Fantasy Football Week 13: Who's Hot and Who's Not at Wide Receiver?

It finally comes down to the last few weeks to get into your fantasy football playoffs, but you notice that your team is looking a little shaky at the wide receiver position due to injuries and various other factors.

Week 13 brings some interesting matchups to the game and there may be some players you can pick up in your league to help you etch your name in fantasy football glory, or at least get your team into the playoffs.

Here are some players to start and some players that should just ride the pine this week at the wide receiver spot.

Hot: Johnny Knox

Johnny Knox has spent this whole year riding behind Roy Williams, Devin Hester, and Earl Bennett but is starting to come out of his cage, at least fantasy-wise.

Knox has become the new favorite target of backup quarterback Caleb Hanie, which will help fantasy owners for the next few weeks.

Last week, Knox notched 145 yards and has had a touchdown in the past two weeks.

The returning ability of Knox is also a plus for owners, giving them a chance to see a return touchdown as well.

Look for Knox to continue his tear this week as he and the Bears face the Chiefs.

Hot: Victor Cruz

The New York Giants have been relying on Victor Cruz a lot this season, especially to come through with big plays throughout the game.

A main benefactor of Eli Manning's superb year is Cruz, who seems to be the main fantasy play at wide out in New York.

With teams continuing to double Hakeem Nicks, Cruz will continue to find gaps in the defense and keep his big play ability throughout the game.

Look for Manning to have to throw the ball a lot in the shootout against the Packers, with Cruz seeing many of Manning's looks.

Hot: Vincent Jackson

Vincent Jackson may be one of the most frustrating players to have on a fantasy team.

He is consistently inconsistent and either has huge weeks that have owners gleaming or silent weeks that have owners shaking their heads.

Look for Jackson to go back to his huge week status as the Chargers face the newly coached Jaguars on Monday night. 

With the losses racking up for the Chargers, Rivers will have to throw the ball and establish himself as an elite quarterback again, and with a receiver that has intangibles like Jackson, it could happen against a young Jaguars squad.

Hot: Doug Baldwin

After being the primary target of the much talked about Andrew Luck, the rookie Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin has the chance to be a major contributing factor to the Seattle offense.

Baldwin is a main benefactor of a shallow pool of playmakers in the Seahawks organization and has made his name known in Seattle.

With Sidney Rice leaving the Redskins game early, Baldwin led the team in targets, receptions, and yards.

This week, Rice will likely sit out as they play on Thursday night, so Baldwin will look to continue his main receiver role in Seattle.

He may not be the best starter, but if you're in a squeeze for a wide receiver, Baldwin could be your man.

Hot: Reggie Wayne

No, Peyton Manning is not back as quarterback for the Colts, so why is Reggie Wayne a viable option at receiver?

There's no doubt that Wayne is having a slump year (mostly because he doesn't have a quarterback to throw to him), but he finally broke out a good game last week, reeling in five balls for 122 yards and a touchdown.

It may be because he played against a horrible Panther defensive unit, but look who he is facing this week: The Colts are going to play the Patriots, who have the honor of being the worst pass defense team in the NFL.

There's no doubt the Colts will have to throw the ball this week, so Wayne should be a good option at wide out, especially given his past with the New England Patriots.

Not: Santana Moss

Santana Moss finally came back into the lineup last week for the Redskins after injuring his hand earlier this season.

Moss was having a fairly decent season as the main wideout in Washington but has taken a back seat to Jabar Gaffney because of his injury.

Last week he had four catches and seemed to be getting back into the groove of the offense, which points fantasy owners in the direction of picking him up and starting him.

Bad idea, fantasy owners. Moss is playing the New York Jets next, who have had Darrelle Revis shutting down players all season long.

Last week, Steve Johnson beat Revis a couple of times on short routes, so this week Revis will definitely be coming out hungry to stop Moss, who isn't as physical as Johnson.

Moss may have been a solid player in the last couple of weeks, but he won't be against the Jets.

Not: Lance Moore

Fantasy owners drool when they see the stats Moore put up last week, but he simply won't be repeating that performance this week.

The only reason Moore looks as good as he does on some weeks is because of Drew Brees, but Brees will spread the ball out and even though Moore is in line on some big nights, he will not be this week.

Facing the stingy Detroit defense will be tough for the Saints, and even though the Saints have been rolling, they will still have some trouble moving the ball.

Also, the Saints have so many viable options for Brees to throw to and Moore is currently going to be behind Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles.

Not: Jerome Simpson

The Bengals finally returned to their original plan at getting the ball to outstanding rookie A.J. Green.

With the return of Green to the Cincinnati lineup, Simpson will not see anymore big games fantasy-wise.

Simpson went off for 152 yards in a loss to the Ravens and looked to be on his way to a solid start at wideout, but after only having two catches for 15 yards against the Browns, he is looking progressively worse.

Not only is he inconsistent, but A.J. Green and Jermaine Gresham will be fighting for targets, so Simpson will just end up falling by the wayside.

Not: Torrey Smith

Torrey Smith seemed to be turning into the most dynamic receiver of the Ravens and was making impact around fantasy football everywhere, but he finally had a dose of reality last week when he was held to two catches for 23 yards against the 49ers.

The 49ers are a great defensive unit and much better than Cleveland, but Smith is a boom or bust player and can either burn teams for yardage as he did against the Bengals, or get shut down as shown by San Francisco.

He is a high risk player, but he's a risk you may not want to take this week if you really need a solid starter.

Not: Eric Decker

The Broncos have given Tim Tebow control of the offense and with that, every Broncos receiver drops in value.

Decker was fortunate to be able to score last week on one of his three receptions, but with Tebow under center, it is just not a good idea to start any wideout on the Broncos.

With the amount of times that the Broncos throw the ball, it doesn't matter that Decker is the leading wide receiver because if they don't throw it, no one gets catches.

As long as Tebow remains the starter, Decker will be playing a very risky role as a fantasy wide receiver.