Week 13 Waiver Wire: Projecting Best Adds, Drops and Future Handcuffs

We are approaching the home stretch of the fantasy football season, so you better make sure you have the best players possible to lead you into the playoffs and beyond.

Although there isn't a lot of time to turn around a struggling team, there are always small upgrades to be had on the waiver wire if you know where to look. You can even get ahead of the game by grabbing a few speculative adds with high upside for the rest of the season.

Here is a look at the best options for each category heading into Week 13. All players listed are available in over 50 percent of ESPN leagues.

Pos.	Player	Team	Percent Owned*
QB	Tyrod Taylor	Buffalo Bills	44.5
QB	Alex Smith	Kansas City Chiefs	38.8
RB	David Johnson	Arizona Cardinals	22.7
RB	Ameer Abdullah	Detroit Lions	43.6
RB	Shaun Draughn	San Francisco 49ers	35.1
WR	Doug Baldwin	Seattle Seahawks	33.9
WR	Dontrelle Inman	San Diego Chargers	7.7
WR	Markus Wheaton	Pittsburgh Steelers	7.6
TE	Scott Chandler	New England Patriots	2.0
TE	Vance McDonald	San Francisco 49ers	0.6

Alex Smith, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Although he isn't usually considered a fantasy weapon, Alex Smith has played some of his best football lately. The quarterback has now gone eight games without throwing an interception and, perhaps more surprisingly, has shown the ability to throw the ball deep down the field:

Smith has even showcased his athleticism in recent weeks with four games in a row with at least 30 rushing yards, totaling 179 yards and a touchdown on the ground in this stretch. With legitimate weapons in Jeremy Maclin, Travis Kelce and whoever is at running back, Smith has shown the ability to put up quality fantasy numbers.

The remaining schedule is also extremely favorable, with two games against the Oakland Raiders plus matchups against the San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Aside from the Chargers, each of these teams has well-below-average secondaries, while even San Diego has its question marks.

Considering he only once failed to reach 13 fantasy points in standard leagues this season, you don't have a whole lot to lose.

David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Fantasy football remains all about opportunity, and David Johnson appears to have a good one with the Arizona Cardinals. Head coach Bruce Arians provided the latest injury report on his team after Week 12, including injuries to running backs Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington, via Darren Urban:

Jay Glazer of Fox Sports noted that the Johnson injury is especially serious:

Although a lot of information needs to be sorted through, David Johnson is worth an immediate pickup in all fantasy leagues. If he does start, he will immediately enter one of the top offenses in the NFL behind an offensive line that has cleared some big running lanes this year.

Of course, Johnson does have plenty of talent in his own right. The 6'1", 224-pound rookie has the ideal combination of size and speed to be a factor at this level and has already turned it into seven touchdowns this year (three rushing, three receiving, one kickoff return).

If he can get a full workload against the St. Louis Rams, Johnson could have a big game.

Dontrelle Inman, WR, San Diego Chargers

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

There were plenty of surprising performances at receiver last week, which makes players like Doug Baldwin, Markus Wheaton and others likely to be priority pickups this week. Baldwin has the best chance of the bunch to keep up his production, although none of them are likely to replicate their recent showings.

However, Dontrelle Inman might be worth an immediate pickup, despite his being a bit overlooked.

The second-year receiver finished last game with five catches on nine targets for 65 yards, all of which were second on the team behind Stevie Johnson. He also scored his second touchdown on the season.

With Philip Rivers leading the No. 2 passing attack in the NFL, there are clearly a lot of yards to go around on this team. The good news for Inman is there are few established, healthy targets. Johnson and Antonio Gates will likely get the first looks, but there is still plenty of opportunity for the young receiver to make himself known in the coming weeks.

Pos.	Player	Team	Percent Owned*
QB	Ryan Fitzpatrick	New York Jets	26.3
QB	Kirk Cousins	Washington Redskins	26.0
RB	Brandon Bolden	New England Patriots	4.1
RB	Bilal Powell	New York Jets	12.8
RB	Jay Ajayi	Miami Dolphins	14.0
RB	Jerick McKinnon	Minnesota Vikings	3.8
WR	Devante Parker	Miami Dolphins	4.8
WR	Keshawn Martin	New England Patriots	3.9
WR	Kenny Britt	St. Louis Rams	2.3
WR	Cole Beasley	Dallas Cowboys	6.3
WR	Seth Roberts	Oakland Raiders	0.2
TE	Kyle Rudolph	Minnesota Vikings	21.0

Perhaps the most interesting player to keep an eye on is rookie receiver DeVante Parker. The first-round pick has done very little this season but finally got an opportunity with Rishard Matthews injured, as noted by Adam Levitan of DraftKings:

Parker turned this chance into four catches for 80 yards and his first career touchdown. If he can remain part of the offense as the Miami Dolphins close out a disappointing season, he could provide some serious fantasy value.

New England Patriots Brandon Bolden and Keshawn Martin have potential for big games going forward, although it is always difficult to judge usage rate on a Bill Belichick team. Martin only officially had one target last game but could easily end up with 10 next week in a better matchup.

Running backs like Bilal Powell, Jay Ajayi and Jerick McKinnon will struggle to get opportunities in the immediate future, but any injuries to starters will potentially make them elite fantasy options.

Pos.	Player	Team
QB	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons
QB	Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos
RB	C.J. Spiller	New Orleans Saints
RB	Shane Vereen	New York Giants
WR	Andre Johnson	Indianapolis Colts
WR	Mike Wallace	Minnesota Vikings
WR	Torrey Smith	San Francisco 49ers
TE	Eric Ebron	Detroit Lions

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