• Isaac Guerendo is a rare must-add: Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason are both landing on injured reserve, making Guerendo the feature back in the San Francisco 49ers backfield.
• Pittsburgh Steelers step up: Russell Wilson and Pat Freiermuth played well in Week 13, and their schedules look good the rest of the way. They are among the top waiver-wire options.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all of our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!
Estimated Reading Time: 21 minutes
With Week 13 of the 2024 NFL season nearly complete, here are the key players to target on the fantasy football waiver wire. Here, we'll cover options for smaller and deeper leagues and also highlight the players to avoid.
Jump to a position group:
QB | RB | WR | TE
Quarterback
Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers (Rostered in 43.2% of leagues on ESPN)
Wilson was one of the top fantasy quarterbacks of Week 13, completing 29 of his 38 passes for 414 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. It was his third time this season finishing among the top 10 fantasy quarterbacks.
Wilson has some generally favorable matchups over the rest of the season. He faces the Cleveland Browns next week, a team the Steelers just lost to in Week 12. He was QB15 that week but threw for 270 yards. He notched only one touchdown, which limited his fantasy production. He faces the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs in Weeks 16 and 17 — two teams that have allowed a lot of fantasy production to quarterbacks.
Wilson has the best mix of recent good play and multiple favorable matchups among those available in more than 50% of ESPN leagues, but he’s also taken in a lot more leagues than the other quarterbacks on this list.
Will Levis, Tennessee Titans (4.7%)
Levis has finished among the top 20 fantasy quarterbacks in each of the past four weeks, including two games in the top 10. The Titans haven’t been winning many games, but since returning from injury, Levis at least reached 200 passing yards and is scoring multiple touchdowns more often than not.
Levis plays the Jacksonville Jaguars in Weeks 14 and 17 and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15. Those are two of the three worst teams at preventing fantasy points to quarterbacks. To this point, Levis has played only teams in the top 20 at preventing fantasy points to quarterbacks. He is arguably the best streamer option in all three matchups, but he’s more risky and more of a projection than Wilson.
Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns (9.4%)
Since becoming the Browns' starter, Winston has received plenty of volume as a passer. Like most quarterbacks in the middle of the pack, Winston finishes as a top-12 fantasy quarterback in weeks where he throws multiple touchdowns and finishes outside of the top 12 when he does not. Winston has two good fantasy weeks and two bad ones so far, with another chance to prove himself on Monday Night Football in Week 14.
While Winston has a rough matchup next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as in Week 17 against the Miami Dolphins, he has more favorable matchups in Weeks 15 and 16. The Browns face the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals, games in which they will need to pass a lot. And those defenses are in the bottom nine at preventing fantasy points to quarterbacks. Winston is the best waiver-wire option if you need a quarterback, specifically in Week 16.
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (3.8%)
Young just posted his best fantasy performance of the season, completing 26 of 46 passes for 298 yards and a touchdown. He ran three times for 17 yards and a rushing touchdown. He had a great matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ defense and faces them again in Week 17. While it would be risky to expect the second performance to be just as good, it’s at least possible.
The Panthers similarly have a strong matchup in Week 15 against the Dallas Cowboys, but Young should definitely be on fantasy benches for the other two weeks.
Running Back
Isaac Guerendo, San Francisco 49ers (1.3%)
Christian McCaffrey suffered a PCL injury on Sunday Night, effectively ending his fantasy season. Jordan Mason is also dealing with a high-ankle sprain, which will land him on injured reserve, also ending his fantasy season. Both players can be dropped.
This means Guerendo is the next man up in the 49ers backfield. He played significant snaps on Sunday Night. Patrick Taylor is on the practice squad and will likely be called up to be the backup. In Week 8, McCaffrey didn’t play, and Mason only lasted 11 snaps before an injury took him out for the rest of the season. Guerendo played 43 snaps in that game compared to Patrick Taylor‘s five. Guerendo should be used in a feature role.
There has not been an opportunity to pick up an every-down running back off the waiver wire in months, so he is the player to spend all of your FAAB on. The 49ers have a generally average schedule for running backs over the rest of the fantasy season, with games against the Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions.
Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars (32.5%)
Jacksonville used a two-man rotation instead of three in Week 13, allowing Tank Bigsby to play more snaps.
Bigsby missed Week 11 due to an ankle injury, but after the Jaguars' Week 12 bye, he was a full participant in practice all week and ready to go. There had been only six games this season where all of the Jaguars' running backs were healthy to start the game and active. In those outings, Travis Etienne Jr. played 159 snaps, Bigsby played 104 and D’Ernest Johnson played 89. Etienne and Bigsby had a near-even split of carries in those games, while Johnson served as more of a receiving back.
The Jaguars opted to make Johnson a healthy inactive this week. Fifth-round rookie Keilan Robinson returned from injured reserve and was active, but he didn’t play on offense. This allowed Bigsby and Etienne to split time. This was the first time all season where both players played at least 40% of the Jaguars' offensive snaps. Etienne ended up with more carries, but Bigsby averaged more yards per carry, which has been common this season.
The Jaguars face the Tennessee Titans twice, the New York Jets and the Las Vegas Raiders over the last four weeks of the fantasy season. None of those are great matchups in terms of the quality of defense, but they are at least teams against whom Jacksonville could stay competitive and not abandon the run. Bigsby is one of the few running backs available on the waiver wire who should have a large role next week.
Braelon Allen, New York Jets (22.0%)
Breece Hall didn’t practice Wednesday, which was concerning after the Jets' bye week. He was truly questionable for Week 13 and played noticeably less than usual. He logged 61% of New York’s offensive snaps, whereas he's usually in the 74%-82% range.
Isaiah Davis handled a lot of those snaps in passing situations, but Allen remained the clear runner. Allen should still be considered one of the best handcuff options right now. If Hall’s injury becomes more serious, we could expect Davis to take most of the passing-down work, but Allen would take most of the rushing work.
The Jets have the best schedule for running backs over the rest of the season. They face the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills. All four of those are favorable matchups, and Jacksonville and Buffalo are two of the worst three teams at preventing fantasy points to running backs.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams (14.1%)
The rookie running back played more than 25% of the Rams' offensive snaps for the first time this season.
Corum started the season as the third running back on the Rams' depth chart. Starting in Week 5, he began playing 5-11 offensive snaps each week, including a few carries.
This week, Corum played seven snaps on the second drive alone. He had taken only two snaps on the first or second drive in the rest of the games combined. He ran the ball five times on those seven snaps. Kyren Williams took the rest of the first-half snaps. Williams played every snap on Los Angeles' 11-play touchdown drive to start the third quarter. The Rams had four more drives over the rest of the game, and the two split snaps evenly (11).
Corum probably won't completely take over the Rams' backfield anytime soon. While many of Williams' and Corum’s rate numbers are similar this year, Williams has generally been the better runner if you ignore fumbles. However, he has fumbled five times this season compared to Corum's zero. Corum may continue to mix in a little more than earlier in the season. Williams would still be a must-start player, but might not have as many big games.
Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers (10.2%)
J.K. Dobbins landed on injured reserve due to a knee injury.
The soonest Dobbins can return is fantasy football championship week. There is a chance he won't be ready or that he’s eased back into action, though, so Dobbins’ fantasy season is effectively over unless you’re willing to risk starting him in your fantasy championship game in his first game back.
Gus Edwards was, unsurprisingly, the Chargers' primary running back in Week 13. He started the game, but Vidal and Hassan Haskins played on the first drive, as well. Vidal surpassed Haskins on the depth chart, as he did earlier in the year when Edwards was on injured reserve. Vidal had the best play of the running backs, with a 16-yard run. Edwards ran the ball the most and averaged the most yards per carry.
When Edwards missed time earlier in the season, the Chargers still used more of a two-man committee but trusted Haskins the most in passing situations, so this was a three-man committee.
Los Angeles has a very rough matchup for running backs next week against the Kansas City Chiefs, but the fantasy playoffs will be much more favorable. Vidal is worth a waiver-wire pickup because the running back situation is fluid enough that he will earn more opportunities if he plays well. There is certainly no guarantee he can overtake Edwards on the depth chart over the next few weeks, but Vidal has a better chance of starting at some point this season than other running backs available off the waiver wire.
