Who says the Week 14 waiver wire is full of ‘unstartable scrubs’? If you’ve been reading along you already own Spencer Ware, Justin Jackson, and Jaylen Samuels. We’ve been talking about stashing running backs and wide receivers for weeks now. Remarkably, all three of them have an opportunity to make some noise in the fantasy football playoffs. The biggest news heading into Week 14 is that James Conner will likely miss multiple weeks due to a high-ankle sprain. The guy who likely got you to the playoffs may be the reason you get bounced. Let’s hope that’s not the case and you handcuffed what may be the best situation for an RB – to play in Pittsburgh.
There are plenty of other options this week for those in need, including Chargers’ back Justin Jackson and Jeff Wilson Jr. of the 49ers. Jackson is in a good spot against a football team in Cincinnati that they call the Bengals and he earned himself a few more touches with last week’s second-half showing. Also, Matt Breida is already ruled out so you can spend a claim on Wilson. Even if you are on a bye this week, plan ahead.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out @chrismeaney.
Key Week 14 Injuries & Notes
Quarterbacks
Mitchell Trubisky (shoulder) – likely back
Colt McCoy (broken fibula) – done for the season
Joe Flacco (hip) – questionable; Lamar Jackson expected to start
Sam Darnold (foot) – reportedly could have started WK 13
Running backs
James Conner (ankle) – RULED OUT
Melvin Gordon (knee) – questionable
Kerryon Johnson (knee) – questionable
Chris Carson (finger) – expected to play
Matt Brieda (ankle) – RULED OUT
Malcolm Brown (clavicle) – week-to-week
Wide Receivers
A.J. Green (toe) – done for the season
Emmanuel Sanders (Achilles) – reportedly suffered injury Wednesday
Sammy Watkins (foot) – questionable
Keke Coutee (hamstring) – questionable
DeSean Jackson (thumb) – questionable; may get shut down
Christian Kirk (foot) – placed on IR
Pierre Garcon (knee) – questionable
Danny Amendola (knee) – questionable
Marquise Goodwin (personal) – questionable
Cole Beasley (foot) – doubtful
Trey Quinn (ankle) – questionable
Tight Ends
Evan Engram (hamstring) – questionable
Greg Olsen (foot) – likely out for the season
C.J. Anderson – Raiders sign RB
Week 14 Waiver Wire (under 60% Owned on Fantrax)
Running Backs
Jaylen Samuels – Pittsburgh Steelers (25%)
As mentioned above, Samuels has appeared in these waiver wire pieces for weeks. Samuels becomes interesting this week with James Conner sidelined. Sure, head coach Mike Tomlin says he intends to use a committee between Samuels and Steven Ridley, but Samuels has more upside, especially when it comes to the passing game. He only has 12 carries this season, but he has seven catches – all in his last three games. Two of those catches turned out to be touchdowns, and they came on targets in the red zone.
Throughout his college career, Samuels played some running back, fullback, wide receiver, and tight end. He set the NC State record for career receptions with 202 during his four seasons. We know Pittsburgh loves to target their running backs. Oakland is one of, if not the best matchup possible, followed by two potential shootouts against New England and New Orleans. It’s possible that Conner misses more than one game as he’s already been ruled out for Week 14. Samuels may just be a fantasy MVP for some in PPR formats. Stevan Ridley also needs to be owned, but he has less appeal. I can also just envision Big Ben throwing the football 50 plus times in each of the next couple games. He’s done that before.
Jeff Wilson Jr. – San Francisco 49ers (4%)
‘Hey Mr. Wilson!!!’ – it’s go time!
Matt Breida is already ruled out of Week 14’s game, which makes Jeff Wilson Jr. very appealing considering his workload last week. Breida left in the third quarter of Week 13’s blowout and Wilson took over racking up 134 total yards. He had 61 yards on 15 carries and caught eight of his nine targets for another 73. Wilson looked good the week before when he had 33 yards on seven carries. With Breida out of the picture, Wilson only has to compete with Alfred Morris who has been inactive lately. Morris will probably return to the lineup, but at this point in the season, SF is better off seeing what they have in JWJ. Morris definitely won’t get the kind of work in the passing game that Wilson has had in the last two weeks. He should continue to get looks from Nick Mullens if Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin sit again.
