Finally! A waiver wire worth the old mantra “Go Big or Go Home!” Unfortunately, injuries did pave the way for a lot of the running backs everyone will so desperately be seeking this week. Depending on your league we only have five or six weeks left and only a couple matchups left before the fantasy football playoffs. This is your chance to bolster your roster or make that final push to sneak into the playoffs. I’ll likely be in the NFL Seasonal Discord channel tonight, but I don’t know for how long. I’m going to try and jump in and out of the channel throughout the day to answer most questions so I’m not up too late this evening.

Quarterbacks

Taysom Hill (NO; FAAB Bid: 8%) The Saints are prepping Taysom Hill to make a start this week against Dallas. I’m a little weary of how this will work out on a short week, but he’s familiar with the offense. Obviously, Hill’s presence is a knock to almost everyone else in this offense. But he alone has plenty of value. His tendency to run the ball and vulture touchdowns in the red zone give him a massive boost and would it really surprise anybody if he finished as a top 12 quarterback this week?

Tua Tagovailoa (MIA; FAAB Bid: 5-6%) Another waiver wire acknowledgment for Tua this week. Truthfully it was a tossup between him and Mac Jones once again. But Tua gets a far easier matchup at home against the Giants while the Patriots visit the Bills. Tua’s been providing a decent floor for fantasy, but there isn’t much of a ceiling. But he has developed a nice rapport with Jaylen Waddle. Between the run game and the defense the Dolphins haven’t been challenged with putting the game in Tua’s hands. And with a young quarterback, that’s perfectly fine. I don’t expect that to happen this week either so if you stream Tua, you’re looking for the floor here.

Jimmy Garoppolo (SF; FAAB Bid: 5%) The quarterback options are somewhat weak this week aside from maybe Taysom Hill. The matchups are pretty rough so use your best judgment. Jimmy Grapes gets a great matchup against Seattle, but one of the two problems is this game will be in Seattle. The other issue is he’ll be without Deebo Samuel. Garoppolo did a great job of driving the team down the field in Week 12, but it only led to one touchdown for him. Prior to that he had three straight games with multiple touchdowns. The passing volume is rarely there for him to really break the slate, but he’s a streamer that provides a good floor.

Running Backs

Alexander Mattison (MIN; FAAB Bid: 60-80%) You folks ever seen Zero Dark Thirty? There’s a scene when Jessica Chastain and a round table of CIA nerds are discussing their certainty regarding the likelihood that Osama Bin Laden is in the house they’ve been monitoring for months. Jessica Chastain comes in with a great line of “100% certain he’s there… Okay fine, 95% because I know certainty freaks you guys out…” So while my recommended bid is a lowly 60-80%, realistically spending the rest of your FAAB could be the way to go. We have been waiting for this kind of waiver wire and if you’ve been patient then well done. Reward yourself. As Donna and Tom would say on Parks and Rec: Treat. Yo. Self. Dalvin Cook is going to miss at least two games, but I’m guessing he’ll likely be out longer. And we know what Mattison is capable of when given the full workload. He is probably the closest thing you’ll find to a league winner if he’s available to you. Sell the farm to get him.

Tony Pollard (DAL; FAAB Bid: 25-30%) If he’s available in your league, then he’s the second option behind Mattison in terms of running backs this week. By all accounts, it sounds like Dallas will rest Ezekiel Elliott for Thursday’s game against the Saints. It’s possible they give him a longer rest as well, but that’s no guarantee. If Zeke is officially ruled out for Thursday’s game, Pollard becomes a fine RB2 play even in a difficult matchup on the road. You’re really rolling the dice on this acquisition though. It might be wiser to take out a second mortgage for Mattison.

The Titans Backfield (TEN; FAAB Bid: 20-25%) Dontrell Hilliard and D’onta Foreman both recorded 100-yard rushing performances against my beloved Patriots defense. While the good guys got the win, I’m man enough to admit that these two guys far exceeded my expectations. Foreman landed more carries, but it feels like Hilliard is the guy to own in PPR formats. These two running backs get a prime matchup against the Jaguars who just let Cordarrelle Patterson run all over them last week.

