NFL

Fantasy Football: Week-Ahead Stash Candidates for Week 13

Fantasy football is all about being a step ahead of your competition, and this weekly column aims to help you achieve just that.

The following offers suggestions for players to pick up now (who are currently under 50% rostered) so that that you won’t need to use a high waiver claim or spend a significant amount of free agent acquisition budget (FAB) on them next week.

Allen Lazard, WR, Green Bay Packers

ESPN Roster Percentage: 38.1%

Third-year receiver Allen Lazard began the season scoring 16.2, 6.0 and 23.4 half-PPR fantasy points over the first three weeks. In that span, he ranked third on the team in targets behind Davante Adams and Aaron Jones but led the team in receiving yards and touchdowns. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury that cost him the next six games. Lazard returned to action in Week 11 and played 60% of the offensive snaps and caught just two balls, but he had a bigger game in Week 12 against the Chicago Bears in which he caught four of six targets for 23 yards and a touchdown despite playing just 46% of snaps.

Lazard is clearly being brought back into the offense slowly, but he may eventually replace Marquez Valdes-Scantling as the starting receiver across from Adams after out-snapping Valdes-Scantling in the first three weeks of the season.

Lazard is a favorite of Aaron Rodgers, who happens to rank first in touchdown rate, quarterback rating and Pro Football Focus passing grade this season, while ranking second in ESPN’s QBR and numberFire’s Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) behind only Patrick Mahomes. Lazard is a sharp add this week as he continues to get back in full health before playing the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers in Weeks 14 and 15, each of which has allowed top-10 fantasy production to opposing wide receivers across the past six weeks.

Cam Akers, RB, Los Angeles Rams

ESPN Roster Percentage: 26.1%

This past week rookie running back Cam Akers had the semi-breakout game that fantasy managers had hoped would happen much earlier in the season, as he ran for a season-best 84 yards and scored the first rushing touchdown of his young career on nine attempts against the San Francisco 49ers.

Much of Akers' production came on just two plays -- a 61-yard scamper in the third quarter followed by a 1-yard touchdown plunge two plays later. However, it was still an encouraging performance, as he led the team in goal-line carries for the second time in the past three weeks and has seven red zone carries in that span -- compared to a combined four from Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown. And while the long rush was a big boost to his box score, he’s still been a consistent rusher since his return to play in Week 8.


It’s admittedly unlikely Akers becomes a true league-winner like we hoped for this preseason, but he’s certainly worth stashing on benches now in the event that he does end up leading the Los Angeles Rams' backfield to finish the season. LA ends the year against a middling schedule of opposing rush defenses.

Denzel Mims, WR, New York Jets

ESPN Roster Percentage: 7.2%

Second-round rookie Denzel Mims missed the first half of the season with a nagging hamstring injury but returned to action in Week 7. He’s started and played at least 90% of the New York Jets' offensive snaps in the team’s last four games and ranks 21st in targets but 3rd in total air yards among all players in that span with a league-high 18.4 average depth of target (aDOT). In just the past two weeks following New York’s Week 10 bye, Mims ranks second among all players in air yards behind only Tyreek Hill (who has nearly double the amount of targets as Mims) and top 13 in both air yards share and target share.

Unfortunately, Mims has yet to record a 100-yard game despite his ample opportunities for big plays. He has just one reception of 30-plus yards this season -- in large part because just 77.3% of his targets have been deemed catchable (per Sports Info Solutions), which ranks 13th-worst among 159 players with 30-plus targets this season.

New York’s quarterback woes are unlikely to improve this season, but Mims’ valuable targets are still worth monitoring in the event that he is eventually able to cash in on big plays. He’s worth adding to rosters for those with poor depth at the receiver position before a matchup with the Seattle Seahawks in Week 14. Seattle has give up the most pass plays of 15-plus yards and has allowed the most fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers.

Mike Glennon, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

ESPN Roster Percentage: 1.9%

If -- IF! -- you are really struggling with quarterback depth in a two-quarterback league, Mike Glennon may be a feasible hold-your-nose option. The new Jacksonville Jaguars' starting quarterback scored 18 fantasy points last week in his first start in more than three years. Glennon connected on just 20 of 35 attempts (57.1%) but had 235 passing yards, two touchdowns, and perhaps most importantly, zero turnovers.

Glennon threw further down the field more than we’re used to seeing in Jacksonville, as his 10.1 aDOT on Sunday was the highest single-game mark by a Jaguars quarterback since Gardner Minshew's 10.5 aDOT in Week 4 of last season. On passes 10-plus yards downfield, Glennon completed 7 of 14 attempts for 144 yards and a score despite playing without starting receivers D.J. Chark and Chris Conley, who rank first and third, respectively, in deep targets for Jacksonville this season.

Assuming Chark and Conley return from their minor injuries and Glennon keeps the starting gig, Glennon has underrated fantasy appeal, considering the Jaguars rank first in time of possession when trailing this season (per Football Outsiders). Glennon may be worth adding now (again, for those desperate for quarterback help) because if he plays competently this week against the Minnesota Vikings, he’d be a viable start in Week 14 against a Tennessee Titans defense that has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks across the past six weeks.