With the fantasy football playoffs on the horizon, a lot of team owners have got to be sweating from all the injuries that are piling up this late into the actual NFL season. But as every die-hard virtual manager knows: there truly is no rest for the wicked, and that any waiver wire acquisition from here on out could very well make or break any shots left at that elusive fantasy football championship trophy.
As such, let’s take a look once more at what several experts around the web have in store for us as their respective quality pickups for this week’s slate. If you’re still in need of more fantasy advice, simply head on over to our very own Week 13 sleepers piece after this to address even more of your fantasy team’s needs.
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Fantasy Football Expert Guide Pickups for Week 13 of the 2015 NFL Season
FantasyPros
Position
Pick
Quarterback
Brian Hoyer
Running Back
Shaun Draughn
Wide Receiver
Cecil Shorts III
Tight End
Scott Chandler
[sc:NFL240banner ] Nathaniel Reeves of FantasyPros drew from the Houston Texans’ well of overlooked players this week, namely Brian Hoyer and Cecil Shorts III as his top QB and WR picks, respectively.
Houston currently has a four-game win streak going right now, and Hoyer was the starting quarterback in three of those four wins. He’ll face the struggling Bills this week, who failed to contain Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs passing game. Hoyer can all the more prove that he’s still the long-term solution for the Texans’ offense if he can somehow decode Rex Ryan and Buffalo’s D right away.
Meanwhile, Cecil Shorts III has been slowly getting back into the good graces of fantasy team owners after dealing with a rather lengthy midseason injury. Over the past two weeks since his return, Shorts has produced more fantasy points than fellow Houston WR2 option Nate Washington, and he’s even getting touches in Houston’s running game as well. Expect Shorts’ numbers to outgain Washington’s own output just like earlier this season for as long as his injury troubles are indeed behind him.
Yahoo
Position
Pick 1
Pick 2
Quarterback
Alex Smith
Running Back
David Johnson
Shaun Draughn
Wide Receiver
Dontrelle Inman
Tight End
Scott Chandler
Vance McDonald
D/ST
Bears
Now without Rob Gronkowski (bruised knee) at tight end, the New England Patriots are even more desperate for a downfield threat. Thankfully, Gronk’s backup in Scott Chandler looks to become the former’s suitable replacement, both in relative size and awareness of New England’s offense. As Andy Behrens of Yahoo also attests, Chandler’s production in Week 12 (11 targets, five catches for 58 yards and a TD) could very well be replicated or even exceeded this weekend when the Pats meet with with struggling Eagles.
Behrens also argued that Shaun Draughn of San Francisco deserves some love as well. Draughn has yet to find the end zone this season in place of the injured Carlos Hyde (foot), but he did put up solid numbers as the Niners’ starting RB against opponents that were good at stopping the run in Atlanta, Seattle and Arizona. With D’s such as the Bears and the Browns coming up next, the undrafted free agent could very well find the end zone on more than one occasion per game from here on out against some porous front sevens on tap.
Scout
Position
Pick 1
Pick 2
Pick 3
Quarterback
Alex Smith
Tyrod Taylor
Running Back
Dan Herron
Wide Receiver
Jermaine Kearse
Markus Wheaton
Cole Beasley
Tight End
Luke Willson
Will Tye
Long regarded as merely a game manager than a true NFL quarterback, Alex Smith has been anything but his “Captain Checkdown” ways during Kansas City’s current five-game winning streak. Jimmy Dinsmore of Scout believes that while Smith is still not putting up insane numbers compared to the other elite QBs in the league this season, he’s been as efficient as ever. And this time around, the former first-overall pick is actually making use of his wide receivers and not just the team’s tight ends and backs.
With a handful of quarterbacks dropping like flies for one reason or another, you really can’t go wrong with riding Smith for the remainder of your fantasy team’s season. He provides the most stability at the position that has been hit by the injury bug the hardest this year, and his Chiefs are in the postseason picture, which means that he’ll be driven to deliver even better numbers each game all the way until Week 17.
Create a betting account now to cash in on the real-time NFL action with your solid predictions for Week 13 and beyond.
