Your Local SEO and Digital Marketing Experts in San Diego County
Each week I’ll list the best widely available free agents for fantasy football — I define “widely available” as being owned in around half of all ESPN or Yahoo leagues — and some guys who are probably better off in the free agent pool than collecting dust on your roster.
Follow me on X (formerly known as Twitter) @UTEddieBrown if you have questions throughout the week.
Here’s my NFL Week 13 waiver wire cheat sheet for all league sizes and formats, with players you need to add, drop and stream in your fantasy football league:
ADD
RB Gus Edwards, Chargers (ESPN: 24%; Yahoo: 26%): It doesn’t sound like J.K. Dobbins suffered another season-ending injury on Monday night against the Ravens, but even if it’s a mild MCL sprain or meniscus issue, he could miss a few games. Edwards only had 11 yards on nine carries after Dobbins left, but he did end up with a touchdown on the Bolts’ final drive. If Dobbins does miss time, Edwards would be a volume-based RB2 until he returns. Kimani Vidal (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo: 2%) and Hassan Haskins (ESPN: <1%; Yahoo: <1%) would likely help out on passing downs with Dobbins out. Haskins has also received some goal-line work recently.
WR Keon Coleman, Bills (ESPN: 53%; Yahoo: 44%): Coleman looked like everything was coming together before he hurt his wrist. The rookie playmaker had nine receptions (14 targets) for 195 yards and a TD in his last two full games. There are a lot of mouths to feed on Buffalo’s offense, but I always believed Josh Allen was the perfect quarterback to unlock Coleman’s big-play ability in the pros. His 19.0 yards per reception and 11.6 yards per target has only bolstered my belief.
QB Cooper Rush, Cowboys (ESPN: 3%; Yahoo: 5%): It appears Jerry Jones has no intention to find out if trading a fourth-round pick for Trey Lance was a good investment or not. Jones has planted his flag with Rush, and Mike McCarthy is letting him sling it. He’s completed 56 passes out of 87 attempts for 601 yards and three TDs against one interception in the last two games and Dallas doesn’t face another decent pass defense until Week 17 in Philly.
RB Tank Bigsby, Jaguars (ESPN: 33%; Yahoo: 39%): Bigsby missed the debacle in Detroit with a sore ankle, but he should be fine with Jacksonville returning from a bye. He’s worth stashing just in case Doug Pederson decides to lean on him down the stretch in order to save his job. Bigsby is avoiding tackles twice as frequently as Travis Etienne this season, and Bigsby’s yards per carry after contact matches Etienne’s yards per carry overall.
TE Taysom Hill, Saints (ESPN: 53%; Yahoo: 62%): Hill is the top overall tight end in standard formats (TE3 in PPR) since Week 8 despite being on a bye last week. Is he going to explode for 188 total yards, eight receptions and three TDs every week? No. Does he have to do that to warrant being a starting option in fantasy? Of course not. With all of its injuries on offense, getting Hill involved has become a necessity for New Orleans, not a luxury.
BONUS: RB Jeremy McNichols, Commanders (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo: 1%): Brian Robinson Jr. suffered an ankle injury early against the Cowboys on Sunday. Robinson tried to return, but couldn’t make it work. With Robinson battling through a multitude of injuries lately and Austin Ekeler likely to miss time after his second concussion of the season, McNichols could play a leading role against the Titans this week. He has 44 carries for 217 yards (4.9 yards per carry) and four TDs this season.
BONUS: WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Titans (ESPN: 8%; Yahoo: 12%): Westbrook-Ikhine is the overall WR8 in standard formats (WR17 in PPR) since Week 6 with a TD reception in six of the last seven games. If you’re skeptical NWI can keep this up, you shouldn’t have problem finding better options with no one on a bye this week, but he faces a terrible Jaguars defense in Week 14 with six teams on a bye.
BONUS: QB Matthew Stafford, Rams (ESPN: 33%; Yahoo: 64%): Since he got his two best receivers back in Week 8, Stafford is the overall QB7 with at least 243 passing yards in every game and 12 TD passes against only three interceptions.
BONUS: WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Saints (ESPN: 16%; Yahoo: 25%): MVS had 196 yards on five receptions (seven targets) and three TDs in the last two games before New Orleans’ bye. Obviously, this type of efficiency isn’t sustainable long term, but it could continue the next two weeks against the Rams and Giants, who are both susceptible to allowing big plays through the air.
