With Thanksgiving having come and gone, it is now appropriate to reference Christmas in conversation. So with that, let me publicly acknowledge that my wish list to Santa this year will include a request to never have the NFL schedule a half-dozen teams to be on bye the week before the start of the Fantasy Football Playoffs ever again. I mean seriously, talk about impeccably bad timing! Hopefully, your team is sitting in a solid position to make the playoffs already in advance of Week 14. If not, fear not. Whether you need a bye week fill-in or are looking to fill the void of a significant injury, our fantasy football waiver wire pickups below can help ease your worries.
As always, managers are advised to prioritize situations, snap counts, workload and target shares over a one-week scoring output when deciding on which players to claim. These are the stats and trends that will better predict sustainable success. Here are our top fantasy football waiver wire pickups for 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.
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Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 14
QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets (43.8%)
For many, Aaron Rodgers probably isn’t the most attractive fantasy football waiver wire pickups recommendation. That said, even the grossest of NFL teams can still provide some fantasy football production. First off, the New York Jets are still far from the worst team playing on Sunday afternoons. Second, Rodgers can still be counted on for steady fantasy production week-to-week. He may not win you a matchup, but he largely won’t lose you one either. Rodgers should be a decent bye-week filler option in Week 14 against Miami, and he has two favorable matchups after that against Jacksonville and the Los Angeles Rams.
Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns (9.5%)
We sure got the total “Jameis Winston Experience” on Monday night! 58 passing attempts. 497 passing yards. Four touchdowns. Three interceptions. How’s that for a final stat line?! It’s one that no NFL quarterback can produce quite like Winston, that’s for sure. It’s why he is, for my money, the most fun player in the league. Now, riding a roller coaster like this is not exactly good for heart rates in the win-or-go-home environment that is the Fantasy Football Playoffs. However, with the QB waiver wire being incredibly thin, adding a gunslinger like Winston to cover a bye this week and/or to have as a second option down the stretch might prove to be savvy.
MORE: NFL Power Rankings Week 14 – Post-Thanksgiving Football Begins
Thanksgiving is behind us, and it’s time for the real contenders to step up as we hit the stretch run of the regular season. Click through the latest edition of the FlurrySports NFL Power Rankings to see where your team stands heading into Week 14!
RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Isaac Guerendo, San Francisco 49ers (1.6%)
At this time last week, Isaac Guerendo was buried in the third spot on the San Francisco 49ers RB depth chart. Now, he is perhaps one of the most sought-after fantasy football waiver wire pickups of the entire season. With the Niners losing both Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason to injuries this past week, Guerendo is set to be the team’s lead running back for the rest of the standard fantasy football season. The rookie fourth-rounder out of Louisville impressed in a previous high-usage game this season and should be viewed as nothing less than a plug-and-play addition if you are lucky enough to nab him.
Jonathon Brooks, Carolina Panthers (47.4%)
As expected, it has been a slow start for Jonathon Brooks after he finally made his NFL debut two weeks back. The Carolina Panthers are taking a cautious, ramp-up approach with their second-round draftee. That said, Week 13 provided some encouraging signs that this will truly be a progressive ramp-up and that Brooks could at least provide FLEX value before year’s end. He only played 21% of the team’s offensive snaps on Sunday, but saw nine total touches including three targets in the passing game. Brooks won’t usurp Chuba Hubbard for the lead role this season, but he is worth rostering to see just how large of a role he can carve out over the final month.
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WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers (27.3%)
Last week, we highlighted Xavier Legette (35.8%) amongst our WR fantasy football waiver wire pickups. While he did nothing to diminish his outlook as an add heading into Week 14, we must give fellow Carolina Panther Adam Thielen his due respect. After missing seven games, the 34-year-old veteran has inserted himself right back into a prominent role in the offense. With Diontae Johnson having been jettisoned at the trade deadline, Thielen is THE primary safety blanket for Bryce Young, who deserves credit as well for putting together an impressive stretch of football over the past month. Assuming Young can continue his recent form, both Thielen and Legette (in order of preference) are solid WR depth adds.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Tennessee Titans (19.9%)
The Tennessee Titans are another team that dealt one of their top wide receivers at the NFL trade deadline. Ever since DeAndre Hopkins was traded, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has been a touchdown monster. He found the end zone twice this past Sunday and has now done so in seven of the last eight games overall. His target share has also seen a slight uptick from the very beginning of this impressive touchdown streak including a season-high eight in the most recent game. Westbrook-Ikhine hasn’t exactly been super efficient with his targets, but the touchdown streak cannot be ignored. He has produced double-digit PPR points in five of the last six weeks.
Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars (0.9%)
For those playing in deeper leagues, we are throwing Parker Washington into this fantasy football waiver wire pickups column as an option. Yes, the Jacksonville Jaguars offense may be so inept that Sunday’s explosive 6-103-1 stat line could prove to be a one-hit-wonder. However, considering that the team’s wide receiver room has been decimated by injuries, managers can expect Washington to play plenty of snaps going forward. At this point, I’m not sure that it makes much difference whether it’s Trevor Lawrence or Mac Jones under center. The Jags finish out the season against some tough defensive opponents, but Washington is worth a speculative add if thin at WR.
TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers (41.9%)
Since the Pittsburgh Steelers made the switch to Russell Wilson at quarterback, Pat Freiermuth has been one of many pass-catchers who has benefitted. To be fair, he has not seen as drastic of an uptick as, say, George Pickens. However, he has essentially scored double-digit PPR points in three of the last four games (yes, I’m rounding up his 9.9-point performance to bolster my argument!). Furthermore, the recent strong stretch has him quietly situated as the TE12 in scoring on the season. To top it all off, four of Freiermuth’s last five games in the regular season come against defenses in the bottom 11 as far as fantasy points allowed to the TE position.
Austin Hooper, New England Patriots (0.7%)
With four targets in five of the last six games, Austin Hooper has suddenly become fantasy-relevant once again. The fact that he is doing so as the second TE on the New England Patriots depth chart is all the more incredible. Oh, and Hunter Henry’s stock hasn’t missed a beat despite Hooper’s emergence. Simply put, the Pats are relying more on their veteran tight ends than any other team. Whether this is to aid the development of Drake Maye or due to the lack of game-changing wide receivers on the roster is beside the point. What matters is that Hooper is getting targets and also has become a preferred option of Maye’s down in the red zone.
