Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell remains an intriguing waiver wire target in fantasy football.
Welcome to Week 13 of the 2023 NFL season. As real-life teams prepare for the final playoff push, fantasy managers are prepping for fantasy football playoffs to begin.
To help you make a playoff run, we’ve put together a list of ten fantasy football waiver wire targets to consider this week, including options at running back, wide receiver, tight end, quarterback, defense and kicker (each player’s rostered percentage in ESPN fantasy football leagues is listed in parentheses).
The list is highlighted by Baltimore Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell, who turned 11 touches into 89 yards on Sunday. While Gus Edwards remains Baltimore’s goal-line running back, Mitchell has been more efficient, which might lead to more opportunities down the road.
At wide receiver, Greg Dortch of the Arizona Cardinals is turning heads after drawing 9 and 8 targets, respectively, over the last two weeks since Kyler Murray returned from injury. We’ll see if that utilization leads to production in the final six weeks of the season.
Check out the full list of fantasy football waiver wire targets below.
Here are some waiver wire options for fantasy this week.
After the 12th full slate of regular season action, the NFL and fantasy football are in the back half of their years.
If you had a tough injury in Week 12, you just didn’t get the production from one of your players that you expected or you have a player on bye, we’ll scan the waiver wire. For potential pickups, we’ll consider players who are available in at least 50% of ESPN fantasy leagues.
Let’s take a look at some of the potential waiver wire pickups that could help your teams heading into Week 13 of the NFL campaign.
Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.
SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks
Pass-Rush
TD
Josh Allen
339-81
4
Jalen Hurts
200-65
5
Dak Prescott
331-10
4
C.J. Stroud
304-47
3
Jordan Love
268-39
3
Running Backs
Rush Rcv
TD
Kyren Williams
16-143
6-61
2
Christian McCaffrey
19-114
5-25
2
Bijan Robinson
16-91
3-32
2
Isiah Pacheco
15-55
5-34
2
Josh Jacobs
20-110
4-15
1
Wide Receivers
Yards
TD
Tyreek Hill
9-102
1
Mike Evans
6-70
2
Rashee Rice
8-107
1
DeVonta Smith
7-106
1
Keenan Allen
14-106
0
Tight Ends
Yards
TD
Pat Freiermuth
9-120
0
Tyler Higbee
5-29
2
Sam LaPorta
5-47
1
Travis Kelce
6-91
0
Gerald Everett
4-43
1
Placekickers
XP
FG
Blake Grupe
0
5
Brandon McManus
1
3
Tyler Bass
4
2
Jason Sanders
4
2
Chris Boswell
1
3
Defense
Sack – TO
TD
Miami
7-2
1
San Francisco
6-2
0
Dallas
4-1
1
Baltimore
3-4
0
Green Bay
3-3
1
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
QB D. Thompson-Robinson – Head
QB Baker Mayfield – Ankle
WR Laviska Shenault – Ankle
WR Demario Douglas – Head
WR Rashid Shaheed – Thigh
WR Amari Cooper – Rib
WR Chris Olave – Concussion
Chasing Ambulances
QB D. Thompson-Robinson – Got blasted by a defender and left the field with a bloody lip. Was diagnosed with a concussion. So the Browns will either revert to P.J. Walker as they did in the game, or they promote Joe Flacco from the practice squad. The Browns play at the Jaguars this week.
QB Baker Mayfield – He injured his ankle and looked significant at first, but he later returned to the game. Kyle Trask replaced him in the game for a few plays. He should be good for the Panthers this week.
WR Demario Douglas – He’s been the only Patriot wideout with a shred of fantasy value and he was clotheslined on a punt return though no penalty was called. He’s believed to have a concussion but more should be known by Wednesday at the latest.
WR Rashid Shaheed – Thigh WR Chris Olave – Concussion The Saints’ receivers are in bad shape. Olave hit the ground hard on an attempted catch and was ruled out with a concussion. Shaheed injured his thigh and did not return to the game. Michael Thomas is already on IR. The Saints host the Lions this week and may have little more than A.T. Perry, Keith Kirkwood, and Taysom Hill for receivers.
