This could go one of two ways. That smug look on Colbert above is one trajectory: pride. Last week’s Working the Waiver, beyond featuring a GIF and link to perhaps the funniest six minutes on the internet (thank you, Eastbound and Down), couldn’t have been more accurate. Okay, fine, it could have been without the Tajae Sharpe egg, but seriously…you could/should have rostered every name on there. But instead of puffing up my #dadbod chest for the masses to gawk over (eat your heart out, Tehol), the prevailing emotion is the second option: desperation. Seriously, I ain’t to proud to beg.
It’s Week 13. For all you non-math majors, that’s a bakers dozen. And in the fantasy world, you know what that means: One. More. Week. It’s the final week before playoffs begin. If you’re still reading this I assume you’re in the race for a playoff spot. And if you’re not, well…you’re the best kind of person. Thank you. Keep fighting even though the ship is now sunk (I’m doing this in a staff league. Gotta get as many points as possible to make my case that fantasy football involves incredible luck. Fourth most points in a 14-team league but miss the playoffs? Wasn’t my fault.). So, as we prep our playoff rosters, there are plenty of targets to either deepen your bench or shore up your FLEX spot. And guess what? A lot of the names are the EXACT same as last week. I TOLD YOU SO! Pick them up! I beg of you.
Here are the top targets to, well…target heading into Week 13!
Note: The threshold for appearing as one of the targets is <25% ownership on either Yahoo or ESPN as of Monday. 
= BURN NOTICE…it’s worth burning your waiver for the player.
- Colin Kaepernick, QB – SF (ESPN 22.8%, Yahoo 24%) – Damn it. He’s not moving until his ownership goes up. 296/3/1 with 10/113/0 rushing against the Dolphins. How many more ways can I say that he’s a top 10 fantasy QB?!? And if you’re not picking him up because of personal bias for his personal stances, get over yourself. Pick him up, start him unless you own Drew Brees, and go win some fantasy…
- Taylor Gabriel, WR – ATL (ESPN 3.6%, Yahoo 6%) – Here is most likely the highest added player for Week 13. Is he on Burn Notice? Nope. For that you’d go after someone like Tyreek Hill, who has also been mentioned here plenty of times, but just misses the 25% threshold. So, for the third straight week I’m highlighting Gabriel after he proved to be worth the post-BYE add. His speed is so incredible that the Falcons creative offense continues finding ways to get him the ball. His 27 yard rush added a valuable 2.7 points to his total without adding another reception, an important stat to consider come playoff time. But don’t worry, he did it through the air, as well. Again. He doesn’t need a high volume to make a big impact, which he proved with 4/75/2 on 5 targets. Those two touchdowns were unexpected, but going into Week 13 they shouldn’t be. I doubt he does it twice, but the Chiefs have surrendered the most points to opposing WR in all of fantasy, so Gabriel’s a safe play for at least 5 targets with a ceiling of repeating his Week 12 performance. Such a dangerous weapon.
- Dontrelle Inman, WR – SD (ESPN 6.5%, Yahoo 5%) – And wouldya look at that…here’s another repeat name. For the third straight week Inman follows Gabriel as a great WR addition. Never shy to throw it around, the Chargers and Philip Rivers may have found an answer to their injury woes with Inman. After garnering 9 targets in his two games before the Week 11 BYE, Inman followed up the rest with a 6/119/1 effort, hauling in all 6 targets. It’s his best game since Week 4, but it came against the toughest defense vs. WR (HOU) rather than one of the worst (OAK in Week 4). Six targets is likely his floor, and he has enough big-play ability to stretch the field and score from distance. But against the Bucs this week, and with Tyrell Williams potentially injured and out, he could easily see double digit targets and another big afternoon.
- Marqise Lee, WR – JAX (ESPN 6.5%, Yahoo 10%) – I mean, haha, it’s like I just copied over last week’s post! The new record holder for most appearances in Working the Wire, Lee finds himself unable to jump that ownership number significantly. Maybe it will take a Pierre Garcon type effort for it to happen, but if Tyler Boyd can rise to nearly 50% owned, Lee should easily break the 40% mark after another 6 targets and a 4/37/1 line. He’s been one of the most consistently targeted WR in the game this year with only two games under 6. Sure, he’s not hauling in a bevy of opportunities, but I’d rather play Lee than Allen Hurns or, at this point, Allen Robinson if I’m rostering a Jags receiver. He has some tough matchups coming up in his next three (DEN, MIN, @HOU), but Jacksonville should be playing from behind in all three games, meaning Blake Bortles will be throwing it like crazy to catch up in the second half. As always.
- Anquan Boldin, WR – DET (ESPN 23.3%, Yahoo 22%) – And if I’m mentioning Marqise Lee, I need to put Boldin in here, too. He’s not going to blow you away with a massive ceiling at this point in his career, but Matthew Stafford clearly trusts him enough to look his way often through the game. Two straight games of 9 targets led to Boldin producing a 7/69/1 line on Thanksgiving. He’s not going to find the end zone often, and this line is probably close to his max, but I’d rather have the safety of those targets if I needed to get creative with my flex than someone like Sammie Coates. Yes, you need to play for the win at this point in the season, but some reliable points are just as valuable as the boom-or-bust guys. Actually, I’d argue that starting someone like Boldin could free you up to play more home run threats. Pair him with Sammy Watkins and you could move into the next round. Oh, Sammy…how glad I am I stashed you.
- Malcolm Mitchell, WR – NE (ESPN 2.7%, Yahoo 3%) – Ha! And you thought I was done with the repeat names. Likely to be one of the top pickups this week, I’d proceed with a little caution on Mitchell moving forward. Worth the add? Absolutely, just like he was last week, but his snap count brings the concern. With Rob Gronkowski out Mitchell garnered more targets than normal, but his was in for essentially half the snaps that both Julian Edelman (of course) and Chris Hogan were. Still, when Tom Brady’s slinging the ball around, the 3rd/4th option can elevate to WR3 status because Brady will find the best matchups. Mitchell didn’t just beat up on slow LB’s, though. He burned Revis (the shell of him, at least) for a TD in the red zone. He was one of the top performers at the combine, was a 5-Star WR coming out of HS and has the potential to be a diamond in the rough for the Pats that actually sticks.
- Dorian Green-Beckham, WR – PHI (ESPN 5.3%, Yahoo 5%) – I turned down multiple offers to get DGB earlier int he year for essentially nothing in a dynasty league. I may be regretting that moving forward. He’s by no means reliable enough to trot out there each and every week, but that may have to do more with his rookie QB than his ability. This dude’s an athletic freak that can absolutely dominate a secondary, as he showed flashes of against a porous Green Bay secondary Monday night for 6/82/0 on 10 targets. He’s sporadic with his production, but worth the deep add after getting 18 targets in the two games since the Eagles bye. Maybe they shifted something in their scheme to include him more often. Pick him up and hope that’s the case.
- Kapri Bibbs, RB – DEN (ESPN 8.4%, Yahoo 11%) – Continuing the trend of basically zero RB worth anything being available for pickup, here’s this week’s speculative add. Again. Bibbs carried the ball 9 times in the Denver loss Sunday night, but only for 22 yards. Devontae Booker still holds the reins, and I don’t think Bibbs can take them barring an injury. Which is why this is speculative. Hopefully you’ve locked in your RB at this point…
Now…DROP THOSE COMMENTS! Good luck in Week 13! Last push to make the playoffs! So for all you 6-6 teams out there, hopefully you’ve followed along and this is helpful. Time to pull out all the stops!
