Another week, another need to help upgrade your fantasy football roster before the postseason begins.
For most teams, your playoff slate begins in Week 14, with others starting up one week later in Week 15. Regardless of when you have to put up or shut up, the waiver period between Week 13 and Week 14 games is a great time to find that final piece to your fantasy football championship puzzle.
Take a look at our list of the ten top waiver-wire pickups that you should put in claims for this week. With a healthy mix of wide receivers, running backs, quarterbacks, and tight ends, there should be plenty of wire targets for you to take a look at and see if they would help address any of your roster’s shortcomings.
All below projections are based on a full-point, point-per-reception league format, so make sure to tailor these expectations to the league format that suits you the best. All included players are available in over 50 percent of leagues, meaning that most of these options should be out on your wire to pick up if needed.
10. Mitchell Trubisky – QB
Chicago Bears
20.7 percent rostered
Look, your 32nd-ranked quarterback on the year is obviously nothing to truly write home about. Yet, Mitchell Trubisky has shown just enough ever since he took over the starting job back from Nick Foles (due to injury) to justify a potential fantasy football start in desperate times.
Trubisky put up a middling stat line against the Detroit Lions in a shocking loss on Sunday, throwing for 267 yards and a touchdown while losing a fumble. Those numbers certainly were not enough to get it done, but they could be enough against the Houston Texans, Minnesota Vikings, and Jacksonville Jaguars, who are the next three upcoming matchups for the Bears.
With how stout the Chicago D/ST is, Trubisky seems to have a solid chance at playing a good game-manager role, which could improve his fantasy relevancy moving forward.
9. Cordarrelle Patterson – RB/WR/KR
Chicago Bears
4.8 percent rostered
Another member of the Chicago Bears, Swiss army knife Cordarrelle Patterson has become a thorn in the side of all David Montgomery rosters this season, but especially as of late.
Having recorded his second double-digit amount of carries on the year, which was also the second instance of that in the past three games, Patterson seems to be getting more attention as game script benefits an even balance of run-pass options for Matt Nagy and the Bears.
The defenses of the Texans, Vikings, and Jaguars are certainly less-than-stout units, which could give Patterson a chance to hold an offensive role. Plus, he is the most volatile kick returner in the game currently, which could give you another source of points.
8. Baker Mayfield – QB
Cleveland Browns
20.5 percent rostered
Statistically, only the Week 7 game against the Cincinnati Bengals produced a better performance by Baker Mayfield in 2020 than Week 13 – his torrid offensive onslaught against the Tennessee Titans (334 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 fumble) was something to see, but it also came against a below-average secondary.
But for the 9-3 Cleveland Browns, their season’s success has been fueled by their offensive attack, which is known as a run-first scheme that has finally seen both elements come to fruition. While this team fights for a wild-card spot, they may need to rely on Mayfield more in the coming weeks.
Baltimore, the Giants, and the Jets are up next for the Browns, with the first two teams being tough matchups for the passing game. Even with that being said, Mayfield falls into the same category as Trubisky, as he can be a fantasy football plug-in option if needed. But be wary of the normal drop-offs that Mayfield is known for.
7. Tim Patrick – WR
Denver Broncos
15.5 percent rostered
Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, Noah Fant, you name it – the pass-catching options for the Denver Broncos are certain to get a bunch of targets, as this team is commonly playing from behind. And for Patrick, he just so happened to be the go-to option for Drew Lock against the Kansas City Chiefs, hauling in two touchdown passes.
Outside of his goose-egg performance in Week 12, Patrick has hauled in at least four passes in five of his last seven games, including 119 yards on five catches against the Dolphins in Week 11, so Lock and Patrick certainly have a good relationship.
The Panthers, Bills, and Chargers round out the fantasy schedule for the Broncos, and Patrick profiles as a WR4 moving forward that could be a low-end WR3 if his rapport with Lock continues.
6. Michael Pittman Jr. – WR
Indianapolis Colts
42.5 percent rostered
While the USC rookie’s season has cooled slightly, Michael Pittman Jr. certainly should benefit from the increased role that T.Y. Hilton has taken up on the IND offense, as opposing defenses should push more of their attention Hilton’s direction.
