Week 13 was incredibly fun to watch in the NFL. The last quarter of the season is when the stakes are at their highest and games are at their most competitive. As the NFL playoffs draw near, Week 14, for some fantasy leagues, is the final regular season game.  Under the wear and tear of an entire season, more and more players are becoming bogged down by injury. The waiver wire is the best place to patch those wounds.

This week’s waiver wire is filled with young players who benefit from their predecessors’ injury and their generous youth. Over and over again, these players are the ones that prove to be league winners in fantasy football. Will any of these players become Rashaad Penny or Amon-Ra St. Brown of last season?

1. Cam Akers, RB, Rams

Recommended FAAB to spend: $10

After finding the endzone just once all season, Akers hit pay dirt twice in a head-turning performance against Seattle. Akers, on a season-high 72 percent of Los Angeles’ offensive snaps, outplayed and outproduced Kyren Williams. Williams interestingly played 70 percent of snaps in Week 12. While you shouldn’t put your eggs into the Cam Akers RB1 basket, understand that the Rams may want to squeeze all they can get out of him to determine his position on the roster going forward.

2. Tony Jones Jr., RB, Seahawks

Recommended FAAB to spend: $5

There may not be a more banged-up position group in the NFL than the Seahawks’ RBs. Rashaad Penny went down earlier in the season, Travis Homer has been battling injuries all season, and then head coach Pete Carroll watched Kenneth Walker III, DeeJay Dallas, and Tony Jones Jr. go down with various ailments against the Rams. Walker and Dallas exited with ankle injuries, and Jones was walloped and left with a head injury. Ankle injuries to running backs aren’t often kind, so Jones may be the one who leads the way against the Panthers this week.

3. Jordan Mason, RB, 49ers

Recommended FAAB to spend: $10

Mason offers very intriguing value going forward in fantasy football. The rookie broke four tackles on eight carries for 51 yards (6.4 yards per carry) on 18 percent of snaps in Week 13. The 49ers’ running back philosophy is often a murky and unorthodox one, but it can produce some fantasy-relevant players.

4. Jahan Dotson, WR, Commanders

Recommended FAAB to spend: $5-$10

The dazzling rookie recorded a career-high in receptions (5) and targets (9) as Washington’s WR2 against the Giants. Dotson offers tons of potential as a YAC machine (see his spin-move TD on Sunday). Looking forward, he will see the Giants again in Week 15, who allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to WRs, the 49ers (23rd in FPPG allowed), and the Browns (16th in FPPG allowed).

5. Nico Collins, WR, Texans

Recommended FAAB to spend: $10

Collins has quietly become the Texans’ WR1 amid Brandin Cooks’ gripes with the franchise. The second-year wideout has 36 targets (seven in the red zone) and two touchdowns over his past four games, and his Week 13 usage was good enough for fifth in expected half PPR points at 17.8. Furthermore, three of his next five games come against the Chiefs, Titans, and Jaguars, making him a potential fantasy playoff FLEX play.

6. Greg Dulcich, TE, Broncos

Recommended FAAB to spend: $10

Greg Dulcich is frankly the only redeeming part of this Broncos’ offense. The UCLA standout ranks 12th in fantasy points among tight ends through their first seven games since 2000. In Denver’s abysmal Week 13 loss to the Ravens, Dulcich logged a 38 percent target share and was the third-highest-graded Bronco on PFF. With the TE position being so thin, he’s likely to be on everyone’s radar as a decent stream option.

[Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports]