The Wire - Week 13
By Levi Ellis
There’s not much to say this week other than the playoffs are right around the corner and now is the time to strengthen your roster. It won’t be easy this week with four teams on bye and injuries around the league piling up. Don’t walk to the waiver wire this week, run. Sometimes the earliest bid is the tie breaker so get those bids in now.
All players are listed in priority order based on position.
Bye Weeks - Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers & Tennessee Titans
Alexander Mattison - 7 carries, 21 yards, 1td, 3 targets, 2 catches, 7 yards - Choosing a #1 waiver wire pickup is easy this week with the news of Dalvin Cook’s injury. Look no further than Mattison this week. He may only be a temporary fill in but he’s still the best pickup this week. 75% of your remaining faab budget.
Rhamondre Stevenson - 9 carries, 46 yards, 1 target - Stevenson has been on the radar for a few weeks now so he’s likely owned in most leagues but take a look to make sure because this guys a beast. 25% of your remaining faab budget.
Devonta Freeman - 16 carries, 52 yards, 1 target, 1 catch, 8 yards - Freeman’s stat line won’t blow you away but he’s still the top RB on a team that loves to run the ball. 25% of your remaining faab budget.
Jamal Williams - 15 carries, 65 yards, 5 targets, 5 catches, 18 yards - Swift may miss some time and if so this is Williams backfield. The Lions aren’t a good team but they do like to use their RBs. 25% of your remaining faab budget.
Ty Johnson - 6 carries, 42 yards, 1 target - Johnson didn’t get the opportunities last week that I thought he would get with Michael Carter out but I still believe in the talent and that he’s the best back on the roster. 20% of your remaining faab budget.
Matt Breida - 9 carries, 26 yards, 2 targets, 2 catches, 29 yards, 1td - Two weeks in a row Breida has been relevant. It’s looking more and more like Zak Moss is being replaced. 20% of your remaining faab budget.
Dontrell Hilliard - 12 carries, 131 yards, 1td, 2 targets, 1 catch, 2 yards - Hilliard is on bye this week but after last weeks huge game you need to add this guy and just wait the week. 20% of your remaining faab budget.
Jeff Wilson - 2 carries, 5 yards, 1 target, 1 catch, 2 yards - Mitchell is back but Sermon appears to be headed for IR. Shanahan rotates RBs like the rest of us rotate socks. Wilson will have value moving forward. 20% of your remaining faab budget.
D'onta Foreman - 19 carries, 109 yards, 1 target, 1 catch, 3 yards - Foreman is on bye this week but he’s a guy worth stashing. Tennessee is committed to the run game and based on their WR injuries they may have no other choice than to run the ball. 15% of your remaining faab budget.
Boston Scott - 15 carries, 64 yards, 1td, 3 targets, 2 catches, 8 yards - Keep an eye on Sanders and Howard’s health this week. If one or both miss time Scott is a must own. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Phillip Linday - 12 carries, 42 yards - I think his role will grow as the season continues. He’s the most talented RB on this roster in my opinion so it’s a matter of time before he takes over the lead role. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Kene Nwangwu - 1 carry, 7 yards, KR TD - The last few weeks have shown us the Nwangwu has serious talent and now that Cook is going to miss some time you have to wonder if he will see more offensive touches. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Brandon Bolden - 4 targets, 4 catches, 54 yards - Bolden continues to see the passing game role in this backfield. In PPR leagues he’s worth owning. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Tevin Coleman - 16 carries, 67 yards, 3 targets, 2 catches, 3 yards - It pains me to say this but last week Coleman operated as the #1 RB in the Jets backfield. Because of this you should keep an eye on him. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
David Johnson - 10 carries, 39 yards, 3 targets, 2 catches, 16 yards - Johnson is more involved now than ever with Phillip Lindsay’s departure. We should see his role continue to grow. But keep in mind he plays for the Texans so temper your expectations. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Rex Burkhead - 12 carries, 27 yards, 3 targets, 3 catches, 27 yards - Burkhead has been short on production but he is getting opportunities so if you are desperate and I mean desperate then at least he’s getting touches. 5% of your remaining faab budget.
Austin Walter - 9 carries, 38 yards, 1td, 1 target - Walter came out of nowhere this week. He makes the list as a guy to just keep your eye on in case his role continues to grow. Oh and he plays for the Jets just in case you were wondering. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
Kendrick Bourne - 6 targets, 5 catches, 61 yards, 2tds - After his play the last two weeks he’s starting to remind me more of Jason Bourne than Kendrick Bourne. I’m not sure that we can continue to expect this kind of production moving forward but this season nothing would surprise me. 40% of your remaining faab budget.
Russell Gage - 7 targets, 6 catches, 62 yards, 1td - He appears to be the #1 WR for the Falcons right now and yes I know their offense hasn’t been good but Gage has been showing up in recent weeks. 30% of your remaining faab budget.
