Kenny Stills has come on strong since Brandin Cooks’ season ending injury
The fantasy regular season has come to an end for the majority of you, and hopefully you still have something to play for going into Week 14. The regular season has brought some great additions to many teams (Odell Beckham Jr., Jordan Matthews, Justin Forsett…), but there may be more gold to be found even in Week 14.
With tough decisions facing you on who to use your waiver claims on, we have asked the featured experts to rank the top waiver wire players that are readily available. The players have been ranked accordingly (rest of season value) below and considering the appearance of Johnny Manziel in Week 13, we have asked the experts their thoughts on him as well. Read on to view the pundits’ consensus advice and their thoughts on Johnny Football moving forward.
Featured Pros
Brett Talley (The Fantasy Fix)
Kyle Wachtel (Footballguys)
Wayne Bretsky (BretskyBall)
Sean Beazley (EDSFootball)
Waiver Wire Rankings (STD Scoring)
| Player | Position | Team | Consensus Rank | Best Rank | Worst Rank |
| Kenny Stills | WR | NO | 1.3 | 1 | 2 |
| Dan Herron | RB | IND | 2.5 | 1 | 4 |
| Doug Martin | RB | TB | 3.8 | 3 | 7 |
| Davante Adams | WR | GB | 5.5 | 2 | 10 |
| Jordan Reed | TE | WAS | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Donte Moncrief | WR | IND | 7.5 | 5 | 14 |
| Malcom Floyd | WR | SD | 7.5 | 6 | 9 |
| Stedman Bailey | WR | STL | 7.8 | 5 | 11 |
| Charles Johnson | WR | MIN | 8 | 4 | 14 |
| Jonathan Stewart | RB | CAR | 10.3 | 5 | 13 |
| Marqise Lee | WR | JAX | 11.3 | 9 | 13 |
| Robert Woods | WR | BUF | 11.8 | 7 | 16 |
| James Jones | WR | OAK | 12.5 | 10 | 16 |
| Harry Douglas | WR | ATL | 15 | 10 | 18 |
| Andre Williams | RB | NYG | 15.3 | 9 | 20 |
| Eddie Royal | WR | SD | 15.8 | 12 | 20 |
| Marion Grice | RB | ARI | 16 | 14 | 18 |
| Greg Jennings | WR | MIN | 16.5 | 11 | 19 |
| Stepfan Taylor | RB | ARI | 17 | 15 | 19 |
| Michael Bush | RB | ARI | 19 | 17 | 20 |
Week 14 Waiver Wire Advice
Each expert was asked to share advice about a target or two they like this week along with any other waiver wire suggestions they have. Here’s what the experts had to say.
Q1: Give us your thoughts on a waiver wire target (or two) you especially like as a pickup.
Wayne Bretsky – BretskyBall
Kenny Stills pops off of this list as the clear cut top option. He’s in the midst of the most consistent run of his career and coming off of a monster 5-for-162 and score performance. Drew Brees will continue to spread the ball around, but Stills needs only a handful of targets per game to make an impact down the field.
Deep-league players who missed on the first wave of wide receivers should turn an eye towards Robert Woods. He’s seen 31 targets over his last four starts and turned them into 21 catches for 256 yards and a touchdown, a pace that would project to 84 receptions and 1,024 yards over a full 16-game slate. Sammy Watkins will continue draw defensive attention, leaving Woods in single coverage and making him a weekly WR3.
Kyle Wachtel – Footballguys
It has been a season to forget for Doug Martin’s fantasy owners, but for those still in contention, he’s back in the lead role and the 19 touches he merited last weekend provide some optimism going forward. While the efficiency is still lacking and he won’t be more than an RB3/Flex play this weekend versus Detroit, the following two games versus Carolina and then especially Green Bay, will have him back in the RB2 range and poised for reclamation.
After the few elite, tight ends have experienced an exceedingly high-level of variance from week-to-week and so it’s been quite the grab bag for most fantasy owners when it comes to choosing their starter each week. Now finally over his hamstring injury, Jordan Reed looks to be another breath of consistency for the beleaguered position. Colt McCoy has stabilized the passing game and in his two starts, Reed has averaged eight receptions for 81.5 yards. He can be treated as a mid-TE1.
Sean Beazley – EDSFootball
The obvious waiver wire pickup is New Orleans WR Kenny Stills. Stills is my #1 rated target and it’s not even close. If you are fortunate enough to be in a league where he is still available, you need to make a waiver claim this week. Stills has had great chemistry with Drew Brees since they lost Cooks. I consider Stills the Saints #1 WR for the playoffs and would drop Marques Colston if need be to roster him.
Brett Talley – The Fantasy Fix
News flash: Trent Richardson isn’t good. What’s that? We’ve known that for over a year now? Richardson continues to not be any good, and Daniel Herron has been much more effective since taking over as the other half of the Indy backfield. In the last two weeks, Richardson has 21 carries for 64 yards (3.04 per) and Herron has 20 carries for 153 yards (7.65 per). If Herron hand’t fumbled in each of the last two games, he’d be a sure fire #1 pickup. But because he’s outperforming Richardson so significantly, the fumbles shouldn’t keep him off the field. Shouldn’t… but possibly could if Indy’s coaching staff is dumb.
Q2: If named the starter, what do you make of Johnny Manziel’s fantasy playoff outlook and what comparable QBs would you rate him above?
Wayne Bretsky – BretskyBall
Like any running quarterback, Johnny Manziel carries a great deal of fantasy potential for the quarterback-needy, showing off his mobility immediately with a rushing score to cap his first drive as the Browns QB. Manziel’s potential is given a major boost by the presence of stud WR Josh Gordon, and is a legit waiver wire streamer for your fantasy playoffs. Fire him up in Week 14 against the Colts over the likes of Josh McCown, Joe Flacco, Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick.
Kyle Wachtel – Footballguys
As the starting quarterback, Manziel instantly elevates to a top-12 option among quarterbacks. His rushing numbers should rival those of Russell Wilson, who has performed as a mid-QB1 despite lack of production as a passer, and with Josh Gordon at full-go, big plays in the passing game should also present themselves. Colt McCoy just threw for 300+ yards and three touchdowns versus Indianapolis last weekend and they’re on deck for Cleveland. To follow would be Cincinnati and Carolina, both of which boast bottom-half defenses.
Sean Beazley – EDSFootball
I would have to be playing in a very deep (16 teams or more) or a 2 QB league to consider starting Johnny Football in the playoffs. He does add upside with his rushing ability, but you would be absolutely nuts to put your title shot on Manziel’s back. I’d rate Manziel in the same area as Titans QB Zach Mettenberger if you are looking for a comparison.
Brett Talley (The Fantasy Fix)
Manziel essentially played 12 meaningful snaps on Sunday and pulled it down and ran twice, once for a 10 yard touchdown that you’ve undoubtedly seen in a highlight package or three by now. That running ability instantly gives him fantasy value. Who knows how he’ll perform as a passer. Going five-for-eight and averaging 7.9 yards per attempt was a decent start on Sunday, but it was hardly enough to tell us anything about how he’ll play in the future. Basically, fantasy owners are hoping Manziel is some version of Tim Tebow. Long term, we hope he’ll be able to use his arm far more effectively than Tebow, but for now, using his legs is enough to make him fantasy relevant. Consider him a borderline top 15 fantasy QB in the same range as guys like Eli Manning, Joe Flacco, and Cam Newton. He should be ranked ahead of guys like Andy Dalton, Kyle Orton and Alex Smith.
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Congrats to all of those who have made the fantasy playoffs and thank you to the experts for providing consensus waiver pickups all season long. Good luck in Week 14!
