Brendan Tuma | Sun, Nov 28th 2021, 7:34pm EST

Early Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 13 (2021 Fantasy Football)

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Note: Most players are less than 30% rostered in Yahoo leagues.

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Running Back

Matt Breida (RB – BUF): 23% rostered
The final snap and touch counts weren’t overly positive for Breida on Thanksgiving night, but context is important here. Breida was out-snapped 45-21 by Devin Singletary, per Nathan Jahnke of PFF. He was also out-carried 15-9 by Singletary, though Breida caught two passes to Singletary’s one. Breida also found the end zone on one of his receptions, and he continued to look like Buffalo’s most explosive RB along the way. Zack Moss was a healthy scratch against the Saints, which shows the confidence the Bills have in Breida moving forward. He hasn’t taken over the backfield but his utilization is trending in a positive direction. Entering Week 13, that’s enough for him to be a waiver wire consideration.

Chuba Hubbard (RB – CAR): 37% rostered
Christian McCaffrey was reportedly in a walking boot after the Panthers’ Week 12 loss to the Dolphins. CMC appeared to have suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter and barely played in the second half. Carolina’s offense was barely functional with Cam Newton under center, which limited CMC to 35 yards on 10 touches. The Panthers have a bye in Week 13, but Hubbard would be a low-end RB2 against the Falcons in Week 14 if McCaffrey misses that game. Note that Ameer Abdullah saw six targets against Miami and is on the waiver wire radar in deeper leagues.

Dontrell Hilliard (RB – TEN): 28% rostered
The diminutive speedster should’ve already been rostered in fantasy leagues (and perhaps started) in Week 12 against the Patriots. Hilliard saw 10 targets with Jeremy McNichols (concussion) sidelined last week and was seemingly in line for similar usage if the Titans trailed early on Sunday. Hilliard wound up with just two targets against New England, but he rushed 12 times for 131 yards and a score. The TD was on a draw play right before the half, which makes it a bit fluky, but Hilliard still panned out for fantasy managers. The health of McNichols will be worth monitoring this week.

Sony Michel (RB – LAR): 28% rostered
Michel didn’t do anything particularly notable in Week 12, but he remains a high-end handcuff. Similar to Alexander Mattison and Tony Pollard, Michel is worth rostering even if you don’t have Darrell Henderson on your fake football squad.

Boston Scott (RB – PHI): 19% rostered
Jordan Howard (knee) didn’t play in Week 12 and Miles Sanders dealt with an ankle injury in the second half. This led to Scott seeing 15 carries for 64 yards and a TD against the Giants. He also lost a fumble and added eight yards on two catches through the air. The Eagles play the Jets in Week 13. Monitor the health of the Philadelphia running backs throughout the week.

Tevin Coleman (RB – NYJ): 18% rostered
The 28-year-old handled a season-high 16 carries for 67 yards against the Texans on Sunday, adding two catches on three targets for three yards through the air. Michael Carter was placed on IR this past weekend, which means Coleman should have a bigger role for a few weeks. We can’t expect the Jets to remain in competitive game scripts, but Coleman’s current role is at least worthy of a bench spot. They face the Eagles in Week 13.

Wide Receiver

Kendrick Bourne (WR – NE): 23% rostered
The 26-year-old found the end zone twice in Week 12, hauling in 5-of-6 targets for 61 yards along the way. We talked about Bourne as a floor play in deeper leagues last week and then he showed us a ceiling game. Bourne has seen at least 4+ targets in every game since Week 7. He has an extremely high catch rate in New England’s efficient passing attack. The running backs are far more interesting off waivers this week, however.

Tight End

Foster Moreau (TE – LV): 0% rostered
As usual, there aren’t many exciting waiver wire options at tight end. Darren Waller suffered a knee injury on Thanksgiving, but the initial reports are that he avoided a major one. The 24-year-old Moreau filled in for Waller back in Week 7 and caught 6-of-6 targets for 60 yards and a touchdown. He would be a streaming option if Waller misses Week 13 against Washington.

Quarterback

Justin Fields (QB – CHI): 21% rostered
Similar to tight end, it’s tough to get excited about the potential waiver wire quarterbacks. Fields at least has enough rushing upside to make him interesting. The rookie is reportedly dealing with “a few cracked ribs”, which isn’t a good sign for his Week 13 availability. If healthy, one could do worse as a deep league streaming option.