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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 14

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 14

Week 13 brought us all the return of Josh Gordon, who looked like a gamechanger out of the gate even with Casey Heyward playing great across from him. We had some injury news, which will come in a second, but Rob Gronkowski’s bonehead WWE move comes first. Gronk is suspended for one game (pending his appeal, which I can’t imagine leads anywhere) and will leave many owners scrambling with the fantasy playoffs upon us. Fear not, as there are a few TE options that should be widely available.

Tyrod Taylor suffered a knee injury and Matthew Stafford’s throwing hand was swollen and bloodied after a tough hit, though Tyrod apparently escaped major damage and X-rays came back negative on Stafford. Sunday night saw Zach Ertz land in concussion protocol, which is the same path Joe Mixon took on Monday night (among many other MNF injuries). This is when no stone can be left unturned, and having FAAB dollars left over after a loss won’t grant you an extra life. Go get it.

As usual, ownership levels discussed here are taken from Yahoo leagues.

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Priority Pickups – <30% Owned

Mike Davis (SEA – RB) 9% owned (All of Your FAAB)
Davis was last week’s top add and he remains atop this list after returning to action with a bang in Week 13. Though he came up short on his diving attempt at the end zone, he would play on 45-of-62 snaps and collect 101 total yards (16 carries, four catches) as Seattle’s primary ballcarrier. Eddie Lacy and Thomas Rawls are nobodies here, and J.D. McKissic isn’t built to be “the guy” — he’ll remain Davis’ spell back. Chris Carson is scaring off folks due to Pete Carroll saying he is “unbelievably ahead of schedule,” but Seattle will want him for the playoffs and they may ease Carson in with a Week 17 audition. Carroll’s optimism is famous anyway, so invest in Davis with realistic expectations that you’re getting a bell-cow, 20-touch RB here.

Peyton Barber (TB – RB) 5% owned (20% FAAB)
With Doug Martin sitting out due to a concussion, it was Week 12’s goal-line specialist Peyton Barber who stepped into the RB1 spotlight with a whopping 23 carries for 102 yards and four catches for 41 more yards. In other words, he looked better than Martin has all year and should at least be in line for a 50/50 split with Martin should the Douggernaut be ready to return in Week 14. He’s got the size and the speed to play for Dirk Koetter and a Bucs offense that is desperate for a consistent playmaker in the backfield, and we have to acknowledge that he did so with three of the regular starting O-linemen out (two went to IR last week, and center Joe Hawley was ill) so that’s just sprinkles on the impressive cake. Barber and the Bucs will face a Lions defense in Week 14 that has been blasted by RBs lately, with Alex Collins‘ 15-75-2 line from Sunday just the latest hit. That makes this a decent stock to buy into, even though it means buying into the Bucs.

Giovani Bernard (CIN – RB) 10% owned (20% FAAB)
Joe Mixon left Monday night’s game against Pittsburgh after getting hit hard by two defenders in the second quarter, laying on the field for a while before walking off under his own power. This meant that Bernard became the every-down back for Cincinnati, and he looked the part by rushing for 77 yards on 13 carries and catching two of his three targets for 19 more. Jeremy Hill is already on the IR and if Mixon misses any time, the backfield would be Bernard’s. Rookie Brian Hill would be No. 2 on the depth chart, though I’d imagine they sign someone else for depth. Gio will play in all formats as an RB2 against Chicago next week, and potentially Minnesota after that. Not great looks, but opportunity and volume rule the day.

Marquise Goodwin (SF – WR) 32% owned (15% FAAB)
A new era has dawned upon the San Francisco football world, as Jimmy Garoppolo bestowed accurate targets upon his receivers! Goodwin would catch all eight of his looks for 99 yards, as he’s now topped 65 yards in four straight games. This man is not just a deep-ball speed specialist, though being a track-and-field star who reached the Olympics only helps, as he’s now the No. 1 receiver on an offense that might have some reliability under center. Houston and Tennessee make for two plus matchups in the coming weeks before a Week 16 no-no against Jacksonville.

Dede Westbrook (JAC – WR) 28% owned (12% FAAB)
Because I’ve been asked, I need to clarify that you’re adding Marqise Lee where available over Westbrook. That said, Dede would still turn in six catches for a season-high 78 yards on nine targets against the hapless Colts defense. Westbrook is averaging roughly eight targets per game since hitting the field, which is actionable no matter who your quarterback is. Even with Jacksonville rocking a stout defense, a Week 14 matchup with Russell Wilson and the Seahawks should force Blake Bortles and company to throw quite a bit.

