With just Monday Night Football left to play, Week 12 is nearly in the books. These are the biggest names you need to add to your fantasy roster ahead of Week 13. As always, every player in this article is available in over half of all Yahoo leagues, with one exception that I will make note of. I will update this article with any notable waiver wire adds from Monday’s game.
▶ Quarterback
Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars
Per usual, Lawrence holds the distinction of being the highest-scoring quarterback available in over half of Yahoo leagues. He is unrostered in 49 percent of Yahoo leagues, coming off a three-score, three-interception showing versus the Cardinals. Lawrence has a measly 14 passing touchdowns this year but has added another five on the ground. He gets a Titans defense this week that ranks 28th in EPA per dropback allowed.
Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins
Tua has quietly reclaimed his throne as the league’s premier spreadsheet trickster over the past month. Since Week 8, Tua ranks fifth in the NFL in EPA per play and 14th in CPOE. He and the Dolphins face a New Orleans defense that sits at 24th in EPA per dropback allowed. Tua has a good shot at multiple scores and a QB2 outing.
Tyrod Taylor, Jets
Marcus Mariota could just as easily have taken this spot. Both he and Taylor are journeyman backups wth some mobility. Mariota, however, faces the Broncos. Taylor threw for 222 yards and one score in his first start since Week 3. He added 19 yards on the ground. Taylor scored twice and ran for 48 yards in his Week 3 start. He is nothing more than a QB2 versus Atlanta this week, but there aren’t many options to choose from.
▶ Running Back
Devin Neal, Saints
Alvin Kamara suffered an MCL sprain in Week 12. He is going to miss time, even though it is not considered a long-term injury. That puts Neal in the driver’s seat for at least a few weeks. Kamara went down early in Week 12 and Neal logged an elite 73 percent snap share and route rate. The bad news is that the Saints gave him seven carries to 10 for Taysom Hill. On the bright side, Neal racked up five catches for 43 yards. Audric Estime will be active next week to take snaps from Neal, but Neal will get first crack and lead back duties. That is a rare bet to find on waivers this late in the year.
Kenneth Gainwell, Steelers
Gainwell is rostered in just over half of Yahoo leagues, making him a “Not in My League” all-star. I’ll keep this one brief. Gainwell has fully supplanted Jaylen Warren as the Steelers’ primary option on passing downs weeks ago. He ran a route on over 70 percent of the Steelers’ dropbacks in Weeks 10 and 11. That fell to 54 percent last week, which still led the backfield. He earned a 21 percent target share and caught six passes for 30 yards. He also ran for 92 yards on 10 attempts, though 55 of his yards came on a fake tush push. Gainwell is a committee back who will hit the RB3 ranks in PPR leagues this week.
Bam Knight & Michael Carter, Cardinals
Trey Benson could return from injured reserve this week, so Knight’s time in the spotlight may have already passed. Knight is also dealing with a knee issue that popped late in Week 12. If he does get one more start, Knight should be good for RB3 numbers versus the Bucs. Knight saw 59 percent of the Cardinals’ carries in Week 12. He turned that into a measly 12 yards but did find the end zone once again. Knight also caught four passes for 20 yards. He has topped a 50 percent carry share in three of his past six appearances. Michael Carter also has some value in the event of both Knight and Benson missing Week 13.
Tyler Allgeier, Falcons
The lowly Falcons shouldn’t be projected to win in many games anymore, but a date with the Jets will keep them as favorites for one more week. They beat the Saints last week, and that meant a healthy workload for Allgeier. The bruising back totaled 12 carries and one catch. Allgeier is averaging over 14 touches per game in Atlanta wins this year.
▶ Wide Receiver
Adonai Mitchell, Jets
Garrett Wilson isn’t going to be back anytime soon. He might not be back this year. That leaves the Jets with John Metchie and AD Mitchell as their top wideouts. Mitchell has led the team’s wideouts in targets in each of the past two weeks.
I know Metchie is running circles around Mitchell in the fantasy points column. I also know that some of Mitchell’s fantasy deficit is of his own doing. Still, I can’t in good conscience recommend picking up Metchie over Mitchell, given the notable edge in targets and gargantuan advantage in air yards the latter holds.
Greg Dortch, Cardinals
In two games without Marvin Harrison Jr., Dortch has 12 catches for 119 yards and two scores. His 15 percent target share isn’t anything special, but the Cardinals have attempted 107 passes over the past two weeks. You don’t need a high target share if your team plays air raid, Big 12 football every week. MHJ could be back this week, so don’t get spending loads of FAAB on Dortch. That is reserved for Neal and Mitchell.
Jayden Higgins, Texans
The Texans are slowly gaining faith in their rookie wideout. His route rate and target share have risen in three straight weeks. He ran 68 percent of the routes in Week 12 and earned a monstrous target share of 32 percent. Higgins also accounted for over half of the team’s air yards. Higgins posted 13.8 PPR points, which was bested by Christian Kirk’s 16.4 points. The rookie ran more routes and saw more targets. He is taking over as the team’s No. 2 receiver and could get a boost in his efficiency with C.J. Stroud expected to return in Week 13.
Parker Washington, Jaguars
Washington popped for a WR1 week with a 5/71/1 line on Sunday. He has been running over 90 percent of the routes ever since Brian Thomas Jr. went down with an ankle injury. Washington is up to 11.3 PPR points per game in three contests without BTJ. The bad news is that Thomas Jr. is expected to return this week and Washington will likely be taken off the field in two-receiver sets when that happens. He is a WR3 when BTJ is out but will return to the WR5 ranks for Week 13.
▶ Tight End
Taysom Hill, Saints
We are so back. Hill led the Saints with 10 carries in Week 12. Hill got five snaps at quarterback, six at receiver, and 15 at running back. Hill missed the first month of the season while recovering from a torn ACL. He is somehow only one red zone carry shy of Alvin Kamara for a team lead. He is tied for the team lead in goal line attempts. Those numbers will skyrocket with Kamara out.
Colston Loveland, Bears
Loveland is still splitting reps with Cole Kmet. His route rate of 68 percent in Week 12 is underwhelming and a 17 percent target share is solid, but not ideal. He found the end zone on Sunday, turning his TE2 role into a TE1 day. If any tight end was going to break out over the final month of the season, it would be Loveland. He is averaging 1.76 yards per route run compared to .97 for Kmet. PFF has graded Loveland as their No. 10 overall tight end. Kmet ranks 22nd. Loveland is on the TE1/2 border right now and could be one of the players you need to have in the fantasy playoffs.
Brenton Strange, Jaguars
Strange came off injured reserve and returned to the lineup this week. He ran 71 percent of the routes in his first game back. Lawrence targeted him on 20 percent of his routes—a solid mark for a tight end—en route to an 18 percent target share. His usage should rise as he gets more reps under his belt and the floor this year has been surprisingly high. Strange has finished five games in 2025. He has at least four catches and 49 yards in all but one of them.
