In possibly the most 2020 thing ever, the Steelers vs Ravens game has been rescheduled again! This time we get an ever-elusive Wednesday 3:40 pm kickoff on NBC, unless it gets pushed again in which case this joke gets even funnier. Why 3:40 pm though? What an odd time right? Well NBC seems to be adamant that they have to show the lighting of the Rockefeller Center’s Christmas Tree. That is right, that scraggly, Charlie Brown-looking, and parody Twitter account-having tree has usurped an NFL game. How far has the NFL fallen in 2020? Not since they were pre-empted by a little Swiss girl in 1968 have they been so upstaged. With all of that in mind, here is your Week 13 FAAB and Waiver Wire Guide.
Sure, most of y’all do not have FAAB left, but some are like Jesse in my dynasty league who has yet to use one dollar of FAAB. You do you Jesse! Also, please lose out so that 2021 First Round Pick you traded me is even more valuable. Lastly, cheers to Jesse for keeping with an annual, three years running, tradition of trading me his first-rounder.
FAAB Week 13 Waiver Wire Guide
Mid-Tier Targets (25-40%)
As mentioned yesterday, volume is king. This means that Frank Gore has to be rostered in all formats and leagues. That does not mean you have to start him, but he does not have a terribly difficult schedule coming up. All season Gore has been averaging 10+ touches per week and has seen that usage take an even larger uptick the last two weeks. He is the same reliable 4.0 yards per carry back he has been the past few years. You could do a lot worse than slotting in Gore at the Flex in the playoffs. Drop up to 30% of your Week 13 FAAB on him to make sure you get him.
Some folks really love to hoard their FAAB. Yes, some fantasy managers are entering Week 13 with 80% or more of their FAAB and this is the kind of moment they wait for. Latavius Murray has established himself as the more productive back in New Orleans for the short term. Sure, Kamara still is getting passing-game work, but Murray is carving up defenses right now. The best thing for any running back is a mobile quarterback and Murray is capitalizing on Taysom “Tebow 2.0” Hill’s rushing abilities. On the off-chance, Murray is available drop up to 27% of your FAAB on him.
Steady Contributors (15-25%)
Entering Week 13 most folks have their starting quarterback firmly entrenched. However, with the inevitable benching of Carson Wentz and an injury to Danny Dimes, some fantasy teams may be hurting soon. Baker Mayfield is available in a ton of leagues and has not been a totally lights-out fantasy option. That being said, as the quarterback landscape grows more barren by the week, Baker looks like a more and more attractive option. He has taken care of the ball and has thrown for multiple touchdowns in six games this season. Is he going to set the world on fire? No. Is he the best option available on waivers right now? Probably. Put down 15% of your FAAB if you are quarterback desperate.
If you are scrambling for a running back this late in the season it has most likely been a bad season for you. However, Cam Akers may help the lucky few who are still running back-needy and in the playoff hunt. Akers has been playing right around 25% of the Rams’ snaps the past several weeks. Additionally, he has shown good burst and an ability to make plays. All of this makes him a breakout candidate down the stretch and for your playoff run. Talented running backs are hard to come by this late in the season so drop up to 17% of your FAAB on Akers this week.
Reliable Bargains (8-15%)
Allen Lazard is back and healthy in Green Bay and is worthy of your consideration this week. Lazard has looked like the better second option for the Packers when healthy. In his return, he was only on the field for 46% of the Packers’ offensive snaps but was targeted six times. Lazard looks like the guy opposite Adams and should be a flex option available for up to 10% of your FAAB.
Last week Michael Pittman Jr. put up great numbers on a low target share. This week Pittman put up mediocre numbers on a monster target share. Pittman was targeted nine times and only caught two of those passes. This is an uncharacteristic performance and is a great time to make sure you add him to your roster. He has been sure-handed all season and has a positive schedule the next three weeks with games against Houston, Vegas, and Houston again. Pittman has WR2 upside the next several weeks and should have a high-end flex floor. Drop 13% of your FAAB on him this week.
Fantasy football is all about opportunity. With an injury of yet-to-be-determined severity potentially sidelining Josh Jacobs, Devontae Booker has his chance. Booker ran wild for two weeks and looked like he might steal Jacobs’ job. Since then he has cooled off and come back down to earth, but if Jacobs misses time then Booker looks like the guy. If Jacobs is out Booker will have high-end RB2 potential for as long as he is out. Drop 9% of your FAAB on Booker, and possibly more if you have Jacobs on your roster.
Gabriel Davis – 11% of FAAB
Speculative Fliers (<10%)
Well, a painful Monday Night Football game has ended and all is not well in the City of Brotherly Love. Carson Wentz continues to look atrocious and is reportedly on his way to a benching if Eagles’ owner Jeffrey Lurie has his way. This throws the door wide open for Jalen Hurts to take over as the Eagles’ quarterback. He did not look terrible in limited action and with the season slipping away, Hurts is worth at least 6% of your Week 13 FAAB.
Sure the Eagles continue to look atrocious, but the only thing looking worse is Will Fuller’s rest of season value. The breakout feel-good story of the year looks like it might have all been too good to be true as he was busted for performance-enhancing drugs. Keke Coutee may be in line to be the biggest beneficiary of Fuller’s suspension. Coutee has been somewhat involved over the last two weeks, but with Randall Cobb injured, Fuller suspended, and Kenny Stills a free agent, the opportunity is there. Over the previous two seasons, Coutee flashed potential and should be targeted for up to 6% of your FAAB this week.
With the confusing nature of the Steelers/Ravens game this week and James Conner’s continued COVID absence, Benny Snell Jr. may end up being the guy. The Steelers prefer to focus their rushing attack on one player and it looks like Snell will be that guy. With so little time between the Steelers’ next two games, Snell may just be the hot hand to stick with. Consider putting in up to 10% of your Week 13 FAAB on Snell. Do not be afraid to go higher if you have Conner on your roster.
Breshad Perriman – 6% of FAAB
Denzel Mims – 8% of FAAB
No Bid/Free Agency Targets
Mitchell Trubisky was back in the Bears’ starting lineup and looked like a fantasy-relevant quarterback. Many have fallen for this trap before, but some are desperate enough to fall for it again.
Ezekiel Elliott has not looked good this season. Mike McCarthy is not usually one to tolerate poor performance so we may see Tony Pollard start to get more opportunities. Pollard’s snap percentage has slowly been climbing since the start of the season and may continue to climb in what looks like a lost Cowboys’ season.
Hunter Renfrow flashed the PPR upside that everyone seems to get hyped for last week. Even in a week when the Raiders looked positively anemic offensively, Renfrow looked sharp. If he gets targets he produces and he could just be a sneaky upside-flex down the stretch.
Similar to Renfrow, Josh Reynolds is a piece of a larger offense. Unlike Renfrow on the Raiders, the Rams and Reynolds look competent more often than not. In the upcoming games, lead receivers Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp will face stiff coverages leaving Reynolds open to produce. Reynolds could be a high-risk flex play for the next three weeks.
Chad Beebe did his best to look like his dad on Sunday. Beebe worked the underneath of the Panthers’ defense and racked up a respectable seven catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. If Adam Thielen remains sidelined then Beebe has some PPR value as a flex option but is not worth Week 13 FAAB.
It is only a matter of time before the human highlight-reel that is Henry Ruggs III gets going in Vegas. Ruggs posted a ho-hum day with three catches for 56 yards against what had been an abysmal Falcons’ secondary. Look for him to get on track in the coming weeks and consider him as a boom-bust flex option.
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