Fantasy Football Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups

It's only appropriate that Washington travel to Indianapolis this weekend, days after multiple sources confirmed Robert Griffin III would ride the pine in favor of Colt McCoy. Griffin fell to the Redskins only after the Colts chose Andrew Luck with the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft. To call their paths divergent would be an understatement.

Luck's on a short list of MVP candidates that includes Dallas' DeMarco Murray and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers. He leads the league in passing yards and yards per game, and trails only Rodgers and Peyton Manning in touchdowns. Indianapolis' front office hasn't second-guessed their decision to let Manning go.

Griffin's only victory this season- if he can take credit for it- came after dislocating his ankle minutes into a Sept. 14 contest in Jacksonville. The oft-injured quarterback missed all of October, including a Week 8 meeting in Dallas where McCoy and the Redskins toppled the division rival in overtime.

Griffin's regression began in training camp and hit rock-bottom with a meager outing in San Francisco last Sunday where he completed just 11 passes. He never had head coach Jay Gruden's confidence despite, until this week, having owner Dan Snyder's full support. It was only a matter of time.

Fantasy owners waiting for Griffin's resurrection will have to wait until next season. His time in our nation's capital is coming to an end as McCoy is finally getting the chance to prove that his 25-for-30, 299 passing yard performance wasn't a fluke. Still, neither is worth the gamble.

Here's a look at more favorable waiver wire pickups heading into Week 13.

Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants (Owned in 40 percent of NFL.com leagues)

Jacksonville's inept secondary can make a second-string quarterback look like a Pro-Bowler. The Jaguars give up a league-leading 27.7 points per game. They haven't held anyone under 20 since early October. If anyone primed for a breakout week it's Eli Manning.

The Giants are riding a six-game losing streak that's seen Manning make do without Victor Cruz and Rashad Jennings. And he's done relatively well, save a disastrous five-interception against the Niners. If Manning and rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham connect as fluently as they did against Dallas Sunday night, the duo will easily surpass 90 yards for a fifth consecutive game.

Even his season-long inconsistencies won't stop Manning from posting somewhere north of 17 fantasy points.

Tre Mason, RB, St. Louis Rams (54.9 percent owned)

Jeff Fisher's running back-by-committee manta hasn't been much of a committee since Tre Mason debut in Week 6. Mason rushed for 85 yards against Seattle and 65 in San Francisco before plowing through Denver's defensive line for a career-high 113 two weeks ago. Benny Cunningham is the only other Rams' back to carry the ball over the last two weeks and he has a grand total of six touches for 25 yards.

Expect the Rams to go run-heavy in facing Oakland's lowly defense that's giving up 126 yards per game. This is the same defense that handed 100-plus yards to Chris Ivory and Branden Oliver, respectively. If Mason can average 4.89 yards per attempt against the NFC West, he'll have a field day against the Raiders.

Kenny Stills, WR, New Orleans Saints (10.4 percent owned)

Brandin Cooks' season-ending thumb injury opens the door for one last season's breakout receivers to take a leading role. Kenny Stills set career highs in New Orleans' first game without Cooks, catching eight passes on nine targets for 98 yards.

The Saints have maintained an explosive passing game since Drew Brees arrived, though it's mostly relied on Jimmy Graham over the last few years. Graham is still Brees' main target but Stills is the deep threat New Orleans desperately needs, especially in trying to trudge to an NFC South crown.

If Stills doesn't pay off this week, he surely will over the regular season's last four weeks. New Orleans' opponents are a combined 14-29-1 which unsurprisingly carries three of the four worst secondaries in the NFC (Atlanta, Chicago, and Carolina). Still may struggle in Pittsburgh this weekend, but he has tremendous upside going forward.