In Sunday’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, Pat Freiermuth turned in the best receiving performance by a Pittsburgh Steelers player this season. Week 13 kicks off live on Sky Sports NFL on Friday at 1.15 am, when the Seattle Seahawks take on the Dallas Cowboys.
We examine some of the best fantasy football waiver options available in the league ahead of Week 13 of the NFL.
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Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed
Let’s talk about Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed, who has established himself as one of Jordan Love’s most reliable targets, not for the first time this season. In Thursday’s Thanksgiving upset victory over the Detroit Lions, the second-round rookie scored 13 points in Fantasy while catching four passes for a team-high eight targets for 34 yards and a touchdown on a thread-the-needle pass from Love. This was his third straight double-digit return.
As the main multi-purpose asset in Matt LaFleur’s motion-heavy offense, Reed has now amassed 47.1 points over the last three weeks after grabbing 13 passes from 19 targets for 164 receiving yards and two touchdowns in addition to 62 rushing yards and a score. He will first take on the fourth-ranked pass defense of the Kansas City Chiefs, and then he will face the 21st-ranked unit of the New York Giants. Love just had his best game of the season against the Lions, so Reed’s value may be about to increase even more.
New England Patriots tight end Gerald Everett
Since Mike Williams was injured earlier in the season, the Los Angeles Chargers have never really settled on a true No. 2 wide receiver outside of Keenan Allen. Gerald Everett, a tight end, has struggled with injuries at times. However, on Sunday, he showed signs of returning to his full potential by hauling in four passes for 43 yards and a touchdown, good for a season-high 12.30 points against the Baltimore Ravens. When he was with the Dallas Cowboys, Kellen Moore, the offensive coordinator for the Chargers, gave Dalton Schultz an every-down role. It is likely that Everett’s health issues are the only reason he hasn’t been one of Justin Herbert’s main weapons more frequently.
Curtis Samuel had perhaps his most productive game of the season on Thanksgiving against the Dallas Cowboys, even though the team lost 45–10 in a blowout. Samuel caught nine passes from 12 targets for 100 yards at an average of 11.1 yards per reception. In the process, he also made history as the first receiver to score 100 yards in a game all season against Dan Quinn’s defense. In order to give his most-sacked quarterback the opportunity to get the ball out quickly, Eric Bieniemy has installed a pass-heavy offense in Washington behind Sam Howell, the league leader in passing yards. Samuel’s yards-after-catch ability could see more action in the final moments of the season. I’ve always had the impression that there was more to.
Samaje Perine, one of the best pass-protecting backs in the NFL, carried the ball seven times for 55 yards and a touchdown as the Denver Broncos defeated the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. It was the team’s most productive rushing game of the season. In addition to being a valuable addition to Javonte Williams, the veteran made it back-to-back double-digit Fantasy games after he caught seven passes for sixty yards in the team’s victory over the Minnesota Vikings the week before.
With a balanced offense that has propelled the Broncos back into unlikely playoff contention, Russell Wilson, Sean Payton, and Denver seemed to find and take advantage of a weak point in the Browns defense, which Perine and Williams were able to take advantage of. If that’s the case, Perine might be needed in the closing stages.
Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth
The Pittsburgh Steelers, who had Matt Canada as their offensive coordinator for the entire 44 games, went 58 games in a row without amassing 400 total offensive yards. The Steelers ended that run in just a few days after firing Canada in the middle of the week, scoring 421 yards in their victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. In just his sixth game of the season, tight end Pat Freiermuth led the team and recorded 18.50 points in Fantasy Football by accounting for 120 of those yards from his nine catches. When his young quarterback, Kenny Pickett, is in dire need of some throws that will boost his confidence, having a reliable tight end on hand becomes a desirable option.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir
After losing to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Buffalo Bills have a week off. However, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be a good idea to sign Khalil Shakir now, given his potential for a bigger role during the holiday season. Shakir last week showed off his explosiveness after the catch when, in Buffalo’s victory over the New York Jets, he connected with Josh Allen for the league’s longest touchdown—81 yards. Gabe Davis had 12 targets this week, but he still managed three catches from five targets for 47 yards. Although Davis has long been thought of as Allen’s backup wide receiver behind Stefon Diggs, he hasn’t quite reached the Reliability is anticipated, opening the door for Shakir and rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid to compete for more reps.
