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John's fantasy football streamers and start 'em, sit 'em lineup picks for Week 13 of 2025. These waiver wire pickups and emerging players could win matchups.
It's crunch time approaching Week 13 in fantasy football, and there's no holding back now. Every point is so critical, and it's only natural to overly scrutinize every lineup slot for an edge. Don't rest on your laurels ... if you should replace a current starter off the waiver wire/bench, do it.
When the RotoBaller brass tasked me with this week's streamer column, the pressure was on. We all know the feeling -- competitive squads coming down the wire, separated by a hair and potentially hinging on a single decision. Wow. How can you not love fantasy football?
It's impossible to quantify rostership data precisely, but you know I tried my best. Parameters to qualify for streaming are set at <65% rostered and <45% started to capture as many borderline calls as possible. Good luck!
Editor's Note: The FFPC Playoff Challenge is back with a massive $500,000 grand prize and $1.35 million total prize pool, paying down to 800th place. Here's the deal: no salary cap, no draft, no pickups, no subs. Choose 10 players, and as NFL teams get knocked out so will your players, so choose your team wisely. The 7,250 entries will sell out quickly, and registrations will close on Saturday January 10th at 4:30 pm ET . Don't wait - get your team now and end your fantasy football season with a shot at $500,000! Sign Up Now!
Quarterback: Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals
Let the champagne flow and good times roll with Arizona's backup-turned-fantasy-savior Jacoby Brissett. Bet you didn't expect an invocation of Newton's Law of Motion during your football research -- an object in motion remains in motion at constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force. That's precisely how I feel about the Cardinals' 32-year-old backup shot-caller.
Since taking over for Kyler Murray in Week 6, you'd be hard-pressed to guess which of the two was a former first overall pick without knowing -- Brissett has yet to post a single weekly finish outside the top 10 in all five starts.
That's been good for fantasy's QB7 in that time frame, on the back of sustainably solid underpinning metrics: +0.21 EPA/attempt, 67.0% completion percentage, 97.3 passer rating, 7.2 yards/attempt, 3.7 TD:INT ratio. Not too shabby, forget about a backup.
The Cards land in Florida to face a Bucs defense riding the struggle bus this past month due to multiple missing starters in the secondary. It's reflected poorly in the spreadsheet as well as the game film, earning bottom-3 marks in EPA/dropback (-0.30), opposing passer rating (114.3), yards/reception (13.4), +20-yard completions (11), and passing TDs (six). Yikes. I'm ready for another round...
Jacoby Brissett avoids a sack and then Michael Carter avoids a defender for a first down 😳
JAXvsAZ on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/1kfDfi1nj4
— NFL (@NFL) November 23, 2025
Running Back: Devin Neal, New Orleans Saints
Nothing better when chasing strong streams than opportunity meeting matchup. Unfortunately, longtime fantasy stud Alvin Kamara's season status remains up in the air after spraining an MCL. The team's early injury estimates landed anywhere between two and four weeks, so it's next man up in The Big Easy.
Bring on rookie Devin Neal, sixth-round pick out of Kansas, with wild burst scores and three straight 1,000+ rushing yard seasons to close his collegiate career. After Kamara exited, Neal assumed a full-time role, playing 88%+ of snaps featuring 12 touches. Neal is especially effective in the pass game, which is going to come in handy given the state of the Saints O-line without center Erik McCoy. My PPR interest piqued.
New Orleans' new RB1 boasted a 95%+ route participation rate, earning seven targets at just under 20% target/route. As a perpetual underdog with a soft schedule throughout (@MIA, @TB, CAR, NYJ, @TEN, @ATL), Neal's going to project strongly even with Taysom Hill looming.
Speaking of the 35-year-old UDFA, yes, he outcarried Neal eight to seven. Why don't I care? Hill's looked awful all season -- averaging just 1.9 yards/attempt without a single explosive carry and 25% of all rushes resulting in zero yards or worse. Woof. New Orleans got caught in a tough spot mid-game; expect it to queue up Audric Estime for a handful of replacement-level RB touches on Sunday.
As expected, the Saints open up as a touchdown underdog in Miami, which has struggled suppressing the run all season (4.9 yards/attempt, 12.3% explosive rush rate). Getting this clear a shot at a volume role off the bench doesn't happen often, even if we're sacrificing some of the goal-line snaps.
What a block by Devin Neal pic.twitter.com/RyH7u2I5uE
— Saints Film Room (@SaintsFilmRoom) October 19, 2025
Wide Receiver: Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos
Fantasy football sure does make for fickle friends. I guess some offenses burn us so many times as gamers, it's easy to throw our hands in the air and give up on the aggravation altogether. How many of you instantly thought of the 2025 Broncos?
It's no secret that the Denver defense butters its bread in the standings. But after scoring just 10 points off the Raiders, many fantasy GMs are rightfully left wondering if the juice is even worth the squeeze. Fact is, in some games, Bo Nix doesn't need to push the ball, and in others, he wouldn't be able to if asked -- so I get the trepidation starting any Broncos in a big spot.
Back to the point. Denver is still a nine-win team with postseason aspirations and no plans to stop refining the offense -- yet somehow, its functional WR1 is rostered in less than two-thirds of leagues (and being started far less than that). No, it's not Courtland Sutton, but second-year fourth-round WR Troy Franklin.
Don't be dissuaded or fooled by Franklin's ~66% snap rate since Denver's Week 7 usage shakeup. If you're doubting the validity of my takeover claim, sure, Sutton soaks up all the one-WR sets, but there are no routes attached -- so they wind up very similarly in route participation. Not to mention Franklin outpaced his veteran counterpart in fantasy points per game, route, and target in that same span.
Franklin flashed his fantasy ceiling in Week 8 (6-89-2), finishing as the week's No. 1 overall wideout. Yes, the Dallas matchup was soft, but it has actually improved throughout the season -- I'd much rather face this hobbled Commanders secondary.
Washington is missing multiple starters at the second level to IR and has been summarily tormented in the process for a month straight. In fact, no one's worse in EPA/dropback (-0.55), opposing passer rating (132.9), completion rate allowed (75.9%), and pressure rate (20.7%) since DB injuries piled up to the ceiling. Bronco breakout incoming.
The release. The catch. Perfection from Troy Franklin 🤌
KCvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/RoavkvtWKv
— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025
Tight End: Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
Fantasy's been so chock-full of serious injuries this season that it's easy to forget that sometimes players actually do return to action. Brenton Strange popped up on all my preseason draft lists for his combination of size, burst, and ability to earn targets. Remember, in his very short tenure, Strange is already responsible for one of only nine 11-plus-reception games from a TE going all the way back through 2024.
Despite the third-year second-rounder tearing a hip ligament back in Week 5, he picked up right where he left off upon returning last Sunday. Strange looked pretty healthy, earning downfield targets as a menace to tackle in the open field, gaining 20+ yards on three of his five receptions.
Jacksonville would be going to the dance if the regular season ended today, while still in search of a reliable target down the stretch — there's a chance we're looking at a top-5 TE the rest of the way.
Last piece of the puzzle rests with the erratic Trevor Lawrence, known for not coming off first-read looks. Luckily, Tennessee fails to create pressure, hurries, or splash plays in general -- the only times these Jaguars can move the ball vertically whatsoever. Without Travis Hunter for the remainder of 2025, Strange is my pick to fill an intermediate volume role starting Sunday.
Lawrence goes to Strange on the TE screen for 22 yards
KCvsJAX on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/pA9Z9fEpHx— NFL (@NFL) October 7, 2025
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