Deeper League Free Agent Pickups for Week 13

November 26, 2019

Some fantasy football leagues are deep enough that the top Week 13 waiver wire adds are already gone. Jake Trowbridge identifies some deeper free agents to pick up at QB, RB, WR, and TE.

The final regular season game has arrived for all reasonable fantasy football leagues. If you've already locked up a playoff spot, congratulations! If you're still fighting for a spot, please don't neglect your waiver wire this week. In do-or-die scenarios you need to obtain any extra edge you can, even if that's just a slightly improved flex player.

As a reminder, keep an eye out to see if anyone in your league happened to drop players from teams previously on bye to make space on their roster. It happens more often than you may think.

The following players are owned in approximately 10% or fewer of Yahoo leagues, so they won't be the flashiest names on the market. But if you're looking for a good spot start or just need some high-upside lottery tickets, these are your guys. Let's look at some potential waiver wire adds in deep leagues.

Free Agent Quarterbacks

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins - 10% owned

The Dolphins intend to let Fitzmagic play out the remainder of the season, which is great news for both fantasy football and real life football. Fitzmagic makes the game a lot of fun. More importantly for our purposes, however, he also gets to conclude 2019 with one of the friendliest slates for fantasy quarterbacks. In fact, his matchups get significantly better with each passing week, wrapping up with Cincinnati in Week 16 (aka the fantasy playoffs). The Bengals have allowed the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this year, and the Eagles, Jets, and Giants -- his three upcoming opponents -- are nothing to worry about for a gunslinger like Fitzpatrick.

Devlin Hodges, Pittsburgh Steelers - 0% owned

The Steelers are turning the reins back over to Hodges, which means we'll have to endure at least two dozen more references to his "duck calling" capabilities over the next few games. That could mean good things for fantasy, purposes, however. Hodges has shown to be an anti-dunk-and-dunk kind of quarterback, closer to the mold of the aforementioned Ryan Fitzpatrick than Tom Brady. Hodges replaced Rudolph mid-game and promptly chucked a 79-yard touchdown to James Washington. He threw a handful of deep balls in his limited action, one of which drew pass interference. If Mike Tomlin lets him roll without restrictions, we could see a booming fantasy player in a heated rematch with the Cleveland Browns this week.

Free Agent Running Backs

Benny Snell Jr., Pittsburgh Steelers - 6% owned

Speaking of Steelers backups, Snell once again looked like the pummeling back he was drafted to be. The rookie just surpassed 100 total yards on 21 rushing attempts and one reception against Cincinnati last week. In Week 6 against the Chargers -- the only other game he's seen more than five attempts -- Snell accumulated 89 total yards in limited action. He doesn't catch many passes and has yet to find the end zone, but his pure rushing numbers make him worthy of a bench spot on your roster. With James Conner always either injured or just on the verge of being injured, Snell is a solid add in all formats in case he's given control of the backfield once again.

Ryquell Armstead, Jacksonville Jaguars - 1% owned

It's Armstead is by far the lowest-owned handcuff of importance, and you better believe he'll inherit a monstrous workload if Leonard Fournette is to miss time for the third straight year. And with the amount of usage he's accrued, it wouldn't be shocking whatsoever to see the LSU product sidelined with another ankle or hamstring injury before the fantasy season wraps. Fournette touched the ball 36 times in the Jaguars near blowout loss to Tennessee, which further proves how committed the team is to the running game. Armstead has flashed when given the chance this season, particularly in the receiving game. He would be an auto-flex play if Fournette misses any time.

Free Agent Wide Receivers

Russell Gage, Atlanta Falcons - 7% owned

If there were any lingering questions about whether Gage could step up into the WR3 role in Atlanta and replace Mohamed Sanu, those were emphatically put to rest last week against Tampa Bay. Gage caught eight of his 10 targets for 76 yards. He trailed only Calvin Ridley in targets and led the team in receptions. Gage won't always see such extravagant numbers, but he's proven he has a solid baseline over the last four games. Next up is a contest with the Saints, who are currently allowing the 9th-most fantasy points to wide receivers.

Auden Tate, Cincinnati Bengals - 10% owned

How quickly the fantasy world has turned on Tate. The young wide receiver has posted at least 50 yards in six of his last nine games, and one poor showing against Pittsburgh (while dealing with a lingering neck injury no less) has dropped him off far too many radars. Andy Dalton is returning to the starting QB role, which immediately bumps the value of all Bengals receivers. Rumors continue swirling that A.J. Green may finally suit up, though at this point in a lost season that would be a truly reckless move. Cincinnati gets to take on the Jets in Week 13, who have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to wide receivers. Tate makes an excellent flex play this week.

Free Agent Tight Ends

Irv Smith Jr., Minnesota Vikings - 2% owned

Smith was here last week heading into Minnesota's bye week and there's no reason he should leave. Pick him up. Smith has started to get some real shots in this offense and should continue to get work moving forward, even with an increase to Kyle Rudolph's market share. The Vikings have found their tight end of the future, and in a disastrous tight end landscape, you may need to start him now.

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