Fantasy Football Week 14 Waiver Wire
By Brandon Lane
QUARTERBACK
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
Roster Percentage: 34%
If you just looked at the box score/fantasy points last week you were likely happy with the results but the actual game was UGLY. Hill suffered a mallet finger injury in the game requiring a splint be placed on his finger of his throwing hand. Hill only completed 19 of his 41 passes for 264 yards with two touchdowns coupled with FOUR interceptions. We did see Hill use his legs in the second half and he ended up rushing 11 times for 101 yards. There are many concerns here; among them, will Hill be able to complete a full game and does he have a supporting cast to make him a viable starting option for fantasy. Proceed with caution if you start Hill this week at the Jets.
Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team
Roster Percentage: 38%
Slim pickings available on the waiver wire for a streaming quarterback but Taylor Heinicke might be your safest bet. Heinicke completed 23-of-30 passes for 196 yards, two touchdowns and rushed three times for an additional 10 yards. WFT will likely need to keep chuck’n the rock this week to keep up with the high-powered Cowboys offense. Dallas has given up the 6th most fantasy points to Quarterbacks this season.
Others to Consider:
Cam Newton (28% vs ATL) Jimmy Garoppolo (31% @ CIN) Trevor Lawrence (29% @ TEN) Tua Tagovailoa (40% Bye)
RUNNING BACK
D’Onta Foreman/Dontrell Hilliard, Tennessee Titans
Roster Percentage: 41%/42%
Both backs saw a heavy workload prior to their Week 13 Bye. D’Onta Foreman rushed 19 times for 109 yards in Week 12 while Dontrell Hilliard rushed 12 times for 131 yards and a touchdown. I expect the Titans to continue to rely on the run making both players an add in most leagues. The Titans take on the Jaguars in Week 14.
JaMycal Hasty, San Francisco 49ers
Roster Percentage: 1%
Hasty could literally be the last man standing for the 9ers. Elijah Mitchell is in the league’s concussion protocol, Jeff Wilson is questionable with knee issues and Trey Sermon is on IR. So JaMycal Hasty could carry a hefty workload in Week 14 against a Bengals squad that has given up the 9th most fantasy points to Running Backs this season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see fullback Kyle Juszczyk also get some work.
Ameer Abdullah, Carolina Panthers
Roster Percentage: 4%
Christian McCaffrey suffered an ankle injury in Week 12 landing him on IR and is out for the year. When McCaffrey was out previously it was Chuba Hubbard who saw 82% of the running back rush share and 10% of the target share, although when Ameer Abdullah was signed he became the pass catching back. Since Week 8 Abdullah has seen double digit targets in four straight weeks (14%) and in those games Abdullah out-snapped Hubbard. The Panthers are coming off a Bye this week and take on an Atlanta defense that has given up the 5th most points to running backs this season. After this week they have some rough match-ups coming up in Weeks 15 thru 17 with Buffalo, Tampa Bay and New Orleans.
Rashaad Penny, Seattle Seahawks
Roster Percentage: 6%
OH NO…here we go again! In Week 13 Penny rushed 10 times for 35 yards and caught one ball for an additional 27 yards. The Seahawks backfield has been a mess and I’m not sure I trust any back on their roster to make a difference, but if I am choosing one of them TODAY it’s Penny. IF he can stay healthy it shouldn’t be hard to fend off competition from Alex Collins, Adrian Peterson and Travis Homer. The Seahawks have a plus match-up this week against Houston who has given up the 6th most fantasy points to Running Backs this season.
Tevin Coleman, New York Jets
Roster Percentage: 41%
Tevin Coleman rushed 11 times for 58 yards adding three catches for 19 yards. Coming into Week 13 I was more excited for Ty Johnson but the Jets made it “The Coleman Show”. This week the Jets take on New Orleans which has given up the fewest fantasy points to Running Backs this season.
Others to Consider:
Rex Burkhead (22%) Jordan Howard (10% Questionable/Bye) Samaje Perine (7%)
WIDE RECEIVER
If available: DeVante Parker (51%)
Russell Gage, Atlanta Falcons
Roster Percentage: 35%
For much of the season it has been a struggle to find much fantasy value in the Atlanta offense outside of Cordarrelle Patterson. But, Gage has now seen a 25% target share in 4-of-5 games and finished as a top 20 WR (PPR format) in three of those games. In Week 13 against the generous Buccaneers defense he caught 11-of-12 targets (30% target share) for as whopping 130 yards. The Falcons take on a tougher competitor in Week 14 in the Panthers making Gage more of a WR4.
K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings
Roster Percentage: 5%
In Week 13 Adam Thielen was injured (high-ankle sprain) on his first catch of the game thrusting K.J. Osborn into an every down role as the Vikings WR2. Osborn caught 4-of-7 targets (17% target share) for 47 yards and one touchdown. The Viking take on the Steelers on Thursday Night Football who have given up the 10th most fantasy points to Wide Receivers this season.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay Packers
Roster Percentage: 21%
Prior to the Packers Week 13 Bye Marquez Valdes-Scantling saw a target share of 32% and 20% over his previous two games. MVS also ranks 3rd in the NFL in air yards from Weeks 9 thru 12. The Packers take on a Bears defense that has given up the 14th most fantasy points to Wide Receivers this season.
Jamison Crowder, New York Jets
Roster Percentage: 21%
Elijah Moore has taken hold of the WR1 for the Jets but with Corey Davis set to miss the remainder of the season after undergoing core-muscle surgery the result should be a larger piece of the pie for Jamison Crowder. In Week 13 Crowder caught 4-of-6 targets for 62 yards. The Jets take on New Orleans who have given up the 5th most fantasy points to Wide Receivers this season.
Others to Consider:
Kendrick Bourne (40% Bye) Kadarius Toney (37%) Sterling Shepard (27% questionable) Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (14%) Amon-Ra St. Brown (6%) Tre’Quan Smith (6%) Josh Reynolds (4%) Jalen Guyton (0%)
TIGHT END
Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings
Roster Percentage: 30%
Wide Receiver Adam Thielen is likely out a few weeks with a high ankle sprain which led to Tyler Conklin seeing a season high nine targets. Conklin caught 7-of-9 balls for 56 yards. I expect that target share and red zone opportunities to be there for Conklin as long as Thielen is out.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
Roster Percentage: 24%
In Week 13 Kmet’s production was down, but that was to be expected facing the Cardinals defense. But what we liked to see was that the target share was still there as he caught 3-of-7 targets for 41 yards. Kmet has totaled 18 targets over the last two games which is worth noting for managers struggling at the Tight End position.
Ricky Seals-Jones, Washington Football Team
Roster Percentage: 5%
Logan Thomas returned from injury only to suffer a likely season ending injury in Week 13. That means the return of Ricky Seals-Jones who has been battling his own injuries issues of late (hip), but resumed practicing last week. RSJ filled in nicely for Thomas earlier this season and was on the field as an every down player. He should be considered an add in most leagues as a low-end TE1. (If RSJ ends up not being able to make it back this week rookie John Bates would be worth a look)
Others to Consider:
Evan Engram (29%) Gerald Everett (29%) James O’Shaughnessy (1%) Nick Vannett (0%)
DEFENSE
Green Bay @ CHI
Denver vs DET
New Orleans @ NYJ
Seattle vs HOU
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