Week 13 Waiver Claims

Quarterback #1: Jalen Hurts

Nobody knows if Jalen Hurts is going to be a successful NFL passer, but there’s a 99.99% chance that he’s a Konami-Code in fantasy – that much is almost certain. Hurts ran for 3,274 rushing yards & 43 rushing TD’s in 4 collegiate seasons, including 1,298 & 20 rushing TD’s in just his senior year alone. He’s strapped with 4.59 speed & it’s fair to say his rushing-ceiling could *potentially* be amongst the highest QB rushing-ceilings in the league. Taysom Hill finishing the past week two weeks as the QB3 & QB10 despite throwing for just 223 yards & 78 passing yards (& 0 passing TD’s) should tell you all you need to know about a scrambling QB’s fantasy upside. Hurts is a better passer than Hill, and he’s been blessed with matchups against Arizona & Dallas to finish the fantasy season. Here’s to hoping we get to see him earn a few starts.

Quarterback #2: Fitzmagic

I was tempted to go with Kirk Cousins (who quietly has a 12/1 TD/INT ratio & 4-1 record over the last 5 games, with a spicy Jacksonville matchup in Week 13) but I’m settling on Fitzmagic because he’s my boy (I once caught a for-fun pass from him after a Harvard game when I was a kid) & he’s been known to produce some serious difference-making magic around this time of the year. I rode him to a Championship last year so it wouldn’t feel right to not lean on him again as my go-to streamer in leagues where you might find yourself in need of a pivotal Week 13 W.

Running Back #1: Cam Akers

The talent has never really been in question with Cam Akers. He’s flashed at multiple times this season – and he did it again this past week against San Fran, with a 61-yard gallop. He stood out with 9 carries for 84 yards, while Darrell Henderson slugged out 10/19. You can’t feel comfortable starting Akers this week against Arizona until you see Sean McVay start to actually commit, but if Akers takes another step forward this week, all bets are off down the stretch with matchups against NE, NYJ, & SEA.

Running Back #2: Tony Pollard

One of the few players with league-winning upside still floating around out there on waivers.

Wide Receiver #1: Gabriel Davis

Davis has shown a lot of upside, with 70+ yards or a TD in 5 different games this year, even while operating mostly as the team’s 4^th WR. He’s getting better & gaining chemistry with Josh Allen with each passing week & with John Brown on the IR for at least the next two games, Davis is teetering along the fringes of WR2 territory.

Wide Receiver #2: Allen Lazard

If you exclude Lazard’s first game back from injury, he’s put up 18.2, 7.5, 26.4, & 12.3 PPR points in 4 games this year as he’s continued to ride Aaron Rodgers’ coattails. A-Rod only has one dud this year, with zero passing TD’s against Tampa in Week 6. Other than that, he has multiple passing TD’s in every game: 2 Passing TD’s (2X), 3 Passing TD’s (3X), & 4 Passing TD’s (5X). Oh, and the Packers get PHI/DET/CAR/TEN to finish the fantasy season.

Wide Receiver #3: Denzel Mims

Denzel Mims has got as good a chance as any WR to become that waiver-wire darling who is thrown into Week 14 matchups & somehow miraculously pops off for a week-winning performance. He’s already showing a high floor, with 4/42, 2/42, 4/62, 3/71, & 4/67 in his first 5 games as a pro. If he can scrape at the ceiling in a Week 14 matchup with Seattle, he’s got the perfect combination of raw athleticism, a downfield role (16.7 YPR/15.2 aDOT), and the ideal matchup to put together a major one-week boom.

Tight End #1: Robert Tonyan

(See Lazard, Allen)

As long as Aaron Rodgers stays hot, Lazard & Tonyan both present a ton of upside. In 11 games, Tonyan has 5 top-5 weekly finishes, as the TE4, TE2, TE5, TE5, & TE1. With 5 receptions & a TD in back-to-back weeks, Tonyan looks fully healthy again. You could see he was riled up & barking at Chicago defenders multiple times on SNF.

Tight End #2: Dalton Schultz

It’s getting to the time of year where if you don’t have one of the top TE’s, you need to be looking at pairing two of them who have complementary matchups together. Dalton Schultz has the “floor” part of the game nailed down, with 7.4+ PPR points in 8/10 games this year (excluding Week 1 when Blake Jarwin started), and he might scrape at his ceiling in a Week 14 Andy-Dalton-revenge-game matchup against a Cincinnati team that has allowed the 4^th most fantasy points to TE’s this year & just allowed Evan Engram to go for 6/129 this past week.

Tight End #3: Trey Burton