Waiver Wire Targets: Week 13

The difference in your week one game may have been changed based on one injury or one player putting up a dud. In order to prevent that from happening next week and each week following, here are a couple guys at each position who are owned in 50% of leagues or less according to NFL.com:

Quarterback:

Dak Prescott, Cowboys – Owned in 39.7% of leagues

Dak Prescott was a great fantasy quarterback in last week as the Cowboys have finally begun to heat up lately. It appears as if the addition of Amari Cooper is finally paying off and with new weapons at his disposal, the offense is more open for Dak to be a playmaker himself. Expect Dak to continue to play at a high level the rest of the season as they remain in serious contention for the NFC East Division.

Baker Mayfield, Browns – Owned in 32.1% of leagues

Baker played one of his best games of the season against the Bengals last week. Maybe he had some extra motivation from seeing his former head coach on the opposing sideline, but Mayfield threw for four TDs on only 18 completions. This is his second straight game with over 25 fantasy points and now may be the last opportunity to scoop him up before someone else in your league does.

Marcus Mariota, Titans – Owned in 11.3% of leagues

Marcus Mariota is one of the more risky QB plays in fantasy. His accuracy and ability to run allows for him to make big plays when he needs to. He has scored over 21 points in three of the past four weeks. Unfortunately, the week that he did not score 21, he scored less than 2 points. Mariota remains a decent bench QB as he has shown that he can produce at a high level.

Running Back:

Legarrette Blount, Lions – Owned in 21.8% of leagues

With Kerryon Johnson out last week, Blount took over the starting role rushing for 88 yards and two TDs on 19 carries. Blount’s main value will come from his ability to get the ball into the endzone, but clearly he is the #2 option behind the rookie. Kerryon is expected to miss at least one more week which means Blount should remain relevant until he is able to return.

Nyheim Hines, Colts – Owned in 12.8% of leagues

Hines has been an incredible asset to the Colts’ offense this season. He took a big step backwards when Marlon Mack returned from injury a couple of weeks ago, but Mack is now in concussion protocol. With his status for Sunday’s game still up in the air, Hines should be the RB to pick up given his ability to rush and catch balls out of the backfield.

Chris Thompson, Redskins – Owned in 19.9% of leagues

Chris Thompson has basically fallen off many fantasy radars due to injuries and the success of fellow Redskins RB, Adrian Peterson. He has only played in one game in the previous seven weeks and he may be a little rusty. What people should realize is the Chris Thompson is a pass catching back which is the perfect complement to AP. With Colt McCoy expected to stay the starter for the Redskins, he will look to Thompson often as a safety valve option more often than people may expect.

Rex Burkhead, Patriots – Owned in 5.5% of leagues

Burkhead coming back has been somewhat overshadowed by other headlines in the NFL recently, but he could be one of the late season pickups that can make a huge impact to your team. Many forgot that he began the season as the lead RB for the Patriots and remains probably the most well-rounded back they have. It will be interesting to see what his role is as he returns since Michel and White have had a pretty defined system since they became the primary RBs early in the season.

Carlos Hyde, Jaguars – Owned in 40.9% of leagues

Carlos Hyde is another player who should benefit for this week, but he will probably not have as much of an impact after that. Hyde should be getting an increased role this Sunday after Leonard Fournette got caught up in a fight last week that led to him getting a one game suspension. Fournette has already lost his appeal and Hyde has proven earlier this season with the Browns that he can be an above-average RB in the NFL still.

Wide Receiver:

Mike Williams, Chargers – Owned in 13.5% of leagues

Mike Williams has been another incredibly inconsistent performer this season. He has tremendous playmaking and athletic ability, but he tends to disappear in some games depending on the game plan. Either way, Williams has still become a reliable redzone target for QB Phillip Rivers as he caught two TDs on Sunday. That gives him seven receiving TDs this season. He is someone to keep on the bench due to his high potential going forward.

