Fantasy Football Week 13 Waiver Wire: Austin Ekeler, Dede Westbrook and Ricky Seals-Jones Highlight Playoff Prep Mode

Week 13 is a must win, so stock up on all the necessary Waiver Wire gems now!

III. Wide Receivers

First Check: Josh Gordon (WR – CLE, 51%), Cooper Kupp (WR-LAR, 59%), Martavis Bryant (WR – PIT, 54%), Corey Coleman (WR – CLE, 40%)

A very barren WR market this week if none of the above stars are available. Any of those make incredible adds at this portion of the year, especially the ridiculous upside of Gordon.

1) Dede Westbrook (WR – JAX, 25%)

FAAB: $18

Stat Line:

Schedule (2nd easiest):

Breakdown:

Talent + Usage + Schedule = Late Season Hero Runs. Every year they happen, and Westbrook has that magical formula working overtime for him.

We’ve been talking about Westbrook for weeks on weeks now, but the sign of an eruption appear more real than ever before. Perfect, because his ownership has been decreasing steadily.

The talent has never been the question, as Westbrook was arguably the top receiving talent coming out of this year’s class. This was emphasized as he dominated the preseason  with 288 yards and 2 TDs, dusting teams deep while dominating after the catch.

Now, the volume appears en route. It’ll be interesting to see if Dede’s 10 targets were more a result of Marquise Lee getting the Patrick Peterson treatment, or if Westbrook’s truly taking over the top role. Though the former is unfortunately more likely, Westbrook has the talent to ascend atop this totem pole quite rapidly.

Which is perfect, because the schedule is a complete joke. Seattle is the most intimidating matchup, and they’ve been a shell of themselves since losing Kam Chancelor and Richard Sherman. Westbrook is the ultimate stash that can also be used in pinches with such an easy slate of games. He could erupt over the final four weeks, and is easily the top-WR available to the masses.

2. Marquise Goodwin (WR – SF, 15%)

FAAB: $9

Stat Line:

Schedule:

Breakdown:

Largely due to Pierre Garcon‘s injury, Goodwin has been on a mini tear over his last 5. He’s topped 65 yards in four of five, and has scored 10, 0 (YUCK), 7.8, 16.6, and 9.8 FPs over that span — all useful outside the obvious egg. This has also been with a creature named CJ Beathard throwing the rock, and a switch to Jimmy Garoppolo would raise Goodwin’s ceiling quite significantly.

This is especially true with some juicy matchups forthcoming. Chicago has been fairly tough, but Houston gets destroyed deep routinely, and Tennessee has been equally abysmal. Goodwin’s arrow continues pointing up, and no one seems to be noticing.

Tier 2

3. Jermaine Kearse (WR – NYJ, 39%)

Stat Line:

Schedule (18th easiest):

Breakdown:

Unlike the limitless ceiling of Westbrook, Kearse feels completely capped, especially considering the tough schedule. Moreover, he’s taken a clear backset to Robby Anderson, and his 20 FP Week 12 explosion was just his first double digit effort over his past six games, despite Josh McCown going ham. In fact, he had been held under 40 yards for four straight contests. The awful dud risk is very real.

Still, Kearse draws the No.1 matchup for WRs in Week 13, instantly thrusting him into the streaming radar. Kearse should top 9 FPs, something he’s done over 50% of the time in 2017. This floor / ceiling combo makes Kearse well worth rostering, even if only for a one week flex throw-in.

4. Dontrelle Inman (WR – CHI, 9%)

FAAB: $5

Stat Line:

Schedule:

Breakdown:

The clear No.1 target in Chicago since his arrival, Inman has seen 8, 5, and 9 targets over the past few weeks, racking up over 60 yards in two of those three contests. In this horrendous overall offense with Mitch Trubisky delivering the mail, Inman’s ceiling is definitely capped. Still, he’s seeing enough volume to deliver high-floor flex numbers in matchups like San Francisco. The rest of schedule is fairly intimidating, but Inman could continue picking up steam down the stretch.

