Top 6 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets: Quarterbacks (Week 13)

We will have you covered throughout the 2023 fantasy football season with our bevy of tools, including our Waiver Wire Assistant. Find the top available players and get detailed analysis on how potential waiver wire adds will impact your team. Of course, our team of analysts will also have written advice each week. Check out some of our top waiver wire targets for the week below. And check out all of our Week 13 fantasy football waiver wire advice.

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets

QUARTERBACKS

Written by Bo McBrayer

Derek Carr (NO): 44% rostered

• Next Opponents: DET, CAR, NYG
• True value: $4
• Desperate need: $7
• Budget-minded: $2

Analysis: It’s dome sweet dome for the Saints over the next three weeks. Carr passed for 300 yards in Atlanta on Sunday but failed to find the end zone. This has been a recurring trend with him and is rightfully alarming for his fantasy outlook. Detroit’s struggling pass defense provides Carr with a promising matchup, but the health of Carr’s pass catchers is a concern. Chris Olave sustained a concussion in Week 12, and Rashid Shaheed left with a quad injury.

Gardner Minshew: 16% rostered

• Next Opponents: @TEN, @CIN, PIT
• True value: $4
• Desperate need: $7
• Budget-minded: $2

Analysis: Minshew is averaging 14.6 fantasy points over his seven starts. That’s not an exciting number, but to be fair, Minshew has faced a difficult schedule since taking over for the injured Anthony Richardson. Four of Minshew’s seven starts have been against teams that rank top 10 in DVOA vs. the pass. He hasn’t faced a team ranked worse than No. 21 in DVOA against the pass all season, but that changes this week when he goes against the Titans, who rank No. 28.  Minshew is very much in play this week as a streaming option, and you could also use him in Week 14 in a playable matchup against the Bengals.

Kenny Pickett (PIT): 16% rostered

• Next Opponents: ARI, NE, @IND
• True value: $3
• Desperate need: $5
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: Freed from the playcalling of Matt Canada, who was fired as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator last week, Pickett looked like a different quarterback in Sunday’s 16-10 win over the Bengals, completing 24-of-33 passes for 278 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. The Steelers averaged an impressive 6.2 yards per play vs. Cincinnati. No, we’re not engraving Pickett’s Hall of Fame bust yet, but it was an encouraging performance from a QB who’s struggled for most of the season. The fact that it came immediately after Canada’s ouster gives us plausible hope that Pickett can be a useful streamer down the stretch. He gets a friendly matchup this week against a Cardinals defense that entered Week 12 having allowed the ninth-most fantasy points per game (18.6) to quarterbacks.

Will Levis (TEN): 25% rostered

• Next Opponents: IND, @MIA, HOU
• True value: $3
• Desperate need: $5
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: Levis might be the streaming option with the most upside over the next three weeks. He has looked incredibly rough since his four-touchdown debut, but the rookie has faced some tough defenses during that stretch. I expect the training wheels to come off as the rookie acclimatizes to NFL speed. His penchant for big plays is comforting for those of us who might run him out there with our fantasy playoff hopes on the line.

Matthew Stafford (LAR): 48% rostered

• Next Opponents: CLE, @BAL, WAS
• True value: $2
• Desperate need: $4
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: On one hand, Stafford is fresh off a four-touchdown game against Arizona, which is why he was featured in last week’s article. On the other hand, the Rams now face two of the best defenses in the NFL. Tread lightly, especially if Cooper Kupp misses a lot of practice with his ankle injury. Stafford is having an up and down season, so pegging his production will be difficult.

Jake Browning (CIN): 8% rostered

• Next Opponents: @JAX, IND, MIN
• True value: $1
• Desperate need: $2
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: For what it’s worth, Browning did crack double digits in fantasy points in the last two games versus two of the toughest defenses on QBs. He spreads the ball around, much to the dismay of those who need him to flood the ball to Ja’Marr Chase, but Browning has displayed good poise in Joe Burrow‘s stead. The most decorated high school QB in history has the chops to put up points the next three games. It will be even more promising once the Bengals get Tee Higgins back on the field.