Top Waiver Wire Pickups Heading into Week 13

I’ll keep this one short, just because both of these players are starting-caliber options this week. Usually I’ll include one player to stash on the bench, but with most season’s winding down, there’s little point in doing that.

QB Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers (23% owned)

Yeah, yeah. I know. You probably did a double-take, or even a triple-take. Trust me, Colin Kaepernick, while a mediocre at best quarterback, is an absolute fantasy stud. I’ve waited to put him on this list for weeks, but the fact is, Kaepernick has been producing. In the last four weeks, there has only been one quarterback that has outscored Kaepernick: Aaron Rodgers. Here’s how Kaepernick fared in the last two weeks: 22, 23, 19, and a whopping 32 points last week against an atrocious Miami defense. This week, Kaepernick has a juicy matchup against a injury-devastated Chicago Bears defense, who just allowed Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota to put up 21 points against them. Start Kaepernick if you have him.

WR Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals (35% owned)

While the Bengals offense looked abysmal at best last Sunday, it was against a pretty good Ravens pass defense. Boyd still had more catches than any other wideout, catching five passes for 62 yards. Until A.J. Green returns (and that’s looking less than likely at this point), Boyd is the go-to WR1 on the team, which is hard to find on waivers at this point in the season. Boyd warrants a FLEX play this week against a decent Eagles defense.