NFL

10 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets Heading Into Week 13

As the fantasy playoffs loom on the horizon, these 10 players are ones to consider adding on waivers.

It's getting close to playoff time in fantasy football -- in fact, your leagues may even be kicking off the playoff festivities this week.

Whether you're fighting for a playoff spot, looking to clinch a bye, or trying to play spoiler, here are some waiver-wire players worth taking a look at ahead of Week 13.

I'll stick to players rostered on 60% or fewer of Yahoo teams and also list some other viable pickups who may be available in shallower leagues or relevant in only deeper leagues.

Quarterbacks

Taysom Hill, Saints

Roster Percentage: 59%

Ok, so we've had enough of the Taysom Hill at tight end conversation. But after back to back impressive performances, we have to start considering that Hill is a pretty damn good fantasy quarterback in his own right. In Week 11, Hill ran 10 times for 51 yards and 2 touchdowns -- that wasn't a one-time affair, as he hit the spin cycle again in Week 12 for another 2 rushing touchdowns in a blowout victory over the Denver Broncos.

In Week 13, Hill takes the field against the Atlanta Falcons, who are 32nd in numberFire's adjusted pass defense metrics. In terms of his Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) number, Hill was not good against Denver, nor did he need to be -- he only dropped back to pass 16 times and recorded a -0.69 (not so nice) NEP per drop back, but they won handily against the Broncos.

Assuming he can improve against the Falcons in this NFC South showdown, with his rushing ability, Hill makes for an outstanding play yet again.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Dolphins

Roster Percentage: 20%

This one largely comes down to one special player's thumb -- Tua Tagovailoa's, to be clear. With Tua inactive in Week 12 thanks to the hand injury, Ryan Fitzpatrick stepped up admirably for the Miami Dolphins win with a 0.20 Passing NEP per pass mark (league average is 0.14).

Off to a surprising 7-4 start, the Dolphins are going to look to add to that mark against a poor Cincinnati Bengals pass defense that ranks 25th in numberFire's passing metrics. Not good, Bob.

In seven starts this season, FitzMagic has tossed two or more touchdowns in five of them, and he's added two rushing touchdowns on the year. Keep an eye on Tua's injury report, but if Fitz gets the nod, expect him to light up Cincinnati in South Beach.

Others to Consider:
Baker Mayfield (35%), Teddy Bridgewater (40%), Jalen Hurts (3%)

Running Backs

Latavius Murray, Saints

Roster Percentage: 60%

Look, we knew that the Denver Broncos were essentially in a lose-lose situation starting wide receiver-turned-quarterback Kendall Hinton under center. And while we all expected a blowout, I am not sure many fantasy analysts, including yours truly, expect this type of workload for Latavius Murray.

While the stat line was certainly impressive for Murray, rocking a 19-carry, 123-yard, 2-score day, what was perhaps the most encouraging was Murray's 19 carries to Alvin Kamara's 11, and that Murray seemed to take the majority of the work inside the 10-yard line.

With a run-heavy game script likely as the Saints should be favored against the Atlanta Falcons, look for Murray to do some more damage.

Ito Smith, Falcons

Roster Percentage: 1%

Need a virtually unrostered running back across all leagues? My friends, look no further than Ito Smith of the Atlanta Falcons, who totaled 75 yards and found paydirt in Week 12.

While many folks were scrambling to add Brian Hill with Todd Gurley out of the mix, Smith out-touched Hill 16 to 13 on the day. It's fair to say that this was unlikely, as Smith only had 13 carries for 46 yards on the year -- but if Gurley were to miss additional time, Smith is definitely worth an add.

Cam Akers, Rams

Roster Percentage: 29%

For those fantasy managers waiting for rookie Cam Akers to explode for the Los Angeles Rams, Week 12 may have been his coming-out party.

Despite a disappointing loss that may have dropped them out of first place in the NFC West (the Seattle Seahawks play on Monday evening), Akers was brilliant. His damage primarily came on a 61-yard run, but he finished with 84 total yards and could be in line for a big day with the sluggish Darrell Henderson taking 10 carries for only 19 yards.

In a game likely to see a high volume of play with the paced-up Arizona Cardinals next week, Akers could make for an interesting add.

