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Dan's top quarterback Week 13 fantasy pickups (2024). The best QB fantasy waiver wire pickups to add and Week 13 QB streamers for 1QB, 2QB, and superflex leagues.
Week 12 was another rough week for offensive football. Just 10 teams scored more than 25 points in the week. That led to another underwhelming week of quarterback performances in fantasy. Just five quarterbacks posted more than 20.0 fantasy points.
Week 13 gives us another full slate of games with three games on Thursday, one game on Friday, and the remainder playing on Sunday. It is an excellent time to utilize the waiver wire at the quarterback position knowing that six teams will be off in Week 14.
In this article, I will focus on players under 65% rostered in fantasy leagues while adding a few deep sleepers for two-quarterback leagues (less than 25% rostered).
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Single-QB Waiver Wire Options and Streamers
Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers
Yahoo: 37% rostered
Russell Wilson had another efficient game for the Steelers on Thursday night, completing 21-of-28 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown. While he didn’t have the most eye-popping stats, it was a much-needed rebound after an underwhelming Week 11 game against the Ravens.
Russell Wilson throw of the year. This is why he’s a Hall of Famer. pic.twitter.com/vIeOs7OXUT
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) November 22, 2024
It was Wilson’s fourth start in 2024 with 13.0 or more fantasy points. It was also his third game with at least one touchdown pass and zero interceptions. The veteran quarterback hasn’t added a ton of production on the ground (24 yards in five games) but has at least three rushing attempts in every start this season.
The Steelers have one of the friendliest quarterback schedules for fantasy in the remaining weeks of the season. They have games against Cincinnati, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Baltimore on the horizon before a Week 17 matchup against the Chiefs.
Wilson must be on all rosters due to a slew of plus streaming matchups on the horizon.
Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
Yahoo: 64% rostered
Anthony Richardson failed to match his production from his Week 11 return to the starting lineup against the Lions in Week 12, but he still was usable in fantasy football.
Richardson’s passing regressed to what we have come to expect (11-of-28 for 172 yards), although a lot of blame can fall on his pass-catchers, who struggled to bring in a good number of his throws. He did a good job of avoiding turnovers and hitting some big throws down the field. He salvaged a respectable fantasy performance (12.9 points), thanks to 10 carries for 61 yards.
Here are AR5's best throws from week 14 #Colts vs #Lions
The kid played well... the box score watchers won't get it. pic.twitter.com/NSWhon3e17
— Chris Shepherd (@NFLscheme) November 24, 2024
The second-year quarterback has at least 10 carries in three of his last four starts and has at least three carries in every game this season. He has at least 20 rushing yards in all eight games he has played this season.
Starting Richardson is a roller coaster in fantasy that can produce the highest of highs (two games with 29+ fantasy points) and the lowest of lows (four games below 10 fantasy points). He should have an opportunity to post another ceiling performance against a bad Patriots defense in Week 13.
Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Yahoo: 19% rostered
Miami’s defense was able to stifle the Patriots offense, limiting them to just 15 points. However, Drake Maye was still able to provide solid fantasy production (13.4 fantasy points), despite the team’s struggles finding the end zone.
Maye completed 22-of-37 passes for 222 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also added five carries for 26 yards. The rookie has yet to have a start with fewer than 11.0 fantasy points after posting 13.4 points in Week 12.
Drake ➡️ Hoop for a 4th quarter score
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/REHPLyN9wo
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 24, 2024
We have seen Maye take advantage of bad secondaries throughout his rookie season, despite the lack of talent around him. He should have every opportunity to put up solid numbers against an inconsistent Colts defense in Week 13.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Yahoo: 54% rostered
Caleb Williams has posted back-to-back strong games with Thomas Brown as offensive coordinator, despite tough defensive matchups. More importantly, each game flashed the different ways he could provide fantasy production for the remainder of the season.
In Week 11, Williams had just 231 passing yards but got to 16.2 fantasy points, thanks to his best rushing performance of the season (nine carries for 70 yards). In Week 12, Williams had a more modest performance on the ground (six carries for 33 yards) but got 26.9 fantasy points, thanks to 340 passing yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions.
These back-to-back throws by Caleb Williams are a perfect example why the hype was as high as it was for him pic.twitter.com/VeIHPE1UE3
— Football Digest (@FoootballDigest) November 24, 2024
Chicago is still in a brutal stretch of fantasy defenses, but Williams has been highly efficient since Shane Waldron was fired. The Bears will undoubtedly be forced into a negative game script against the Lions on Thanksgiving, meaning another chance for Williams to post great fantasy numbers in garbage time.
Two-QB Waiver Wire Options and Stashes
Will Levis, Tennessee Titans
Yahoo: 12% rostered
Will Levis continues to post strong fantasy performances since returning from his injury. Levis completed 18-of-24 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns with an interception in a shocking win against the Texans in Week 12.
Will is cooking 🧑🍳@will_levis to @CalvinRidley1 for 63 yards!
📺: Watch #TENvsHOU on @NFLonCBS stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/dA41YgEffd
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 24, 2024
It was the third straight game with at least 17.0 fantasy points for the second-year quarterback. Levis has also discovered a rushing element to his game over the last three weeks, handling 20 carries for 69 yards.
Levis still has a penchant for turning the ball over, but the quality of defenses he’s played has given him a chance to provide the fantasy production that many hoped for when he was tabbed as a sleeper to target in drafts over the summer.
Things will continue to be in his favor for the remainder of the fantasy season. The Titans still have matchups against Washington, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Jacksonville again from Weeks 13 to 17. Levis is poised to end the year strong due to a series of advantageous matchups.
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Yahoo: 5% rostered
The time on the bench might have been just what Bryce Young needed to reset. Young had arguably the best game of his career in Week 12, bringing the Panthers to the brink of upsetting the Chiefs before ultimately losing.
Bryce Young had a 73rd percentile EPA/play against the Chiefs, handled the blitz, and thew the ball well down the field
Young was 11/14 for 123 yards and a TD against the blitz and 9/16 for 165 yards on throws 10+ yards down the field, per NFL Pro pic.twitter.com/PTianrtl4v
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) November 24, 2024
Young was excellent coming out of Carolina’s Week 11 bye, completing 21-of-35 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown. The second-year quarterback also added three carries for 20 yards in the loss.
This game showed that Young still has a chance to be Carolina’s quarterback of the future, as he is tied to an excellent offensive play-caller (Dave Canales) behind an above-average offensive line. He has a chance to stack good games in Week 13 with a matchup against the worst defense in fantasy football against quarterbacks (Tampa Bay).
Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
Yahoo: 13% rostered
The Saints got to enjoy their bye week in Week 12, so odds are Derek Carr’s strong play in the previous weeks will have been forgotten during the waiver wire this week.
Carr posted consecutive 20.0+ point fantasy performances in Week 10 and Week 11 against the Falcons and Browns, respectively. Since returning from injury, Carr has completed 66.2% of his passes for 753 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Those numbers are even more impressive considering he’s been without Chris Olave or Rashid Shaheed down the field.
New Orleans has three straight weeks of good quarterback matchups against the Rams, Giants, and Commanders on deck. Carr needs to be rostered in all two-quarterback formats due to his matchups, regardless of the weapons at his disposal.
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