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Pickups of the Week: David Johnson, Dontrelle Inman and solutions to your tight end problem

Each week, we identify six players to target on fantasy waiver wires, plus a lightly owned team defense. These fantasy assets are all available in a majority of Yahoo leagues.

Scott Chandler, TE, New England Patriots, 6 percent owned

It isn't often that we lead Pickups of the Week with multiple tight ends — usually, this position is a throw-in, buried at the end of the list. But of course it isn't every week that two of the greatest pass-catching tight ends in NFL history both suffer ugly knee injuries. Seattle's Jimmy Graham is done for the season after tearing his right patellar tendon, a potential career-altering injury, and New England's Rob Gronkowski was carted to the locker room on Sunday night after taking a full-speed hit to his right knee.

In Gronk's case, the early reports have been encouraging...

...so he seems to have dodged a worst-case scenario. But we're still dealing with a team that's notoriously tight-lipped regarding injuries, and no one is promising a Week 13 return. Thus, tight end is the priority position on the wire.

[Yahoo Daily Fantasy: $10 could win you $50K in our $350K contest for Week 13]

If you're searching for a rest-of-season replacement for Graham or a short-term placeholder for Gronk, look first to New England, where Scott Chandler should see an uptick in opportunities. The injury situation in the Pats receiving corps was dire before Gronk was dinged — no Edelman (foot), Amendola (knee) or Lewis (knee) — and it's nightmarish today. Chandler was targeted 11 times in the loss at Denver, and he should see similar volume at home against the reeling/hilarious Eagles defense next week. At 6-foot-7, Chandler was already functioning as a short-range red-zone weapon for Tom Brady; he's now likely to serve as an all-situation, every-down threat. It should go without saying that he isn't really close to Gronk in terms of any meaningful traits (except size), but Chandler is in line to see double-digit targets from an all-time quarterback, making him a player of interest.

FAAB bid: $12 ($100 budget)

Vance McDonald, TE, San Francisco 49ers, 0 percent

OK, so perhaps it doesn't mean a whole lot, fantasy-wise, to be a primary receiver in a Blaine Gabbert-led offense. We'll concede the point. But Gabbert managed to pass for a career-high 318 yards against Arizona, and 138 of the yards belonged to a pair of tight ends, Vance McDonald and Blake Bell. McDonald snagged six of seven targets, finishing with 71 receiving yards and the Niners' only touchdown. Garrett Celek suffered a high-ankle sprain on Sunday, so McDonald shouldn't lack for snaps or targets going forward. All four of Gabbert's TD passes this season have been to tight ends, just for the record. If you're desperate for TE help in a deep league, and guys like Kyle Rudolph (45 percent owned) are long gone, then McDonald belongs on your radar. He has the Bears and Browns on deck, so the matchups aren't terrifying.

FAAB bid: $5

Carson Palmer and David Johnson, post-TD.  (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Carson Palmer and David Johnson, post-TD. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals, 24 percent

This add is about as obvious as it gets, following the injuries to both Chris Johnson (fractured tibia) and Andre Ellington (turf toe) on Sunday. David Johnson has averaged a 4.0 YPC on limited attempts as a rookie, and he's crossed the goal line eight times (four via run, three by air, once as a returner). He has size and pass-catching ability, plus he was a combine standout (41.5-inch vertical). He's passed the eye test all year, no question, and fantasy owners have been hoping for an enhanced workload. It seems certain that he'll have a featured role at St. Louis in Week 13, and perhaps beyond. Add everywhere.

FAAB bid: All of it.

Shaun Draughn, RB, San Francisco 49ers, 28 percent

Draughn has received exactly 20 touches in each of the past three weeks, averaging a respectable (if not spectacular) 86.3 total yards per game. He's faced three of the NFL's better run defenses, too (Atlanta, Seattle, Arizona). It seems unlikely that Carlos Hyde (foot) will return anytime soon — no practices, no ETA — so Draughn should continue to dominate the backfield work for the Niners. Over the next two weeks, he'll travel to face defenses that allow 4.8 YPC (Chicago) and 4.6 (Cleveland). He should rank as a tolerable RB2 on most boards.

FAAB bid: $9

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Alex Smith, QB, Kansas City Chiefs, 24 percent

The Chiefs are rolling, in case you hadn't noticed, winning five straight games while averaging over 30.0 points per week. Alex Smith is still essentially the same no-risk, low-ceiling QB you've been ignoring in recent years, but he still occasionally delivers a useful fantasy line.

Alex Smith (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Alex Smith (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Smith passed for 255 yards and two scores against the Bills in Week 12, and, per his usual, he protected the football. (Smith hasn't thrown a pick since September, which is ridiculous. Safe to a fault.) In the weeks ahead, KC will face the Raiders, Chargers, Ravens and Browns, defenses that currently rank 8th, 17th, 7th and 5th in fantasy points allowed to opposing QBs. Odds are very good that various Chiefs will prove useful in the fantasy postseason, Smith included.

FAAB bid: $13

Dontrelle Inman, WR, San Diego Chargers, 10 percent

Oh, hey, look: Inman finally produced the huge medium-sized breakout performance that fantasy experts had been forecasting for weeks. He caught five passes for 65 yards and one score in the win at Jacksonville, plus he finished second on the team in targets (9), behind only Stevie Johnson. With Malcom Floyd playing through a shoulder injury and Keenan Allen done for the year, the 6-foot-3 Inman will get all the work he can handle. He's not necessarily the league's most sure-handed receiver, yet he'll still draw plenty of looks in the closing weeks. The upcoming match-up with Denver is less than ideal, true, but the schedule takes a friendlier turn in Weeks 14-16: at KC, vs. Miami, at Oakland.

FAAB bid: $10

Chicago Bears defense, 3 percent

The Bears are hosting Blaine Gabbert and the Niners on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field, so we can reasonably expect an interception or two. Gabbert has played better than anyone anticipated this season, no doubt, but he's still tossed three picks in three games. Chicago defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has practiced some sort of football sorcery this year, getting his collection of misfits to perform well above expectations. Over the last four weeks, facing San Diego, St. Louis, Denver and Green Bay, the Bears haven't allowed an opponent to reach 20 points in any game — seriously impressive work. They've only allowed one 300-yard passer all season (Stafford). For at least a week, they belong in your fantasy plans.

FAAB bid: $1

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