TJ Horgan | Sun, Nov 26th 2023, 4:46pm EST

Fantasy Football Early Waiver Wire Pickups to Target (Week 13)

TWO. MORE. WEEKS (in most formats).

This is the stuff we live for right here! We’re battling it out for postseason life, shoring up our loaded rosters for playoffs, and fighting tooth and nail to avoid our league’s loser punishment.

As always, this piece will cover players rostered in fewer than 40% of leagues whose teams played Thursday, Friday, or in Sunday’s early slate of games. Let’s do it.

Week 13 Fantasy Football Early Waiver Wire Pickups to Target

Jayden Reed (WR – GB)

Rostered: 31.5%

Reed has been on this list for weeks. Heading into the season, the Packers’ plan was clearly to roll out a plethora of young talent at the skill positions and see who stuck. Right now, Reed, the 50th overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, is doing the sticking.

First and foremost, Reed is getting involved both as a running back and a receiver. In the last two weeks, he has had 14 targets and five carries. He has a touchdown in each of his last three games. He’s scored more than 11 PPR fantasy points in six of his last seven games.

Reed’s snap counts have increased in three straight weeks. Keep in mind, he is still third in receiver snap counts to Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, but that clearly isn’t an issue for his fantasy production.

Watson and Doubs limit Reed’s ceiling, but in a way, they also increase his floor. Because Doubs and Watson are the more prototypical wide receivers the Packers have used Reed creatively on offense, making him somewhat matchup-irrelevant. Reed is a startable flex in most formats going forward.

Jameson Williams (WR – DET)

Rostered: 14.8%

In Williams’ last two games, he has had four catches for 95 yards – that’s nearly 24 yards per reception. That’s exactly who Williams was profiled to be – a deep threat. He’s also notched his two highest snap counts of the season in his last two games (64%, 63%).

If one of our receivers gets hurt and we need an emergency start – Williams fits the bill. There aren’t many, if any, receivers on the waiver wire with his big-play ability and ceiling. Obviously, his floor is real, too. The Lions’ offense has been running just fine without Williams, and if he makes a mistake, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to be pulled off the field with Josh Reynolds and Kalil Raymond waiting in the wings.

Jalin Hyatt (WR – NYG)

Rostered: 1.7%

Giants’ rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito connected with Hyatt on a few deep shots today, totaling 109 yards on five catches. Hyatt has shown big-play ability this season but hasn’t been able to string together much consistency. Hyatt was a third-round selection in this year’s draft, so it may be worth taking a flier on him if you have the space. He’s a risky start at the moment, given the Giants’ offensive inconsistency under DeVito.

Elijah Mitchell (RB – SF)

Rostered: 17.4%

Let’s not pretend Christian McCaffrey is the pinnacle of health. McCaffrey hasn’t missed a game since December 2021, but his injury history is still very real. If McCaffrey were to miss time for any reason, Mitchell would slide in as the 49ers’ RB1.

Rico Dowdle (RB – DAL)

Rostered: 9.2%

Since week six, Rico Dowdle has been the only running back not named Tony Pollard or Hunter Luepke (a fullback) to take offensive snaps in all but one game.

Deuce Vaughn played six percent of offensive snaps in week 10.

Dowdle is the clear-cut handcuff for Tony Pollard and should be rostered by all Pollard managers. Dowdle scored Thursday and has 26 touches in the Cowboys’ last three games, but I would not recommend starting him with Pollard healthy unless you are in a laughably massive league.

Jeff Wilson Jr. (RB – MIA)

Rostered: 27.2%

With De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert both healthy and active, I wouldn’t start Wilson. However, if one of them were to miss a game, he becomes an intriguing option. Wilson had 11 carries for 56 yards and three catches for 17 yards Friday.

D’Ernest Johnson (RB – JAC)

Rostered: 0.4%

It appears as though Johnson has supplanted rookie Tank Bigsby for the Travis Etienne handcuff role. Etienne missed a few plays today, and Johnson stepped up. Johnson has out-snapped Bigsby three games in a row.

Kenny Pickett (QB – PIT)

Rostered: 15.7%

In his first game after former offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s firing, Pickett came out firing. He threw for 278 yards, the second-highest single-game total of his career. Pickett’s next two games are at home against the Cardinals and Patriots, followed by a road game in Indianapolis. He’s a streaming option for the next few weeks.

Atlanta Falcons Defense/Special Teams

Rostered: 16.3%

If the Falcons’ defense can’t produce a top-12 fantasy performance against Tim Boyle and the Jets, I promise I will stop including them.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense/Special Teams

Rostered: 14.9%

The Bucs host the Carolina Panthers next weekend, which is one of the more favorable matchups across the entire league.

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