Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups

Jaben Marquez, @jabenFF Director of Audio Content

Bye week teams: No teams on bye.

*We will not frequently rehash previous players; To see who we’ve recommended previously, Click Here.

For our on-going waiver wire exclusive* we will be breaking skill players down into 3 categories and then conclude by recommending some likely free-agent Defenses and Kickers:

Game Changers: Game changers are exactly what they sound like. Players that through injury or opportunity rise up and become real impact players immediately. They may not be the best or most well-known players, but they are in a position to impact fantasy scores on a weekly basis.

Depth with upside: Again, the name is fairly self-explanatory. These are players that are just waiting for that opportunity to excel. Often they possess a solid talent and elite measurables, but they just have not had the opportunity to “break out” yet. This often includes handcuffs of underwhelming players or players that have started slow at deep positions, i.e. a QB or TE, that still have you believing in their talent.

Hail Mary’s: This section is easily going to be the highest turnover section of your roster. And in some cases, the players will literally change from day-to-day. They are often role players that flash or deeper roster players that may have moved up due to injury, trade, or just plain old ineffectiveness.

Game Changers:

Zay Jones | Wide Receiver | Buffalo Bills

The rookie receiver had another good game after putting up 33 yards and a TD to follow up his 68 receiving yards from last week. In fact, had it not been for the atrocious showing in New Orleans by the entire Buffalo offense, Nathan Peterman mainly, Zay Jones has at least 50 yards or a touchdown in 3 of his last 4 games. Jones only caught 3 passes Sunday in a win at Kansas City, but did see 10 targets. The closest Bills players when it comes to targets were LeSean McCoy and Charles Clay with 4 each.

Rex Burkhead | Running Back | New England Patriots

Here we go again. If you read last week I mentioned that Dion Lewis was the trusted back for New England. Well, if Burkhead holds onto the ball like he did Sunday it will be a 50/50 split as James White was almost nonexistent. Lewis led the way with 15 carries for 112 yards but it was Rex who found the endzone not only on the ground but through the air as well to go along with his 50 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Meetings with Buffalo and Miami leading into a huge matchup with Pittsburgh should see an even split between Lewis and Burkhead to keep both backs healthy and ready for the inevitable New England super bowl run.

Rod Smith | Running Back | Dallas Cowboys

If there was any bright spot from the beat down on Thanksgiving that the Chargers served in Dallas home kitchen was that Rod Smith seems to be the change of pace player next to Alfred Morris. The duo both had 9 rushing attempts but it was Smith who led the way with 41 yards compared to 36 by Morris. While the entire Dallas offense struggles without Ezekiel Elliot, Smith could provide the spark to get this offense going or flourish during garbage time. Let us not forget that Darren McFadden was released, clearing the way for opportunity for Smith and Morris.

Josh Gordon | Wide Receiver | Cleveland Browns

Do I even need to convince you? If Gordon is on your waiver why not pick him up as a flyer. The matchup with the Chargers in Week 13 isn’t great; but Green Bay in Week 14 has me feeling frisky. My biggest fear when it comes to Gordon is not that he hasn’t played NFL football in forever, but the Browns’ QB situation has yet to see the slightest bit of improvement.

Depth With Upside:

Jacquizz Rodgers | Running Back | Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Despite the enticing matchup against Green Bay, Doug Martin will be a risky start even if he is able to play this week after leaving the game last week with what was reported as a concussion. We have seen Rodgers come in before and handle the workload, and with a plus matchup he could be in for another big day; similar to last year around this time. Charles Sims will remain the passing down back and should also see an uptick in volume should Martin miss time, but Rodgers should lead the way as far as carries go.

Dede Westbrook | Wide Receiver | Jacksonville Jaguars

Against Arizona Westbrook led the team with 10 targets. Marqise Lee was held to only 2 targets and 13 yards for the entire game by the Cardinals secondary. In the rookie’s second game, he doubled his catches from the previous game and increased his yardage as well. The Jacksonville defense has been other-worldly this year, but the offense has been a wet blanket led by the mobile QB Blake Bortles. The increase in targets may be due to the fact that Arizona was focused on taking Lee out of the game, but a matchup with Indy coming up should mean a get right game for Bortles and Co.

Martavis Bryant | Wide Receiver | Pittsburgh Steelers

Bryant has been a pain in fantasy owners side’s this season, as you never know when to play him. He had a break out game in week 2 against Minnesota with 91 yards and a TD, but has yet to break 50 yards receiving since then. In Week 12 he caught his second TD of the year, but the main reason he is being more involved is due to the fact that they are missing Juju Smith-Schuster.

Hail Mary’s:

Ricky Seals-Jones | Tight End | Arizona Cardinals

I understand not wanting to put too much into a player that has 3 career touchdowns on 7 career receptions, but let’s have some fun! Seals-Jones has been fantastic these last two weeks and not just because of the touchdowns, but yardage as well. A tough Rams defense will come to Arizona to face Blaine Gabbert and this offense but we saw what Bruce Arians was able to do against a stout D in Jacksonville so he will look to protect his young QB with quick throws to the TE.

Cordarrelle Patterson | Wide Receiver | Oakland Raiders

Michael Crabtree got his suspension reduced to only one game, but the status for Amari Cooper is still unknown after suffering that brutal hit last week against the Broncos. The bad thing for both of these players being out is that the Giants have allowed the 3^rd most fantasy points fantasy points for WR since week 6. Patterson only saw 4 targets in the win against Denver as Oakland relied on the run game, but he did provide a huge play when needed and could come up big for the Raiders with a full week of practice under his belt.

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