It’s time to give Brian Hoyer his due with the Houston Texans.

The quarterback does not get a lot of respect around the league or even from his own coaches, but the time has come to give him credit for helping to turn Houston’s season around.

Hoyer, you may remember, was featured prominently in the HBO Hard Knocks series this summer because he was in a battle for the starting position with Ryan Mallett. Head coach Bill O’Brien and his staff eventually came to the conclusion that Hoyer was the man worthy of the starting position because he was a bit more thorough, competent and responsible than Mallett.

Hoyer won the battle because he had the edges over his rival in a number of areas, but those edges were slim. 

Apparently, O’Brien was not overly impressed with Hoyer because he pulled him in a Week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and inserted Mallet into the lineup.

That move did nothing for Houston’s offense and Hoyer eventually took back the starting job and Mallett ended up being cut after he missed a team flight for a road game.

Hoyer may not have had a lot of support from O’Brien, but he is getting the job done under center. He has completed 162-of-264 passes for 1,909 yards with a 15-5 TD-interception ratio. While the Texans have played 11 games, Hoyer has played in just eight and that’s why his yardage and TD stats are somewhat underwhelming.

But he has established a strong leadership role in recent weeks and the Texans have won four games in a row. He has a wonderful rapport with DeAndre Hopkins, who has caught 81 balls for 1,081 yards and nine scores, and he is clearly one of the league’s dominant receivers.

Hoyer and the Texans visit the Buffalo Bills this week, and he should be able to take advantage of the 21st-ranked pass defense in the league. He is an impressive waiver-wire pickup for Week 13.

RB Thomas Rawls, Seattle Seahawks

As Marshawn Lynch goes, so goes the Seahawks.

That may have been the case for years, but that’s no longer the way it is. Lynch is out for the next few weeks after undergoing sports hernia surgery, and that means undrafted rookie Thomas Rawls is the man in the Seattle backfield.

Since Lynch has had a number of nagging injuries prior to undergoing surgery, Rawls has had several opportunities to show what he can do in the NFL. He has passed every test to this point, and he appears to be an excellent addition to any fantasy football team that does not have Adrian Peterson as its No. 1 running back.

Rawls may be in the process of erasing the word backup from all of his references. It may be difficult for Pete Carroll to take him out of the starting lineup from this point forward, because Rawls does not run like a tentative rookie. He runs with confidence.

Rawls is the Seahawks leading rusher with 122 carries for 685 yards and three touchdowns. He has a 5.6 yards per carry average and he has six runs of 20 yards or more. 

Lynch may have been the heart and soul of this team, but his numbers have been impacted by his injuries. He has 111 carries for 417 yards and three scores, and his 3.8 YPC mark pales in comparison to Rawls.

Lynch is 29-years-old and has nine hard years of competition under his belt, and that will make it difficult for any running back to stay healthy and produce consistently in the years to come.  

The Seahawks may have a hard decision to make in the future as far as Lynch is concerned. In the meantime, you can pick up Rawls and feel quite good about that decision.

WR Jeremy Maclin, Kansas City Chiefs

There was a long period of time when the idea of putting a Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver in your fantasy lineup was the equivalent of waving the white flag and giving up on your season.

That time came to an end just a few weeks ago. For years, the Chiefs tried to get by with a mediocre Dwayne Bowe as their No. 1 receiver.

That did not work out and he was signed by the Cleveland Browns in the offseason. It has not been a good investment for Cleveland.

But the Chiefs made a very smart move by signing Jeremy Maclin. The former Philadelphia Eagle has taken some time to fit into his new surroundings, but he is getting better every week. Maclin has caught 57-772-3 this season and he is rapidly becoming quarterback Alex Smith’s best downfield target.

Maclin is coming off a monster game in Week 12 in which he caught nine passes for 160 yards and a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills. This week, Maclin gets a chance to exploit the Oakland Raiders’ secondary. The Raiders rank 27th in passing yards allowed. 

