Top-notch NFL Week 13 fantasy football waiver wire studs

It’s basically now or never. If fantasy football season hasn’t quite gone your way, you still have a chance to ruin someone else’s playoff dreams. If you’re looking ahead to the postseason, optimizing your roster to win a title is a high priority. Either way, here are the most attractive players to add ahead of Week 13’s NFL games. All statistics are from Football Reference.

The Cowboys defense has been much maligned this year, as they have not consistently shown the dominant form they have in years past. Dallas had some less than stellar moments in Week 12 against the Washington Commanders, too, but looked stout for three and a half quarters. Not to mention, their special teams played a huge role in winning Sunday’s contest.

Dallas will host their annual Thanksgiving game against the New York Giants, and there’s arguably no better team to stream defenses against in fantasy than them right now. The Giants are a hot mess, as rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers proceeded to call the team soft after yet another blowout loss in Week 12, as covered by the New York Post. Things are not likely to get much better for them on a short week, so fire up the Cowboys and enjoy the ride.

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There are certain instances in fantasy football where the sea parts to give someone an opportunity that otherwise would not have received. That appears to be happening right now in Washington, as the Commanders dealt with at least one, if not two notable running back injuries on Sunday. Brian Robinson left the game with an ankle injury, and Austin Ekeler was knocked out by a concussion.

It would be a massive surprise if Ekeler was able to play next week, as Sports Illustrated noted that he was hospitalized after the vicious hit he took. We’ll see whether Robinson can give it a go, but either way, McNichols needs to be added in all formats. Defenses have to respect Jayden Daniels’ running ability, which creates natural running lanes for McNichols and the backfield.

The Broncos weren’t expected to be that relevant from a fantasy football perspective this season, but they have been pleasantly surprising. Courtland Sutton is certainly the wide receiver to own in Denver, but Vele has quietly put together a solid stretch of football. He caught six passes for 80 yards on nine targets in Week 12, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Vele’s targets have ticked up from three to four to five to nine this past Sunday, so the attention Bo Nix is giving him has certainly increased. He might not be the flashiest name available on the waiver wire, but the narrow target tree in Denver’s passing attack makes him viable as a name to monitor.

One thing that sometimes happens during the course of the fantasy season is that managers will drop players on bye weeks due to roster crunches. If Davis has somehow hit the wire in your league, now is the time to scoop him up. He’s the clear handcuff to James Cook in Buffalo’s backfield, making him a potential league winner if anything were to happen to the starting running back.

Even if Davis doesn’t get much work carrying the football, he’s shown some flashes of explosiveness as a receiver out of the backfield. His three catches for 55 yards against the New York Jets and two catches for 70 yards and a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins come to mind in that area. Buffalo News wrote about how the Bills have leaned into their running game, as how it has been effective.

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It’s hard to imagine that any fantasy manager chose to deploy Indianapolis’ defense against a red-hot Detroit Lions offense in Week 12. With that being said, the Colts should be plenty available to scoop on as a streamer in Week 13 as a result. Indianapolis faces the New England Patriots in an advantageous matchup for them.

According to Pro Football Focus, Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye has just two deep completions over his last five starts and 184 dropbacks. It’s clear that he’s not pushing the ball downfield right now, which makes sense considering New England’s motley crew of receivers. However, that trend lines up perfectly for a Colts defense that is looking to rebound.

The Dolphins love to get the ball to speedy players in space, and Wright is one of those weapons. The NFL’s website highlighted a no-look pitch delivered to Wright by Tua Tagovailoa on Sunday, which highlights the creativity Miami likes to attack with on offense. Wright is a stealth pickup down the stretch of the fantasy season.

For as good as Raheem Mostert was in real life and in fantasy last season, he just hasn’t had the same impact for the Dolphins in 2024. The team seems to prefer Wright as a secondary option to De’Von Achane this season, as Mostert continues to handle a meager workload. Wright should be the alternative Dolphins running back on your roster as a result.

Patrick Mahomes said of Panthers quarterback Bryce Young to the NFL’s website, “I thought he played his tail off. He throws a really good football. It’s been cool to see him bounce back the last few weeks.” Considering how terrible Young was to begin the year, it’s been encouraging to see his resurgence in the last month. That’s helped players like Legette round into form as fantasy options.

With the Panthers’ passing attack serving as at least viable, it’s not as frightening to look their way in fantasy anymore. Legette had a modest four catches for 56 yards on Sunday, which isn’t going to jump off the page. However, as the team plays out the string and gives their younger players more opportunity, it wouldn’t be surprising for Adam Theilen to take a backseat to Legette and others.

As we touched on above, New York has fallen on hard times. There hasn’t been much to celebrate in the past few weeks, but to ignore them completely from a fantasy perspective would be a mistake. It would still be prudent to monitor the Giants’ backfield as the season wears on, which might rotate back in Singletary’s direction.

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The New York Post wrote that “Tyrone Tracy’s second costly Giants fumble puts ‘blood in the water’ for opponents.” With the Giants going nowhere, the rookie still figures to be involved, but his turnovers in back to back games is a cause for concern. Head coach Brian Daboll might turn back to the veteran Singletary, even if he’s not as explosive as his younger teammate.