Justin Jackson – Los Angeles Chargers (39%)
Blurb from last week…
Don’t forget about rookie Justin Jackson who had seven carries last week for 57 yards. The game was out of hand and against the lowly Arizona Cardinals, but I expect him to be involved down the stretch. The matchups against the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs are amazing. He only has 13 carries in three games, but he has two catches and may get opportunities in the red zone. You know, Ekeler played just about every snap in the game Gordon missed earlier in the season (Week 7 vs TEN), but he wasn’t that productive on the ground as he only had 42 yards on 12 carries. He caught five of seven targets, though, and it’s possible he’ll be just a 7-10 carry guy with 5-7 targets a game. There’s a lot of value in that kind of line, but don’t be surprised if Jackson gets more work on the ground.
So Jackson didn’t get more work on the ground than Ekeler, but he outperformed him in Week 13’s win in Pittsburgh. Jackson hardly touched the field in the first half, but came on strong in the second half. He had 63 yards on eight carries and caught his only target for 19 yards. Jackson had an impressive 18-yard touchdown run as well. No surprise Ekeler caught five passes on eight targets, but he only managed 21 yards on 13 carries. If Melvin Gordon can’t go, Jackson will be an RB2 for me in standard formats. The Bengals have allowed the most yards and rushing yards per game. They may just lean on JJ in the second half in what could be a blowout.
Damien Williams – Kansas City Chiefs (17%)
Spencer Ware wasn’t all that productive last week in a good matchup as he only had 47 yards on 14 carries. Damien Williams had 38 yards on five carries and had two catches to Ware’s one. Ware did get the one-yard rushing touchdown, but was stuffed the play before. Ware didn’t even lead his team in rushing touchdowns two years ago as he only had three to Alex Smith’s five. This is a brutal matchup this week against the Baltimore Ravens and the Chiefs just brought back their former RB Charcandrick West, so this is looking more like a committee. I lean Ware for the most upside, but Williams could take over in the carry department. Make sure Williams is rostered.
Rex Burkhead – New England Patriots (59%)
Rex Burkhead didn’t do a whole lot in his first game, but he did have nine touches. Burkhead has 20 yards on seven carries and caught both his targets for 21 yards. The Patriots are running the ball more than ever and they have eight rushing touchdowns to four in the last four games. Also, Tom Brady is not taking a lot of shots downfield. Sony Michel and James White are worthy of starts each week, but Burkhead will be involved so just have him stashed should something happen.
Chase Edmonds – Arizona Cardinals (22%)
If we’ve learned anything over the past couple weeks it’s stash running backs who could fall into a bigger role should something happen to the lead dog. David Johnson had 20 carries to Chase Edmonds’ five in Week 13, but he had two goal-line touchdowns. You are not starting Edmonds, but his role is growing and he should be stashed. He also should be owned in keeper and dynasty leagues.
Other deep league adds to consider: Stevan Ridley, Darren Sproles, Corey Clement, Ty Montgomery & Kenneth Dixon
Wide Receivers
Dante Pettis – San Francisco 49ers (27%)
Last week’s write up:
Dante Pettis had a career-high seven targets, four catches, and 77 yards last week while finding the end zone. Pettis now has 13 targets in his last two games, but he really took advantage of a missing Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin in Week 12. The matchups moving forward are not great, but if Garcon and Goodwin are going to miss time again, you could see another seven targets for Pettis.
We did see another seven targets! Pettis caught five passes for 129 yards and found the end zone twice. That’s 20 targets, 13 catches, and over 200 yards with three touchdowns in his last two weeks. Chris Harris is sidelined for the Broncos this week and he’ll get Seattle again the following week. Keep an eye on Garcon and Goodwin, but it doesn’t really matter…Pettis is a solid pick up and start in deep formats.
Josh Reynolds – Los Angeles Rams (59%)
Josh Reynolds had a quiet day last week, but so did Jared Goff. The matchup this week in Chicago isn’t great, but I’d hold onto Reynolds as depth. He’ll be worthy of a start Week 15 against Philadelphia. The upside is there due to the high powered offense.
Zay Jones – Buffalo Bills (32%)
The Buffalo Bills don’t have much of a passing attack, but that hasn’t stopped Zay Jones of late. Jones pulled in four of his nine targets for 67 yards and added two touchdowns in Week 13. He put up a zero the week before against the Jaguars, but in Week 10 against the Jets – who he’ll play this week – he had eight catches on 11 targets for 93 yards and a touchdown. I’m counting on volume this week, next week against Detroit, and the following week against New England. Josh Allen makes this offense better due to his legs.
