Week 13 Waiver Wire: Which WRs Are Worth Picking Up?

When it comes to fantasy football, no position is harder to predict than wide receiver. Only a few put up points on a consistent basis, and there are some who simply cannot be relied on at all.

There are also some who come out of nowhere to pile up plenty of points. The bad part is that there are generally very few owners who benefit from such out-of-nowhere performances. 

Instead, all owners can do is hit the waiver wire and hope that these surprise point machines will produce again. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't.

Want to know which Week 12 studs will produce and which ones won't? If yes, just keep reading.

Note: We shall proceed in alphabetical order.

Jason Avant, Philadelphia Eagles

Jeremy Maclin was hurt, DeSean Jackson got benched and Vince Young was under center.

Somehow, all of this resulted in Jason Avant having his best game of the season, as he hauled in eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown against the New England Patriots.

Avant could put up numbers like these again, but there are reasons to believe he won't. First and foremost, you have to keep in mind that the Patriots have the worst pass defense in the NFL. Secondly, it took VY 48 throws to rack up his totals, and I highly doubt he's going to see that much action again.

Especially seeing as how Michael Vick should be returning soon, but I guess that's neither here nor there as far as Avant is concerned.

If you're hoping for studly performances on a consistent basis from Avant, you're going to be disappointed. However, if you're in a deep league and you need a high-ceiling guy for the playoffs, you could do worse.

James Jones, Green Bay Packers

I first wrote about James Jones back in early October after he hauled in five catches for 140 yards and a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons. As I recall, I advised passing on him.

On Thanksgiving, Jones caught three passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, which came on a 65-yard strike from Aaron Rodgers.

I can't recommend Jones as a high-volume receiver, but he does seem to have a knack for finding the end zone, as he's caught five touchdown passes in eight games. So this time around, I'm inclined to say that Jones is worth the trouble.

Shoot, anybody on the Packers offense is worth the trouble.

Johnny Knox, Chicago Bears

Last week, I wrote that Knox's 97-yard, one-touchdown performance against the San Diego Chargers was as good as it was going to get for him. 

So much for that. Knox followed that up by catching four passes for 145 yards and a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders. Not bad for a guy who has Caleb Hanie throwing passes to him.

In watching the game, I couldn't help but notice that Hanie just kind of threw it up for grabs in Knox's direction whenever he felt the heat coming down on him, hence the reason Knox had 10 targets. If that's going to be Hanie's MO, I'd say Knox is actually poised to be pretty productive down the stretch.

He has my apologies for doubting him last week.

Lance Moore, New Orleans Saints

As long as Drew Brees is standing on two legs, there will be plenty of points to go around in New Orleans' offense.

It just so happens Moore secured a bunch of them on Monday night by catching five passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns. Not too shabby.

Moore is another guy who likely won't be a high-volume receiver any time soon. However, he's now caught touchdown passes in three of his last four games. None of them have been of the longer variety, which essentially means that Brees trusts Moore to make plays when the Saints get close to the end zone.

That makes Moore worth adding.

Brad Smith, Buffalo Bills

On occasion, Smith does something.

On Sunday, Smith did several somethings against the New York Jets. Namely, he caught four passes for 77 yards and a touchdown.

My guess is that this is just about all the somethings Smith has to offer. He's not a key cog in Buffalo's offense, and his touchdown catch came on a tip drill play.

Like all Smith outbursts, Sunday's was a fluke. Don't be in a hurry to add him.