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The week of Thanksgiving is always a fun slate for NFL and fantasy football, and for the first time since Week 8, no teams with be out of action on byes. While all healthy and active players will be available this week, it's never time to stop browsing the waiver wire for potential roster improvements. It's tough to find players with immediate value on waivers in deep leagues, but stocking your roster with depth in the case of key injuries is important.
Waiver wire pickups are often obvious in 10 or 12-team leagues, but if you're in a league with a ton of roster spots or 14-plus teams, it becomes trickier to know who to submit a waiver claim for or bid on. In this article, we'll cover those deeper waiver wire adds for Week 13.
We won't cover chalk pickups for shallower leagues like Jerry Jeudy and Taysom Hill. Instead, we'll only mention players who are under 40% rostered in Yahoo! leagues except for a few players narrowly over that mark. Without further ado, here are the top deeper-league waiver-wire targets for Week 13, including Devaughn Vele, Elijah Moore, Jeremy McNichols, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Trevor Lawrence, Will Levis, and more.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:- Quarterback fantasy football rankings
- Running back fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
- Tight end fantasy football rankings
- Kicker fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- IDP fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Running Back Waiver Wire Targets for Deep Leagues
Jeremy McNichols could be the starting running back for the Commanders this week after Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson Jr. suffered a concussion and ankle injury, respectively. McNichols could have RB2 value against his former team, the Tennessee Titans, in Week 13. The running back waiver wire has been thin this season, but McNichols has a shot to provide plug-and-play production for fantasy managers in a tough spot this week.
Tyler Allgeier had his quietest day of the season in the blowout loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 11. However, he has five games with double-digit touches this season and remains a desperation flex play. He remains one of the elite handcuff RBs for another few weeks.
Roschon Johnson has six rushing touchdowns on the year, including one in each of his last two games. If the Chicago offense can keep improving down the stretch, he'll keep his value as a touchdown-or-bust flex play.
Touchdown Roschon Johnson!
📺: #MINvsCHI on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/N4A75bhZNU— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024
Zach Charbonnet hasn't made a fantasy football impact in a while, but he posted two RB1 weeks in the absence of Kenneth Walker III early in the year. At least for another couple of weeks, he should continue to be stashed as Walker's handcuff.
Cam Akers scored a touchdown in Week 11 but was limited to just four touches in Week 12. However, Aaron Jones has been playing banged up, so you never know when Akers could draw a start or at least see more action.
Ameer Abdullah drew a start in the Week 12 loss to the Denver Broncos in the absence of Alexander Mattson and Zamir White. The veteran was relatively impressive with 65 total yards and a receiving touchdown. He'd be higher on this list if we knew the status of Las Vegas' top two running backs, but if he earns another start this week, he's well worth a pickup and potential deep-league flex spot.
Ameer Abdullah! What a catch for the @Raiders TD!
📺: #DENvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/AvxOSvAMMV— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024
Trey Benson led the Cardinals with 18 rushing yards in Week 12. Sure, that's not a notable performance, but he's starting to get action every week. As a reminder, James Conner has never played a full season in his NFL career, and Benson will approach must-start territory if Conner has to sit out any of the remaining games.
Sean Tucker produced just 10 yards on five touches in the win over the New York Giants, but he did find the end zone. Consider him a handcuff stash for Bucky Irving and Rachaad White. If either of those backs gets banged up, he will likely be startable in 14-plus team leagues.
Ray Davis delivered a 153-yard performance in his lone start this season. If James Cook misses any time during the fantasy football playoffs, you'll wish you had rostered the Kentucky rookie ahead of time.
Khalil Herbert has yet to make an impact for the Bengals since being traded from Chicago. However, he could be more involved coming out of the Week 12 bye, and he has RB1 upside if anything happens to Chase Brown.
Kenneth Gainwell scored his first touchdown of the season in Sunday night's win over the Los Angeles Rams. He's obviously firmly behind Saquon Barkley on the depth chart, but if he's called into action for any reason, he has plenty of upside behind one of the league's best offensive lines.
Note: Any direct backup running back, especially one in a good offense, should be considered a bench stash in deep leagues.
Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Targets for Deep Leagues
Elijah Moore will be firmly on the fantasy football radar this week if Cedric Tillman (concussion) can't play on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos. Denver has a strong secondary, but Moore has averaged 8.5 targets per game since Jameis Winston took over for Deshaun Watson. Tillman's absence would push him into no worse than the WR2 role.
Devaughn Vele, a seventh-round rookie out of Utah, posted a career-high 80 receiving yards on Sunday. Vele now has three games of at least 66 receiving yards this season and looks to be settling into the WR2 role behind Courtland Sutton. As well as Bo Nix has played lately, his WR2 is primed to have fantasy value.