Curtis Samuel – Carolina Panthers (44%)
The fact that Mark Sanchez is likely starting for the rest of the season puts a damper on Josh Doctson. He’ll be hard to start moving forward and is really only worth a deep bench league spot. I’d move on from Doctson for someone like Curtis Samuel who had six catches for 88 yards last week. Devin Funchess hardly touched the field last week, despite the touchdown and Carolina likely lost Greg Olsen for the season.
Bruce Ellington – Detroit Lions (16%)
Bruce Ellington checks in for the third straight week and he comes in with 26 targets and 19 catches in his last three games. He only has 115 yards, but he’ll continue to get looks and catches which is valuable in deep PPR settings.
Chris Conley – Kansas City Chiefs (26%)
Chris Conley was one of four Week 13 waiver wire wideouts to find a touchdown in Week 13. Pettis as mentioned above, Marcell Ateman who we’ll get to, and Adam Humphries (owned in more than 60 percent of leagues now) all found the end zone last week. Conley saved his day with a late touchdown as he only had three catches for 25 yards. He did have seven targets and 15 now in the last two games which Sammy Watkins has missed. Watkins has missed several games in the past due to a foot injury.
Marcell Ateman – Oakland Raiders (8%)
Last week’s blurb…
I’m not loving Marcell Ateman, and I won’t spend too much time here, but he’s someone to think about if you are in a deep PPR format and of course desperate. The rookie WR racked up 10 targets last week and has 15 in two games. One problem, he only had three catches for 16 yards in Week 12 and has just seven catches for 66 yards in the two games. Another problem, Derek Carr. That said, Carr is running out of passing options and will have to throw against his next two opponents: KC & PIT. He also gets a favorable matchup against Cincinnati in Week 16. OK, I spent too much time on Ateman. Bottom line…he leads all OAK wideouts in targets in the last four weeks and he’s played two games.
More time on Ateman…YAY! Only two catches on four targets but he found the end zone. I’ll continue to start him in deep PPR leagues.
Others to consider in deep leagues: Antonio Callaway, Michael Gallup, Taywan Taylor, John Ross, Keith Kirkwood & Rishard Higgins
Tight Ends
C.J. Uzomah – Cincinnati Bengals (32%)
C.J. Uzomah caught five of his six targets last week and has 11 catches on 18 targets in his last two games. He’s only totaled 113 yards in those three games, but you have to imagine the volume will continue with A.J. Green sidelined for the season.
Ian Thomas – Carolina Panthers (8%)
Ian Thomas caught all five of his targets last week for 46 yards. He’s very interesting moving forward with Olsen likely done for the season. Thomas had games with five and six targets earlier in the season when Olsen was sidelined. Thomas gets Cleveland, New Orleans, and Atlanta during the fantasy football playoffs which will likely be very high scoring games.
Jonnu Smith – Tennessee Titans (37%)
Jonnu Smith remains another option if you can’t get the two above. Smith only had two catches for 29 yards last week, but he has three touchdowns in his past five games with good matchups coming. Jacksonville may not seem like a good spot for him, but the way to attack the Jaguars is by throwing in the middle of the field. Eric Ebron managed to rack up 10 catches against the Jags last week. Smith will then draw the Giants and Redskins which are decent spots for him as well.
Chris Herndon – New York Jets (49%)
The tight end position is bad, we all know that. Chris Herndon isn’t doing much with his targets, but at least he’s getting them. Herndon has nine catches for 88 yards in his past two games, but he’s had 14 targets in those two contests. He has at least four targets in each of his past four games, and I know that’s not exciting, but you may be in a bad spot. Herndon’s 18 targets in the last four weeks are the 10th most at the TE position and he missed a game due to a bye.
Quarterbacks Streams
Dak Prescott vs. PHI
Josh Allen vs. NYJ
Lamar Jackson @ KC
Case Keenum @ SF
DST Streams
DEN @ SF
BUF vs. NYJ
PIT @ OAK
TEN vs. JAX
ARI vs. DET
DET @ ARI
NO @ TB
Like these Week 14 Waiver Wire adds? Get more Chris Meaney on his new podcast, By Any Means. Each week he’ll bring in guests from around the industry to break down all the fantasy news you need to know for your march to the championship.
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