Fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 14 of the NFL season include Brenton Strange, Trevor Lawrence, Devaughn Vele and more.
Boy, that sure was a wild Thanksgiving Weekend of football! Just like that, we have reached the 14th and final week of the fantasy football regular season. By now, many managers probably know their playoff fate and are just battling for seeding. Others might need one more win to sneak into the winner’s bracket. After all, a shot at championship glory is all any of us want in life, right? The answer to that question is clearly yes, unless your name is Lane Kiffin. But hey, hoes will be hoes! Instead of burning your bridge to the playoffs, let’s try to put the final pieces in place with some optimal fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
Our formula for identifying ideal waiver wire targets will continue to follow the same successful blueprint as it has all season. Snap counts, injury news and usage rates remain the focal points of our recommendations. Without further ado, let’s take a look at our favorite fantasy football waiver wire pickups to target ahead of Week 14.
Note: Players must be owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues to be included in the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups column. Ownership percentages will reflect their status on Tuesday mornings ahead of standard waiver processing.
Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 14
QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (34.0%)
Is Trevor Lawrence a high-quality NFL quarterback? Absolutely not. Could he provide QB-needy fantasy teams with a boost as the Fantasy Football Playoffs approach? It’s certainly possible. Lawrence quietly ranks as the QB14 in fantasy scoring on the season and has now scored at least 15 points in seven of the last eight games. The only contest in which he failed to reach that mark came against the juggernaut that is the Houston Texans’ defense. The Indianapolis Colts are on tap in Week 14. Despite making improvements to the secondary ahead of the deadline, this unit remains beatable.
Tyrod Taylor, New York Jets (4.7%)
Thanks to Tyrod Taylor, the Jets actually have some semblance of a passing attack for the first time all season. It’s not gaudy from a statistical standpoint, but managers in need of a streamer or depth at quarterback are more than justified in considering the veteran journeyman. A rushing touchdown actually helped Taylor finish as the QB6 in scoring this past week. With four teams on bye at an inopportune time in Week 14, Taylor could prove to be a serviceable substitute in a decent matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Devin Neal, New Orleans Saints (42.1%)
As expected, it was the Devin Neal show for the Saints on Sunday with Alvin Kamara sidelined by an injury. The rookie out of Kansas played 59 of a possible 72 snaps on offense. Unfortunately, he was only able to muster 47 yards rushing on 14 carries, but three receptions did help prop up his final PPR stat line. Running behind a subpar offensive line could continue to prove difficult, but opportunity is the most appealing factor here. Should Kamara continue to miss time in Week 14 or beyond, Neal looks to be a solid bet to continue having a massive role in this offense.
Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars (27.0%)
While he only played 18 snaps in Week 13 compared to 31 for Travis Etienne, rookie Bhayshul Tuten was the Jaguars’ RB who found the end zone. Looking ahead towards the fantasy playoffs, Tuten remains a preferred waiver wire add for multiple reasons. Obviously, he is one of the more valuable RB handcuffs who is still widely available this late in the season. In addition, he has shown an ability to provide managers with a FLEX-caliber scoring output in a given week. With at least seven carries in four of the last five games and three touchdowns over that same span, Tuten remains one to consider.
Chris Rodriguez Jr., Washington Commanders (12.4%)
We have been telling you to go out and snag Chris Rodriguez Jr. among your fantasy football waiver wire pickups for a few weeks now. Sunday night’s game showcased the exact trend that we’ve been highlighting over that time period. Rodriguez played 37 snaps compared to just 13 for Jacory Croskey-Merritt and led the Commanders with 11 carries. Jeremy McNichols actually led the backfield in snaps played, but he primarily operates in passing situations, of which Washington had plenty this past week. Rodriguez’s fantasy upside may be fairly TD-dependent, but he has reached pay dirt in four of the last six games.
WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Jayden Higgins, Houston Texans (36.4%)
Houston, the AFC may have a problem! The Texans have a ferocious defense and continue to show drastic improvement offensively in recent weeks relative to where they were early in the season. The emergence of rookie wideout Jayden Higgins has been a major factor in this. After having a tremendous stretch of games with Davis Mills under center, Higgins was targeted five times in C.J. Stroud’s return to action on Sunday. He caught all of them and turned in his fourth double-digit PPR scoring effort in the last six games. As a result, he remains the top WR option for fantasy football waiver wire pickups in Week 14.
Adonai Mitchell, New York Jets (2.7%)
Last week, we discussed both Adonai Mitchell and John Metchie (10.1%) as fantasy football waiver wire pickups to target. While Metchie saw eight targets on Sunday and remains a solid player to target, Mitchell deserves a bigger spotlight this week after the best performance of his young NFL career to date. Drops have plagued the former Georgia Bulldog early in his career, but he managed to reel in eight of a whopping 12 targets in Week 13. One of those went for a touchdown and enabled Mitchell to finish as the WR6 in PPR scoring. Most importantly, Mitchell has now seen 25 targets in his first three games with the Jets.
Devaughn Vele, New Orleans Saints (0.6%)
Aside from Chris Olave, the Saints have very little in the cupboard when it comes to dependable pass-catchers. Over the last few weeks, it has become clear that Devaughn Vele is the team’s WR2 at this juncture in the season. He has now played just shy of 90% of the offensive snaps in three consecutive games. Over the last two weeks, Vele has been targeted seven and eight times, respectively. New Orleans may not inspire much confidence as an offense overall, but the WR2 on a team that is regularly playing from behind and thus throwing the ball plenty should not be overlooked with the fantasy playoffs looming.
TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars (22.0%)
Two games back from a stint on IR and two double-digit PPR performances for Brenton Strange. Yes, it took a touchdown for him to get there on Sunday. Sure, he only saw four targets in the Jaguars’ victory on Sunday. It’s also true that there are plenty of mouths to feed within Jacksonville’s passing attack. These can all be viewed as negatives with regard to Strange’s fantasy relevance, but may I also remind you that the TE position is as much of a slog this season as any in recent memory? Unless you have Trey McBride or Brock Bowers on your roster, I guarantee you would benefit from at least considering Strange as an add heading into the fantasy playoffs.
Darren Waller, Miami Dolphins (19.9%)
Speaking of TEs returning from injury, Darren Waller did just that in Week 13. Unlike his delayed season debut in which he scored a pair of touchdowns, his return from a month-long absence barely registered on the fantasy Richter scale. Waller played 27 offensive snaps (47%) and was targeted three times. Despite not making a huge splash in his first game back, managers could do much worse than target Waller among fantasy football waiver wire pickups this week. If the Dolphins utilize him in the red zone at a similar rate to what we saw earlier in the season, he could make a significant impact in the fantasy playoffs.
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