Welcome to the Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 14. I think we all need to catch our breath after wall-to-wall NFL and college football (and food) from early on Thanksgiving Day through Monday night. Don’t spend too much time looking away, though. For most fantasy leagues, Week 14 is the final showdown before the playoffs start. Need a win to get in? One small complication: Four teams are taking their Bye. Timing is everything, right?
The Waiver Wire is especially thin this week, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be looking to tinker. There are still some options to consider, so read on.
The Process: Each week, I try to identify the top Waiver Wire targets and evaluate the short- and long-term prospects of those players. I also do my best to reveal which players who are coming off a big week are fool’s gold. Finally, I look at streamers who might help you in a pinch.
Note that I’m writing this column BEFORE the Week 13 Monday night game (NYG@NE).
Some players discussed won’t be available in your league. I try to list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10-team league with six bench spots will have a much larger Free Agent pool than a 14-team league with eight. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.” By way of example, I won’t list Joe Burrow, Jacoby Brissett, Bam Knight, Tyler Allgeier, Chris Godwin, or Michael Wilson, among others who probably aren’t available in any of your leagues.
WEEK 14 BYES: CAR, MIA, NE, NYG
Week 14 Waiver Wire
Quarterback:
Quarterback availability varies widely between 1-QB and Superflex/2-QB leagues.
Rather than going through the usual listing of QBs who might be able to help you if you need a streamer, or an injury replacement in a 1-QB league, I’m going to provide strength of schedule (SOS) rankings for the fantasy playoffs (Weeks 15-17) for the more viable QBs that are outside the Top-15 for the season, and therefore often available in 1-QB leagues.
Favorable SOS: Tyrod Taylor (@JAC, @NO, NE), Tua Tagovailoa (@PIT, CIN, TB), J.J. McCarthy (@DAL, @NYG, DET), and Shedeur Sanders (@CHI, BUF, PIT, and before that he gets the Titans at home this week). I think you need to be somewhat desperate to roll with any of these options other than Taylor.
Neutral SOS: Bryce Young (@NO, TB, SEA), Aaron Rodgers/Mason Rudolph (MIA, @DET, @CLE), Tyler Shough (CAR, NYJ, @TEN), Kirk Cousins (@TB, @ARI, LAR),and Sam Darnold (IND, LAR, @CAR). Darnold is the most reliable of this group, while Young can provide the occasional spike week.
Unfavorable SOS: C.J. Stroud (ARI, LVR, @LAC), Geno Smith (@PHI, @HOU, NYG), Trevor Lawrence (NYJ, @DEN, @IND), and Cam Ward (@SF, KC, NO).
Before we leave the quarterbacks, Justin Herbert broke a bone in his hand during Week 13 and is having a procedure on Monday. The Chargers don’t play until Monday Night (vs. Eagles) in Week 14. If Herbert can’t go, I wouldn’t get too excited about Trey Lance in that matchup, but he can run and is a speculative add if you’re stuck.
Running Back:
Before we dive in: Make sure Omarion Hampton and Trey Benson weren’t dropped in your league. Both could return soon, although that’s been the case for several weeks.
Chuba Hubbard had a strong 2024 campaign and opened the season as the Panthers lead back. He lost that role to Rico Dowdle when Dowdle went nuclear while Hubbard missed time with a calf injury. Two months later, Hubbard might be reclaiming the RB1 role. The work was split evenly in Carolina’s upset win over the Rams, but Hubbard did a lot more with his touches, topping 100 total yards that included a 35-yard receiving TD for the Panthers’ opening score. The Panthers are off in Week 14, and how the work will be divided after their Bye remains to be seen, but Hubbard is a priority add if available.
Jordan Mason could have a pretty big opportunity if Aaron Jones misses time with the shoulder injury that knocked him out of the whitewashing at Seattle. It’s hard to get excited about any Vikings right now, but RB1 reps are RB1 reps.
Chris Rodriguez and Devin Neal should be rostered in all formats. My guess is they aren’t available in most leagues at this point.
Repeat entry from the last three weeks: Devin Singletary is getting enough work to be serviceable if you’re stuck at running back.
Depth adds: Tank Bigsby, Kenneth Gainwell, Malik Davis, Blake Corum, Bhayshul Tuten, Ollie Gordon II, Brian Robinson, Jr.,and Jaleel McLaughlin.
Wide Receiver
Alec Pierce has been a mainstay in this column. He’s still rostered at under 50% on some platforms. How’s that possible? He’s tied with Ladd McConkey as the WR20 since Week 7. He’s a must-add if available.
Adonai Mitchell went off in Week 12, with 8-102-1 on 12 targets. In the prior two weeks, John Metchie III had emerged as the Jets’ top wide receiver option with Garrett Wilson out, so this could keep ping-ponging in a way that’s hard to predict and potentially frustrating. Still, both made my list last week and are worth considering, as Tyrod Taylor is doing a decent job running the offense and getting the ball to his playmakers.
Isaac TeSlaa is the epitome of a boom or bust option. Half of the electric rookie’s six catches on the season have gone for TDs – but it’s only six catches. If Amon-Ra St. Brown misses time with his ankle injury, TeSlaa (and Tom Kennedy) become interesting dart throws given all the other injuries to the Lions’ pass catchers, and the upcoming slate of all-indoor games including Dallas at home this Thursday.
Andrei Iosivas only caught one pass on Thanksgiving Day, but it went for a 29-yard TD. If Tee Higgins can’t get out of the concussion protocol for Week 14, Iosivas will continue to have WR3/Flex appeal.
Jayden Higgins has put up between 7.5 and 13 fantasy points for four weeks running. He has an OK floor and as we’ve seen with lots of rookie WRs across the years, it usually keeps getting better through the second half of the season if it’s trending that way.
Others to consider for depth: Malik Washington, Dontayvion Wicks, Darnell Mooney, Darius Slayton, Xavier Legette, Tez Johnson, Devaughn Vele, Luther Burden III, and Josh Palmer.
Deeper depth: DeMario Douglas, David Sills V, Mack Hollins, Isaiah Hodgins, and Jalen Coker.
Tight End:
Brenton Strange has a TD and double-digit fantasy points in back-to-back games since his return and should be rostered in all formats — especially with Parker Washington potentially missing time.
Rinse and repeat: Theo Johnson and Juwan Johnson are two more players who I keep listing, and both have been steady producers who should not be sitting on waiver wires.
Darren Waller returned to action in Week 13 and played almost half of the snaps. That should ramp up, and he was a viable option earlier in the season. He’s worth a look.
Others to consider for depth, or an emergency stream if you need them: Evan Engram, Colby Parkinson, Chig Okonkwo, and Dalton Schultz.
PK and D/ST Streamers, Week 14: (ranked outside the Top-12 for the week):
PK: J. Myers (@ATL), T. Loop (vs. PIT), C. Little (vs. IND), N. Folk (vs. MIA)
D/ST: NYJ (vs. MIA), KC (vs. HOU), WAS (@MIN)
Good luck with your waiver claims!
***This column appears each Monday right here at Big Blue View. Each Thursday, my weekly fantasy preview with my rides, fades and sleepers (start/sit) appears here, and on Fridays you can find my weekly Giants Props of the week, also right here. ***
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