Waiver Wire Pickups
If you’re like me then you probably chased the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Carolina Panthers stack in your redraft leagues this year. For those of you that this is true of, our week of reckoning has come. With Tom Brady, Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones, Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, D.J Moore, Robby Anderson, Curtis Samuel, and Rob Gronkowski all unavailable this week, the waiver wire should be popping off in almost every league.
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Quarterbacks
Kirk Cousins
Minnesota Vikings | Rostered in 20.4% of ESPN leagues
Kirk Cousins again? Yes, Kirk Cousins again. Coming off of back-to-back three TD, 300+ passing yardage performances, Cousins is verging on QB1 territory as we enter playoff season. With one last juicy matchup this week against the Jaguars, Cousins is the ideal streamer for anyone who has been relying upon Tom Brady as their starter. While Cousins’ means of production largely consists of letting Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, and Adam Thielen do their thing, his recent hot streak is nothing to sneeze at. Cousins could be the reason why many fantasy teams sneak into their playoffs this week.
Mike Glennon
Jacksonville Jaguars | Rostered in 1.2% of ESPN leagues
Three things are true of Mike Glennon.
1. He is very tall (like a giraffe).
2. He has a very long neck (also like a giraffe).
3. The man has a rocket for an arm.
The former N.C State star looked solid in his first start of the season, nearly leading the Jags to victory over the Cleveland Browns. Despite being without D.J Chark and Chris Conley, Glennon looked pretty sharp, throwing for 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns. This week Glennon and the Jags face the exploitable Minnesota Vikings defense. If Chark is active for this game, Glennon may very well finish the day with even better numbers than he did against Cleveland. While he’s not exactly a guy you’d brag about starting, the matchup and the eye test suggest that we could see big things from Glennon and the Jaguars in Week 13.
Running Backs
Ito Smith
Atlanta Falcons | Rostered in 0.8% of ESPN leagues
Who could’ve guessed that it would be Ito Smith — not Brian Hill — who would be leading the Falcons backfield with Todd Gurley inactive? Entering Week 12 Smith had only seen 13 carries for 46 yards. In his first extended action of the season, Smith saw 16 touches (4 catches, 12 carries) for 75 total yards and a touchdown, while Hill finished the day with 13 carries for 55 yards. Though I wouldn’t be very confident starting either player in Week 13 — assuming Gurley is out next week — Smith seems to be the higher upside play due to his usage in the passing game.
Myles Gaskin
Miami Dolphins | Rostered in 69.2% of ESPN leagues
Gaskin will be making his return from injured reserve this week. Though he was solid but unspectacular as Miami’s feature back in the first half of the season, Gaskin is a great start this week against a Bengals defense that was gashed by Wayne Gallman of all people. Prior to his injury, Gaskin was Miami’s unquestioned RB1, with a top-12 opportunity share (66.2%) and a top-8 snap share (68.9%) among qualified backs. With Jordan Howard gone and Salvon Ahmed injured, expect Gaskin to resume that same volume upon his return.
Wide Receivers
Andy Isabella
Arizona Cardinals | Rostered in 0.6% of ESPN leagues
With Larry Fitzgerald out due to Covid-19, Isabella took over as Arizona’s slot receiver in Sunday’s loss to the Patriots. While he registered rather pedestrian numbers (4 receptions for 33 yards), Isabella was more a victim of the Cardinals’ offensive struggles than his own shortcomings. If Fitzgerald is out once again this week, Isabella is an intriguing dart throw against the Rams defense, as Jalen Ramsay will likely be blanketing DeAndre Hopkins or Christian Kirk, forcing Kyler Murray to lean on Isabella. A big-play threat with 4.3 speed, Isabella is the type of receiver who can score every time he touches the ball.
Collin Johnson
Jacksonville Jaguars | Rostered in 0.1% of ESPN leagues
At 6’6, 230 lbs, Johnson looks more like a tight end than a traditional wideout. In his first career start, the former UT standout led the Jags receiving core in targets and receiving yardage, while hauling in his first career touchdown. If D.J Chark is out once again this week, Johnson could be an interesting flex play against a Vikings defense that features a questionable secondary filled with smaller corners.
Henry Ruggs III
Las Vegas Raiders | Rostered in 33.6% of ESPN leagues
Ruggs reemerged this week, catching three passes for 56 yards. It’s been a rough season for the rookie out of Alabama, though he draws an intriguing matchup with the Jets defense this week. If you need a high upside dart throw this week, Ruggs is a decent guy to bet on. While his slow start is concerning for Raiders fans and fantasy managers alike, there’s still a month left in the season for Ruggs to blossom into the No. 1 receiver he was drafted to be.
Chad Beebe
Minnesota Vikings | Rostered in 0.1% of ESPN leagues
A direct beneficiary of Adam Thielen’s absence, Beebe caught all seven of his targets for 63 yards and a touchdown this week. Keeping with the theme of streaming players in this week’s Vikings-Jaguars tilt, I feel like Beebe could be a decent streamer in PPR formats.
Tight Ends
Kyle Rudolph
Minnesota Vikings | Rostered in 13.6% of ESPN leagues
Another player who benefitted from Adam Thielen and Irv Smith being inactive, Rudolph set a season-high in catches (7) and receiving yards (68) on Sunday. Though it’s been a quiet year for the former Pro Bowler, Rudolph currently holds top-10 marks in yards per-reception (12.7), yards per-target (9.9), and target accuracy (7.96) among qualified tight ends, suggesting that he’s capable of being a borderline TE1 with higher usage. Stream Rudolph with confidence this week.
Austin Hooper
Cleveland Browns | Rostered in 67.3% of ESPN leagues
Hooper’s first season has been very underwhelming from a fantasy perspective. While his play on the field has been good, Cleveland’s offense simply doesn’t rely upon tight ends enough to allow hooper much upside for fantasy. That being said, I like Hooper this week against the Titans. Hooper has seen a 19.4% target share this season and I see him getting some good volume in this matchup against one of the worst defenses in the NFL. With Rob Gronkowski and Mark Andrews out this week, you could certainly do worse than Hooper as a streaming option.