5. Zay Jones (WR – BUF, 14%)

FAAB: $2

Stat Line:

Schedule: 

Breakdown:

You’re going to hear a lot about Jones’ massive target showers and complete cake schedule, but I’m not really a believer. Here’s why:

  • I doubt he maintains “Alpha X WR” status if/when Kelvin Benjamin returns. Granted, Benjamin is no guarantee to return with a torn meniscus, but Jones’ target share could take a severe dent in the not-so-distant future.
  • The schedule looks like complete cake, but the two dates with NE are misleading. In their seven-game win streak, the Patriots are only allowing 13.1 points per game, and have been especially clamped down in the secondary. These numbers are completely skewed from their horrific early season play.
  • Zay hasn’t looked great, if even good. He’s among the most inefficient WRs in recent memory, failing to rack up any type of consistent output despite waves of weekly targets.

Someone else is going to spend more on Zay than me, and likely regret it.

Need an injection of upside in your flex? Consider the Booming Chargers (who are also ideal handcuffs)

*Tyrell Williams (WR – LAC, 36%)* and Travis Benjamin (WR – LAC, 15%)

Neither one of these two can be considered weekly options, but both offer immense deep speed and are threats to break a 70 yarder at any point. Plus, given Keenan Allen‘s extensive injury history, both make sense as sneaky handcuffs for owners, especially Williams. He was a bonafide WR1 last season once filling the top-target void, and could perform similarly if called upon again.

If I don’t need an immediate starter, Williams can be considered the No. 2 add at the position with his high-upside handcuff status.

IV. Tight Ends

1. Ricky Seals-Jones (TE – ARI, 3%)

FAAB: $10

Stat Line:

Schedule (6th easiest):

Breakdown:

Seals-Jones is the ultimate upside stash for playoff-minded owners, especially those with first round byes. Look at that cake: 3rd easiest and 1st easiest in Weeks 15 & 16.

Which would be perfect, because Seals-Jones is rolling in with a head full of steam. He’s hauled in 7 catches, 126 yards, an 2 TDs over his past two contests. People are claiming this is a complete fluke, but I’m a slight believer for one major reason:

Scout team chemistry.

Every single year some no name wideout blows up once a backup QB is forced to make starts. This makes sense, since the QB prefers throwing to the wideouts or tight ends he’s built rapport with over the course of the season on scout team.

For Gabbert, this appears to be quite clearly Seals-Jones. Whether or not this is a complete fluke, the upside is certainly real for heroic stretch run efforts. Seals-Jones is worth going all-in on if you’re needy at tight end.

2. OJ Howard (TE – TB, 26%)

FAAB: $6

Stat Line:

Schedule:

Breakdown:

After back-to-back 52 yard weeks, Howard is clearly becoming a larger part of the Bucs offense (certainly greater than that oafish, pathetic white goon named Cameron Brate). Even so, a greater piece of this rotten, stale offensive pie doesn’t mean a whole lot.

Howard still has the natural ability to emerge as a difference maker down the stretch, but he’s more likely to prove unreliable. This is especially true with a difficult stretch run schedule. Still, a player with Howard’s ability is definitely stashable to see if consistency can be found.

Waiver Wire Big Board

Tier 1

1) Corey Coleman (WR – CLE, 40%)

2) Austin Ekeler (RB – LAC, 34%)

3) Dede Westbrook (WR – JAX, 25%)

4) Rod Smith (RB – DAL, 14%)

5) Josh McCown (QB – NYJ, 31%)

Tier 2

6) Ricky Seals-Jones (TE – ARI, 3%)

7) Tyrell Williams (WR – LAC, 36%) *Keenan Handcuff status

8) Marquise Goodwin (WR – SF, 15%)

9) Devontae Booker (RB – DEN, 34%)

10) OJ Howard (TE – TB, 26%)

11) Blake Bortles (QB – JAX, 34%)

Tier 3

12) James Conner (RB – PIT, 4%)

13) Jimmy Garoppolo (QB – SF, 9%)

14) Jermaine Kearse (WR – NYJ, 37%)

15) Dontrelle Inman (WR – CHI, 9%)

16) Jacquizz Rodgers (RB – TB, 7%)

17) Zay Jones (WR – BUF, 14%)

18) Charcandrick West (RB – KC, 3%)

19) Matt Breida (RB – SF, 6%)

20) Marlon Mack (RB – IND, 25%)

Have questions about the Waiver Wire? Drop Player X for Player Y? How much of XX FAAB Budget? Did he miss anybody?

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  • Founder of Roto Street Journal. Lover of workhorse backs, target hog wideouts, and Game of Thrones. Aspiring to be the "Brady" and "Leo" of the fantasy universe.

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