Desean Jackson - 4 targets, 3 catches, 102 yards, 1td - Last week felt like a blast from the past and there’s a part of me that feels like the Raiders will consistently use Jackson. 20% of your remaining faab budget.
Kenny Golladay - 7 targets, 3 catches, 50 yards - Golladay finally appears to be healthy. Question now is can Daniel Jones get him the ball. 20% of your remaining faab budget.
TY Hilton - 5 targets, 4 catches, 28 yards, 1td - The Colts passing offense outside of Michael Pittman doesn’t impress me at all but we’ve seen late season from Hilton before and he still has the speed. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Josh Reynolds - 5 targets, 3 catches, 70 yards, 1td - Reynolds is a recent addition to the Detroit Lions and he stepped right in. It helps that he and Jared Goff have a rapport and the Lions are terrible at WR. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Cedrick Wilson - 10 targets, 7 catches, 104 yards - Wilson is a guy to consider but if all three of the Cowboys top WRs are in play then he will take a back seat. Keep an eye on him though in case one or more don't suit up for Thursday’s game. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Zay Jones - 7 targets, 5 catches, 59 yards - I’ve always felt like Zay Jones had more talent than his usage would suggest and last week we finally saw him get more than one or two targets in a game. I doubt this usage continues but everything is crazy with the Raiders this year so I’m not ruling anything out. 5% of your remaining faab budget.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling - 9 targets, 4 catches, 50 yards - Nine targets last week is impressive but keep in mind he’s boom or bust each week and the Packers are on bye this week. 5% of your remaining faab budget.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine - 5 targets, 2 catches, 25 yards, 1td - Westbrook-Ikhine is on bye this week but if Julio is not back in Week 14 then he may be worth rostering. 5% of your remaining faab budget.
Laquon Treadwell - 8 targets, 4 catches, 53 yards - I know right. Who saw this coming? He plays for the Jaguars if you didn’t know. In all seriousness Treadwell may actually be worth a pickup. The Jags lost Agnew two weeks ago and then Dan Arnold went down last week and while Arnold is a TE he has been receiving a lot of targets in the passing game and those targets have to go somewhere. Treadwell got 8 targets last week and that means something. 5% of your remaining faab budget.
Tavon Austin - 2 targets, 2 catches, 21 yards, 1td - Austin also plays for the Jaguars and if Treadwell isn’t the guy then it’s quite possible that Austin will be. Don’t ask me why the Jaguars are throwing to guys like Treadwell and Austin rather than scheming ways to get the ball to Shenault. It’s one of the great mysteries of the world. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
Jauan Jennings - 3 targets, 2 catches, 24 yards, 1td - If Deebo misses time then Jennings may be more involved in the passing game since he’s currently listed as the #3 WR. He did have a TD last week. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
Pat Friermuth - 4 targets, 4 catches, 40 yards, 1td - If Friermuth is available in your league then please send me an invite because I like to win championships. 75% of your remaining faab budget.
Dawson Knox - 3 targets, 3 catches, 32 yards, 2tds - I’m assuming Knox is mostly owned but if not pounce on this while you can. He’s a touchdown machine this year. 75% of your remaining faab budget.
Dalton Schultz - 7 targets, 3 catches, 46 yards, 1td - If the trio of Cowboys WRs play this week then temper expectations but Schultz is still a good player. 40% of your remaining faab budget.
Cole Kmet - 11 targets, 8 catches, 65 yards - If Fields starts this week I would take a wait and see approach. I love Fields long term but he just doesn’t have the passing game ability that Andy Dalton has right now in terms of spreading the ball around. 5% of your remaining faab budget.
Jack Doyle - 7 targets, 6 catches, 81 yards, 1td - You’ve probably missed his one good game of the year but if you’re really desperate then Doyle could come through with another touchdown or two this year. 5% of your remaining faab budget.
Foster Moreau - 5 targets, 1 catch, 3 yards - If Waller misses time then take a look. If not, then keep looking. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
Dead to Me (redraft leagues only)
Zach Wilson - I bet Jets fans are ready for 2022
Trevor Siemian - Sounds like the Saints are moving to Taysom Hill
All Falcons RBs not named Patterson (and he’s listed as a WR)
All Texans WRs not named Cooks
Jamison Crowder - The Jets offense can’t support more than 1 fantasy relevant WR
Bryan Edwards - What a waste of talent by the Raiders not using him
On Life Support
Cam Newton - Rough outing for Superman, luckily Carolina has a bye this week
Ryan Tannehill - To be fair this is partly due to all the injuries to the skill players
Daniel Jones - He’s been in this range all year
Courtland Sutton - He hasn’t been a factor in weeks
Check me out on Twitter @FFStock_Man37 or on my YouTube channel (The Locker Room)
