Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups

For most leagues, Week 13 is the final week of the fantasy regular season. To those of you that have already clinched a playoff berth, congrats. To those of you that lost your shot at the title this year, better luck next year. And to those that need a win this week to stay alive, PAY ATTENTION. There are a lot of great names in this article that could be available and help you secure a spot in your playoffs. Keep in mind, most leagues’ waiver period ends Friday morning due to the Ravens/Steelers game being pushed to Wednesday Night Football. Enough chitter chatter, let’s take a look at the “waiver wire pickups” for this week. 

Other Notables: These players deserve a shot to be considered worth using your waiver claim on, but they aren’t as enticing as the five players listed below them. 

• (WR) Breshad Perriman – New York Jets (12 percent owned)

• (RB) Cam Akers – Los Angeles Rams (25 percent owned)

• (QB) Kirk Cousins – Minnesota Vikings (40 percent owned)

• (WR) Nelson Agholor – Las Vegas Raiders (43 percent owned)

• (WR) Sterling Shepard – New York Giants (52 percent owned)

• (RB) Latavius Murray – New Orleans Saints (60 percent owned)

These five players may not be available in your free agency, but if they are, they are must-adds. Each week, they continue to blossom into reliable fantasy options. 

(WR) Deebo Samuel – San Francisco 49ers (56 percent owned)

After fighting off a lingering hamstring injury, Samuel played his first game since Week 7. Talk about a return. The second-year-pro was targeted 13 times (career high), and he came down with 11 receptions (also a career high) for 133 yards (one yard short of a career high) and 24.3 PPR points. That outing was good enough to land him as the WR8 of Week 12 (pending Wednesday night’s matchup of course). It’s safe to say that even with Nick Mullens starting at quarterback, Samuel will serve as the number one option for San Francisco. If added, he could serve as an immediate starting option at your WR2 or Flex position.

(QB) Taysom Hill – New Orleans Saints (59 percent owned)

Hill appeared on this list last week, and he only went from 43 percent owned to 59. Expect that number to jump even higher come Friday morning. It may not look the prettiest, but Hill is the starting quarterback for the Saints for the time being. In his first two starts, he has scored 24.22 (QB4 of Week 11) and 18.52 PPR points (QB11 of Week 12) respectively. Sure, he isn’t tearing it up passing the ball, but he is running the ball a ton. That’s what is going to get you points. A quarterback who can consistently rush for good yardage and score on the ground will help your team tremendously. In those two starts, Hill has run the ball a combined 20 times for 93 yards and four touchdowns. Unless you have Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson or Josh Allen, you have to submit a waiver claim for him. 

(TE) Robert Tonyan – Green Bay Packers (61 percent owned)

The tight end position is a very important position if you want to dive into a deep playoff push. Aside from Travis Kelce, tight ends have been very inconsistent this season. For instance, Darren Waller is coming off of a 6.3 PPR point outing this past week. Hayden Hurst produced zero points two weeks ago, Jonnu Smith did the same in Week 12 and Mark Andrews has scored double-digit fantasy points just four times in 2020. You have to analyze who is playing ‘hot’ right now. Tonyan has been terrific as of late. In the last two weeks, he has combined for 10 targets, 10 receptions, 111 receiving yards, two touchdowns and 33.1 PPR points. On the season, he is the current TE4 in fantasy, but he is only rostered in 61 percent of leagues. If you don’t have Kelce, and Tonyan is available, submit a waiver claim right this second. Don’t read any further until you submit that claim. 

(RB) James White – New England Patriots (62 percent owned)

As mentioned last week, White is going to see the ball a lot more now that Rex Burkhead is done for the season. The versatile back is coming off his second straight performance with at least 14 PPR points. He only caught one pass for -1 yards, but he did run the ball five times for 18 yards and two touchdowns. When Burkhead was healthy, he was utilized a lot in the red zone, and it looks like White has taken over that role. Expect more out of him in the passing game from here on out. Red zone touches make White an even more exciting player to reach out and submit a claim for. 

(WR) Curtis Samuel – Carolina Panthers (64 percent owned)

How many times must Curtis Samuel appear on this list? He is available in 36 percent of Yahoo Leagues even though he has produced 103.8 PPR points in his last six games combined. That’s an average of 17.3, and in that span, he has surpassed 20 points three times. The speedy receiver is coming off a five-catch, 72-yard Week 12. On the season, he is the WR23, but in the last four weeks, he is the WR10. Please, please, please don’t make the mistake again and ignore adding Samuel if he is in your free agency. This man needs to be rostered in every league from here on out. It’s safe to say that he could easily be in your starting lineup for the rest of the fantasy season.