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Waiver Wire
Week 13 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire
The waiver wire is one of the most important keys to finding success in the world of fantasy football. I'll do my best to help you manage the waiver wire to scoop up the players who can help bring you fantasy glory each and every week. If you play in a deeper, more competitive league, and all 15 of these players are already owned, be sure to check out my weekly "Deep Dive" waiver wire column for some high-upside players to aim for heading into Week 13. We're finally past the bye-week gauntlet, so all of the players are available to us the rest of the way. Just don't forget that there are three games on Thursday this week, so get your lineups set early. For more specific FAAB questions (Free Agent Acquisition Budget), hit me up on Twitter.

With news coming out on Monday that Chris Johnson suffered a fractured tibia and Andre Ellington is dealing with turf toe, David Johnson rockets to the top of the waiver wire priority list. He saw eight carries against the 49ers, with most of them coming after the veterans went down. Johnson is an explosive athlete who is at his most dangerous when catching passes out of the backfield. Aside from Johnson, the Cardinals have Stepfan Taylor on the roster and Kerwynn Williams on the practice squad. Taylor could see some touches, but Johnson figures to get the bulk of the work against the Rams next week. CJ2K's injury could keep him out an extended period, and Ellignton's is of the lingering nature, meaning the rookie out of Northern Iowa could be in line for a massive workload down the stretch. If Johnson is on the waiver wire in your league this week, do everything you can to get him. FAAB Suggestion: 90-100 percent.

The war of attrition has hit the Kansas City backfield hard, but the Chiefs' backs just keep stepping up. After filling in fantastically for Charcandrick West (hamstring) last week, Spencer Ware carried the load again in Week 12 and delivered a sterling fantasy performance, with 114 rushing yards and a score. We still don't have a clear indication on how quickly West will return, which puts Ware on the map again next week against the Raiders. And even if West returns and reclaims a big portions of the touches in the backfield, Ware needs to be owned as a handcuff. Plus, given the way Ware's performed, the Chiefs could turn this into more of a thunder-and-lightning committee, as Ware's physicality would be a nice complement to West's speed and shiftiness. FAAB Suggestion: 90-100 percent.

More people rushed to pick up Thomas Rawls last week, which left Allen on the waivers in more than 60 percent of NFL.com leagues. Allen saw 27 touches last week with Forsett injured, and will be a solid play the rest of the season on volume alone. His scoring potential could be capped on a weekly basis with Matt Schaub piloting an offense where Kamar Aiken is the top receiver, but Allen should have no shortage of opportunities at least. If you're in need of a running back or looking for a high-upside bench stash, scoop Allen up. FAAB Suggestion: 75-100 percent.

Draughn saw 20 touches for the third straight game, and once again posted a decent fantasy outing (8.6 points) even though he was unable to find the end zone. Draughn faces the Bears, who have allowed 4.88 yards per carry over the last three weeks. Draughn will offer a safe yardage floor this week as a flex or deeper league RB2, but will have touchdown upside. Over the last three weeks, Draughn has been targeted or carried the ball on 40 percent of the team's red zone plays. FAAB Suggestion: 15-20

Andrews had a disappointing outing in Week 12, with just 46 total yards in a loss to the Raiders. Still, he dominated the backfield touches, seeing 76 percent of them on the day. He's a low-ceiling fantasy player, but as I've said each of the last few weeks with Andrews in this space, it's hard to turn up your nose at someone who owns that high of a percentage of his backfield touches. The Titans play the Jaguars next week, who just gave up 4.3 yards per carry to Melvin Gordon, making Andrews a potential flex option in deeper leagues. FAAB Suggestion: 5-10 percent.

While in general I think it's wise to handcuff your running backs at this point in the year, I wanted to highlight Ajayi as he's been getting worked in a bit by the Dolphins of late. Ajayi posted 58 total yards against the Jets, but the vast majority of that production came on short passes when the Dolphins were in the hurry-up at the end of the game and losing by a wide margin. The Dolphins once again inexplicably gave Lamar Miller a meager amount of carries (five this week), and if they're heading towards more of a committee, Ajayi will have some value as he's shown some explosion with relatively fresh legs at this point in the season. And even if the team reverts back to feeding Miller carries down the stretch, Ajayi will remain a high-upside handcuff worth stashing. FAAB Suggestion: 5-10 percent.

Ever since Seattle's Week 9 bye, Baldwin has been on a bit of a tear. He has owned 26.4 percent of the team's targets, turning them into 19 catches, 339 yards and four touchdowns. Now, of course, much of that production came in Week 12, especially the touchdowns (three of them), but with Jimmy Graham suffering a torn patellar tendon in that game as well, Baldwin's role could be increasing in short order. He's a great add in PPR as he's had six-plus catches in each of his last three games, and if the Seattle passing attack keeps up its current pace next week against the Vikings, he'll be a rock solid play in standard leagues as well. FAAB Suggestion: 20-25 percent.