Sincere McCormick, Las Vegas Raiders (0.1%)
Zamir White (quadriceps) and Alexander Mattison (ankle) missed their second straight game in Week 13.
Ameer Abdullah started, while Sincere McCormick was elevated off the practice squad to be the backup. Abdullah played 69 snaps to McComick's eight last week, but McCormick averaged 6.6 yards per carry on five runs compared to Abdullah's 3.5 on eight carries.
Abdullah played all 15 snaps on the first two drives, but McCormick was the lead back on the following two, with 10 snaps compared to Abdullah's two. This meant McCormick played more snaps in the first half of this game than all of last week. McCormick gave the Raiders more of a spark in the run game, but they continued to use Abdullah more than McCormick in the second half.
Throughout both games, Abdullah was consistently in on third downs in a similar way Mattison has been deployed this season.
Once White and Mattison are healthy, almost anything is possible for the Raiders' backfield. Mattison will likely return to being the third-down back because he’s kept that role all season when healthy, but the team could include any number of its four running backs as part of an early-down rotation. McCormick has been the team's most effective runner this season, and he’s earned the right to be part of a rotation, but the Raiders don’t seem comfortable making him the main guy on early downs yet. Zamir White had the early down role before his injury, Abdulah had it in this game and Mattison has had it the most this season.
All that said, McCormick is the one to target off the waiver wire. None of Las Vegas' backs should be trusted in fantasy starting lineups next week unless the team is very clear with its intentions, but McCormick has the best chance of being a fantasy starter during Weeks 15-17.
Jeremy McNichols, Washington Commanders (11.0%)
Austin Ekeler suffered a concussion last week and landed on injured reserve.
The Commanders have their bye next week, so Ekeler isn’t eligible to return until Week 18. This means his fantasy season in redraft leagues is over.
Luckily, Brian Robinson Jr. was active for Week 13 despite being limited in practice due to an ankle injury. He led a rotation with McNichols for the first three quarters. Robinson played 36 snaps, while McNichols took 21. Three quarters was enough time for Robinson to reach 100 rushing yards for the first time since September.
McNichols looked solid on his limited opportunities, running six times for 32 yards. Considering Robinson has suffered multiple injuries over the past two months, McNichols is a handcuff worth prioritizing off the waiver wire.
Chris Rodriguez played only two snaps in the first three quarters. The Commanders were up by multiple scores throughout the fourth quarter, so Rodriguez took over the rest of the way. While his stat line of 13 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown will look tempting off the waiver wire, he should be avoided. If this was a more competitive game, he would not have played nearly as much.
Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals (24.1%)
Benson looked good on limited playing time in Week 13, running three times for 20 yards. He is the first of a few players who have no shot at the starting job unless there is an injury to the starting running back, but the backup would have a lot of fantasy value on the off-chance the lead running back suffers an injury.
The Cardinals are tied for the second-best schedule during the fantasy playoffs, with games against the New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams.
Jonathon Brooks, Carolina Panthers (47.6%)
Brooks tripled his offensive snaps compared to the previous week.
The former second-round pick made his NFL debut a week ago, playing five offensive snaps, all in early-down situations. This week, he continued his early-down role, playing a higher percentage of the Panthers' offensive snaps, which included several goal-line and short-yardage plays.
On early downs outside of the two-minute drill and in the first three quarters, Brooks played 13 snaps to Chuba Hubbard’s 22. Hubbard remained the Panthers' clear receiving back, and once the fourth quarter hit, the team stuck entirely with the veteran running back.
While this isn’t nearly enough playing time for Brooks to have fantasy value, it is enough to cut into Hubbard’s value. Luckily, the Panthers have one of the best schedules for running backs over the fantasy playoffs, which means Hubbard can stay in fantasy starting lineups and Brooks is one of the best handcuff options. He’s been dropped in several fantasy leagues, and he’s worth picking up in case something happens to Hubbard.
Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia Eagles (2.5%)
Gainwell did not receive a carry this week but remains the handcuff to Saquon Barkley.