Pittman has hauled in 22 passes since he returned from his three-week layout due to injury, and while 22 catches over six weeks is not a huge impact, it certainly can be chalked up as one since Pittman and Philip Rivers are just getting on the same page with the rookie’s route tree.
The Colts get the Raiders, Texans, and Steelers next, so Pittman could serve a real unheralded role as a fantasy football WR3 with an above-average ceiling.
5. Jalen Reagor – WR
Philadelphia Eagles
17.8 percent rostered
Jalen Hurts looks to be the starter moving forward, at least based on his role from Philly’s loss to the Green Bay Packers this past week. As Hurts earned the vast majority of the second-half work, he seemed to disperse his targets somewhat evenly to his weapons, which included fellow rookie Jalen Reagor.
While Reagor may have only hauled in one catch for 34 yards, his target share probably will get one of the bigger boosts if Hurts continues as the team’s starter, just based on Hurts’ willingness to make plays outside of the pocket, an element that Carson Wentz has failed to capitalize on in certain times this year.
Philly, who is still somehow in the hunt for the NFC East divisional race, gets the Saints, Cardinals, and Cowboys next up, and those three games certainly do not favor the Eagles in a positive manner, so throwing the ball should help benefit Reagor’s ceiling moving forward.
4. Ty Johnson – RB
New York Jets
0.3 percent rostered
There truly is not one non-gross element of this New York Jets’ team, fantasy football relevant or not. But with Frank Gore, unfortunately, suffering a concussion early on in their Week 13 devastating loss to the Raiders, Ty Johnson and Josh Adams both earned their fair share of carries, but Johnson benefited the most.
All Johnson did was turn 24 total touches (22 carries) into 117 yards and a rushing score. Now Adams did earn an effective 74 yards on only eight carries, so he could be a vulture for Johnson if Gore remains out, but facing the Seahawks, Rams, and Browns all (except for the stout run D for the Rams) offers up interesting low-FLEX value for Johnson, especially if Gore misses considerable time.
3. Logan Thomas – TE
Washington Professional Football Team
24.9 percent rostered
A career game for former college quarterback Logan Thomas for the Washington Professional Team was a huge reason why they pulled the huge upset over the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers in the first Monday game of the week. Nine catches for 98 yards and a score against the strong Steelers D was quite impressive, and he certainly made a big-time impact.
Thomas was easily Alex Smith’s favorite target on the night, regularly catching out routes and earning some hard-fought yards on his way to a career night. As the TE17 on the year, Thomas has a real role in this offense for a team that is somehow right in the fight for the divisional crown.
The Niners, Seahawks, and Panthers are Weeks 14-16 for Washington, all three foes that Thomas can help compound his career night off of, making him a worthwhile start moving forward.
2. Keke Coutee – WR
Houston Texans
12.4 percent rostered
The biggest beneficiary of Will Fuller’s PED suspension, was, on paper, Brandin Cooks. However, it was Keke Coutee that led the team in targets, catches, and receiving yards, and the yardage (141 yards) was a career-high.
Coutee is not a big-name option as of right now, which should help give you a great chance at picking up a potential WR3/4 option for the rest of the year, regardless of opponent. His projected volume puts him in a great position, and even though Houston gets the Bears, Colts, and Bengals next up, Coutee should be a higher priority waiver addition for you this week if you need WR help.
1. Cam Akers – RB
Los Angeles Rams
35.8 percent rostered
All Cam Akers did was outpace both Darrell Henderson Jr. and Malcolm Brown in offensive snaps (52 to 31) in the Rams’ win over the Cardinals. And even though Akers was a non-participant with a shoulder injury on Monday’s practice, Akers’ expanding role has certainly been an exciting thing to watch unfold over these past few weeks.
The Rams face the Patriots on Thursday this week in a short week, which can obviously make it difficult for Akers to recover in a short time frame, but there was no recorded injury for Akers stemming from the game, so it could be just a maintenance item for him, especially since this was the biggest workload game for him to date.
Akers gets the Patriots (if healthy), then the Jets and Seahawks, a bunch of juicy matchups for what looks to be the lead back for the Rams at this point.
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