Others to Consider:
James White (62%), Joshua Kelley (20%), Jordan Wilkins (17%), Matt Breida (22%), Alexander Mattison (32%), Benny Snell Jr. (34%), Gus Edwards (54%)

Wide Receivers

Deebo Samuel, 49ers

Roster Percentage: 54%

After missing three straight contests, fantasy managers may have become impatient and dropped Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers. If that's the case in your league, run to your waiver wire immediately.

All Samuel did was drop an 11-catch (on a team-high 13 targets), 134-yard performance in a win over the Rams. While it's fair to point out that teammate Brandon Aiyuk was out this week, he's still a major part of this offense that cannot be ignored.

Samuel's schedule is gorgeous down the stretch -- he will face two of the worst pass defenses in the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals, so give him a long look.

Corey Davis, Titans

Roster Percentage: 54%

A bit of an afterthought often in the Tennessee Titans offense with A.J. Brown and Derrick Henry taking center stage, quietly, Corey Davis has emerged as a solid second pass-catcher for the Titans. But what does that mean in such a run-centric offense?

After popping for 70 receiving yards this week, that follows up a 113-receiving-yard effort from the week prior, his second in four weeks. And the schedule appears to be quite a forgiving one -- he faces a Cincinnati Bengals pass defense that was torched by Mike Glennon, followed up by Glennon's Jaguars, who have been poor against the pass as well.

Ryan Tannehill has logged 25-plus drop backs in five of his last seven contests, with Davis assuming a 19% target market share so far this season. He could be a strong play over the next few weeks.

Nelson Agholor, Raiders

Roster Percentage: 43%

The speedy yet unsure-handed Nelson Agholor has long been a frustrating commodity for fantasy managers to consider. The talent and world-class speed are undeniable, but the drops have been a concern.

Now, Agholor has emerged as quarterback Derek Carr's top option, and while Sunday was one to forget, he still had a solid afternoon with 5 catches for 54 yards (on 6 targets). This comes a week after nabbing his sixth touchdown pass of the season.

Agholor gets the gift of a dreamy matchup next week -- facing the passer-friendly New York Jets defense, who permitted 254 passing yards and 2 scores to Ryan Fitzpatrick. Expect a bounce-back effort for the Raiders attack.

Others to Consider:
Collin Johnson (0%), T.Y. Hilton (38%), Sterling Shepard (52%), Jalen Reagor (29%), Sammy Watkins (44%), Breshad Perriman (12%), Denzel Mims (7%), Henry Ruggs (28%), Allen Lazard (39%)

Tight Ends

Kyle Rudolph, Vikings

Roster Percentage: 14%

This challenging position presents another set of hurdles, but with teammates Adam Thielen and Irv Smith Jr. out, Kyle Rudolph jolted his way back to relevance for the Minnesota Vikings with a 7-catch, 68-yard performance in a last-second victory over the Carolina Panthers.

While it's been largely a disappointing season for the veteran, the groin injury to Smith is one to watch -- if he stays out, Rudolph's eight targets clearly show he will be an important part of the offense. He also gets to face a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that allowed a score to Austin Hooper in Week 12.

Others to Consider:
Robert Tonyan (61%), Tyler Eifert (6%), Mike Gesicki (62%)

Defense/Special Teams

Las Vegas Raiders

Roster Percentage: 9%

Are we really recommending a defense that just got blasted by the lowly Atlanta Falcons for 43 points in Week 12? Yes, fam, we are.

No doubt about it, this was an ugly outing -- the Las Vegas D/ST gave up 27 second-half points, although they were hardly to blame for the pick-6 that started the second half. But they were also undone by the poor play of quarterback Derek Carr, who, in a smash spot, was dreadfully awful this week.

However, keep in mind that the Raiders will travel east to face the New York Jets, and Sam Darnold didn't exactly make a triumphant return to the pitch this week. In 27 drop backs, Darnold posted (wait for it) a -0.31 Passing NEP per drop back mark. That's right -- every three times he dropped back to pass, they nearly lost a point. Yikes.

Darnold was dropped three more times in that game, so look for the Raiders to have a strong week.

Others to Consider:
Houston D/ST (13% vs. IND), Seattle D/ST (58% vs NYG)