Devaughn Vele is a solidified starting receiver for this team going into 2025. pic.twitter.com/sYEyVCTcRl
— Frankie Abbott (@FrankiesFilm) November 25, 2024
DeMario Douglas has earned at least seven targets in five of his last 10 games and has at least five targets in eight of those contests. His value in standard and half-PPR leagues is limited by a poor offensive environment, but he's had a solid PPR floor with quarterback Drake Maye.
Noah Brown racked up season-highs in targets (10) and receptions (six) in the upset loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He has spike week upside, as shown by his two games of at least 150 receiving yards last year. If the Washington offense can get back on track, he could have solid value in the fantasy football playoffs.
Xavier Legette has 96 receiving yards over his last two games. Sure, that's not overly impressive production, but he is trending up as quarterback Bryce Young is looking more comfortable running the Carolina offense. Legette has two favorable matchups against the friendly Tampa Bay secondary ahead.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine just keeps finding a way to score fantasy points. The fifth-year pro is having the best stretch of his career, catching six touchdowns over the last seven weeks. He's also seen at least five targets in three of his last four games, and he figures to continue to be involved in a potentially ascending passing game led by Will Levis.
Will Levis to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for the 38-yard TD!
📺: #TENvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/ZXPwZJ7O2d— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024
Marquez Valdes-Scantling should be considered a boom-or-bust option at least until Chris Olave comes back. The former Packer, Chief, and Bill has hauled in five passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns in his last two games for New Orleans.
Michael Wilson had a touchdown called back against the Seattle Seahawks, but he racked up 54 yards on just two receptions. The second-year wideout is far from a sure thing, but his big-play and red zone skillsets make him a decent low-end flex play in any matchup.
Dontayvion Wicks is worth taking a flyer on in the matchup against the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving. Romeo Doubs is dealing with a potential concussion, meaning he's almost guaranteed to be out on a short week.
David Moore led the Panthers in receptions (six), targets (10), receiving yards (81), and receiving touchdowns (one) in the near upset of the Kansas City Chiefs. This was likely an outlier performance, and Moore might not be heavily involved when Jalen Coker comes back, but a performance like that lands him a spot on the waiver wire watchlist this late in the season.
Demarcus Robinson does not get heavily targeted since he shares the field with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. However, like last season, he has been a top target in the end zone. The veteran has six receiving touchdowns on the year, and five of those have come since Kupp and Nacua returned to the lineup in Week 8.
Tight End Waiver Wire Targets for Deep Leagues
Luke Schoonmaker is set for another potential start, as Jake Ferguson is reportedly a longshot to play on Thanksgiving. Over the last two weeks, Schoonmaker has caught nine of his 14 targets for 111 yards and a touchdown. Although the Giants have allowed the fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends this year, he has TE1 upside based on his usage in the last two games.
Luke Schoonmaker is wide open to extend the Cowboys lead!
📺: #DALvsWAS on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/A28hdzRasB— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024
Noah Gray has hauled in eight of his nine targets for 89 yards and a whopping four touchdowns in his last two outings. It's difficult to expect him to keep producing, but in ultra-deep tight end-premium leagues, he's now on the fantasy football radar.
Theo Johnson has averaged six targets per game over his last three contests. The New York offense is abysmal and will likely continue to be, but his target volume alone puts him on the waiver wire watchlist in deep setups.
Quarterback Waiver Wire Targets for Deep Leagues/Superflex Leagues
Trevor Lawrence missed the last two games with a shoulder injury, but he could be back in the starting lineup following the Week 12 bye. Although the Jaguars have been awful, Lawrence averaged 20.2 fantasy points per game in his last five starts, good for the QB9 over that span. Jacksonville's abysmal defense requires its offense to be pass-happy.
Russell Wilson heads into a matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals defense that has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to QBs. If you're playing the streaming game at quarterback, he's a solid option for the upcoming slate.
Drake Maye has posted at least 17.7 fantasy points in four of his seven starts. In Week 13, he'll face a Colts defense that has surrendered the ninth-most fantasy points per game to signal-callers.
Drake ➡️ Hoop for a 4th quarter score
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/REHPLyN9wo
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 24, 2024
Will Levis has quietly looked solid in his last three games since returning from a shoulder injury. Over that three-game stretch, he has averaged 17.6 fantasy points with 748 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, and just two interceptions. He's set to face a Washington defense that just gave up 247 passing yards and two touchdowns to Cooper Rush. Levis is another potential streaming option for Week 13.
Backup Quarterbacks to Stash for Two-QB/Superflex Leagues
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