Look for Maclin to soar past the 100-yard mark and get into the end zone at least once. He needs to be in your fantasy lineup.

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We are approaching the home stretch of the fantasy football season, so you better make sure you have the best players possible to lead you into the playoffs and beyond.

Although there isn’t a lot of time to turn around a struggling team, there are always small upgrades to be had on the waiver wire if you know where to look. You can even get ahead of the game by grabbing a few speculative adds with high upside for the rest of the season.

Here is a look at the best options for each category heading into Week 13. All players listed are available in over 50 percent of ESPN leagues.

Alex Smith, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

Although he isn’t usually considered a fantasy weapon, Alex Smith has played some of his best football lately. The quarterback has now gone eight games without throwing an interception and, perhaps more surprisingly, has shown the ability to throw the ball deep down the field:

Smith has even showcased his athleticism in recent weeks with four games in a row with at least 30 rushing yards, totaling 179 yards and a touchdown on the ground in this stretch. With legitimate weapons in Jeremy Maclin, Travis Kelce and whoever is at running back, Smith has shown the ability to put up quality fantasy numbers.

The remaining schedule is also extremely favorable, with two games against the Oakland Raiders plus matchups against the San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Aside from the Chargers, each of these teams has well-below-average secondaries, while even San Diego has its question marks.

Considering he only once failed to reach 13 fantasy points in standard leagues this season, you don’t have a whole lot to lose.

David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals

Fantasy football remains all about opportunity, and David Johnson appears to have a good one with the Arizona Cardinals. Head coach Bruce Arians provided the latest injury report on his team after Week 12, including injuries to running backs Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington, via Darren Urban:

Jay Glazer of Fox Sports noted that the Johnson injury is especially serious:

Although a lot of information needs to be sorted through, David Johnson is worth an immediate pickup in all fantasy leagues. If he does start, he will immediately enter one of the top offenses in the NFL behind an offensive line that has cleared some big running lanes this year.

Of course, Johnson does have plenty of talent in his own right. The 6’1″, 224-pound rookie has the ideal combination of size and speed to be a factor at this level and has already turned it into seven touchdowns this year (three rushing, three receiving, one kickoff return).

If he can get a full workload against the St. Louis Rams, Johnson could have a big game.

Dontrelle Inman, WR, San Diego Chargers

There were plenty of surprising performances at receiver last week, which makes players like Doug Baldwin, Markus Wheaton and others likely to be priority pickups this week. Baldwin has the best chance of the bunch to keep up his production, although none of them are likely to replicate their recent showings.

However, Dontrelle Inman might be worth an immediate pickup, despite his being a bit overlooked.

The second-year receiver finished last game with five catches on nine targets for 65 yards, all of which were second on the team behind Stevie Johnson. He also scored his second touchdown on the season.

With Philip Rivers leading the No. 2 passing attack in the NFL, there are clearly a lot of yards to go around on this team. The good news for Inman is there are few established, healthy targets. Johnson and Antonio Gates will likely get the first looks, but there is still plenty of opportunity for the young receiver to make himself known in the coming weeks.

Perhaps the most interesting player to keep an eye on is rookie receiver DeVante Parker. The first-round pick has done very little this season but finally got an opportunity with Rishard Matthews injured, as noted by Adam Levitan of DraftKings:

Parker turned this chance into four catches for 80 yards and his first career touchdown. If he can remain part of the offense as the Miami Dolphins close out a disappointing season, he could provide some serious fantasy value.

New England Patriots Brandon Bolden and Keshawn Martin have potential for big games going forward, although it is always difficult to judge usage rate on a Bill Belichick team. Martin only officially had one target last game but could easily end up with 10 next week in a better matchup.

Running backs like Bilal Powell, Jay Ajayi and Jerick McKinnon will struggle to get opportunities in the immediate future, but any injuries to starters will potentially make them elite fantasy options.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for all your fantasy football and daily fantasy needs.

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Dontrelle Inman