Gainwell is the only running back available in at least 95% of leagues who is the clear handcuff on their team, and that team has a generally favorable schedule during the fantasy playoffs.
Wide Receiver
Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers (47.5%)
Doubs missed the Packers' Thanksgiving game due to a concussion but will ideally be back this week. Doubs' two quiet games and missed time due to injury led many fantasy managers to drop him. From Weeks 6-12, since he returned from missing Week 5, he scored the 33rd-most fantasy points for a wide receiver.
The only available wide receivers on the waiver wire who have scored more points than Doubs are Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Rashod Bateman and DeMario Douglas. Westbrook-Ikhine has been entirely dependent on touchdowns. Doubs is on this list instead of those three because he’s shown a consistent ability to have big games and the Packers' schedule for wide receivers is the best of the bunch.
Doubs faces the Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings the rest of the way — all favorable matchups. All four should be competitive games, and their division rivals are among the worst four teams at preventing fantasy points to wide receivers. Doubs should remain a top-36 fantasy wide receiver in that stretch.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Tennessee Titans (19.7%)
Westbrook-Ikhine has scored the 13th-most fantasy points since Week 6, thanks to his eight touchdowns — tied for the most by a wide receiver in that time. He has caught only 20 passes, though. Anyone who has looked at regression knows this rate is unsustainable, yet Westbrook-Ikhine still scored two touchdowns in Week 13.
There is reason to believe Westbrook-Ikhine’s play can reach new heights over the next few weeks. He received a season-high seven targets this past week. His good play has led to more targets. He dropped one of them, which hurt his production, but we know past drops aren’t a great indicator of future drops.
The Titans also have one of the best schedules for wide receivers over the next four weeks, including two matchups against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that’s given up 278 passing yards per game.
Xavier Legette (35.8%) & Adam Thielen (27.2%), Carolina Panthers (27.2%)
Legette has scored the 40th-most fantasy points among wide receivers over the past six weeks. Only two healthy wide receivers are ahead of him and available on the waiver wire — Westbrook-Ikhine and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who has only eight receptions but four touchdowns.
Legette is very consistently catching four passes per game and is probably the safest option available on the waiver wire. As a highly drafted rookie with a good schedule, he could also have a career game in December.
Thielen shined brightest among Panthers wide receivers this past week, with eight receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown. If he was assured the starting slot receiving role over the rest of the season, he would potentially be the team's top wide receiver to target. However, Jalen Coker has missed the last two weeks due to an injury, so we’ll first need to see how the Panthers handle their wide receiver room with both Thielen and Coker active.
Devaughn Vele, Denver Broncos (5.9%)
Vele caught six passes for 80 yards in the Broncos' Week 12 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. It was his third straight game with double-digit fantasy points. While he’s the most productive wide receiver on this list in recent weeks, a few things are working against him.
He plays again on Monday Night Football in Week 13, and there is a concern Josh Reynolds could cut into his playing time. Reynolds was ruled out last week but could play this week. If Reynolds is a healthy inactive, it will be safer to trust Vele going forward.
If Vele can maintain his current snap and target rates, the Broncos have some good matchups during the fantasy playoffs.
Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders (7.0%)
Tucker caught a 58-yard touchdown pass on Black Friday. The previous week, he caught seven passes for 82 yards. He’s been one of the Raiders' top wide receivers all season but hasn’t consistently produced for fantasy purposes.
Tucker finds himself on this list because of his recent good play and Las Vegas' schedule. The Raiders face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints over the next four weeks. They are all among the worst seven teams at preventing fantasy points to wide receivers. The Raiders will likely be underdogs in those games and need to throw the ball a lot. While most targets will go to Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers, Tucker could see enough targets to have some big games.
Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars (0.9%)
Washington will be the Jaguars' clear second receiver for the rest of the season.
Christian Kirk suffered a season-ending injury in Week 8, and Gabe Davis‘ campaign ended in Week 11. When Davis went down two weeks ago, Washington moved from the slot to out wide, while Devin Duvernay became Jacksonville's slot receiver.
