Week 14 Waiver Targets

By: Tony Kneepkens (@tonytk44)

These are the top players to consider adding from waivers this week. Unless otherwise noted, all players below are available in greater than 50% of Yahoo leagues (as of Sunday evening).

Week 14 teams on bye: Broncos, Colts, Commanders, Patriots, Ravens, Texans

QB Pickups

Russell Wilson, PIT, Week 14 vs CLE

• Russ is coming off of a 414-yard, three-TD eruption in a shootout win over the division-rival Bengals. He now has multiple TD passes in half of his six starts for the Steelers this season. Wilson generated a 9.6 YPA and a TD in a loss at Cleveland in Week 12.

• Low-priority add. Wilson is a fine QB streamer in a mediocre matchup against a division rival. It’s not the most inspiring spot but look at that list of teams on bye above… we’re missing Bo Nix, Anthony Richardson, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Lamar Jackson, and C.J. Stroud from our fantasy lineups this week.

• 10% or less of FAAB.

Will Levis, TEN, Week 14 vs JAX

• Levis threw a pair of TD passes to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine last week and now has multiple TD passes in three of his last four starts. This will be the Titans’ first matchup of the season with the division-rival Jacksonville Jaguars and their league-worst defense, which is allowing over 400 yards of offense per game.

• Low-priority add. Levis is a developing QB who remains mistake-prone but has strong weapons to distribute the ball to (Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard, Westbrook-Ikhine). I think he’s worthy of a spot start, as needed, in single-QB formats this week.

• 5% or less of FAAB.

RB Pickups

Isaac Guerendo, SF, Week 14 vs CHI

• The explosive rookie runner is likely to be the next man up in the 49ers’ crumbling backfield. Starting RB Christian McCaffrey will miss “at least” six weeks with a knee injury and top backup (and the 49ers’ leading rusher this season) Jordan Mason has also been placed on IR with an ankle injury of his own.

• High-priority add. No need to overthink this one. If you need RB help, this is one of the best RB situations that’s been available on waivers all season. Add Guerendo and plug him in immediately against the Bears. If you somehow don’t think you “need” him yourself, spend your FAAB on him anyway and block a playoff opponent from potentially showing up with him against you in the next several weeks.

• All of your remaining FAAB.

Ray Davis, BUF, Week 14 at LAR

• Davis turned a dozen touches into 67 scrimmage yards and a TD while spelling starting RB James Cook in the Bills’ comfortable win over the 49ers last week. While his weekly role can be hard to pin down, Davis is third on the team in scrimmage yards over the entire season, and he played really well with a full RB workload when Cook missed a game earlier in the season.

• Low-to-medium priority add. Davis is probably already rostered in most formats that you could consider starting him as is (14+ teams, deep starting rosters, etc.), but I believe he should be rostered in all formats as one of the best injury-away RB options in the entire league.

• 5 - 15% of FAAB.

Some additional lower-priority RB adds to consider:

• Zach Charbonnet (SEA) - Managed 41 scrimmage yards and a TD last week, remains my personal favorite of the backup-RB types with huge contingent upside.

• Jonathon Brooks (CAR) - Had nine touches for 41 scrimmage yards last week, seeing the most opportunities of his young career. Starter Chuba Hubbard had only 12 touches of his own and fumbled in OT.

• Blake Corum (LAR) - Tied a career high with eight carries last week and turned them into a career-high 42 rushing yards.

• Tank Bigsby (JAX) - Finally returned from an ankle injury and had eight touches for 35 scrimmage yards last week.

• Kendre Miller (NO) - The second-year runner is apparently close to a return and has been getting some positive comments from his interim HC now that Miller’s personal rival and former Saints’ HC Dennis Allen has been fired.

• Patrick Taylor (SF) - As of this writing, Taylor seems likely to be the top backup RB to Isaac Guerendo in SF moving forward.

