What. A. Week. I don’t say lightly that we may have just seen the best week of football this season. All 32 teams were active, with plenty of high-scoring and exciting games. Sure, there were a few duds, like both the Sunday Night and Monday Night games, but it was still a great week. It also brought us to the penultimate week of the fantasy regular season. In most leagues, two regular season games remain, and the playoffs start now for some teams. You need these wins, and there are some great options on the Week 13 waiver wire to help bring you home. Let’s get into it!
Pro Tip: Remember the bye weeks. Because of depth issues, managers may have to drop players that they usually wouldn’t. Last week, no team was off, but in Week 13, we’re missing the Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, and Baltimore Ravens. Watch for players from those teams that should not have been cut.
Quick Note: All players listed are available in at least 50% of ESPN leagues. While not everyone plays on ESPN, studies show most do. So, if they’re available there, they’re likely available on your Week 13 Waiver Wire. Pick ‘Em Up!
Week 13 Waiver Wire
Quarterbacks
Normally, I don’t advocate blowing FAAB on QBs. There is always plenty to choose from in free agency after waivers, and you should just stream the position. This list will usually be small, but if you’re desperate, this is who I would prioritize this week.
Jordan Love (52% Available)
I don’t usually like to “I told you so” in this article, but get ready; there will be a lot of that this week. Hopefully, the few of you who read this every week signed all these players, and it’s just those who don’t read my article (or can’t, sorry about your illiteracy) who have been ignoring my advice. Is it insensitive to poke fun at illiterate people in writing? I digress. Last week, I mentioned that Love has a great schedule to end the season. Then he went out and dropped three TDs on Detroit. With games against KC, NYG, TB, and CAR upcoming, he should be good for two TDs every week.
Running Backs
Keaton Mitchell (66% available)
I told you so #2. This is the third consecutive week Mitchell has been featured in this article. While he didn’t set the world on fire, he did lead the Ravens in touches and yards. If he earns more work as the season progresses, we could be thanking him for some championship runs in fantasy football. Yes, they are on bye this week. I do not care. Get him on your roster.
Chuba Hubbard (51% Available)
I told you so #3, from here on out, ITYS3. We need abbreviations. Hubbard was the featured image in our Week 10 article. He has led this team in touches every week since. With a massive change of guard, the Panthers are in flux right now, but Hubbard should see a 50/50 split at worst. He is the RB26 since Week 8 this season.
Ezekiel Elliott (63% Available)
The Patriots are a train wreck, but Zeke is averaging 11 touches per game and is the RB38 since Week 6—nothing to write home about, but still too good to ignore at a thin position.
Tyler Allgeier (54% Available)
I could call this ITYS4, but Allgeier has hit a bit of a lull with Bijan Robinson coming to life. Still, at the very least, he should be rostered by every Bijan manager as insurance. He is still the RB35 on the season.
Tyjae Spears (65% Available)
Another empty ITYS5, but I’ll roll with the theme. You’d have to go back to Week 7 to find an article where I don’t mention Spears. Like Allgeier, he has been quiet lately but should be rostered by every Henry manager, at minimum. They are both an injury away from changing your fantasy team.
If you missed our new Monday Hangxiety show, you missed a great time! Josh and Ryan recapped Sunday’s action, and we will let you know whether it’s time to panic or Chill TF Out! We’ll be live every Monday at 11 AM EST. Check out this week’s episode now!
Wide Receivers
Rashee Rice (50% Available)
And now, the reason for the I TOLD YOU SO theme. Outside of his Week 10 bye, I have said the same thing about Rice every week since Week 5.
YOU. WANT. THE. WR1. IN. KANSAS CITY.
Everyone late to this party will pay a premium after his Week 12 blowup, but on the positive side, there is no way he qualifies for this article next week…RIGHT!?!
Josh Downs (52% Available)
And here we have ITYS7. Getting annoyed with my pettiness yet? I don’t feel like counting anymore, but I’d venture a guess that I’ve mentioned Downs four or five times. He is the WR40 on the season but the WR32 since Week 5. He is also coming off a 13-target game, and you cannot ignore that kind of volume.
Romeo Doubs (58% Available) / Jayden Reed (68% Available)
Time for ITYS 8 and 9. For the same reasons you want Love, you want his targets. The schedule is too good to ignore. Even with Christian Watson finally showing up, Doubs and Reed were viable last week. Reed is actually the WR11 in fantasy over the last three weeks.
Demario Douglas (67% Available)
As previously mentioned, the Patriots are a train wreck, but Douglas is their WR1. He is averaging almost eight targets per game over the last five games. He is dealing with a concussion, so monitor his health, but he is worth an add in PPR leagues.
Jonathan Mingo (92% Available)
With Carolina firing almost everyone attached to their offense, it is safe to assume this will be a different team next week. Why wouldn’t they feature their 2nd-round rookie WR? He’s seen an uptick in targets lately, and that could grow moving forward.
Tight Ends
Much like QB, I don’t usually recommend blowing any waiver priority or FAAB on a tight end, either. You can generally wait until Wednesday and play the streaming game. However, there are sometimes players that should be rostered due to a late-season breakout. These are those players.
Pat Freiermuth (58% Available)
This is a tangential ITYS10 because he was my Stream of the Week tight end last week. With a new offense in Pittsburgh, they decided to use the middle of the field, and Freiermuth tripled his season production. In his first five games, Freiermuth had nine catches for 60 yards. In Week 12, he had nine catches for 120 yards. While I can’t guarantee he will be the overall TE1 every week, he should find that Top 10 easily with that kind of volume.
Be sure you’re following Ryan on Twitter! Also, you can find our Week 13 rankings here and the rest of our Week 13 content here!