After the Jaguars’ Week 12 bye, their wide receiver pecking order stayed the same, but there was more of a rotation in the slot and out wide. Duvernay played close to 50% of his snaps from the slot, and Brian Thomas Jr. ended up with the most total snaps from that position.
Washington took advantage of his increased role, finishing with the second 100-game season by a Jaguars wide receiver this season. Washington’s best game was last season with six catches for 61 yards, and he had only two games per year of more than 20 yards before Week 13.
While it might be tempting to rush to get Washington off the waiver wire, it’s worth noting the Jaguars played the Houston Texans, who have allowed a lot of fantasy production to wide receivers this year. Jacksonville closes the season with games against the Tennessee Titans (two), the New York Jets and the Las Vegas Raiders. Those are all contests against top-12 defenses in fantasy points to wide receivers, so the Jaguars could stick more to the run game. It will be much harder for Washington to have this kind of performance down the stretch.
Tight End
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers (41.9%)
Freiermuth had a rough stretch from early October to mid-November, being held to less than 25 receiving yards in five of six games. However, he has started to turn things around over the past two weeks. He caught four passes for 59 yards in Week 12 and six passes for 68 yards and a touchdown in Week 13. Freiermuth is the only tight end available on the waiver wire with double-digit catches over the past two weeks.
The Steelers have a solid matchup this week against the Cleveland Browns, the same team Pittsburgh faced in Week 12. They end the fantasy season with matchups with the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, two teams that have allowed plenty of points to tight ends and against whom the Steelers will need to pass the ball a lot.
Will Dissly, Los Angeles Chargers (32.9%)
Dissly was shut out this past week against the Atlanta Falcons, with no receptions on his only target. Ladd McConkey gained 117 receiving yards, and the rest of the Chargers gained 33. Despite the poor game, Dissly has the 13th-most fantasy points among tight ends since Week 7.
Six teams are on a bye in Week 14 and Taysom Hill and Dallas Goedert suffered injuries, so Dissly has a lot of upside in a great matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. He’s a little riskier than Freiermuth after the rough week, though.
Grant Calcaterra, Philadelphia Eagles (0.5%)
Dallas Goedert suffered a knee injury in Week 13 in the fourth quarter and didn’t return.
Calcaterra replaced Goedert, although the Eagles largely stuck with two-tight end sets to run out the clock, so C.J. Uzomah was also on the field. If Goedert misses time, we can expect Calcaterra to take over as the every-down tight end, as he did from Weeks 6-9. Calcaterra was TE20 during that time.
The Eagles play the Carolina Panthers next week, and they’ve allowed the most fantasy points to tight ends this season. Calcaterra is a fine waiver-wire option for any fantasy manager who needs a tight end next week if Goedert can’t play.
Noah Gray, Kansas City Chiefs (7.2%)
Gray has been a large part of the Chiefs' passing game since Week 8, running at least 24 routes each week. His target rate hasn’t been that high this season, but his 79.0 PFF receiving grade ranked sixth among tight ends with at least 150 routes before Sunday’s slate of games.
Gray has gained at least 9 PPR points in each of his past three games. Over that stretch, he has more receiving yards than Travis Kelce and just as many receptions as DeAndre Hopkins. While it’s seldom a good idea to count on a team's second-best receiving tight end, Gray could be an exception.
The Chiefs' remaining schedule is around the league average for tight ends, but GRay is one of the very few available on the waiver wire who has produced with any kind of consistency recently.
Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans (4.7%)
Okonkwo was targeted a season-high six times in Week 13 after catching a 70-yard touchdown last week. He was targeted an additional two times on plays called back by penalty. One was a completion nullified by an offensive holding, and Okonkwo was interfered with on the other play.
While this hasn’t been the best season for Okonkwo, the recent big game, followed by the recent uptick in volume, is a positive sign. Okonkwo has by far the best schedule for tight ends over the rest of the season. All four games are against teams that rank in the bottom eight at preventing fantasy points to tight ends.
While it would be risky to put Okonkwo in your lineup this week, there is a lot of upside. Like the rest of the Titans' players in this article, you can pick them up this week and monitor their performances before potentially starting them later this month.
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