Boston Scott (PHI; FAAB Bid: 15-20%) As much as it sucks to admit, Boston Scott may be the play in Philadelphia’s backfield. He received a very nice amount of work on Sunday, in a game where the Eagles offense looked lost. But Miles Sanders was apparently dealing with a second half injury that limited him and Jalen Hurts is apparently beat up as well. The Eagles may look to limit his rushing upside, but take that with a grain of salt. Scott is emerging as a nice low-end RB2 option this week, but we can’t trust the long-term appeal as much as we can with some other plays available to us. Regardless, he had 17 touches last week and he found the end zone. He could very well score again this week against the Jets.

Chuba Hubbard (CAR; FAAB Bid: 12-15%) I’m not overly optimistic about Hubbard to be completely honest. Which is strange because Christian McCaffrey is done for the season so Hubbard is the presumed player with a heavier workload for the remainder of the season. That should lead to a heavier FAAB recommendation, right? Well, not really. The Panthers don’t play next week so if you’re spending money on him you won’t be able to use him until Week 14. Additionally, the fantasy playoff schedule for Carolina is brutal. In Weeks 15-18 the Panthers are tasked with matching up against the Bills, Buccaneers, Saints, and Bucs again. Not to mention, Cam Newton is there to vulture touchdowns as well. And previously, when Hubbard was the lead running back with CMC sidelined, he was a low-end RB2 at best. He’s far from one of my favorite grabs off waivers this week. Another player worth keeping an eye on out of this backfield is Ameer Abdullah who may have some appeal in deeper PPR formats.

Jamaal Williams (DET; FAAB Bid: 10-12%) This is a make-or-break waiver wire grab this week. D’Andre Swift left Thursday’s game against Chicago early but all that means is he has extra time to be ready for Sunday’s game against Minnesota. Most reports are saying Swift is day-to-day and has a fighting chance of playing this week. Truthfully, we won’t have a good idea until we get practice reports later this week. But even then he’s likely a game-time decision so we won’t know until 11:30am ET on Sunday in my opinion. If he’s out, Williams is going to be heavily involved against the Vikings.

Matt Breida (BUF; FAAB Bid: 10%) Running backs are deep this week on waivers. Breida may go overlooked based on the injury news that came from Sunday’s action and the fact he played last Thursday. But Breida now has three touchdowns in his last three games. While he didn’t run as well last Thursday, keep in mind he was playing against the Saints who have a good run defense. But Zack Moss was still inactive and Sean McDermott even went on radio last week and acknowledged Breida deserved more carries. The downside is the schedule doesn’t get much easier over the next couple weeks against the Patriots and Bucs, but the Titans just had two running backs both go over 100 rushing yards on New England at least.

Jaret Patterson (WFT; FAAB Bid: 4-5%) We’ll need to see what the diagnosis is on J.D. McKissic, but it didn’t look good on Monday night. McKissic had to be carted off after scoring twice against Seattle. It’s hard to tell what kind of workload Patterson could get behind Antonio Gibson, but he’s almost a must-add in deeper formats, especially when you account for the injuries Gibson has had to play through as well.

Wide Receivers

DeSean Jackson (LV; FAAB Bid: 7-8%) The wide receivers aren’t as sexy as the running backs this week. But we’ll still throw some names out there to look at and we start with DJax. Jackson made his presence known on Thanksgiving as he put up over 100 receiving yards and found the end zone. He wasn’t on the field much, but keep in mind the Raiders may be without Darren Waller this week and Bryan Edwards hasn’t emerged like we thought he would (just nine total targets since the team’s Bye week). We’ve seen DJax and Carr connect on a couple deep passes already and with more targets available with Waller’s injury I’d expect a larger role for him in the short-term. 

Kenny Golladay (NYG; FAAB Bid: 7-8%) Golladay may not excite you at this point in the season because he’s had trouble staying on the field, but this past week he was healthy and he saw seven targets. He only caught three of them, but that’s mostly because Daniel Jones underperformed (per usual). However, Golladay’s involvement, specifically in the red zone, will be worth monitoring going forward especially since the Giants have had a revolving door of injuries at the wide receiver position.

