Waiver Wire Watch: Week 13
Editor’s Note: We’re happy to announce the arrival of 4for4 Contributor Pat Fitzmaurice (formerly of Pro Football Weekly), who will work in conjunction with Senior Editor John Paulsen to compile this list of the top waiver wire pickups each week.
Here is a look at the top waiver wire pickups for Week 13. To be eligible for discussion, the player must be owned in 50% or fewer ESPN leagues, though we’ll stretch the rules a bit for the RB position, which is usually very thin. We’ll also include suggested bid prices (with a $100 budget) for those leagues that use Free Agent Acquisition Budgets. Of course, player value depends on league characteristics and team needs. Players are listed by position in order of importance. For extremely shallow or extremely deep leagues, be sure to review our Rest-of-Season Rankings (updated every Tuesday) to get an idea of how to value players not on this list.
* Players with an asterisk next to their name were mentioned in last week’s Waiver Wire Watch.
Cardinals QB Carson Palmer* ($4)
We can talk about how Palmer has thrown for 733 yards over the last two weeks, or about how he’s thrown two TD passes in four consecutive games, but perhaps the best indicator of how well Palmer is playing is that he’s gone two straight games without an interception (no small feat, considering that Palmer threw multiple interceptions in five straight games earlier this year). The habanero-hot Palmer gets a great matchup against the Eagles this week and a good one against the Rams in Week 14 before the schedule turns against him, with games against the Titans, Seahawks and 49ers to close the regular season.
Next up: Eagles, Rams, Titans
Bears QB Josh McCown* ($2)
Obviously, McCown’s fantasy value will be vaporized when Jay Cutler returns from a badly sprained ankle, and Cutler could conceivably be back this week. If not, McCown, who’s been playing superbly in Cutler’s absence, will get a juicy matchup against the Vikings this week and possibly an equally attractive matchup against the Cowboys in Week 14.
Next up: Vikings, Cowboys, Browns
Titans QB Ryan Fitzpatrick* ($2)
Fresh from his first 300-yard game in over a full calendar year, Fitz draws a Week 13 road matchup against a Colts defense that was just torched by Carson Palmer and the Cardinals, followed by a promising matchup against the Broncos. Fitzpatrick has thrown five TD passes and zero interceptions in his last three starts, and he adds value with his legs. (He’s rushed for 148 yards and two TDs over the last five weeks.)
Next up: Colts, Broncos, Cardinals
