Week 12 of the NFL season is nearly finished. Whether you are looking for a playoff push or looking to avoid sitting in a Denny’s for 24 hours straight as league punishment, there are plenty of reason to keep a keen eye on the waiver wire. There is still a plethora of talent available for anyone to pick up in most leagues. Here are five players you should consider adding to your roster ahead of Week 13.
Fantasy football waiver-wire pickups for Week 13:
Pittsburgh Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (Rostered in 48% of Yahoo leagues)
The Pittsburgh Steelers had gone 58 straight games without recording 400 yards of total offense. 58! In their first game without Matt Canada as offensive coordinator, they broke the streak. The biggest beneficiary of the change at OC seems to be tight end Pat Freiermuth, who racked up season-highs in receptions (9), targets (11), and yards (120).
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Freiermuth has been one of the most disappointing players of the year. After finishing 2022 as the TE7 in PPR formats despite only scoring two touchdowns, fantasy owners hoped he could earn his way into the endzone a little more often and thus burst into fantasy superstardom. This was his first game showing us what we expected at the start of the season.
The Steelers’ schedule is very favorable for the rest of the season as well. The team plays Arizona, New England, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Seattle in the last five weeks of the fantasy season. None of those are bad matchups, aside from maybe the Patriots, but even that game happens before the fantasy playoffs.
Minnesota Vikings RB Ty Chandler (Rostered in 48% of Yahoo leagues)
In his first two games without Cam Akers in the picture, Ty Chandler has proven himself arguably a more explosive running back than starter Alexander Mattison. Although Chandler has not played more than 50 percent of the snaps in either of his games as the backup, his snap share should continue to rise as the Vikings continue to make a last postseason push.
Although the Vikings will be on bye next week, their matchups in Weeks 14-15 are Las Vegas and Cincinnati. Each of those teams have allowed at least 16 non-PPR fantasy points to opposing running backs in at least five of their last seven games. Chandler may not help this week, but he’ll definitely be a good addition the following two weeks.
Baltimore Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr. (Rostered in 49% of Yahoo leagues)
Ravens wideout Odell Beckham Jr. had a questionable designation attached to him for most of the week leading up to the Ravens’ Sunday Night game against Los Angeles. That may have shifted some people away from him, but you should not be scared. Not only was Beckham declared likely to play long before the start of that game, but he’s also shown shadows of his younger self in recent weeks.
In PPR scoring, Beckham has recorded more than ten points in each of his last three games. Albeit, one of those games, Beckham needed a 40-yard touchdown to get into the double-digits, but in those other two games, Beckham earned 14 combined targets. That’s a hefty chunk and with quarterback Lamar Jackson’s favorite target, tight end Mark Andrews, out for the season, Beckham could earn even more targets.
The Ravens are on bye in Week 13, but the Ravens do have favorable passing matchups during the fantasy playoffs with Jacksonville, San Francisco, and Miami on the schedule. Definitely a lot to love about the former All-Pro receiver’s fantasy stock moving forward.
Los Angeles Rams WR Tutu Atwell (Rostered in 27% of Yahoo leagues)
Remember the beginning of the season when Cooper Kupp was out? Back in those days, Tutu Atwell was a legitimate starter in fantasy, recording 17.9, 15.2, 17.2, and 7.4 PPR points in the four games that Kupp was on IR. Kupp may not be on IR anymore, but he is clearly hurt, or at least not playing at full strength.
In a favorable matchup against Arizona, Kupp only managed three receptions. Part of that obviously has to do with how well Kyren Williams was doing on the ground in his return, but even without Williams in recent weeks, Kupp has been underwhelming. The Rams may not be out of the playoff race yet, but with games against Cleveland and Baltimore coming up, I would not be shocked if the team just let Kupp rest the remainder of the season once their playoff hopes are decimated. Atwell may not have the target share you want from a FLEX or WR2 right now, but he showed some great promise today against Arizona and there is upside to be excited for moving forward.
Green Bay Packers WR Jayden Reed (Rostered in 47% of Yahoo leagues)
One great game does not mean the Green Bay offense is suddenly good. Even if they are not as good as they were on Thursday though, Reed is proving to be the most reliable player on that offense. He has scored a touchdown in three straight games and has increased his targets in each of the last three games as well. Even better, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur seems intent on using Reed in a variety of different ways, including as a rusher.
Over the last two weeks, Reed has gotten five carries. While five carries may not seem like much, he’s been very efficient with his carries, and at the very least, it shows that LaFleur wants to get Reed involved as often as possible on offense.