Josh Reynolds (DET; FAAB Bid: 6-7%) I’m not saying Reynolds could emerge as the WR1 in this offense rest of season, but when you consider who else is around him looking for targets, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities. Reynolds was finally reunited on the field with Jared Goff last Thursday and while he only saw five targets, he did catch three passes for 70 yards and he found the end zone. Truthfully, the schedule isn’t terrible for Reynolds the rest of the season so long as the offensive line can keep Goff on his feet. You won’t start him with confidence each week but he could warrant flex consideration with some upcoming matchups.

Cedrick Wilson (DAL; FAAB Bid: 4%) The lone concern with Wilson at this moment is the unknown of who could return to the lineup for Dallas this week. However, there is a small COVID outbreak among the team and they have to play on Thursday so he’s looking like a potential flex play. He led the team in targets last week and put up over 100 receiving yards as well. With Ezekiel Elliott potential sitting as well that could present more opportunities for the passing game. You’ll definitely need to pay attention to practice reports and inactives prior to Thursday’s game before you know whether you should play him or not.

Laviska Shenault Jr. (JAC; FAAB Bid: 3%) We didn’t quite see the “Deebo Samuel” role as we thought, but he did see nine targets. Did he do much with them? Hardly. He finished with five catches for 33 yards, which is a bit disappointing. But he has 22 targets over his last three games and the schedule from Weeks 14-16 isn’t awful. I would certainly avoid using him in Week 13 against the Rams, but there’s intrigue here as a playoff stash.

Tight Ends

Cole Kmet (CHI; FAAB Bid: 10-15%) It’s good to see all the signs finally paying off for Kmet this year. While the Bears may be a dumpster fire, his usage and routes have gradually been trending in the right direction. Sure, the performance against Baltimore in Week 11 was a bummer but he bounced back nicely on Thanksgiving. This week the Cardinals are coming off their Bye week, but you can roll the dice on Kmet given the rapport he’s developed lately with whoever is playing quarterback.

Foster Moreau (LV; FAAB Bid: 5-6%) The injury to Darren Waller isn’t considered serious for the remainder of the season but it’s possible he misses this week’s game against Washington. If that’s the case, Moreau is worth streaming at the position. When Waller missed time earlier this season, Moreau caught all six of his targets and found the end zone. Tight ends can put up decent stat lines against Washington as Gerald Everett caught five passes and a touchdown last night against this defense. It’s time to foster this tight end on your roster. Pun intended.

Gerald Everett (SEA; FAAB Bid: 2%) I don’t love the prospect of adding Everett especially because we have to assume Russell Wilson corrects things and finishes the season strong, although the offense as a whole looks awful. But over the team’s last three games since their Bye week, Everett has 21 targets and double-digit fantasy points in two games. Some difficult matchups are on the horizon, but there are still games against Houston, Chicago, and Detroit that look great on paper.

Defense/Special Teams

Philadelphia Eagles – The Eagles have the luxury of playing the Jets and as long as Zach Wilson is under center for New York there are turnovers in play. Additionally, Michael Carter is still out and the Eagles truly need a standup kind of performance from their defense. Sacks, turnovers, D/ST touchdowns, etc. You name it and it’s on the table for the Eagles defense this week. 

Miami Dolphins – Surprisingly, the Dolphins have won four straight games. A lot of the success has come on the back of the defense. During the winning streak the Miami Mammals (gotta remember Dolphins are mammals, not fish) have allowed just 46 points while recording 16 sacks and ten turnovers. The defense is healthy and peaking at the right time and they get a great matchup against the Giants in Week 13 at home. The over/under has already been bet down to 41.5 points and the Dolphins are favored by a field goal.

Minnesota Vikings – The Vikings defense isn’t great by any means. Hell, they’ve allowed 30 or more points in three of their last four games. But they do get the Lions this week who might be without D’Andre Swift. More importantly, the Vikings do a great job of putting pressure on the opposing team’s quarterback. The Vikings have multiple sacks in every game this season and the last time these two teams met, the Vikings held them to just 17 points, collected four sacks, and forced two turnovers.