RADIO
Another week of football in the books! Sunday's games felt a little more...boring?...than usual, but that's probably because there were less of them. I did get treated to something nice, though, in the second slate of games, when my friend with RedZone's new television arrived and we were able to actually see what was happening in the quad-box.
As this column heads towards its logical conclusion, it feels harder to highlight players that are worth owning. First, because teams--both real and fantasy--have pretty much solidified their lineups by this point. Especially in real life, lineup changes aren't going to happen much unless injuries pop up.
Oh, what's that? Injuries did pop up this week? Oh! Well, let's just go ahead and skip to the meat of the column, then! Let's look at deeper waiver wire targets and sleepers for Week 13, players whose ownership is currently under 20% and are likely available in many of your leagues. Note: All ownership percentages are for Yahoo leagues.
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Deeper Waiver Wire Targets for Week 13
QUARTERBACKS
Jimmy Garoppolo, San Fransisco 49ers - 9% owned
C.J. Beathard went down within the final two minutes of a game that the 49ers were guaranteed to lose, so they put in Garoppolo. I think the expectation was that Garoppolo would just kneel the ball down and let the 49ers get out with the loss, but Jimmy G. had other thoughts--he went 2/2 for 18 yards and a touchdown, plus rushed for four yards, on that drive. It's really hard to judge how effective he'll be in the 49ers offense based on that one drive, but he did look pretty good. In a two-quarterback league? Maybe get Garoppolo on your bench.
Brett Hundley, Green Bay Packers - 7% owned
Hundley hasn't looked very good since Aaron Rodgers went down, but things finally looked to be getting going against the Steelers--245 yards and three touchdowns. He's developed chemistry with wide receiver Davante Adams (which sucks for those of us who traded Adams for scraps after Rodgers went down!), and the Packers next two games are against the Buccaneers and the Browns. Streamers might want to consider him.
RUNNING BACKS
Eddie Lacy, Seattle Seahawks - 15% owned
Well. Here we are again, the part every week where we cross our fingers and the Seattle Running Back Of The Week finally latches onto the main role for the Seahawks. Eddie Lacy has been a big disappointment for anyone who thought he'd step right into the RB1 role from day one, but he saw 20 touches this week, which is a lot and maybe an indicator of future production? The obvious problem is that the Seahawks play the Eagles next and that Mike Davis might be back and that HE IS A SEATTLE RUNNING BACK, but I'm not not going to let you know about a qualifying player with that many touches, even if he raises all the possible red flags.
Rod Smith, Dallas Cowboys - 14% owned
The Dallas offense without Ezekiel Elliott has been very, very bad, but Rod Smith's ability to make big plays can't be overlooked, especially when he's backing up Alfred Morris, who hasn't been super impressive this year. With the Dallas passing attack essentially nonexistent now, expect Smith to play a larger role in the offense going forward.
Jacquizz Rodgers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 7% owned
Doug Martin has a concussion. If he's not able to play this week, Rodgers will be a solid flex option for teams in need. He had eight or more points in two of his three starts at the beginning of the season, when Martin was serving a suspension, and could repeat that in Week 13 against the Green Bay Packers.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Zay Jones, Buffalo Bills - 14% owned
It's obviously a risk to trust any Bills wide receiver, but Jones has 17 targets over the past two weeks and Kelvin Benjamin is likely out for at least a few weeks with a knee injury, which means Jones will likely remain the team's main target. He's trending upwards after an up and down start to his career.
Dontrelle Inman, Chicago Bears - 9% owned
If you didn't follow my advice earlier this season about picking up Inman, you might now? The Bears finally have the number one receiver they've been looking for since Cam Meredith went down (not that either are actually, like, top quality NFL receivers, but both are better than whatever else the Bears have put out of the field). Inman has worked his way into the flex conversation in deeper leagues.
Cordarrelle Patterson, Oakland Raiders - 4% owned
With Amari Cooper dealing with a concussion and Michael Crabtree probably suspended (barring a potential appeal), Patterson might find himself as the number one wide receiver for the Raiders against the Giants, though tight end Jared Cook could take some of his luster. Patterson has explosive talent and his catching ability seems improved this season, so he could end up putting up a pretty nice game.
TIGHT ENDS
Ricky Seals-Jones, Arizona Cardinals - 2% owned
Regular readers of this column will know that I NEVER put a player on this list in consecutive weeks, but Seals-Jones is here because my endorsement of him last week was pretty lukewarm but after another good week it might be time to actually consider him, especially if you're a tight end streamer in a 12 or 14-team league. He does have a game against the Giants coming up!
Adam Shaheen, Chicago Bears - 0% owned
Another dart throw, though at this point in the season the tight end market is mostly just shots in the dark. Shaheen has caught all six of his targets over the past two games and Chicago plays an Eagles team that has given up the tenth-most points to opposing tight ends this week.
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