WR Pickups

Adam Thielen, CAR, Week 14 vs PHI

• Thielen had a huge, 8/99/1 performance on his ten targets last week. He had a close non-TD (that looked alot like a TD) call at the end of the half stand as called, or his fantasy day could have been even bigger. Don’t look now, but Carolina has actually scored 20+ actual real-life points in four straight NFL games. They won two of those games and lost the other two by a total of six points to playoff contenders KC and TB.

• Medium-priority add. A healthy Thielen appears to be a nice fit for suddenly competent-looking second-year QB Bryce Young and the rest of the Panthers offense. In some cases, I might be concerned with a veteran like Thielen maintaining his role down the stretch for a 3-9 team. In this specific case, it seems most likely (and logical) that they would let Young continue to build chemistry and confidence with his top weapons for the remainder of the year.

• 15 - 25% of FAAB.

Parker Washington, JAX, Week 14 at TEN

• Washington led the Jags in targets (12), catches (six), and receiving yards (103) last week, and he added a TD from backup QB Mac Jones. Starting QB Trevor Lawrence is “uncertain” for the remainder of the season, according to HC Doug Pederson, after suffering a vicious hit and subsequent concussion in Sunday’s loss to the Texans.

• Low-priority add. Veteran Jags’ WRs Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis are out for the season. Rookie WR phenom Brian Thomas seems likely to remain Jacksonville’s top passing game option, but P-Wash has the chance to siphon some targets from veteran TE Evan Engram, and others, down the stretch of a lost Jags season.

• 10% or less of FAAB.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, TEN, Week 14 vs JAX

• NWI has a staggering 7/226/4 statline on his 19 targets over the Titans’ last three games, scoring at least one TD each contest. On the season, he’s scored a TD in seven different games and has eight total scores (most on the team, T-5th in the league) despite recording only 20 receptions on the year.

• Low-priority add. If you are playing for something in Week 14 and dealing with the brutal slate of byes, Ikhine against the Jags is a reasonable spot start, but you’re probably relying on him keeping up his TD streak to be fantasy-relevant.

• 10% or less of FAAB.

Some additional lower-priority WR adds to consider:

• Xavier Legette (CAR) - Back-to-back games with four catches for 50+ yards coming out of the Panthers’ bye. 

• Cedric Tillman (CLE) - Had 8+ targets in each of his previous four starts before a concussion in Week 12, widely available after sitting out MNF.

• Ray-Ray McCloud (ATL) - Had a season-best 4/95 performance last week. Has back-to-back games with six targets.

TE Pickups

Juwan Johnson, NO, Week 14 at NYG

• Johnson had a season-high seven targets in last week’s loss to the Rams, tied for the most on the team. Starting tight end/jack-of-all-trades Taysom Hill also had seven targets before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Third-string TE Foster Moreau was fourth on the team with four targets of his own.

• Medium-priority add. The Saints’ skill positions have been hit hard by injuries, and without Hill and injured WR Chris Olave, they are going to need someone to step up to complement fantasy stud Alvin Kamara down the stretch. Johnson is basically an oversized WR with TE eligibility and I like adding him to TE-needy rosters to see if he can repeat last week’s performance as one of the Saints’ top passing game options.

• 10 - 20% of FAAB.

Some additional lower-priority TE adds to consider:

• Dawson Knox (BUF) - Led the Bills with 56 receiving yards filling in for injured teammate Dalton Kincaid in last week’s lopsided win over the 49ers. He caught both of his targets in a game QB Josh Allen attempted just 17 passes.

• Will Dissly (LAC) - Held without a catch last week on a single target. It was only his second game of the year with less than three targets.

• Cole Kmet (CHI) - The Bears’ new regime has made Kmet more of a full-time player. The production hasn’t been there recently but a decent option for those streaming or playing matchups at TE.

• Tommy Tremble (CAR) - Turned eight targets into a solid 5/77 game last week filling in for injured rookie TE teammate Ja’Tavion Sanders.

DEFENSE (Top pickups for Week 14)

1. Saints (at Giants)

2. Titans (vs Jaguars)

3. Jaguars (at Titans)