Fantasy Football Week 13 waiver wire pickups: Zay Jones and more

Week 12 of the NFL and fantasy football regular season has wrapped up, giving fantasy managers better clarity of which players they should drop, and which players they should pick up in exchange from the waiver wire. There were no teams byes this week. The last week where no teams were on bye was Week 5. We will have to wait until Week 15 for no teams to be on bye, again. By then, it will be fantasy football playoff time.

With no teams on byes, we saw players ascending, descending, returning from injury, or getting injured. It’s a good idea for fantasy managers to replace descending players with ascending players, or injured players with healthy players. Listed below are players that have been performing well, or performed well in an injured player’s absence.

Fantasy Football waiver wire, Week 13: Running backs

Zonovan Knight, Jets
In a surprising turn of events, newly acquired Jets running back James Robinson was inactive as a healthy scratch (coach’s decision). Michael Carter was serving as the lead back until suffering an ankle sprain. The Jets turned to rookie UDFA Zonovan Knight, who earned nearly 50% of snaps.

Available in virtually 100% of NFL.com fantasy football leagues, Knight earned 103 total yards on 17 touches in the 34-10 win over the Bears. Fellow back Ty Johnson, who served as the change-of-pace back all day, efficiently earned 78 yards on 7 touches (32 of these yards coming from one touchdown run). Knight is the back to own in fantasy, but Johnson wouldn’t be a bad second option. Knight is worth rostering in all formats.

Kyren Williams, Rams

After the Rams suddenly cut running back Darrell Henderson, you knew they were going to make other adjustments. This Sunday, they deployed rookie running back Kyren Williams as their starting running back. He led the team in carries and tied the team lead in receptions.

Still available in 94.7% of NFL.com fantasy football leagues, Kyren Williams earned 35 rushing yards on his attempts Sunday. While running back Cam Akers and quarterback Bryce Perkins earned more yards per their attempts (37, 44, respectively), Williams is worthy of evaluation. Expect Akers, who was almost cut, to continue to take a back seat for this injury-ridden team. He is worth stashing in deep PPR leagues.

JaMycal Hasty, Jaguars 

Travis Etienne left Sunday’s contest early with a foot injury. While he did try warming up on the sidelines, he did not re-enter the game. His practices are worth monitoring this week. In his absence, JaMycal Hasty filled in.

Available in nearly 99% of NFL.com fantasy football leagues, you may remember me writing about Hasty after Week 7. My expectations weren’t fulfilled thereafter, but they were this week. While only earning 28 yards on 12 rushes, he earned 67 yards and 1 touchdown on 5 receptions. He is worth stashing in deep PPR leagues because of his receiving upside but becomes a priority pickup if Etienne is ruled out or limited in Week 13.

Bonus add, Ty Johnson (see para. 4)

If he’s still available, Jerrick McKinnon, Chiefs