The fantasy football season is nearing its end. This is either the last week of the regular season, or the first week of the playoffs if you play in a deeper league. Either way, we’re in the stretch run and every move will be critical from here on out as owners fight for the championship.
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There weren’t many major injuries at the wide receiver position in Week 13, but a few situations to monitor. Rishard Matthews missed another game with a hamstring injury, while Chris Hogan’s bad shoulder left him inactive again. Both men are questionable at best to finish the fantasy season, so you can probably cut them in more shallow leagues. In additional news, Michael Crabtree will be back from suspension this week and Amari Cooper could be cleared from concussion protocol.
Without further ado, here are the week’s top wide receiver waiver wire options, owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! standard leagues.
Josh Doctson, Washington (47 percent)
Washington inexplicably laid an egg on Thursday, putting its playoff hopes in serious jeopardy at 5-7. Doctson had another quiet game with just three catches for 26 yards. The good news? One of those catches was a touchdown, and even if it came deep in garbage time, Doctson now has five scores on the season. He’s settled in as a boom-or-bust WR4, but Kirk Cousins likes throwing him jump balls in the end zone, so there’s that. Doctson will have a tough matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers next.
Jermaine Kearse, New York Jets (46 percent)
Raise your hand if you expected Kearse and Robby Anderson to be one of the league’s most explosive receiver duos right now. After a quiet few months, Kearse is hot again with 262 yards and a touchdown in his last two games. With Josh McCown on fire and the 5-7 Jets looking to play spoiler down the stretch, this is an offense worth stacking in DFS leagues. The only major concern is their matchup this week — despite the Denver Broncos bottoming out, they still have an elite secondary.
Mike Wallace, Baltimore Ravens (35 percent)
The Ravens offense has been unwatchable all season, but something finally clicked in Week 13 (or maybe it was just the Detroit Lions offense). Joe Flacco rediscovered a connection with Wallace, who exploded for 116 yards on five catches. It’s just the second time all year he’s cleared 100 yards, and the Ravens look like a much different team when they embrace the deep ball. This might not last long, especially with a receiver as streaky as Wallace. We’ll see if they keep it up against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dede Westbrook, Jacksonville Jaguars (28 percent)
Westbrook continues to emerge as a nifty weapon in the Jags’ offense, taking advantage of Allen Hurns’ ankle injury to soak up targets and catches. He had his best game yet against the Indianapolis Colts, taking six receptions for 78 yards and making things happen after the catch. He and Marqise Lee have formed an underrated duo with Blake Bortles playing better ball recently. Westbrook has done enough to be an WR3 in PPR leagues, even with the Seattle Seahawks on deck next week.