It took a few weeks, but this was finally the Steve Johnson we were hoping to see in San Diego after the loss of Keenan Allen. He posted his best day as a Charger with 92 yards and a touchdown on a team-high 10 targets. Despite average fantasy success, Johnson has owned 24.3 percent of the team's targets in their last three games, indicating his volume should hold steady the rest of the season. He's an excellent WR2 in PPR formats, and a great option to have in standard as well. Grab him on waivers if you can this week, but keep in mind he does play the Broncos next Sunday. That might be a week to leave him on the bench. FAAB Suggestion: 20-25 percent.

Aiken has yet to play in Week 12 as I write this column, but everything I wrote about him last week still holds true. He'll likely continue leading the team in targets as he has the past three weeks, though his scoring upside definitely takes a hit with Matt Schaub at quarterback, and not Joe Flacco. Still, Aiken is worth a bench stash as a matchup-based WR3 or flex play, and if you were burned by Danny Amendola being inactive for Sunday night, Aiken could be a nice find to pick up and play on Monday night. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent.

The Dolphins had high hopes for Parker when they took him in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft, but injuries slowed his development and led to him playing just 18 percent of the team's snaps in their first 10 games (the lowest of any Miami wideout). However, an injury to Rishard Matthews allowed Parker to see more snaps and as a result, more targets. All told, he caught four of his 10 targets for 80 yards and a garbage time touchdown. That's not a super encouraging catch rate, but Parker showed his big-play ability on his touchdown catch and run. He's worth an add in case his usage continues to rise after his solid relief performance, especially with Matthews now being out indefinitely with multiple fractured ribs. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent.

Funchess only saw four targets on Thanksgiving, catching two of them for 19 yards, but he was on the field for 83 percent of the offensive snaps -- the highest mark of all Carolina wideouts. Part of his lack of production also came from the fact that Dallas' defense is no pushover, and Carolina's defense spotted the offense a two-touchdown lead early. Funchess has improved his game and is making some of the plays he used to leave on the field at Michigan. Next up for the Panthers is a date with the New Orleans Saints and their defense that has been bullied by almost every offense to face them, most recently units run by the likes of Marcus Mariota, Kirk Cousins and Brian Hoyer. Cam Newton and Funchess might be able to connect on a few big plays in the Superdome, giving Funchess flex appeal. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent.

With Rob Gronkowski suffering a knee injury on Sunday night, Scott Chandler emerges as a legitimate fantasy option at tight end. While Gronk's injury is not season-ending, reports are mixed as to how many games (if at all) he'll miss. This makes Chandler a great add this week, as he'll see an uptick in targets helping fill the massive void Gronk leaves if he's on the sideline. Now, this should go without saying, but Chandler is a 30-year old veteran who will not be a one man replacement for the Patriots or your fantasy lineup. But, he's already had productive games this year and should be able to put together some solid fantasy outings until Gronk returns. He'll at least be a nice red zone threat for Brady, with a relatively safe floor as a chain-mover as well. FAAB Suggestion: 25-30 percent.

Like his other offensive mates on this list, Gillmore hasn't played yet in Week 12. He's a decent add at tight end, though, as he's caught a touchdown in two of his last three games, and went for over 100 yards last week against the Rams, averaging just over five targets a game in that span. Matt Schaub could look to the massive Gillmore a bunch as he adjusts to life under center again, and Gillmore is always a threat in the red zone. You can probably even wait until later in the week (unless Gillmore has a big game) to acquire him and not waste a waiver priority. FAAB Suggestion: 5-10 percent.

I'm including Rudolph, as he's a solid streaming option this week for those who lost Graham or have been befuddled by tight ends all season. He'll face Seattle next week, who so far this season have allowed 8.7 yards per target and 1.37 fantasy points per target to opposing tight ends. Rudolph has seen 19 targets the last two weeks, catching 13 of them for 159 yards and one touchdown. Teddy Bridgewater has been looking for Rudolph with his wide receivers struggling outside of Stefon Diggs, and this could turn into another solid outing for the Notre Dame product. FAAB Suggestion: 5-10 percent.

When Fitzpatrick shaved his beard last week, I was afraid he'd cut of the source of his fantasy power. However, after a four-touchdown performance in Week 12, perhaps Fitzmagic simply unlocked even more power by exposing more of his face. Anyway, Fitzpatrick has been a great fantasy quarterback for much of the season, and next up gets a date with a Giants secondary that saw Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie leave the game against Washington with an ankle injury (he did return, though). Fitzpatrick's dynamic wide receiver duo should be able to find some room to roam in the Battle of New York ... in New Jersey next week. If you're streaming the position, Fitzpatrick should be one of the top options for you to target on waivers for Week 13. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent.