Donkey On Waivers: Week 13

You’ve just brewed your Tuesday morning honey cappuccino and sat down at the computer to peruse your favorite article of the week: Wright On Waivers. The Joey Wright always knows the exact words needed to brighten your Tuesday mornings, he’s the golden boy. But wait! Donkey On Waivers?! What is this bastardization of fantasy football content! The lack of alliteration in the title is concerning, to say the least. I know this is traumatic. Let me apologize in advance, there’s no possible way for me to adequately fill The Joey’s Shaq-like shoes. But The Joey is nursing a house full of sick women and children—don’t worry, he’s assured me it’s not COVID—so in comes the B-team (Donkey Teeth). If you’re lucky The Joey may make a guest appearance later in the week covering the Buy/Sell column. 

The Joey’s goal was to keep this simple with the waiver wire recommendations in terms of layout. He’s demanded that I include player, team, roster percentage, free-agent acquisition budget (FAAB) dollar amount (in percentage) I would use on the player, and of course a little background on why the player is suggested. The players will be listed by position in order of priority. The threshold The Joey tells me to work with is generally less than 50% rostered in leagues. Anyway, here’s some players to consider adding for fantasy football week 13:

 

QUARTERBACK

Taysom Hill | New Orleans Saints

5% Rostered | 9% of FAAB

This is a little embarrassing, but I ranked Taysom as my #10 QB in my summer rankings when I was confident he would win the starting gig over Jameis. Swing and a miss! But his legs make him a difference-maker in the fantasy world and he has the upside of QB1 in any given week. If you need to take a home run swing, pick Hill up!

 

Tua Tagovailoa | Miami Dolphins

33% Rostered | 2% of FAAB

Over the past two weeks, Tua has finally started to show why he was the 5th overall pick in last year’s draft, completely nearly 85% of his passing attempts in those two games. He gets the Giants in week 13 and then the Jets after their week 15 bye.

 

RUNNING BACK

Alexander Mattison | Minnesota Vikings

51% Rostered | 40% of FAAB

Dalvin Cook is officially “day-to-day” but I’m not holding my breath. It wouldn’t be shocking if he missed several weeks. If you need immediate help for week 13, there’s no shame in spending the rest of your FAAB or the number one waiver priority here.

 

Chuba Hubbard | Carolina Panthers

40% Rostered | 18% of FAAB

Amine Donkey just called and told me he’s selling Chuba Hubbard this week due to the Panthers’ brutal playoff schedule. Also, Ameer Abdullah could be more of a factor than Hubbard managers would like. Still, if the kid is available you have to pick him up.

 

D’Onta Foreman | Tennessee Titans

46% Rostered | 17% of FAAB

Dontrell Hilliard | Tennessee Titans

29% Rostered | 8% of FAAB

Here’s what The Joey said about this backfield last week, “When did the Bill Belichick/Kyle Shanahan method of running back usage come to Tennessee? Ever since Derrick Henry left the Titans three weeks ago, the running game in Tennessee has had no clear identity. This week it was Dontrell Hilliard’s turn to get into the mix as he was second on the team in carries with seven but led the team in receptions with eight for forty-seven yards. The absence of both Jeremy McNichols and Julio Jones proved to be a perfect storm to get Hilliard work. The Titans face the Patriots in Week Twelve who allow the second-most receiving yards to running backs this season.” Spot on analysis from The Joey. Foreman handled 19 carries in week 12 compared to 12 carries for Hilliard as they were both useful fantasy plays. I’m not sure how Foreman is still owned in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues.

Jamaal Williams | Detroit Lions

39% Rostered | 14% of FAAB

Coach Campbell is already saying it’s unlikely we see D’Andre Swift on the field in week 13. That’s not exactly a great sign for his week 14 and 15 status either. There’s a pretty good argument for Williams moving up ahead of Hubbard on this list.

 

As The Joey said last week, it’s time to lock up your handcuffs for your playoff runs. Here is a list of running backs and handcuffs who may be available in your leagues:

Ezekiel Elliott | Dallas Cowboys = Tony Pollard

Jonathan Taylor | Indianapolis Colts = Nyheim Hines

Austin Ekeler | Los Angeles Chargers = Larry Rountree

Joe Mixon | Cincinnati Bengals = Samaje Perine

James Conner | Arizona Cardinals = Eno Benjamin

Najee Harris | Pittsburgh Steelers = Benny Snell

Nick Chubb | Cleveland Browns = D’Ernest Johnson

Darrell Henderson | Los Angeles Rams = Sony Michel

 

WIDE RECEIVER

Van Jefferson | Los Angeles Rams

49% Rostered | 15% of FAAB

I’ve been touting Van the Man since the preseason and can’t believe he’s still owned in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues. What are y’all waiting for?! Just send me your password and I’ll pick him up for you.

 

Kendrick Bourne | New England Patriots

23% Rostered | 8% of FAAB

Here’s what The Joey said about Bourne last week, “The New England Patriots face the Tennessee Titans on Sunday who have allowed the most fantasy points this season to wide receivers. If you are looking for a substitute for an Arizona receiver, you could do much worse than Nelson Agholor or Kenrick Bourne this week. Agholor is coming off a respectable five receptions for forty yards and a touchdown against the Falcons last Thursday. While Bourne will look to top his 2017 performance against the Titans when he had four receptions for eighty-five yards.” Bourne hauled in 5 catched for 61 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Titans. Whoa! The Joey is some sort of sorcerer, obviously. And Bourne should be owned in way more than 23% of leagues.

 

Josh Reynolds | Detroit Lions

1% Rostered | 7% of FAAB

I’m going to surprise you with a couple of bits of info here: Josh Reynolds is on the Lions. Alright, maybe not the biggest surprise since “Detriot Lions” is listed next to his name two inches above. But this other tidbit is going to surprise you: Josh Reynolds is the Lions’ number one wide receiver. Granted, it’s more by default than merit. But remember, Reynolds and Goff spend a lot of time together out in LA, so the chemistry is already there.

 

Russell Gage | Atlanta Falcons

17% Rostered | 6% of FAAB

15 targets of the past two weeks, not too shabby! Gage, like Reynolds, is more of a deep league volume play at WR3 rather than an upside gamble for shallower leagues.

 

Marquez Valdes-Scantling | Green Bay Packers

25% Rostered | 3% of FAAB

Here’s what The Joey said about MVS last week, “Marquez Valdes-Scantling had been quiet since returning to the Packers in Week Nine, but it all changed with Allen Lazard missing the game last Sunday. MVS, as the kids call him, had four receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Rodgers has supported two receivers over his entire career reliably. The past few seasons though the identity of the Packers’ WR2 has sometimes been a bit of a mystery. If Lazard is out, MVS is a borderline WR3/Flex play in your lineups.” Valdes-Scantling caught only 4 passes for 50 yards this week. Bad The Joey! But hey, MVS still saw 9 targets from A-A-Ron. Process over results, as The Joey once told me.

 

Wide Receiver is always deep, so here are a few more players rostered in less than 25% I would recommend rostering on your bench:

Curtis Samuel | Washington Football Team

DeAndre Carter | Washington Football Team

Tre’Quan Smith | New Orleans Saints

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | Tennessee Titans

 

TIGHT END

Cole Kmet | Chicago Bears

24% Rostered | 2% of FAAB

Andy Dalton likes targeting Kmet. Dalton looked his way 7 times in week one and then another 11 times this past week on Thanksgiving. There’s no reason for the Bears to rush Fields back, so look for more of this in the coming weeks.

 

Jack Doyle | Indianapolis Colts

1% Rostered | 1% of FAAB

I’m not going to hype up Jack Doyle too much here. He’s seeing consistent targets and he faces the Texans this coming week. Nuff said.