Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Week 13
QB: Kirk Cousins - Minnesota Vikings
Kirk Cousins is currently owned in 20.4% of ESPN leagues. In Week 12, he scored 26.18 fantasy points. His Week 12 opponent was the Carolina Panthers. Against the Panthers he threw 34 completions on 45 attempts for 307 yards and 3 passing touchdowns. He also added 3 carries for 19 yards and he did all of this without star WR Adam Thielen who was placed on the COVID-19 Reserve List and should be back this upcoming week. Cousins has scored 20 or more fantasy points in 3 of his last 6 games. He also has two WR 1’s that he can throw to. Adam Thielen is a TD machine and has scored 11 times this season despite only appearing in 10 games. Thielen is also ranked as the #11 WR in fantasy. His running mate on the opposite side of the field is Justin Jefferson. Although he is only a rookie, he is productive (52 receptions for 918 yards and 6 TD) and is currently ranked as the #1 rookie WR according to PFF. These are two weapons that Cousins can utilize to continue putting up fantasy numbers. In addition to that, all of the teams that the Vikings face will sell out to defend the run. That is what happens when you have Dalvin Cook on your roster. This leaves stacked boxes and one on one coverage on the WR making it easier for Cousins to throw. The Vikings are also starting to heat up. They have won 4 of their last 5 games which equates to more positive momentum and good overall morale which then leads to the team playing even better than they were before. Up next, Cousins and the Vikings face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags are the 2nd worst team in the league and almost every team has thrown multiple passing touchdowns against them. Look for Cousins to feast on this porous defense.
Prediction: 24.8 points
RB: Latavius Murray - New Orleans Saints
Latavius Murray is currently owned in 46.3% of ESPN leagues. In Week 12, he played against the Denver Broncos and put up 25.6 fantasy points on 19 carries for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns. Yes, Murray is the second string Running Back behind Alvin Kamara but it is getting to the point in the season where the Saints are starting to take some of the workload off of Kamara to keep him fresh and ready for their playoff push. This bodes well for Murray fantasy owners. In addition to that, the Drew Brees injury actually helps out Murray’s cause. Alvin Kamara is more of the pass catching back and without Brees to throw constant check downs, the Saints are forced to employ more run plays which means more Murray usage. In the the 2 games that Brees has been out, Murray has had 12 carries and 19 carries. Although Murray’s carries have gone up in the games that Brees has been absent, Murray was always part of the Saints’ game plan. He has had double digit carries in all but 4 games this season. Up next, he plays the Atlanta Falcons. Murray put up 10.5 fantasy points against them 2 weeks ago. Then the week after that, he plays the horrendous Philadelphia Eagles defense so Latavius Murray could be a multi week play. Look for Murray to outscore running mate Alvin Kamara for the 3rd week in a row.
Prediction: 12.4 points
WR: Alan Lazard - Green Bay Packers
Alan Lazard is currently owned in 27.8% of ESPN leagues. In Week 12, he played against the Chicago Bears where he put up 12.3 fantasy points with a stat line of 4 receptions on 6 targets for 23 yards and a receiving touchdown. Lazard is clearly the #2 guy on an Aaron Rodgers led offense and let me tell you, thats a good offense to be on. If its a passing down and Devante Adams isn’t open, Lazard is probably going to be the next read. Alan Lazard has only appeared in 5 games this season because he had core muscle surgery that forced him to miss 6 games and a BYE week. However, Lazard has a knack for the endzone. In those 5 games, he has 3 receiving touchdowns which although seems unsustainable, it shows the trust that Rodgers has in him. Speaking about his relationship with Rodgers, it is a small sample size but his target share shows that he is starting to build that rapport with his QB again as targets have gone up every game since he got back. Up next, he plays the Philadelphia Eagles who really only have one good CB in Darius Slay who will most likely shadow Devante Adams all game. This leaves subpar CBs or Safety’s to cover Lazard. Look for Lazard to get north of 8 targets this game.
Prediction: 15 points
TE: Trey Burton - Indianapolis Colts
Trey Burton is currently owned in 6% of ESPN leagues. In Week 12 he faced off against a Tennessee Titans defense and scored 13.2 fantasy points with a stat line of 3 receptions on 6 targets for 42 yards and receiving touchdown. Its week 13 of the NFL season so can we call Burton Phillip River’s new favorite target? Not necessarily but he is consistently the 2nd or 3rd most targeted pass catcher on the Colt’s offense. Trey Burton was a really really good player and highly regarded before injury after injury derailed his career with the Bears but he is healthy now and is showing all the potential and promise he once had. The best part about Burton’s fantasy outlook is that he has Phillip Rivers as his Quarterback. Rivers absolutely loves to throw to his check downs and short. Luckily for Burton, TEs typically run shorter routes so its a match made in heaven. Burton has scored a touchdown in each of his last 2 games. Can he make it 3 in a row? Up next, he plays against the Houston Texans. This is a Texans defense that gives up about 60 yards to the TE position every game. TE TJ Hockenson from the Detroit Lions just torched them for 89 yards. In addition to that, Texan DE JJ Watt is looking to come sack Rivers with every down so look for Rivers to throw short way more often which in turn leads to fantasy points for Trey Burton.
Prediction: 10.6 points