Adam Humphries, Buccaneers – Owned in 21.2% of leagues

Adam Humphries has been one of the hottest players on the Bucs in recent weeks. He has gotten over 50 receiving yards in six out of his last seven games and he has four TDs over that span as well. Winston clearly targets him often as he was tied for the lead in targets last week with Mike Evans. Expect for Humphries to continue to be involved in that offense and he will be a great high floor option for anyone who is in need of consistency.

Josh Reynolds, Rams – Owned in 29.3% of leagues

Many fantasy owners may have needed to drop Josh Reynolds last weekend when he was on bye. If he is still available, he is a high priority pickup. Even being the number 3 WR in the Rams’ offense, he is getting great looks and should remain a productive fantasy player for the rest of the 2018 season.

Dede Westbrook, Jaguars – Owned in 9.9% of leagues

Westbrook has displayed throughout the year that he can be a good receiver for the Jags. Like some of the other receivers on this list, he has not always remained consistent. That could partially be on Blake Bortles who has thrown for less than 150 yards in four of the past six games. With Bortles heading to the bench, we have already seen backup QBs step in this season who have shown tendencies to be more aggressive since they don’t have as much to lose (Ryan Fitzpatrick). Expect the QB change to benefit Westbrook and the offense as a whole.

David Moore, Seahawks – Owned in 6.7% of leagues

David Moore cooled off significantly since his breakout in weeks 5-8. While he remains a TD dependent option in an offense that as a whole has lacked consistency, his playmaking ability gives him a high potential for points each week. He should remain in a reserve role on your fantasy team, but given the injury history of some of the other receivers on the Seahawks, it would not be surprising if he has an increased role at some point during the rest of the season.

Tight End:

Jonnu Smith, Titans – Owned in 9.1% of leagues

Jonnu Smith has been one of the more productive TEs over the past month. Mariota and the Titans have been playing more efficiently and Smith has been one of the biggest beneficiaries. He has a touchdown in three of his previous four games. While he has been good, his numbers without TDs have still remained very limited. He is a big boom bust player each week, but he still has value given the lack of depth at the TE position.

Gerald Everett, Rams – Owned in 9.9% of leagues

Everett is a great asset to the Rams’ offense. He has the receiving and athletic ability to be a starting fantasy TE, but since he is underutilized, he typically does not get the opportunities to display his playmaking ability. That could change following the Rams’ bye week after Everett caught two TDs last week against the Chiefs. If McVay can figure out a way to make Everett’s targets more consistent, he will continue to produce.

Chris Herndon, Jets – Owned in 7.5% of leagues

Chris Herndon has become a key player within the Jets’ offense. He is another player who may not have the highest potential, but his floor is beginning to make him a valuable fantasy asset since he has put up over five points in five of the previous six weeks. Anyone who wants a consistent TE who can get somewhere between 4-10 points on a weekly basis, Herndon would be a great option.

Defenses:

This section of the article is based primarily on streaming defense options for each week. It will sight defenses that have good matchups and are owned in less than 15% of leagues according to NFL.com:

Miami Dolphins – Owned in 15.7% of leagues

The Miami Dolphins played extremely well last week despite playing one of the best QBs in the league in Andrew Luck. With a matchup against the Bills this week, I am surprised more people have not scooped them up yet. This should be a great matchup for the Dolphins even with Josh Allen back. The Bills have still had plenty of struggles on offense and look for the Dolphins to expose some of those struggles this week.

Buffalo Bills – Owned in 8.9% of leagues

On the other side of the field from the Dolphins’ defense will be the Bills’ defense. They have been the only thing holding this team together for a majority of the season and they have a good matchup against a very injured Miami team. The Dolphins when fully healthy are full of playmakers. Unfortunately for them, they are not fully healthy and it is clear Ryan Tannehill is still working off some rust after missing time with injury. Expect this game to be primarily a defensive battle.