Nov 30-
Week 13 Waiver Wire Targets
The waiver wire got a little stale there for the last couple of weeks. But the running back injuries in week 12 now bring the waiver wire to the forefront for many as there is a good chance you are past your trade deadline. As always, I’ll look at players form each and every position and include their roster percentage in fantasy leagues right now. If your league mates haven’t been rostering handcuffs this could be the time to ditch the rest of your FAAB budget.
I’m going to focus mostly on the running back position in my longer write ups as there is a bevvy of options there. But I will include the other positions in the bottom of the article.
Dontrell Hilliard (29% Rostered)
We managed to do a solid job sniffing out Adrian Peterson’s brief stint with the Titans. He just did not have the legs to take advantage of the opportunity. So now the Titans are without Julio Jones, AJ Brown, Derrick Henry and Jeremy McNichols. Ryan Tanehill struggled this past week with very limited options in the passing game to work with. He had a mere 11 completions in a game they trailed for 46 of the games 60 minutes.
Hilliard led the team with 131 rushing yards and a touchdown but D’onta Foreman wasn’t far behind with 109 yards rushing. Foreman out touched Hilliard 20 to 13 but there is more value with Hilliard in the receiving game. This could make him an equally good option to Foreman. Hilliard ran 15 routes to Foreman’s 9 and in week 11 had 9 targets.
With the complete absence of weapons at wide receiver for Tannehill I think Hilliard could play a major role down the stretch for the Titans, making him a decent flex option after their week 13 bye.
Jamaal Williams (41% Rostered)
Williams could be the best immediate start of all the backup running backs stepping into starting roles this week. Yes, even better than Alexander Mattison. In the last 3 weeks the Lions are running the ball at the third highest rate in the NFL. With Dan Campbell as the play caller I don’t expect that to change with Swift likely sidelined for at least this week.
The Lions play division rival Minnesota this week at home and the Vikings rank 29th in defensive rushing DVOA. They’re also last in the NFL in opponent yards per rushing attempt at 4.8 yards. Williams will have the lions share of carries with Jermar Jefferson chipping in for a small percentage of plays.
There is also the chance that the Lions aren’t being as forthcoming as many think about Swift’s shoulder injury. So if you can get Williams for multiple weeks then he’d be a solid RB2 for your team.
Cole Kmet (24% Rostered)
I really liked Kmet’s talent coming out of Notre Dame but it seemed difficult to peg him as a potential top-12 option in fantasy football under Matt Nagy. He’s had poor quarterback play, Jimmy Graham stealing red zone targets and he wasn’t a top option for the offense. But he’s starting to develop into an impactful player in the NFL.
Since week 6, Kmet ranks 6th in both targets and receptions amongst tight ends. He’s averaging 4.5 receptions and 47 yards per game in that span as well. Allen Robinson’s absence has certainly ballooned his value. He had 11 targets last week against the Lions and for desperate fantasy managers he could be a rest of season option.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (25% Rostered)
I talked about Valdes-Scantling last week when he was at 9% rostered in fantasy leagues. I think he’s worth mentioning again this week as I think he should be well over 40%. We saw the exact type of output I talked about as well. He had an average depth of target of 17.7 yards and he ran the second most routes on the Packers behind Davante Adams.
I would love to have Aaron Rodgers downfield target on my team over players like Laviska Shenault, Russell Gage or Kendrick Bourne for example. Randall Cobb injured his groin against the Rams so expect those 7 targets each of the last two weeks to continue.
Valdes-Scantling is a high upside flex/WR3 option moving forward and after the bye he has the Bears and Ravens. The Bears are giving up the 5th most fantasy points to wide receivers this season and the Ravens have been prone to giving up big plays in the pass game.
Other Options
Taysom Hill (6% Rostered) – In the 4 games Hill started last season he averaged 20.5 fantasy points per game, this would rank 13th this season among quarterbacks.
Alexander Mattison (52%) – Probably the clear top option this week with Cook expected to miss at least a few weeks, we’ve seen what he can do in this role.
James O’Shaughnessy (0% Rostered) – Dan Arnold could miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, O’Shaughnessy returned for the first time since week 2 and saw 4 targets and 3 receptions. The tight end plays a major pass catching role in this offense.
Boston Scott (20% Rostered) – Miles Sanders status is up in the air for week 13, Jordan Howard didn’t practice at all last week, so if Scott has the backfield to himself he could see 20+ touches.
Chuba Hubbard (40% Rostered) – Hubbard may not have the same role he had in McCaffrey’s last absence as Abdullah may take some receiving work. But my biggest concern is the Bills, Bucs and Saints to close out the fantasy season.
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