For the 2nd straight week, the pickups this week will be dominated by RBs and WRs. There are really no QBs out there and even the TE I recommend will be risky. Honestly, at this point in the season, it’s about picking up your own handcuff backups and players that may have an impact if someone else happened to get hurt. In most competitive leagues, the current FA list is pretty bare. So with the playoffs right around the corner, let’s get right to the NFL Week 13 Pickups.
QBs
None – If you want to press your luck with Josh McCown again, good luck. If you don’t have a QB picked up by now, you’re probably in trouble with whose likely left on the FA list. Does it really matter deciding between Bortles, Bridgewater, and Fitzpatrick?
RBs
LeGarrette Blount – This alone will tell you how quickly things can change in the NFL. Just one week ago, Blount was just cut from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jonas Gray was running for 199 yards and 4 TDs. Now, Gray was benched for missing a team practice and Blount is picked up and scores twice against a tough run defense. The NFL is so unpredictable.
Dan Herron – Another surprise RB last week was Herron. Yes, there were people that said to pick him up, but I doubt they expected Trent Richardson to be sick and for Herron to get the majority of carries. It not looks like Herron will take the Bradshaw role, if not more, with Richardson being the goal line back.
Latavius Murray – I told people last week how ridiculously athletic Murray was and he proved it in just four carries last week. Unfortunately, he left that game with a concussion after just those 4 carries. He hopes to be cleared in time for what would obviously be a bigger role in the Raider’s offense.
WRs
Kenny Stills – My recommendation of Stills was validated with an 8 catch 98 yard day. With Brandin Cooks out for the rest of the year, the Saints have nothing left to do but somewhat force feed Stills, who is by far their most explosive weapon outside of all-world TE Jimmy Graham.
Josh Brown – Larry Fitzgerald wants to play through his knee injury. However, the injury he has is normally a 2-4 week injury. He likely won’t play this week and will be checked on from there. Josh Brown is explosive and will now be starting for an offense that loves to pass probably more than any other team in the league.
Jarvis Landry – Seemingly out of nowhere, Landry has become a legitimate PPR starter. He has four consecutive games of 11 points or more and he has gotten better the last 3 games. He is one of the biggest reasons that Ryan Tannehill seems to be a much more consistent starter this year.
Charles Johnson – Speaking of out of nowhere, enter Charles Johnson. Over the last two weeks, Johnson has 9 catches for 139 yards, a TD, and a 2-pt conversion on 18 targets. Before that he had a total of 6 catches for 60 yards, with zero TDs on 12 targets. He seems very comfortable with Teddy Bridgewater and this has a chance to continue.
TEs
Kyle Rudolph – After a horrible donut the week before in his 1st game back, Rudolph showed that he is starting to get back into the fold of things. Anyone that watched the game could obviously see he still wasn’t back to 100%, but 3 catches for 50 yards is better than nothing and this offense loves to use the TE more than most teams.
Tim Wright – I’ve tried to stay away from Tim wright so far because of the low amount of plays he is actually on the field. However, after last week, there is no denying how big of a part of the offense he is and how much he benefits from have Rob Gronkowski on the other side. On his 2nd TD last week, two LBs went to cover Gronk and Wright was left with no one within 5 yards of him.
DEFs
New York Giants Defense – I say it every week, so you should be expecting it by now, “Whoever is facing the Jaguars or the Rams, start their defense”. The Giants will really test their theory this week as they have been very disappointing this year on that side of the ball, but I still with my advice.
Indianapolis Colts Defense – Not only have the Colts played well on defense, but they will be facing the Redskins, who have allowed opposing defenses the 5th most points in the league. They should be able to put up similar numbers to what they did last week.
Cincinnati Bengals Defense – Some of the other teams that you might want to start you defenses against are Tampa Bay and the New York Jets. The Cincinnati Bengals play the former. Looks for future matchups with the above mentioned teams if you want to get a head start on who should be picked up for the playoffs.
Those are your NFL week 13 pickups. Enjoy the games and Happy Thanksgiving to all the football fans and everyone else out there on this holiday.