Trent Taylor (SF – WR) 0% owned (10% FAAB in PPR)
Goodwin isn’t the only one to benefit from the Garoppolo Era, as Taylor delivered six catches (on six targets) for 92 yards out of the slot. Neither Carlos Hyde nor Matt Breida got much going on the ground, but the San Fran passing attack finally has some stopping power with Goodwin and Taylor. We’re no longer blindly projecting Jimmy G’s effects on the lineup, as we saw the on-field chemistry here. While Taylor only played on 42 percent of snaps (Louis Murphy was in on 57 percent, Kenrick Bourne on 34 percent), his appearing in passing-down situations make the usage viable. In other words, his fewer snaps are much more likely to result in passes.

Dontrelle Inman (CHI – WR) 17% owned (8% FAAB)
Inman’s first touchdown in a Bears uniform helped salvage a poor two-catch, two-target day. Chicago only had Mitch Trubisky attempt 15 throws in a tightly-contested game, so this should be Inman’s “rock bottom.” He had tallied 22 combined targets over his previous three games, meaning he should bounce back in Week 14 against the Bengals. Inman still played on a ridiculous 35-of-37 offensive snaps for Chicago, so keep the faith.

Ricky Seals-Jones (ARI – TE) 28% owned (5% FAAB)
In his third full game, Seals-Jones once again tallied at least five targets despite playing on fewer than a quarter of Arizona’s offensive snaps. While he wouldn’t find paydirt this time around, he was targeted on a would-be touchdown that Gabbert simply overshot and ended up with a 2-44-0 line that didn’t leave owners completely high and dry. He’s being used when on the field and gets to face the same Titans defense that allowed Stephen Anderson to put up his 5-79-1 line, with Jack Doyle‘s 7-94-0 effort coming the week before. I’d prefer Anderson’s likely snap/usage floor as a Gronk owner, but I’d respect this route. RSJ needs to be owned in enough leagues where I can’t write about him anymore.

Deep League Targets – <10% owned

Stephen Anderson (HOU – TE) 0% owned (5% FAAB)
Anderson would put up a lovely 5-79-1 stat line on 12 targets from Tom Savage in Week 13, playing on 91 percent of offensive snaps with starting TE C.J. Fiedorowicz suffering yet another concussion. Fiedorowicz had been on the IR thanks to an earlier concussion, so one has to imagine he misses significant time. Ryan Griffin had been the one to step in earlier, but he is also on the IR with a concussion. This means that Anderson will stand unopposed in that starting lineup for a juicy Week 14 date with San Francisco, which is great timing for any Rob Gronkowski owners who need a one-week substitute.

Trey Burton (PHI – TE) 1% owned (5% FAAB for Ertz owners)
Zach Ertz was forced from the Week 13 action with a head injury and now finds himself in the concussion protocol. If he isn’t cleared in time for Week 14’s likely high-scoring affair against the Rams, then Burton will once again leapfrog blocking TE Brent Celek and become a viable TE1 streamer. Many folks plugged him in for Week 9 with Ertz out and Trey delivered a 2-42-1 line against Denver, and he saw seven targets on Sunday (4-42-0.) Now, the Rams are quite good against the tight end but have still allowed over 50 yards to Evan Engram and Kyle Rudolph over the last few weeks. Ertz owners should definitely make the add.

Tion Green (DET – RB) 0% owned (5% FAAB)
With Ameer Abdullah out with a neck injury, it was Green who led the Detroit backfield with 11 carries compared to Theo Riddick‘s nine. The rookie would end up with 51 yards and a rushing TD on the day and could parlay this solid showing into a goal-line role over Abdullah thanks to having three inches of height and 17 pounds on the veteran. Dwayne Washington and Zach Zenner haven’t moved the needle, so the opportunity should be there for the taking.

Kerwynn Williams (ARI – RB) 3% owned (5% FAAB)
This one is pretty simple. Adrian Peterson missed Week 13 due to his neck injury and Williams ended up playing 31-of-64 snaps as Arizona’s leading RB. Kerwynn would creep toward the century mark with 97 rushing yards on just 16 totes, but do remember that he had posted just 69 yards on 28 carries prior to this. D.J. Foster played on 28 snaps with the Cards predictably trailing the Rams throughout the game, but he did little of note. If AP misses Week 14 against the Titans, then Kerwynn remains the guy to add.


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Nick Mariano is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Nick, check out his archive and follow him @NMariano53.

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