

Owned in 14.8% of fantasy leagues

Mostert is similar to Williams because of the opportunity that has presented itself. Mostert has been replacing injured Matt Brieda so his recent value and playtime has increased. Since Tevin Coleman is the feature back in Frisco, Mostert has taken on the passing down work. This past week against the Packers has shown that Mostert is a valued asset on the offense.

Coleman finished with 12.9 fantasy points, while Mostert totaled 13.7. The 49ers are an interesting team when it comes to the running game because of their dedication to it. Even with Coleman getting most of the backfield touches, they still try to get the other backs in for some work. Mostert is a speculative add this week as long as Brieda is still out.

(KC) Darrel Williams vs Oakland Raiders

Owned in 4.9% of fantasy leagues

Great, another Williams on the show. Now I need to write out his name each time so that we don’t get confused between Jonathan Williams, Darrel Williams, and Damian Williams when I talk about him. I have mentioned Darrel Williams before in the Waiver article two weeks prior. This past week was KCs bye so now Darrel Williams will have some relevance. The success of Darrel Williams does derive off of the injured Damian Williams and LeSean McCoy.

McCoy doesn’t seem to have as serious of an injury as Damian, so he might be the more desired back. But McCoy is 57.7% owned in fantasy leagues so we don’t get to talk about him. Plus McCoy is rounding the part of his career where he is fashioned as the 2nd stringer. A reliable back to come in and get reps while the starter is hurt or needs refreshing. With the starting role up in the air in KC, Darrel Williams might have a shot to take the spot.

Wide Receiver

(ATL) Russell Gage vs New Orleans Saints

Owned in 4% of fantasy leagues

Russell Gage could be a target to look for in deeper leagues but his recent spark in the floundering Falcons offense might give him cause otherwise. There’s no question that Julio Jones burned a lot of fantasy coaches this week but that could be explained by Matt Ryan’s lack of momentum while on the field. Tampa Bay has been known this season as a top rushing defense, so you have to beat them through the air. Apparently that was too much to ask.

Gage, on the other hand, was jelling with Ryan better than he and his number one receiver. Gage finished Sunday with 10 targets for 8 receptions and 76 yards. This would be a relatively normal “bad day” for Julio, but somehow he managed to do a lot worse. Is it obvious that I have Julio in one or two of my leagues?

Anyways, Gage comes during a problematic time during the Falcons season. They’re not doing very well on the field and they just traded their former 3rd starting WR, Mohamed Sanu, and bumped Gage into the lineup. A few weeks have passed since this last event took place but some time was needed to see how the Falcons offense would adjust. With Gage’s target share increasing every week, a roster spot might want to find its way open for him.

(BUF) Cole Beasley @ Dallas Cowboys

Owned in 23.1% of fantasy leagues

Thanksgiving looks to be a day of redemption for Cole Beasley. The former slot receiver for the Cowboys returns to Jerryworld to see if the Buffalo Bills will be the ones to eat the famed turkey leg on national television. Fortunately for us fantasy goers, Beasley ended up going somewhere that utilized his talents.

Already this season, Beasley has 73 targets, only 14 less than what he had all season with Dallas last year. His average fantasy points per game are even increased from 9.4 to 11.4. Cole Beasley already has more TDs this season than he had in the last. Fire up Beasley on your roster because of his usage but more importantly, add him for the revenge game that could amount to a lot of points.

(JAC) Chris Conley vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Owned in 17.9% of fantasy leagues

Nick Foles is back, so maybe some QB1 action will start happening in Jacksonville, right? Eh, kind of right I guess. Foles didn’t have the best outing this past Sunday and neither did his WR1 DJ Chark. But Conley didn’t end up having himself too bad of a game. Of course, I say this coming into the game against Tennessee not expecting much.

Conley ended up tying Dede Westbrook for Jacksonville’s most targeted receiver and like Chark, didn’t break double-digit points. Westbrook finished as the leading receiver but with a 59% rostered status, we don’t get to talk about him. Nor should we. Westbrook has been nothing but boom or bust all season, yet so has Conley. The difference is Conley has scored more TDs and has more receiving yards. Westbrook concurs Conley only in actual receptions.

(SF) Deebo Samuel @ Baltimore Ravens

Owned in 42.7% of fantasy leagues

(NYG) Darius Slayton vs Green Bay Packers

Owned in 23.3% of fantasy leagues

Both Samuel and Slayton have been mentioned in previous Waiver Wire articles so I don’t want to repeat any information that you might have already read. The fact that Samuel is still under 50% is shocking but understandable because of San Frans run-heavy offense. Hopefully with his recent success of three weeks straight with double-digit points will sway your opinions on the guy.

Slayton, on the other hand, had a quiet game yesterday against the Bears, but it’s the Bears. They have one of the hardest defenses to overcome. And if you don’t believe me, talk to Saquon Barkley. Slayton still has the potential to be a sleeper since his WR corps is injury prone. I’d prefer to roster Samuel but he may be less available.

Tight End

(PHI) Dallas Goedert @ Miami Dolphins

Owned in 37.9% of fantasy leagues

Goedert and Zach Ertz have become a challenge for opposing teams to match up against. Ertz has the reputation of being the most targeted TE in the game, so of course, the rival team will throw more security on him. With lax coverage on Goedert, there’s no wonder his numbers are as high as they are. Since Week 7, Goedert hasn’t had less than 4 targets. Even during Week 7 and his 4 targets, Goedert still had himself a game for 69 yards and a score. Philly is trying to get Goedert more involved so I recommend adding him to your rosters.

(MIA) Mike Gesicki vs Philadelphia Eagles

Owned in 9.1% fantasy leagues

Miami players are hard to roster sometimes. I believe this to be true because of my actual situation with Kalen Ballage. I never know when to play him, even if he has a favorable matchup. The fact that he is a starting RB is the most appealing aspect for me, so he deserves a spot on my roster. Mike Gesicki is like that in many ways for other fantasy managers. He’s on a team that doesn’t do a lot offensively and they don’t score a bunch of points.

The difference is the position. I can simply look for another RB or handcuff to replace Ballage. If my TE goes down, there are only like five options on waivers that can actually get more than 6 points. Gesicki is one of those five players. But with Ryan Fitzpatrick, he could potentially be a top 8 TE.

D/ST

Detroit Lions vs Chicago Bears

Owned in 38% of fantasy leagues

The Bears have scored more than 20 points a total three times this season. In their first matchup against the Lions, they scored exactly 20. The Lions defense has been up and down all year, but if you need a friendly matchup, then this is about as good as it gets. Rookie QBs or bad QBs are who you want a plug-and-play defense to be going up against. Mitchell Trubisky is a bad QB, so the Lions are a good pickup for this week.

New York Jets Quarterback Sam Darnold. Photo Credit: slgckgc | Under Creative Commons License

New York Jets Quarterback Sam Darnold. Photo Credit: slgckgc | Under Creative Commons License