Recommended Fantasy Football Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups

For the majority of the fantasy football community, the playoffs are only a couple of weeks away. A late-season add and starting lineup fill-in can make the difference between participating in the postseason or watching it unfold on the league app. Here are a few options to consider ahead of Week 13’s games.

It feels like 2022 all over again. Dortch was a waiver wire name to monitor last year when the Cardinals struggled with injuries at wide receiver, and he’s once again fantasy relevant. He’s shown a strong connection with Kyler Murray in the last two weeks, as he’s been targeted 17 times in that span.

As is the case with many Kansas City skill players, it’s hard to know exactly where Watson falls in the pecking order. However, recent contests indicate that he’s a player Patrick Mahomes is not afraid to look for in the red zone. Watson has caught a touchdown in each of the last two games, and might have a spike week that wins a fantasy football matchup.

Game script was in Atlanta’s favor on Sunday, as they were able to nurse a lead against the New Orleans Saints. Starting running back Bijan Robinson had a huge day, which was music to fantasy managers’ ears. However, the Falcons still doled out 10 carries to Allgeier, and eight to Cordarrelle Patterson. The former has some flex value, and is an extremely valuable handcuff.

Speaking of reserve ballcarriers, Edwards-Helaire might be a sneaky player to keep an eye on. He was mixed into the action in the first half of Week 12’s game, only to be usurped by Isiah Pacheco. It’s Pacheco’s backfield, but if anything were to happen to him, Edwards-Helaire might be the favorite for early down work. Jerick McKinnon is currently nursing a groin injury.

The Los Angeles defense and special teams figure to be available in a lot of leagues heading into Week 13, considering that they just faced a potent Baltimore Ravens offense in Week 12. The narrative completely shifts next week, as the Chargers will play the New England Patriots. There’s an opportunity for the Chargers unit to stifle an inept Patriots offense.

The Steelers’ offense didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard in the wake of Matt Canada’s firing, but Freiermuth reminded fans what he could do when healthy. He recorded nine catches for 120 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals, which is the kind of volume that he commanded a year ago. He may not replicate that exact production moving forward, but is worth a shot as a streaming tight end.

It seems like many fantasy managers have forgotten about the state of the Chargers’ wide receiver corps. Mike Williams is out for the season, and rookie Quentin Johnston has not ran away with the second banana role. Palmer was placed on short term injured reserve, but figures to return to a sizeable opportunity to produce once healthy. Stashing him on your bench could pay major dividends.

The Saints experienced a litany of injuries to key players in their loss on Sunday. Wide receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed left the contest with a concussion and a thigh ailment, respectively. It might be challenging for either player to suit up in Week 13. While Taysom Hill may see more targets, Perry may be looked at as a more explosive replacement down the field.