WR Amari Cooper – He had his arms outstretched for a pass when a Denver defender delivered a crushing shot to his ribs. He was immediately ruled out though his X-rays were negative. The rookie Cedric Tillman was the top wideout with four catches for 55 yards. The Browns play at the Rams this week but it isn’t even certain who the quarterback will be. If Cooper misses time, assumedly Elijah Moore would see more targets but there have been no fantasy-relevant wideouts in Cleveland other than Cooper.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
QB Jake Browning – The replacement for Joe Burrow threw for 227 yards and a touchdown with one interception against the Steelers. He connected with Ja’Marr Chase for 81 yards on four receptions but had no success with the rest of the receivers. The Steelers were also able to hold Joe Mixon to only eight carries for 16 yards, so the absence of Burrow is going to impact both the rushing and receiving.
WR Calvin Ridley – After disappearing for much of the season, Ridley scored on his five catches for 89 yards in the win over the Texans for his second straight game with high yardage and a touchdown. And the last two weeks have been the best performances for Trevor Lawrence.
RB Rachaad White – He popped up on the injury report on Friday as questionable with a thigh injury. Apparently, the pain motivated him because he rushed for a season-high 100 yards and caught two short passes in the loss to the Colts.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson/Ezekiel Elliott – The Pats may not win again this season, as shocking as that seems. They used both Matt Jones and Bailey Zappe in a race to who could throw the most interceptions (Jones won), but the rushing offense wasn’t a disaster. Stevenson (21-98, TD) and Elliott (9-46) were the only part of the offense that scored or gained much yardage. This week they play the Chargers which should benefit them again.
QB Tommy DeVito – He won his last two games and threw for 246 yards and three scores in Week 11. On Sunday, he passed for 191 yards and a touchdown. He also did what was thought impossible when he completed five passes to the rookie Jalin Hyatt, who gained 109 yards – the only 100-yard game by a Giants’ receiver this year.
WR Rashee Rice – The Chiefs desperately need a receiver not currently dating Taylor Swift to make a difference and Patrick Mahomes has already thrown passes to 12 wideouts. Rice has been the most consistent so far, logging around 50 yards and scoring in every other game. Versus the Raiders, he caught a season-best eight passes for 107 yards and a touchdown – the first 100-yard game by a wide receiver. Justin Watson scored for the last two weeks but with minimal yardage. Week 12 was the first time it looked like the Chiefs had an actual No. 1 wideout.
WR Jakobi Meyers – While Aiden O’Connell has continued to throw to Davante Adams, he had failed to connect with Meyers for more than a few catches and minimal yardage. Against a very tough Chiefs secondary, Meyers led the Raiders with six catches for 79 yards and a score. That bodes well for when they return from their Week 13 bye to face the weak defenses of the Vikings and Chargers.
TE Pat Freiermuth – He returned from the back injury in Week 11 after spending six weeks on injured reserve but only caught one pass for seven yards at the Browns. Playing for the first time without OC Matt Canada, Freiermuth posted a career-high nine catches for 120 yards in the win over the Bengals. He only had 13 receptions on the year entering Sunday. The Bengals are weak against the position, but Freiermuth had double the production of any other receiver.
RB Keaton Mitchell – He led the Ravens in rushing with nine carries for 64 yards, plus caught both targets for 25 more yards. The Ravens are committed to their committee backfield, but Mitchell is still generating fantasy points even with the 11-touch workload. That was one more carry than Gus Edwards and three more than Justice Hill.
Huddle player of the week
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
RB Kyren Williams – He spent time on injured reserve with an ankle injury and the Rams said they would have him on a snap count in his first game back. That limitation ended up as 16 carries for 143 yards, plus six receptions for 61 yards with two touchdowns as the No. 1 running back for Week 12. Royce Freeman also ran for 77 yards and a score on 13 carries, so they didn’t give him a “full” workload, just one that helped his fantasy owners win their game – if they ignored what the Rams coaches said before the game.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
The new Steelers offense helped carry Pittsburgh to the win.
The Pittsburgh Steelers new-and-improved offense broke a 58-game streak of not gaining 400 yards of offense on the way to a 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Here are our big takeaways from the win.
Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet headlines this week’s list of the top waiver wire targets in fantasy football.
We’ve reached Week 12 of the 2023 NFL season and fantasy football playoffs are right around the corner for most leagues.
Many fantasy football managers will be scrambling to find help on the waiver wire this week after running backs Aaron Jones (knee) and Ken Walkers (oblique) suffered injuries on Sunday.
