Fantasy football waiver wire: Best quarterbacks available in Week 13

With the Thanksgiving weekend behind us, it’s now a dead sprint to the fantasy playoffs, which begin either next week or Week 15, depending on your league settings. At this point, most of your starting lineup should be well-established, especially with the bye weeks over. But it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on the waiver wire.

There were a handful of quarterback injuries in Week 12, but none of them were to major fantasy stars. C.J. Beathard got an ankle injury deep in garbage time, while Paxton Lynch ended his poor day early with an ankle sprain of his own. Matt Moore filled in for a concussed Jay Cutler, and we still don’t know when Jameis Winston is coming back (if ever).

So with all that in mind, let’s take a look at the top quarterbacks owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! leagues.

After the Nate Peterman debacle, the Bills are smartly sticking with Taylor for now. He went back to his game-managing ways, avoiding mistakes and doing just enough to get Buffalo the win. Taylor has reached the 200-yard mark just four times this season, but his low turnover rate and running ability is usually good enough to keep him on the QB2 radar. Taylor has a good matchup on paper with the New England Patriots, in a game where the Bills will likely have to air it out to keep pace with Tom Brady.

The clock could be ticking on Keenum as a starter. The Vikings haven’t committed to him beyond a week-to-week basis, and Teddy Bridgewater is looming on the sidelines. Still, Keenum hasn’t given them a reason to bench him yet, especially after another stellar performance on Thanksgiving (282 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-30 passing). As long as Keenum is under center, he’s a borderline QB1. The Vikings take on the Atlanta Falcons next.

Bortles was pretty dismal on Sunday, one of the main reasons the Jaguars choked away a winnable game against the Arizona Cardinals. He managed just 160 yards on 19-of-33 passing and threw a brutal interception in crunch time that ultimately set up the Cardinals’ game-winning field goal. The only saving grace was Bortles’ legs, rushing for two touchdowns and 62 yards. It’s obvious he’s holding the team back at this point. I only have Bortles on the list this week because he has a good bounce-back matchup with the Indianapolis Colts. Bortles lit them up for 330 yards and a touchdown in Week 7.

Garoppolo made his 49ers debut under less-than-favorable circumstances. When Beathard hurt his ankle with 1 minute left, Garoppolo came in and led a touchdown drive in the absolute dead zone of garbage time, against a Seattle Seahawks defense that already pulled its starters. Naturally, this started up the hype train for Jimmy G, and there’s a good chance he starts against the Chicago Bears this week. He’s only a dynasty stash at this point, and probably won’t help people in the fantasy playoffs, but it’ll be interesting to watch Garoppolo down the stretch.