Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups: Early Look at Fantasy Football Free Agents

Fantasy Football players looking to keep their playoff dreams alive can benefit from the waiver wire in Week 13.

Whether your fantasy football team is hanging on by a thread or you are well positioned for a playoff spot, the waiver wire in Week 13 is crucial to your success. Not only do injuries continue to increase to notable players but there’s still two more weeks of byes including Week 14 where six teams (Atlanta, Chicago, Green Bay, Indianapolis, New Orleans, and Washington) have the week off. Some of the pickups we suggested last week included Samaje Perine, Kyren Williams, Treylon Burks, and Elijah Moore. They helped fantasy players in Week 12.

Here’s a look at some waiver wire options for Week 13:

Quarterbacks

Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

Over the last three games, Lawrence completed 76.9% of his passes for 525 yards and six touchdowns, with some help in the run game (12 attempts, 80 yards). The Jaguars play four of their next five games on the road, but they have two potentially favorable starts (Week 13 at Lions and Week 17 at Texans). Next week, fantasy teams with Kyler Murray will be looking for a bye-week replacement, making Lawrence a viable waiver wire add in short roster formats.

Mike White, New York Jets

In the four games with Mike White and Joe Flacco starting, the Jets’ passing offense had a competitive pulse (309 yards and one touchdown, 307 yards and four scores, 285 yards, and 315 yards and three touchdowns). Zack Wilson went 5-2, but he completed only 55.6% of his passes, with 1,279 yards and four touchdowns across seven games. In fact, White’s 24.8 fantasy points in Week 12 were more than Wilson has scored in a single game all year. If White keeps the starting job, his schedule from Week 15 to Week 17 (Lions, Jaguars, and Seahawks) looks intriguing for a fantasy team struggling to get winning stats at quarterback.

Running Backs

Ty Johnson, Zonovan Knight, New York Jets

Michael Carter left Week 12 with an ankle injury, opening up the door for Knight and Johnson to rush for 69 and 62 yards. Johnson found the endzone but Knight led the team with 17 total touches, leading to 103 combined yards. James Robinson should be active next week to replace Carter, making this backfield challenging to predict. Based on opportunity share, Knight and Johnson are worth adding as “wait and see” players.

JaMycal Hasty, Jacksonville Jaguars

Hasty led the team in carries (12) and played well in the passing game (five catches, 67 yards, one touchdown) in relief of Travis Etienne, who left with a foot injury in Week 11. Hasty continues to be the Jaguars’ top backup runner, at least until Darrell Henderson gets up to speed with their offense. Etienne watched the game from the sideline, suggesting his injury was minor. For now, Hasty is a short-term injury cover.

Wide Receivers

Skyy Moore, Kansas City Chiefs

The injury to Kadarius Toney created an uptick in chances for Moore over the past two games (six catches for 63 yards and 5 catches for 36 yards) with 12 combined targets. His second-round draft pedigree in 2022 points to upside once Moore builds the trust of Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs have used him close to the line of scrimmage of late, but he gained 14.5 yards per catch in college. Moore is a buy-and-hold for now.

Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions

After missing the first 12 weeks in his recovery from a torn ACL, Williams looks to be on the cusp of returning to game action for the first time with the Lions. Last season at Alabama, he caught 79 of his 118 targets for 1,572 yards and 15 scores. His big-play ability (19.6 yards per catch in college) should play well in the offensive structure for Detroit, but Williams projects to be big-play dependent early in his career. There is a good chance he plays next week against the Jaguars, but Williams would be a challenging start until seeing his role and opportunity.

David Bell, Cleveland Browns

DeShaun Watson is expected to make his controversial return from suspension for sexual misconduct in Week 13. Watson hasn’t played since 2021, so it’s yet to be seen if the Browns passing game will improve with him under center. Bell only has 20 catches for 169 yards over his first 10 games in the NFL but came away with four grabs in Week 11. His size (6’1” and 210 lbs) should play better in the red zone based on his college resume (21 scores in 29 games). Bell is worth a stash in deep formats.

We’ll have more free agents to pickup off the waiver wire on our full report on Tuesday morning.

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