BONUS: TE Will Dissly, Chargers (ESPN: 37%; Yahoo: 53%): Dissly has at least four receptions in six of the last seven games. In the last six weeks, he has been targeted 37 times, and has by far the best fantasy schedule for the position the next three weeks, with games against the Falcons, Chiefs and Buccaneers. All three are among the bottom 12 teams at preventing fantasy points to tight ends.
BONUS: QB Caleb Williams, Bears (ESPN: 37%; Yahoo: 54%): Williams is the overall QB8 since firing offensive coordinator Shane Waldron after Week 10. In the three games before Waldron was let go, Williams completed only 50.5% of his passes for 468 yards and no TDs with 67 rushing yards on 15 carries. He’s completed 70.5% of his passes the last two weeks for 571 yards and two TDs with 103 rushing yards on 15 carries. Something may have clicked for the No. 1 overall pick. He’s played more free with Thomas Brown calling the plays.
BONUS: RB Ameer Abdullah, Raiders (ESPN: 19%; Yahoo: 24%): Abdullah produced 65 total yards on 13 touches and a TD against the Broncos with Alexander Mattison and Zamir White out. He’s caught a TD pass in two straight games, and he’ll have flex appeal once again if Mattison and White remain out on Black Friday against the Chiefs.
BONUS: WR Dontayvion Wicks, Packers (ESPN: 9%; Yahoo: 15%): Romeo Doubs suffered a concussion against the 49ers on Sunday, which means he’ll likely miss a Thanksgiving matchup with the Dolphins. Wicks has flex appeal as his replacement.
BONUS: QB Will Levis, Titans (ESPN: 4%; Yahoo: 12%): Levis is the overall QB12 since returning from injury in Week 10. Three of his next five games are against the Jaguars (twice) and Bengals, two of the bottom three teams at preventing fantasy points to quarterbacks.
BONUS: WR Noah Brown, Commanders (ESPN: 11%; Yahoo: 10%): Brown has a team-high 33 targets over Washington’s last five games — eight more than teammate Terry McLaurin over that span, which is weird, but true. If Ekeler’s out, that’ll potentially free up even more targets for Brown.
BONUS: QB Russell Wilson, Steelers (ESPN: 50%; Yahoo: 36%): Wilson is a premium streaming option this week against the Bengals, who are allowing the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
BONUS: TE Noah Gray, Chiefs (ESPN: 2%; Yahoo: 4%): Gray has two TD receptions in back-to-back games, but still remains firmly in Travis Kelce’s shadow. However, he is a viable streaming option this week against the Raiders, who are allowing the third-most fantasy points to tight ends this season.
BONUS: D/ST Buccaneers (ESPN: 36%; Yahoo: 54%): Tampa Bay’s defense had only hit double-digit fantasy points twice this season before doing it against the Tommy DeVito-led Giants on Sunday. They have an excellent opportunity to keep the party going the next two weeks against the Panthers and Raiders.
BONUS: D/ST Cowboys (ESPN: 24%; Yahoo: 29%): Speaking of DeVito, the Giants produced only seven points and 245 yards, with Tommy Cutlets taking four sacks in 30-7 home loss to the Buccaneers.
BONUS: D/ST Cardinals (ESPN: 21%; Yahoo: 16%): If your roster is in good enough shape to begin stashing potential playoff difference-makers, Arizona has been the 10th-highest scoring defense in fantasy since Week 5, and will host the Patriots in Week 15 and travel to Carolina in Week 16.
DROP
RB Jonathon Brooks, Panthers: Brooks played five snaps and had two carries for seven yards in his NFL debut. There’s simply no reason for Carolina to give the second-round pick a heavy workload coming off a major knee injury when there’s nothing at stake.
WR Ricky Pearsall, 49ers: Pearsall didn’t receive a single target against the Packers and hasn’t recorded a catch since Week 10.
TE Dalton Schultz, Texans: Schultz is the overall TE28 in standard formats (TE24 in PPR) through 12 weeks, and has yet to score a TD.
WR Gabe Davis, Jaguars: Davis was ruled out for the season with a reported meniscus tear he suffered in Jacksonville’s embarrassing loss at Detroit.
TE Dawson Knox, Bills: There’s no need for Knox to take up a roster spot if Dalton Kincaid returns this week against the 49ers.
Your Local SEO and Digital Marketing Experts in San Diego County