Fantasy Football 2012, Week 13: Waiver Wire Scoops

One of the age-old debates in fantasy is whether to draft a risky running back or to take a quarterback at the end of the first round. Well, once again there was really no correct answer this season. Unless you took Adrian Peterson in the late-first round, you're probably not happy with the back that you took. Meanwhile, owners in competitive leagues that took Aaron Rodgers probably aren't too fond of their pick, either. Basically, when draft season comes around, don't overestimate the en vogue strategy. Drafting for value will never go out of style and the same goes for picking for upside later.

Quarterbacks

Colin Kaepernick -- It's tough to make a case against Colin Kaepernick as the most impressive player of the weekend, Robert Griffin III notwithstanding. Kaep has a cannon and the ball comes out in an anti-Tebyron (a Tebow-Leftwich hybrid) fashion. He came up with 231 passing yards, one passing touchdown and one interception by completing 16-of-25 attempts. He also added 27 rushing yards and a score.The mobile quarterback isn't just a fad, and teams across the league are allowing their QBs to use their legs to create holes in defensive coverages. Another interesting stat is that Kaepernick didn't get sacked in Sunday's game. Alex Smith was sacked at least twice in eight of his nine starts this year. He was also sacked more than any player during the 2011 season. Harbaugh doesn't really have much choice but to keep Kaepernick as the starter. Kaepernick has an interesting fantasy schedule by going to St. Louis, hosting Miami, going to New England for the fantasy semifinals and closing out against Seattle. That game against New England could be a tasty matchup. Kaepernick isn't going to be a star or anything, but he's worth owning in all deep and two-QB leagues.

Here is how I would rank the QBs that are available in more than 25 percent of leagues for Week 13: Colin Kaepernick, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jay Cutler, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Russell Wilson, Chad Henne,Brandon Weeden, Sam Bradford, Nick Foles, Ryan Tannehill, Mark Sanchez, Ryan Lindley

Running Backs

Knowshon Moreno -- John Fox pulled a fast one on all of us by opting to start Knowshon "Healthy Inactive" Moreno on Sunday. Moreno was a true workhorse, with 20 carries for 85 yards. He also added four catches for 26 yards. He's looking like a must-own back, which I don't think anyone would have thought last week.

DeAngelo Williams -- Jonathan Stewart hurt his ankle, and there's a chance Williams will take over the starting duties since Stewart isn't exactly a fast healer and may even be done for the year.

Jonathan Dwyer -- "Dwyer is going to start for us at RB. He will get most of the carries," coach Mike Tomlin said. Why can't more coaches be like Mike Tomlin?

Jacquizz Rodgers -- Michael Turner still sucks, and the other shoe might finally drop to put ‘Quizz in with the Atlanta Falcons' first team. Rodgers is a better fit for the offense which has run more stretch plays recently to allow the wide receiver to get deeper on play-action passes. It's all about upside in the playoffs for fantasy, and Rodgers has plenty of it.

Rashad Jennings -- Jalen Parmele said on Twitter that he is "out", and from the looks of things it sounds serious (check out Parmele's timeline here). Jennings is a must-own back in most leagues.

David Wilson -- Andre Brown broke his leg, vaulting David Wilson up to No. 2 on the depth chart. Wilson has fantastic play-making ability, and Ahmad Bradshaw is right near the top of the list of running backs that struggle to stay healthy. The New York Giants are also up a couple games in the NFC East, and there's very little chance they will compete for a bye. In other words, they might rest Bradshaw once Week 16 comes around. Tom Coughlin said "it's his time" when asked about Wilson. The rookie is the perfect example of a guy to stash on your bench.

Bilal Powell -- Powell played more snaps than Shonn Greene last week, and the New York Jets would be wise to just let Powell do his thing and keep Greene on the bench. Powell has much more explosion in the open field and the Jets are better when he's playing. This isn't saying much.

Daniel Thomas -- Thomas and Reggie Bush are in the midst of a timeshare at running back, and Thomas has been receiving the goal-line work. The Miami Dolphins also have a nice schedule the rest of the way: New England, at San Francisco (not nice), Jacksonville, Buffalo.

LaMichael James -- Kendall Hunter's ankle injury is reportedly serious, so there could be some work for James on third down.

Cedric Peerman -- So you think C.J. Spiller's 6.7 yards per carry is nice, right? Well Peerman is sporting a ridiculous 8.3 YPC on 29 carries. That's the most of any player with double-digit totes. BenJarvus Green-Ellis is coming off a nice game, but Peerman is the clear-cut handcuff to The Law Firm. Unfortunately, the Cincinnati Bengals don't have a nice schedule: at San Diego, Dallas, at Philadelphia, at Pittsburgh.

Wide Receivers

Danario Alexander -- Danario was a mild disappointment last week, but it's not like he lost fantasy value or anything. He still led the team in targets, receptions and receiving yards. He's a must-own player.

Josh Gordon -- Josh Gordon caught four balls for 60 yards on his seven targets (all team highs) last week. Gordon caught five passes the week prior, and he's locked in to the top wide receiver spot in Cleveland. His upcoming schedule is pretty sweet: at Oakland, Kansas City, Washington, at Denver. He has a good shot to be a WR3 in fantasy leagues the rest of the way, since the Cleveland Browns will want to test out what they have in him. They know they have a workhorse at running back.

T.Y. Hilton -- Hilton went off on Sunday with a couple touchdowns on a punt return and a 75-yard bomb. He's going to be inconsistent, but he's pushing ahead of Donnie Avery on the Indianapolis Colts depth chart.

Dwayne Harris -- Miles Austin has a hip injury on top of his perpetual hamstring problems and is unlikely to suit up this week. Harris has been lining up in two-WR sets, and saw seven targets for four receptions and 71 yards last week. Cole Beasley also might get some targets for PPR leagues.

Mohamed Sanu -- The Rutgers product is suddenly hot in fantasy with three touchdown in his last two games. As alluded to in the Peerman section, the schedule is pretty rough for the Bengals.

Mario Manningham -- The Kaepernick overhaul should help out the Niners in their passing game. On top of which, the loss of Kendall Hunter should make the San Francisco 49ers less run-happy. Manningham seems to have a nice rapport with Kaepernick after catching all five of his targets for 69 yards. There's a little bit of upside for deeper leagues.