Quarterback Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers - Week 13

Quarterback waiver wire pickups and streamers for Week 13 of the fantasy football season. Elliott Baas recommends QB free agents to consider adding off waivers.

With Week 12 mostly in the books, bye weeks are finally behind us, and the need for quarterback fill-ins should taper off significantly. That means less competition on waivers for those of us who prefer to stream quarterbacks, which is great news because we've got some exciting options this week that should be easy to finds in standard leagues.

We may not have to deal with bye weeks anymore, but plenty of highly-owned quarterbacks face tough matchups this week. Owners of Dak Prescott (vs. BUF), Josh Allen (@ DAL), Philip Rivers (@ DEN), Kyler Murray (vs. LAR), and Jimmy Garoppolo (@ BAL) might want to look elsewhere at QB for Week 13. Deshaun Watson (vs. NE) and Russell Wilson (vs. MIN) also face strong pass defenses, but neither quarterback should be benched in any matchup.

In this article, we're looking at quarterbacks owned in fewer than 65% of fantasy leagues, while throwing in a few deep-league options who are owned in fewer than 20% of leagues. Ownership is based on Yahoo leagues and is current as of 11/24/2019.

Week 13 Quarterback Waiver Wire Options

Sam Darnold (NYJ): 39% Owned @ CIN

The schedule Gods have been kind to Darnold over the past few weeks, and the second-year quarterback has taken advantage of some weak defenses. Darnold has scored at least 21 points in each of his last three games, including a 28-point performance yesterday against Oakland. Darnold is looking an awful lot like this year’s Baker Mayfield, a young quarterback who puts up big numbers thanks to a soft schedule. Darnold draws another favorable matchup this week as the Jets head to Cincinnati for a tilt with the winless Bengals. The Bengals’ defense has allowed the seventh-fewest points per game to opposing quarterbacks, however that ranking took a dive after this week, since the Bengals were lucky enough to face the dynamic duo of Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges. They were allowed the third-most points per game to opposing quarterbacks prior to Week 12. They are without three defensive backs, including their best corner Dre Kirkpatrick. Cincy’s safeties have been especially bad this season, with neither Jessie Bates III or Shawn Williams cracking the PFF top-75 among graded safeties. Darnold should have no problem keeping his hot streak alive, and he’s a good option for Week 14 too, since he takes on the Miami Dolphins at home. Weeks 15 and 16 get tougher, as Darnold goes to Baltimore and then faces Pittsburgh at home. Until then, he’s the best streamer available.

Nick Foles (JAX): 33% Owned vs. TB

Foles was underwhelming in Jacksonville’s blowout loss against Tennessee this week, but he’s got the perfect bounce back opportunity in Week 13 as Tampa Bay rolls into town. Despite us seeing the Bucs contain Matt Ryan and the Falcons this past week, this defense is nothing to fear. The Buccaneers have allowed the second-most points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season, and have allowed 30 or more points in eight of their 11 games. Already without four defensive backs, the Buccaneers also lost starting cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting to a knee injury in their victory over Atlanta. That leaves just three healthy cornerbacks on Tampa Bay’s roster. Foles’s numbers have been disappointing since his return, but one thing we like to see is 95 pass attempts in his first two games back. Part of that massive volume is because Jacksonville has been playing from behind, but it’s nice to see Foles delivering so much volume. It shows trust in his arm, and with a aDOT of 8.6 yards, Foles clearly isn’t afraid to sling it downfield. His playing style should mesh well with DJ Chark and Chris Conley, both of whom have an aDOT greater than 13 yards, making them both top-15 receivers by that metric (min 50 targets). Look for Foles and this young receiving corps to take advantage of a depleted secondary.

Derek Carr (OAK): 65% Owned @ KC

Carr is owned in significantly more leagues than either Darnold or Foles, and isn’t really as exciting from a one-week perspective. His performance last week against the Jets was pitiful, and he failed to top 12 points when Oakland faced the Chiefs back in Week 2. That being said, Carr was averaging 18.72 points per game prior to this week’s stinker and this offense was showing real signs of improvement. Kansas City is tied for the 10th-most fantasy points allowed per game to opposing quarterbacks, The Chiefs are also a -10 home favorite in this one, meaning Oakland will be throwing early and often to try and keep up with Andy Reid’s potent offense. If you can’t get your hands on Darnold or Foles and the Carr owner drops him out of frustration, you could have a decent alternative as a streamer this week.

Two-QB League Pickups and Stashes

Mitch Trubisky (CHI): 18% Owned @ DET

The Lions seems utterly deflated, and after dropping a close game to the lowly Washington Redskins for their fourth consecutive loss, this team is probably eyeing the offseason. That puts Mitch Trubisky in a great spot for this Thanksgiving game, since the Lions have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season. One of Trubisky’s biggest flaws should be mitigated this week, since the Lions have managed just four interceptions this season, tied for the fewest in the NFL with Dallas. Even though Trubisky hasn’t played well this season, he’s been able to muster more than 19 points in three of his last six games, including a three-touchdown performance against the Lions back in Week 10. He’s delivered when he’s supposed to as well, averaging 20.28 points per game against bottom-half ranked pass defenses. For deeper leagues, Trubisky is a fine option in a great matchup.

Kyle Allen (CAR): 18% Owned vs. WAS

Allen has been a roller coaster this season, but he came up big yesterday with three passing touchdowns in Carolina’s last minute loss to New Orleans. He went toe-to-toe with Drew Brees and an electric Saints’ offense. Allen’s counterpart is far less experienced this week, as Carolina hosts Dwayne Haskins and the Redskins. Washington has allowed the 15th-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, but just two weeks ago this team allowed four touchdowns to Sam Darnold. Sure, they forced Jeff Driskel to throw three picks, but Driskel would probably throw three picks against tackling dummies. It’s always tough to know which Allen will show up, but for quarterbacks owned in under 20% of leagues, you could do a lot worse than rolling with Allen in a plus matchup.

Devlin Hodges (PIT): 0% Owned vs. CLE

Mike Tomlin finally put Mason Rudolph out of his misery with a well-deserved benching this week, turning the offense over to undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges. Hodges should get the start this week against the Browns, and he makes for a good sleeper add in two-QB leagues and really deep formats. Hodges has flashed decent athleticism in his limited playing time this year, and was certainly an upgrade over Rudolph this past week. The Browns’ biggest weakness on defense has been through the air, as they’re tied for the tenth-most fantasy points per game allowed to opposing quarterbacks this season. They’ve tightened up over the past few weeks, but for quarterbacks at this ownership level we can’t be too picky. Plus, if Hodges can put up decent numbers this week he’ll be in line for a great matchup with Arizona in Week 14.

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