This past weekend was probably the most destructive to fantasy rosters we have seen in a long time. Dalvin Cook injured his shoulder and chest and is out a minimum of two weeks. Christian McCaffrey is back on IR ending his season. Deebo Samuel pulled his groin and is out 2-3 weeks. Swift had to leave the game against the Bears early with a shoulder injury and is unlikely to face the Vikings week 13.
For teams vying for playoff spots these losses are hard to overcome, especially given that almost all of the prime handcuffs are owned even in shallow redraft leagues.
Jamal Williams is 41% owned, Chuba Hubbard is 40% owned, and Alexander Mattison is 53% owned. All should be right around 100% following waivers tonight.
As decimated as the RB landscape was, QB took a hit as well, with the wheels coming violently off the Cam Newton bandwagon. Fields is likely back for week 13 and has cracked ribs, so he can’t be counted on. But you can’t burn a waiver on Dalton with the expectation that he won’t start. Flacco will backup Zach Wilson who remains unstartable. Mayfield is strung together with duct tape but his coach says he won’t consider benching him. Bridgewater is hobbled but will play after having to gut out the game last week.
In other words, this weekend sucked for those with top tier running backs or those in Superflex relying on streaming QBs. Let’s attempt to pick up the pieces in this weeks waiver wire column. Given where we are in the season your FAAB bid should be whatever you have left.
Waiver Wire Quarterbacks for Week 13
Trevor Lawrence, 30% rostered
Lawrence faces the Rams next week, but that might not be such a bad thing. He showed some signs of life last week posting his first game over 200 yards passing since week 8. The Rams were helpless against Aaron Rodgers, and I fully expect the Rams to score big against the Jags, meaning he should get some quality garbage time to rack up yards and possibly scores. The kid is good, he just has a terrible team and a terrible head coach. Best option available at this point in the season.
Andy Dalton (if Fields is ruled out), 3% rostered
If Fields sits Dalton is a good play for a week as Nagy inexplicably decided to throw his way to an embarrassing victory against the worst team in the league. Dalton is still capable of big games as he showed last week.
Waiver Wire Running Backs for Week 13
Obviously if any of the aforementioned running backs are available (Mattison, Hubbard, Williams, in that order) make them your top add and spend whatever you have.
Boston Scott, 20% rostered
Scott typically has big games against the Giants and he came through last week, but that’s no reason to ignore him down the stretch. The Eagles will remain the most run-heavy team in the league for the rest of the season, and he should continue to at least be a decent 1b to Sanders’s 1a. Hurts is hogging carries as well, but if Scott can get 9-12 carries and 3-4 targets he’ll be good for flex.
Ameer Abdullah, 1% rostered
Hubbard will be the dominant back absent McCaffrey but Adbullah should see passing down work, and we can expect negative gamescript for Carolina for the rest of the season. They have a bye this week but he could help fill backfield holes after.
Austin Walter, 0% rostered
Walter saw some decent run for the Jets last week and he’s mired in a committee, on the JETS, but here we are. The talent ahead of him is mediocre enough to where he could seize the role as long as Carter is out, and that at least makes him rosterable. Keep expectations low.
Waiver Wire Wide Receivers Week 13
Russell Gage, 17% rostered
Gage has seen 15 targets over the past two games and Ryan and the Falcons simply aren’t willing to risk throwing into tight or double coverage to get Pitts going. Gage is not an exciting option but is one that will get targets on an offense with very little else going for it.
Josh Reynolds, 1% rostered
Reynolds notched 70 yards against the Bears and for what it’s worth has a connection with Goff from their time together in LA. He’s barely played this year so at least there’s a chance he could do something with increased targets, and he has zero competition for those or snaps. Opportunity abounds, but it’s the Lions so temper expectations.
DeSean Jackson, 5% rostered
A low-volume lottery ticket, Jackson turned back the clock and scored a 50+ yard TD last week against the Cowboys. Could it happen again? Yes. Is it likely to happen again this week? I’d say about as likely as Cam Newton making a legit comeback, but hey, people believed in that.
Waiver Wire Tight Ends Week 13
Jack Doyle, 1% rostered
Doyle has seen 17 targets over the last three weeks and finally had a big game last week, notching 80+ and a score. Outside of Pittman there is no real competition for targets in Indianapolis, so Doyle is worth a flier to see if he can continue to command attention from Wentz.
Cole Kmet, 24% rostered
After disappearing against Baltimore, Kmet once again popped with 6 of 11 targets for 65 yards. Sadly, in today’s NFL, that was good for TE7 finish on the week. The Bears running game was ineffective and summarily abandoned against the Lions, and I guess Bears management got painted into a corner of keeping Nagy for another week. So expect the offense to remain fairly stagnant, and feature lots of passing, because analytics or some crap.