The No. 1 tight end in fantasy football this year, Mark Andrews, also suffered a season-ending* ankle injury in Week 11 (Baltimore says there is an outside shot Andrews might be able to return this year, but that would presumably be after the fantasy season has ended).
So fantasy football managers will need to find replacements for several key players this week. To help in that search, we’ve put together a list of the ten best waiver wire targets this week with options at running back, wide receiver, tight end, quarterback, defense/special teams and even kicker.
Each player’s rostered percentage in ESPN fantasy football leagues is listed in parentheses. Ready? Let’s get to the full list!
The Steelers will have a fully healthy offense for the first time since Week 1.
It appears the Pittsburgh Steelers offense will be fully healthy for the first time since Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Pittsburgh plans to activate tight end Pat Freiermuth before they board the bus to Cleveland this afternoon.
Freiermuth (hamstring), placed on injured reserve on Oct. 21, hasn’t played since Week 4 at Houston.
But what’s the point?
The ugly truth is that the offense wasn’t great before Freiermuth got hurt, and Matt Canada seems to have completely forgotten about the tight end position.
Freiermuth came off a career 732-yard, two-touchdown season in 2022, but just like the rest of the skill players, his numbers had taken a big hit no thanks to Kenny Pickett‘s regression.
Though he’d scored touchdowns in two of his four games, only one ended with more than 10 receiving yards (41 yards versus Las Vegas Raiders). Pittsburgh has 160 between their two other tight ends, Connor Heyward (137 yards) and Darnell Washington (23 yards).
Cleveland’s defense is ranked number one against tight ends. The only one to find any success against Cleveland was Mark Andrews, who managed 80 yards and two scores in Week 4.
The #Steelers plan to activate TE Pat Freiermuth from injured reserve before leaving for Cleveland today, per source. A boost for Pittsburgh’s offense on Sunday against the #Browns’ stout D. pic.twitter.com/C5MoO4guIN
The Pittsburgh Steelers head into Cleveland this week and play as close to a must-win game as you can in Week 11. The Steelers and Browns are both 6-3 with the Steelers only having the division edge after beating Cleveland in Week Two. Here are the storylines to watch this week.
Pat Freiermuth remains on injured reserve, Minkah Fitzpatrick still not practicing.
The Pittsburgh Steelers continued their week of preparation for the big brawl with the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon. Pat Freiermuth remains on injured reserve but practiced fully for the first time since being designated to return on Wednesday. It’s unclear whether he’ll be available to play this week, but Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday he feels good about his progression.
The Steelers hope to get Pat Freiermuth back against the Browns.
On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers opened up the 21-day window for tight end Pat Freiermuth to return from IR. Freiermuth was at practice on Wednesday and barring some unforeseen setback, the hope is that Freiermuth will be ready to play on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.
Freiermuth has missed the last five games with a hamstring injury. The hope is that the return of Freiermuth will spark this anemic passing offense.
The truth is the offense wasn’t great before Freiermuth got hurt and the Steelers offense seems to have forgotten about the tight end position completely. Freiermuth is a great talent and he came into 2023 off of a career year but his numbers have taken a big hit just like the rest of the skill players with the struggles of quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Kenny Pickett had some real chemistry working with Pat Freiermuth to start the season, and since he’s been sidelined, he hasn’t quite found it with any other receiver.
Kenny Pickett had some real chemistry working with Pat Freiermuth to start the season, and since he’s been sidelined, Pickett hasn’t quite found it with any other receiver.
It appears Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers could have him back for Sunday’s critical divisional matchup with the Cleveland Browns.
In his press conference today, Mike Tomlin updated Freiermuth’s status, saying that he feels “good” about his tight end being activated from injured reserve this week.
“I feel good about Pat Freiermuth. We’ll watch him go through the week and look at the quality of his work and the amount of it and how he feels and let that be a determining factor but feel good about his potential availability.”
Having Freiermuth back could be just the boost that Pickett needs. For as little scoring as the Steelers did (and have done in his absence), Freiermuth was a significant part, responsible for two of their four offensive touchdowns.
Hamstring injuries have run rampant in the Steelers locker room. Diontae Johnson returned from IR as Freiermuth went on, and Minkah Fitzpatrick is at risk of missing his third consecutive game.
Tomlin said he feels good about tight end Pat Freiermuth being activated from injured reserve this week. Said Minkah Fitzpatrick also could play Sunday depending on how he fares in practice.
